"LI  B  R.AR.Y 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 
OF    ILLINOIS 

977364 


'HINDIS  WSIDHICH  sgnn 


HISTORY 


OF 


IROQUOIS  COUNTY, 


TOGETHER   WITH 


HISTORIC  NOTES  0.  THE  NORTHWEST, 


GLEANED    FROM    EARLY    AUTHORS,    OLD    MAPS    AND    MANUSCRIPTS, 

PRIVATE  AND  OFFICIAL  CORRESPONDENCE,  AND  OTHER 

AUTHENTIC,  THOUGH,  FOR  THE  MOST  PART, 

OUT-OF-THE-WAY  SOURCES. 


BY  H.  W.  BECKWITH, 

OF  THE  DANVILLE  BAK;    CORRESPONDING  MEMBER  OP  THE  HISTORICAL  SOCIETIES  or 
WISCONSIN  AND  CHICAGO. 


WITH  MAP  AND   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


CHICAGO: 

H.  H.  -HILL  AND  COMPANY,  PUBLISHERS. 
1880. 


COPYRIGHT.  1879, 
BT  H.  W.  BECKWITH  AND    SON. 


I    KKIGHT 


/>  O 


PREFACE. 


IN  presenting  the  History  of  Iroquois  County  to  the  public  the 
editors  and  publishers  have  had  in  view  the  preservation  of  certain 
valuable  historical  facts  and  information  which  without  concentrated 
effort  would  not  have  been  obtained  but  with  the  passing  away  of 
the  old  pioneers,  the  failure  of  memory,  and  the  loss  of  public  records 
and  private  diaries,  would  soon  have  been  lost.  This  locality  being 
comparatively  new,  we  flatter  ourselves  that,  with  the  zeal  and  indus- 
try displayed  by  our  general  and  local  historians,  we  have  succeeded 
in  rescuing  from  the  fading  years  almost  every  scrap  of  history 
worthy  of  preservation.  Doubtless  the  work  is,  in  some  respects, 
imperfect ;  — we  do  not  present  it  as  a  model  literary  effort,  but,  in 
that  which  goes  to  make  up  a  valuable  book  of  reference  for  the  pres- 
ent reader  and  the  future  historian,  we  assure  our  patrons  that  neither 
money  nor  time  has  been  spared  in  the  accomplishment  of  the 
work.  Perhaps  some  errors  will  be  found.  With  treacherous  mem- 
ories, personal,  political  and  sectarian  prejudices  and  preferences  to 
contend  against,  it  would  be  almost  a  miracle  if  no  mistakes  were 
made.  We  hope  that  even  these  defects  which  may  be  found  to 
exist  may  be  made  available  in  so  far  as  they  may  provoke  discussion 
and  call  attention  to  corrections  and  additions  necessary  to  perfect 
history. 

The  "Notes  on  the  Northwest "   —necessarily  the  foundation  for 
the  history  of  this  part  of  the  country,  by  H.  W.  Beckwith,  of  Dan- 

2  ville  —  have  already  received  the  hearty  endorsement  of  the  press, 

of  the  historical  societies  of  the  northwestern  states,  and  of  the  most 

accurate  historians  in  the  country.     Mr.  Beckwith  has  in  his  pos- 

-sion  perhaps  the  most  extensive  private  library  of  rare  historical 

.  works  bearing  on  the  territory  under  consideration  in  the  world,  and 
from  them  he  has  drawn  as  occasion  demanded. 


4  PREFACE. 

"Iroquois  County  in  the  Great  Rebellion,"  by  A.  L.  Whitehall, 
we  are  certain,  will  be  an  agreeable  surprise  not  only  to  the  many 
old  soldiers  of  the  late  war  but  to  every  one  interested  in  that  great 
event ;  and  when  we  speak  of  Iroquois  county  we  necessarily  include 
almost  every  citizen,  for  hardly  the  man  survives  who  does  not  take 
pride  in  the  part  that  this  county  took  in  the  suppression  of  that  great 
iniquity.  Mr.  Whitehall  has  had  in  his  mind  the  production  of  a 
complete  war  history,  and  our  readers  will  agree  with  us  when  we 
say  he  has  succeeded  in  an  eminent  degree. 

The  general  county  history,  written  by  E.  8.  Ricker,  Esq.,  will 
be  found  by  our  readers  to  be  in  a  bold,  fearless  style,  dealing  in  facts 
as  so  many  causes,  and  pursuing  effects  to  the  end  without  turning 
to  the  right  or  left  to  accommodate  the  opinions  or  preferences  of 
friend,  party  or  sect. 

The  township  histories,  by  Hon.  C.  F.  McNeill,  M.  H.  Messer, 
A.  W.  Kellogg,  E.  Whittlesey,  C.  W.  Raymond,  and  S.  Gray,  will  be 
found  full  of  valuable  recollections,  which,  but  for  their  patient 
research,  must  soon  have  been  lost  forever,  but  which  are  now 
happily  preserved  for  all  ages  to  come.  These  gentlemen  have 
placed  upon  Iroquois  county  and  the  adjacent  country  a  mark  which 
will  not  be  obliterated,  but  which  will  grow  brighter  and  broader  as 
the  years  go  by. 

The  biographical  department  contains  the  names  and  private 
sketches  of  nearly  every  person  of  importance  in  the  county.  A 
few  persons,  whose  sketches  we  should  be  pleased  to  have  presented, 
for  various  reasons  refused  or  delayed  furnishing  us  with  the  desired 
information,  and  in  this  matter  only  we  feel  that  our  work  is  incom- 
plete. However,  in  most  of  such  cases  we  have  obtained,  in  regard 
to  the  most  important  persons,  some  items,  and  have  woven  them 
into  the  county  or  township  sketches,  so  that,  as  we  believe,  we  can- 
not be  accused  of  either  partiality  or  prejudice. 

We  had  designed  to  give  our  patrons  a  book  of  about  800  pages, 
but  the  amount  of  interesting  historical  matter  has  been  so  great  that 
we  have  had  to  extend  the  work  to  nearly  one  half  more  than  the 
original  design. 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS. 


PART  I. 

CHAPTER  I. 

Topography  —  The  drainage  of  the  Lakes  and  the  Mississippi,  and  the  Indian  and 

French  names  by  which  they  were  severally  called 11 

CHAPTER  II. 

Drainage  of  the  Illinois  and  Wabash  —  Their  tributary  streams  —  The  portages 

connecting  the  drainage  to  the  Atlantic  with  that  of  the  Gulf 17 

CHAPTER  III. 

The  ancient  Maumee  Valley  —  Geological  features — The  portage  of  the  Wabash 
and  the  Kankakee 21 

CHAPTER  IV. 

The  rainfall — Cultivation  of  the  soil  tends  to  equalize  rainfall,  and  prevent  the 

recurrence  of  drouths  and  floods 26 

CHAPTER  V. 

Origin  of  the  prairies  —  Their  former  extent  —  Gradual  encroachment  of  the 
forest  —  Prairie  fires  —  Aboriginal  names  of  the  prairies,  and  the  Indians 
who  lived  exclusively  upon  them 29 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Early  French  discoveries  —  Jaques  Cartier  ascends  the  St.  Lawrence  in  1535  — 
Samuel  Champlain  founds  Quebec  in  1608  —  In  1642  Montreal  is  established  — 
Influence  of  Quebec  and  Montreal  upon  the  Northwest  continues  until  subse- 
quent to  the  war  of  1812  —  Spanish  discoveries  of  the  lower  Mississippi  in  1525,  37 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Joliet  and  Marquette's  Voyage  —  Father  Marquette's  Journal,  descriptive  of  the 
journey  and  the  country  through  which  they  traveled  —  Biographical  sketches 
of  Marquette  and  Joliet 43 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

LaSalle's  Voyage  —  Biographical  sketch  of  LaSalle  —  Sketch  of  Father  Hennepin 
and  the  merit  of  his  writings  54 

CHAPTER  IX. 
La  Salle's  Voyage  continued  —  He  erects  Fort  Miamis 63 

CHAPTER  X. 

The  several  rivers  called  the  Miamis  —  La  Salle's  route  down  the  Illinois  —  The 
Kankakee  Marshes — The  French  and  Indian  names  of  the  Kankakee  and 
Des  Plaines  —  The  Illinois — "Fort  Crevecreur  "  —  The  whole  valley  of  the 
great  river  taken  possession  of  in  the  name  of  the  King  of  France 72 


6  TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Death  of  La  Salle,  in  attempting  to  establish  a  colony  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Mississippi  —  Chicago  Creek  —  The  origin  of  the  name  —  La  Salle  assassinated 
and  his  colony  destroyed  —  Second  attempt  of  France,  under  Mons.  Iberville, 
in  1699,  to  establish  settlements  on  the  Gulf — The  Western  Company  — 
Law's  scheme  of  inflation  and  its  consequences ....  87 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Surrender  of  Louisiana  to  the  French  Crown  in  1731  —  Early  routes  by  way  of  the 
Kankakee,  Chicago  Creek,  the  Ohio,  the  Maumee  and  Wabash  described  — 
The  Maumee  and  Wabash,  and  the  number  and  origin  of  their  several  names 

—  Indian  villages 96 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Aboriginal  inhabitants  —  The  several  Illinois  tribes  —  Of  the  name  Illinois,  and  its 
origin  —  The  Kaskaskias,  Cahokias,  Tamaroas,  Peorias  and  Metchigamis,  sub- 
divisions of  the  Illinois  Confederacy  —  The  tradition  concerning  the  Iroquois 
River  —  Their  decline  and  removal  westward  of  the  Missouri 105 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

The  Miamis  —  The  Miami,  Piankeshaw  and  Wea  bands  —  Their  superiority  and 
their  military  disposition  —  Their  trade  and  difficulties  with  the  French  and 
the  English  —  They  are  upon  the  Maumee  and  Wabash  —  Their  Villages  — 
They  defeat  the  Iroquois — They  trade  with  the  English,  and  incur  the  anger 
of  the  French  — Their  bravery  —  Their  decline  —  Destructive  effects  of  intem- 
perance —  Cession  of  their  lands  in  Illinois.  Indiana  and  Ohio  —  Their  re- 
moval westward  and  present  condition 119 

CHAPTER  XV. 

The  Pottawatomies  —  Originally  from  the  north  and  east  of  Lake  Huron  —  Their 
migrations  by  way  of  Mackinaw  to  the  country  west  of  Lake  Michigan,  and 
thence  south  and  eastward  —  Their  games  —  Origin  of  the  name  Pottawato- 
mie  —  Occupy  a  portion  of  the  country  of  the  Miamis  along  the  Wabash  — 
Their  villages  —  At  peace  with  the  United  States  after  the  war  of  1812  —  Cede 
their  lands  —  Their  exodus  from  the  Wabash,  the  Kankakee  and  Wabash  . . .  137 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

The  Kickapops  and  Mascoutins  reside  about  Saginaw  Bay  in  1612 ;  on  Fox  River, 
Wisconsin,  in  1670  —  Their  reception  of  the  Catholic  fathers  —  On  the  Maumee 
in  1712  —  In  southern  Wisconsin  and  northern  Illinois  —  Migrate  to  the 
Wabash  —  Dwellers  of  the  prairie  —  Their  destruction  at  the  siege  of  De- 
'troit —  Nearly  destroy  the  Illinois  and  Piankeshaws.  and  occupy  their  country 

—  Join  Tecumseh  in  a  body  —  They,  with  the   Winnebagoes,    attack  Fort 
Harrison  —  Their  country  between  the  Illinois  and  Wabash — Their  resem- 
blance to  the  Sac  and  Fox  Indians 153 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

The  Shawnees  and  Delawares  —  Originally  east  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains  — 
Are  subdued  and  driven  out  by  the  Iroquois  —  They  war  on  the  American 
settlements  —  Their  villages  on  the  Big  and  Little  Miamis,  the  St.  Mary's, 
the  Au  Glaize,  Maumee  and  Wabash  —  The  Delawares  —  Made  women  of  by 
the  Iroquois  —  Their  country  on  White  River,  Indiana,  and  eastward  defined 

—  They,  with  the  Shawnees,  sent  west  of  the  Mississippi 170 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

The  Indians  —  Their  implements,  utensils,  fortifications,  mounds,  manners  and 

customs .  180 


TABLE    OF   CONTENTS.  7 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

Stone  implements  used  by  the  Indians  before  they  came  in  contact  with  the  Euro- 
peans—  Illustrations  of  various  kinds  of  stone  implements,  and  suggestions 
as  to  their  probable  uses 195 

CHAPTER  XX. 

The  war  for  the  fur  trade  —  Former  abundance  of  wild  animals  and  water-fowl  in 
the  Northwest  —  The  buffalo  ;  their  range,  their  numbers,  and  final  disap- 
pearance —  Value  of  the  fur  trade  ;  its  importance  to  Canada 208 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

The  war  for  the  empire  —  English  claims  to  the  Northwest  —  Deeds  from  the  Iro- 

quois  to  a  large  part  of  the  country 224 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

Pontiac's  war  to  recover  the  country  from  the  English  —  Pontiac's  confederacy 
falls  to  pieces  —  The  country  turned  over  to  the  English  —  Pontiac's  death. . .  234 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Gen.  Clark's  conquest  of  the  "  Illinois  " — The  Revolutionary  war — Sketch  of 
Gen.  Clark — His  manuscript  memoir  of  his  march  to  the  Illinois  —  He  cap- 
tures Kaskaskia  —  The  surrender  of  Vincennes — Capt.  Helm  surprises  a 
convoy  of  English  boats  at  the  mouth  of  the  Vermilion  River  —  Organization 
of  the  northwest  territory  into  Illinois  county  of  Virginia 243 

Iroquois  county  in  the  war  of  the  great  rebellion 261 

Regimental  history — Infantry » 262 

—Cavalry 304 

—Artillery 314 

Dead  heroes 317 

Roll  of  honor 327 

History  of  Iroquois  county 331 

Topographical 331 

Early  settlements 334 

The  Indian  scare 340 

Organization  of  the  county 343 

Thomas  Frame 346 

The  era  of  speculation 349 

Navigation  of  the  Iroquois  river 355 

Illinois  Central  railroad 358 

Peoria  &  Oquawka  railroad 363 

The  swamp  land  controversy 372 

Attempt  to  detach  a  part  of  Iroquois  to  form  Ford 391 

Publication  of  the  proceedings  of  the  board  of  supervisors 392 

County  seat  contest 395 

Building  of  the  present  court-house 403 

Burning  of  the  county  offices  and  loss  of  records 406 

Political  history 407 

Chicago  &  Eastern  Illinois  railroad 418 

Other  railroads 428 

Micajah  Stanley's  account  of  early  times 430 

Larch  Farm 434 

County  officers 437 

Biographies  of  Experience  Lehigh,  Joseph  Elzeard  Michaud,  Franklin  Blades, 
Edward  Matthews,  Isaac  Amerman,  John  B.  Robinson,  Lucas  Emory  Pearce, 
Andrew  C.  Rankin,  Winslow  Woods,  John  H.  Atwood,  Samuel  H.  Harper, 
Thomas  M.  Pangborn,  James  P.  Forsythe,  Luther  T.  Clark,  Moses  H.  Messer, 
Samuel  M.  Ayres,  Edward  S.  Gilbert,  George  F.  Page,  E.  S.  Ricker,  William 
H.  Shannon,  Perry  Darst,  James  P.  Martin,  Martin  Burnham,  William  A. 

Babcock -. 440-^66 

Executions .  466 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 


PART     II. 


TOWNSHIP  HISTORY. 

MlDDLEPORT  AND  BELMONT  TOWNSHIPS 1 

First  exploration 3 

First  settlement  in  Belmont 6 

Woodland 11 

Officers  of  Belmont 12 

First  settlement  in  Middleport 12 

Officers  of  Middleport 16 

Middleport 17 

Watseka 24 

Incorporation  of  Watseka 26 

Schools  of  Watseka 34 

Press  of  the  county  seat 35 

Murders  and  executions 40 

Secret  societies  of  the  county  seat 43 

Biographical 49 

MILFORD  TOWNSHIP 125 

Incidents 142 

Description 145 

Village  of  Milford 146 

Societies  and  churches 148 

Schools 149 

Biographical 151 

SHELDON  TOWNSHIP 175 

Early  history 176 

Religious  matters 178 

Schools 179 

Village  of  Sheldon 181 

Societies,  etc 183 

Biographical 185 

CONCORD  TOWNSHIP 208 

Iroquois 210 

Incidents 213 

Religious  matters 214 

Schools 215 

Societies 216 

Biographical 217 

DOUGLAS  TOWNSHIP 229 

City  of  Gilman 232 

Churches 235 

Newspapers 241 

Biographical 244 

ARTESIA  TOWNSHIP 262 

Buckley 265 

Churches 270 

Societies 272 

Biographical 273 

LODA  TOWNSHIP 284 

Loda  village  ...  288 

Churches,  societies,  etc 293 

Biographical 298 

DANPORTH  TOWNSHIP  308 

Danforth  village 314 

Biographical 314 

ASHKUM  TOWNSHIP 319 

Ashkum  village 323 

Churches,  societies,  etc 325 

Biographical 327 


TABLE    OF   CONTENTS.  9 

CHEBANSE  TOWNSHIP 329 

Chebanse  village 334 

Churches,  societies,  etc 338 

Clifton 343 

Churches 347 

Biographical 348 

MILK'S  GROVE  TOWNSHIP 309 

Biographical 376 

IROQUOIS  TOWNSHIP 382 

Early  settlements  and  incidents 383 

The  ferry  war 391 

Biographical 393 

CRESCENT  TOWNSHIP 399 

Crescent  City 404 

Biographical 409 

PIGEON  GROVE  TOWNSHIP 415 

The  cattle  war 416 

Biographical 419 

LOVEJOY  TOWNSHIP 421 

Biographical 425 

PRAIRIE  GREEN  TOWNSHIP 434 

Biographical 439 

RlDGELAND   TOWNSHIP 452 

Villages 456 

Biographical 458 

FOUNTAIN  CREEK  TOWNSHIP 466 

Biographical 470 

STOCKLAND  TOWNSHIP 479 

Description 486 

Biographical 488 

MARTINTON  TOWNSHIP  494 

Martinton  village 498 

Biographical 499 

BEAVER  TOWNSHIP 512 

Donovan 518 

St.  Mary 519 

Biographical 520 

PAPINEAU  TOWNSHIP 527 

Papineau  village 534 

Biographical 536 

ONARGA  TOWNSHIP 547 

Schools 560 

Churches 568 

City  of  Onarga 577 

Decatur  Bagging  Company 582 

Murder  of  Martin  Meara 595 

Biographical 598 

ASH  GROVE  TOWNSHIP  640 

First  elections  649 

Educational 1552 

Churches 654 

Villages 658 

Biographical 660 

LIST   OF  PORTRAITS. 

PART  I. 

George  Rogers  Clarke 245 

Experience  Lehigh ...    336 

Micajah  Stanley 352 

PART  II. 

C.  F.  McNeill 1 

Gurdon  S.  Hubbard 6 


10  TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 

John  L.  Donovan 32 

Daniel  Fry 56 

Franklin  Blades 65 

Thomas  Vennum 83 

Edward  Dalton 92 

M.  H.  Peters 101 

M.  B.  Wright 119 

W.  B.  Fleager 201 

B.  F.  Fry 219 

J.  A.  Koplin 276 

A.  C.  Rankin 292 

Addison  Goodell 300 

J.  M.  Balthis 364 

Lemuel  Milk 373 

John  Wilson 390 

J.  L.  Hamilton 431 

Thomas  Maggee 503 

Henry  Jones 529 

Fabien  Langdoc 539 

W.  A.  Babcock 548 

T.  M.  Pangborn 556 

G.  F.  Page 565 

John  B.  Robinson 567 

Winslow  Woods 583 

Hamilton  Jefferson 593 

W.  P.  Pierson 613 

C.  H.  Wood 623 

W.  H.  Harrison 649 


OTHER  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PART  I. 

Indian  Implements 197-207 

Buffalo 209 

Map  of  Iroquois  County 260 

Fall  of  color-bearer 320 

Whipple  &  Brown's  hardware  store,  Milford 417 

Woodland  Mills 427 

Miller  &  Woodwork's  Block,  Milford 433 

PART  II. 

Williams  &  Sons'  creamery 

Key  of  old  court-house 17 

Iroquois  county  court-house 24 

First  National  Bank,  Watseka 

Iroquois  County  "Times  "  office 

Pioneer  log  cabin 556 


HISTORIC  NOTES  ON  THE  NORTHWEST. 


CHAPTER   I. 

TOPOGRAPHY. 

THE  reader  will  have  a  better  understanding  of  the  manner  in 
which  the  territory,  herein  treated  of,  was  discovered  and  subse- 
quently occupied,  if  reference  is  made,  in  the  outset,  to  some  of  its 
more  important  topographical  features. 

Indeed,  it  would  be  an  unsatisfactory  task  to  try  to  follow  the  routes 
of  early  travel,  or  to  undertake  to  pursue  the  devious  wanderings  of 
the  aboriginal  tribes,  or  trace  the  advance  of  civilized  society  into  a 
country,  without  some  preliminary  knowledge  of  its  topography. 

Looking  upon  a  map  of  North  America,  it  is  observed  that  west- 
ward of  the  Allegheny  Mountains  the  waters  are  divided  into  two 
great  masses ;  the  one,  composed  of  waters  flowing  into  the  great 
northern  lakes,  is,  by  the  river  St.  Lawrence,  carried  into  the  Atlantic 
Ocean  ;  the  other,  collected  by  a  multitude  of  streams  spread  out  like 
a  vast  net  over  the  surface  of  more  than  twenty  states  and  several  ter- 
ritories, is  gathered  at  last  into  the  Mississippi  River,  and  thence  dis- 
charged into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

As  it  was  by  the  St.  Lawrence  River,  and  the  great  lakes  connected 
with  it,  that  the  Northwest  Territory  was  discovered,  and  for  many 
years  its  trade  mainly  carried  on,  a  more  minute  notice  of  this  remark- 
able water  communication  will  not  be  out  of  place.  Jacques  Cartier, 
a  French  navigator,  having  sailed  from  St.  Malo,  entered,  on  the  10th 
of  August,  1535,  the  Gulf,  which  he  had  explored  the  year  before,  and 
named  it  the  St.  Lawrence,  in  memory  of  the  holy  martyr  whose  feast 
is  celebrated  on  that  day.  This  name  was  subsequently  extended  to 
the  river.  Previous  to  this  it  was  called  the  River  of  Canada,  the 
name  given  by  the  Indians  to  the  whole  country.*  The  drainage  of 
the  St.  Lawrence  and  the  lakes  extends  through  14  degrees  of  longi- 
tude, and  covers  a  distance  of  over  two  thousand  miles.  Ascending 

*  Father  Charlevoix1  "History  and  General  Description  of  New  France;"  Dr. 
John  G.  Shea's  translation  ;  vol.  1,  pp.  37,  115. 

11 


12  HISTORIC    NOTES   OF   THE    NORTHWEST. 

this  river,  we  behold  it  flanked  with  bold  crags  and  sloping  hillsides ; 
its  current  beset  with  rapids  and  studded  with  a  thousand  islands ; 
combining  scenery  of  marvelous  beauty  and  grandeur.  Seven  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  above  its  mouth,  the  channel  deepens  and  the  shores 
recede  into  an  expanse  of  water  known  as  Lake  Ontario.* 

Passing  westward  on  Lake  Ontario  one  hundred  and  eighty  miles 
a  second  river  is  reached.  A  few  miles  above  its  entry  into  the  lake, 
the  river  is  thrown  over  a  ledge  of  rock  into  a  yawning  chasm,  one 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  below;  and,  amid  the  deafening  noise  and  clouds 
of  vapor  escaping  from  the  agitated  waters  is  seen  the  great  Falls  of 
Niagara.  At  Buffalo,  twenty-two  miles  above  the  falls,  the  shores  of 
Niagara  River  recede  and  a  second  great  inland  sea  is  formed,  having 
an  average  breadth  of  40  miles  and  a  length  of  240  miles.  This  is 
Lake  Erie.  The  name  has  been  variously  spelt, — Earie,  Herie.  Erige 
and  Erike.  It  has  also  born  the  name  of  Conti.f  Father  Hennepin 
says :  "  The  Hurons  call  it  Lake  Erige,  or  Erike,  that  is  to  say.  the  Lake 
of  the  Cat,  and  the  inhabitants  of  Canada  have  softened  the  word  to 
Erie ; "  vide  "  A  New  Discovery  of  a  Yast  Country  in  America,"  p.  77 ; 
London  edition,  1698. 

Hennepin's  derivation  is  substantially  followed  by  the  more  accurate 
and  accomplished  historian,  Father  Charlevoix,  who  at  a  later  period, 
in  1721,  in  writing  of  this  lake  uses  the  following  words:  "  The  name 
it  bears  is  that  of  an  Indian  nation  of  the  Huron  language,  which  was 
formerly  settled  on  its  banks  and  who  have  been  entirely  destroyed  by 
the  Iroquois.  Erie  in  that  language  signifies  cat,  and  in  some  accounts 
this  nation  is  called  the  cat  nation."  He  adds  :  "  Some  modern  maps 
have  given  Lake  Erie  the  name  of  Conti,  but  with  no  better  success 
than  the  names  of  Conde,  Tracy  and  Orleans  which  have  been  given 
to  Lakes  Huron,  Superior  and  Michigan.";}: 

At  the  upper  end  of  Lake  Erie,  to  the  southward,  is  Maumee  Bay, 
of  which  more  hereafter ;  to  the  northward  the  shores  of  the  lake  again 

*  Ontario  has  been  favored  with  several  names  by  early  authors  and  map  makers. 
Champlain's  map,  1632,  lays  it  down  as  Lac  St.  Louis.  The  map  prefixed  to  Golden 'a 
"History  of  the  Five  Nations"  designates  it  as  Cata-ra-qui,  or  Ontario  Lake.  The 
word  is  Huron- Iroquois,  and  is  derived,  in  their  language,  from  Ontra,  a  lake,  and  to, 
beautiful,  the  compound  word  meaning  a  beautiful  lake  ;  vide  Letter  of  DuBois 
D'Avaugour,  August  16,  1663,  to  the  Minister:  Paris  Documents,  vol.  9,  p.  16.  Baron 
LaHontan,  in  his  work  and  on  the  accompanying  map,  calls  it  Lake  Frontenac;  vide 
"  New  Voyages  to  North  America,"  vol.  1,  p.  219.  And  Frontenac,  the  name  by  which 
this  lake  was  most  generally  designated  by  the  early  French  writers,  was  given  to  it  in 
honor  of  the  great  Count  Frontenac.  Governor-General  of  Canada. 

t  Narrative  of  Father  Zenobia  Membre,  who  accompanied  Sieur  La  Salle  in  the 
voyage  westward  on  this  lake  in  1679  ;  vide  "  Discovery  and  Exploration  of  the 
Mississippi."  by  Dr.  John  G.  Shea,  p.  90.  Barou  La  Hqntan's  "Voyages  to  North 
America,"  vol.  1,  p.  217,  also  map  prefixed  ;  London  edition,  1703.  Cadwalder  Col- 
den's  map,  referred  to  in  a  previous  note,  designates  it  as  "Lake  Erie,  or  Okswego." 

J. Journal  of  a  Voyage  to  North  America,  vol.  2,  p.  2  ;  London  Edition,  1761. 


THE    LAKES.  13 

approach  each  other  and  form  a  channel  known  as  the  River  Detroit,  a 
French  word  signifying  a  strait  or  narrow  passage.  Northward  some 
twenty  miles,  and  above  the  city  of  Detroit,  the  river  widens  into  a 
small  body  of  water  called  Lake  St.  Clair.  The  name  as  now  written 
is  incorrect :  "  we  should  either  retain  the  French  form,  Claire,  or  take 
the  English  Clare.  It  received  its  name  in  honor  of  the  founder  of  the 
Franciscan  nuns,  from  the  fact  that  La  Salle  reached  it  on  the  day  con- 
secrated to  her."*  Northward  some  twelve  miles  across  this  lake  the 
land  again  encroaches  upon  and  contracts  the  waters  within  another 
narrow  bound  known  as  the  Strait  of  St.  Clair.  Passing  up  this  strait, 
northward  about  forty  miles,  Lake  Huron  is  reached.  It  is  250  miles 
long  and  190  miles  wide,  including  Georgian  Bay  on  the  east,  and  its 
whole  area  is  computed  to  be  about  21,000  square  miles.  Its  magnitude 
fully  justified  its  early  name,  La  Mer-douce,  the  Fresh  Sea,  on  account 
of  its  extreme  vastness.f  The  more  popular  name  of  Huron,  which 
has  survived  all  others,  was  given  to  it  from  the  great  Huron  nation  of 
Indians  who  formerly  inhabited  the  country  lying  to  the  eastward  of 
it.  Indeed,  many  of  the  early  French  writers  call  it  Lac  des  Hurons, 
that  is,  Lake  of  the  Hurons.  It  is  so  laid  down  on  the  maps  of  Hen- 
nepin,  La  Hontan,  Charlevoix  and  Golden  in  the  volumes  before  quoted. 

Going  northward,  leaving  the  Straits  of  Mackinaw,  through  which 
Lake  Michigan  discharges  itself  from  the  west,  and  the  chain  of 
Manitoulin  Islands  to  the  eastward,  yet  another  river,  the  connecting 
link  between  Lake  Huron  and  Superior,  is  reached.  Its  current  is 
swift,  and  a  mile  below  Lake  Superior  are  the  Falls,  where  the  water 
leaps  and  tumbles  down  a  channel  obstructed  by  boulders  and  shoals, 
where,  from  time  immemorial,  the  Indians  of  various  tribes  have 
resorted  on  account  of  the  abundance  of  fish  and  the  ease  with  which 
they  are  taken.  Previous  to  the  year  1670  the  river  was  called  the 
Sault,  that  is,  the  rapids,  or  falls.  In  this  year  Fathers  Marquette  and 
Dablon  founded  here  the  mission  of  "  St.  Marie  du  Sault "  (St.  Mary 
of  the  Falls),  from  which  the  modern  name  of  the  river,  St.  Mary's,  is 
derived.:}:  Recently  the  United  States  have  perfected  the  ship  canal 
cut  in  solid  rock,  around  the  falls,  through  which  the  largest  vessels 
can  now  pass,  from  the  one  lake  to  the  other. 

Lake  Superior,  in  its  greatest  length,  is  360  miles,  with  a  maximum 
breadth  of  140,  the  largest  of  the  five  great  American  lakes,  and  the 
most  extensive  body  of  fresh  water  on  the  globe.  Its  form  has  been 

*Note  by  Dr.  Shea,  "  Discovery  and  Exploration  of  the  Mississippi,"  p.  143. 
tChamplain's  map,  1632.     Also  "Memoir  on  the  Colony  of  Quebec,     August  4, 
1663  :  Paris  Documents,  vol.  9,  p.  16. 

| Charlevoix1  "History  of  New  France,"  vol.  3,  p.  119;  also  note. 


14  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

poetically  and  not  inaccurately  described  by  a  Jesuit  Father,  whose 
account  of  it  is  preserved  in  the  Relations  for  the  year's  1669  and  1670  : 
"  This  lake  has  almost  the  form  of  a  bended  bow,  and  in  length  is  more 
than  180  leagues.  The  southern  shore  is  as  it  were  the  cord,  the  arrow 
being  a  long  strip  of  land  [KeweenawT  Point]  issuing  from  the  south- 
ern coast  and  running  more  than  80  leagues  to  the  middle  of  the 
lake."  A  glance  on  the  map  will  show  the  aptness  of  the  comparison. 
The  name  Superior  was  given  to  it  by  the  Jesuit  Fathers,  "  in  conse- 
quence of  its  being  above  that  of  Lake  Huron.*  It  was  also  called 
Lake  Tracy,  after  Marquis  De  Tracy,  who  was  governor-general  of 
Canada  from  1663  to  1665.  Father  Claude  Allouez,  in  his  "  Journal 
of  Travels  to  the  Country  of  the  Ottawas,"  preserved  in  the  Relations 
for  the  years  1666,  1667,  says :  "  After  passing  through  the  St. 
Mary's  River  we  entered  the  upper  lake,  which  will  hereafter  bear 
the  name  of  Monsieur  Tracy,  an  acknowledgment  of  the  obligation 
under  which  the  people  of  this  country  are  to  him."  The  good  father, 
however,  was  mistaken  ;  the  name  Tracy  only  appears  on  a  few  ancient 
maps,  or  is  perpetuated  in  rare  volumes  that  record  the  almost  for- 
gotten labors  of  the  zealous  Catholic  missionaries ;  while  the  earlier 
name  of  Lake  "  Superior "  is  familiar  to  every  school-boy  who  has 
thumbed  an  atlas. 

At  the  western  extremity  of  Lake  Superior  enter  the  Rivers  Bois- 
Brule  and  St.  Louis,  the  upper  tributaries  of  which  have  their  sources 
on  the  northeasterly  slope  of  a  water-shed,  and  approximate  very  near 
the  head-waters  of  the  St.  Croix,  Prairie  and  Savannah  Rivers,  which, 
issuing  from  the  opposite  side  of  this  same  ridge,  flow  into  the  upper 
Mississippi. 

The  upper  portions  of  Lakes  Huron,  Michigan,  Green  Bay,  with 
their  indentations,  and  the  entire  coast  line,  with  the  islands  eastward 
and  westward  of  the  Straits  of  Mackinaw,  are  all  laid  down  with  quite 
a  degree  of  accuracy  on  a  map  attached  to  the  Relations  of  the  Jesuits 
for  the  years  1670  and  1671,  a  copy  of  which  is  contained  in  Bancroft's 
History  of  the  United  States,  f  showing  that  the  reverend  fathers  wrere 
industrious  in  mastering  and  preserving  the  geographical  features  of 
the  wilderness  they  traversed  in  their  holy  calling. 

Lake  Michigan  is  the  only  one  of  the  five  great  lakes  that  lays 
wholly  within  the  United  States, —  the  other  four,  with  their  connect- 
ing rivers  and  straits,  mark  the  boundary  between  the  Dominion  of 
Canada  and  the  United  States.  Its  length  is  320  miles ;  its  average 
breadth  70,  with  a  mean  depth  of  over  1,000  feet.  Its  area  is  some 

*  Relations  of  1660  and  1669.       t  Vol.  3,  p.  152;  fourth  edition. 


LAKE   MICHIGAN.  15 

22,000  square  miles,  being  considerably  more  than  that  of  Lake  Huron 
and  less  than  that  of  Lake  Superior. 

Michigan  was  the  last  of  the  lakes  in  order  of  discovery.  The 
Hurons,  christianized  and  dwelling  eastward  of  Lake  Huron,  had  been 
driven  from  their  towns  and  cultivated  fields  by  the  Iroquois,  and  scat- 
tered about  Mackinaw  and  the  desolate  coast  of  Lake  Superior  beyond, 
whither  they  were  followed  by  their  faithful  pastors,  the  Jesuits,  who 
erected  new  altars  and  gathered  the  remnants  of  their  stricken  follow- 
ers about  them  ;  all  this  occurred  before  the  fathers  had  acquired  any 
definite  knowledge  of  Lake  Michigan.  In  their  mission  work  for  the 
year  1666,  it  is  referred  to  "as  the  Lake  Illinouek,  a  great  lake  adjoin- 
ing, or  between,  the  lake  of  the  Hurons  and  that  of  Green  Bay,  that 
had  not  [as  then]  come  to  their  knowledge."  In  the  Relation  for  the 
same  year,  it  is  referred  to  as  "  Lake  Illeaouers,"  and  "  Lake  Illinioues, 
as  yet  unexplored,  though  much  smaller  than  Lake  Huron,  and  that  the 
Outagamies  [the  Fox  Indians]  call  it  Machi-hi-gan-ing.'*  Father  Hen- 
nepin  says :  "  The  lake  is  called  by  the  Indians, '  Illinouek,'  and  by  the 
French,  '  Illinois,' "  and  that  the  "  Lake  Illinois,  in  the  native  lan- 
guage, signifies  the  '  Lake  of  Men.'  "  He  also  adds  in  the  same  para- 
graph, that  it  is  called  by  the  Miamis,  "  Mischigonong,  that  is,  the 
great  lake."  '  Father  Marest,  in  a  letter  dated  at  Kaskaskia,  Illinois, 
November  9,  1712,  so  often  referred  to  on  account  of  the  valuable  his- 
torical matter  it  contains,  contracts  the  aboriginal  name  to  Michigan, 
and  is,  perhaps,  the  first  author  who  ever  spelt  it  in  the  way  that  has 
become  universal.  He  naively  says,  "  that  on  the  maps  this  lake  has 
the  name,  without  any  authority,  of  the  '  Lake  of  the  Illinois]  since 
the  Illinois  do  not  dwell  in  its  neighborhood."  f 

*  Hennepin's  "  New  Discovery  of  a  Vast  Country  in  America,"  vol.  1,  p.  35.  The 
name  is  derived  from  the  two  Algonquin  words,  Michi  (mishi  or  missi),  which  signifies 
great,  as  it  does,  also,  several  or  many,  and  Sagayigan,  a  lake;  vide  Henry's  Travels, 
p.  37,  and  Alexander  Mackenzie's  Vocabulary  of  Algonquin  Words. 

t  Kip's  Early  Jesuit  Missions,  p.  222. 


CHAPTER  II. 

DRAINAGE  OF  THE   ILLINOIS  AND  WABASH. 

THE  reader's  attention  will  now  be  directed  to  the  drainage  of  the 
Illinois  and  Wabash  Rivers  to  the  Mississippi,  and  that  of  the  Maumee 
River  into  Lake  Erie.  The  Illinois  River  proper  is  formed  in  Grundy 
county,  Illinois,  below  the  city  of  Joliet,  by  the  union  of  the  Kanka- 
kee  and  Desplaines  Rivers.  The  latter  rises  in  southeastern  Wisconsin ; 
and  its  course  is  almost  south,  through  the  counties  of  Cook  and  "Will. 
The  Kankakee  has  its  source  in  the  vicinity  of  South  Bend,  Indiana. 
It  pursues  a  devious  way,  through  marshes  and  low  grounds,  a  south- 
westerly course,  forming  the  boundary-line  between  the  counties  of 
Laporte,  Porter  and  Lake  on  the  north,  and  Stark,  Jasper  and  Newton 
on  the  south ;  thence  across  the  dividing  line  of  the  two  states  of  Indi- 
ana and  Illinois,  and  some  fifteen  miles  into  the  county  of  Kankakee, 
at  the  confluence  of  the  Iroquois  River,  where  its  direction  is  changed 
northwest  to  its  junction  with  the  Desplaines.  The  Illinois  passes 
westerly  into  the  county  of  Putnam,  where  it  again  turns  and  pursues 
a  generally  southwest  course  to  its  confluence  with  the  Mississippi, 
twenty  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri.  It  is  about  five  hun- 
dred miles  long ;  is  deep  and  broad,  and  in  several  places  expands  into 
basins,  which  may  be  denominated  lakes.  Steamers  ascend  the  river,  in 
high  water,  to  La  Salle ;  from  whence  to  Chicago  navigation  is  contin- 
ued by  means  of  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal.  The  principal  trib- 
utaries of  the  Illinois,  from  the  north  and  right  bank,  are  the  Au  Sable, 
Fox  River,  Little  Yermillion,  Bureau  Creek,  Kickapoo  Creek  (which 
empties  in  just  below  Peoria),  Spoon  River,  Sugar  Creek,  and  finally 
Crooked  Creek.  From  the  south  or  left  bank  are  successively  the  Iro- 
quois (into  the  Kankakee),  Mazon  Creek,  Vermillion,  Crow  Meadow, 
Mackinaw,  Sangamon,  and  Macoupin. 

The  Wabash  issues  out  of  a  small  lake,  in  Mercer  county,  Ohio,  and 
runs  a  westerly  course  through  the  counties  of  Adams,  Wells  and 
Huntington  in  the  state  of  Indiana.  It  receives  Little  River,  just 
below  the  city  of  Huntington,  and  continues  a  westwardly  course 
through  the  counties  of  Wabash,  Miami  and  Cass.  Here  it  turns 
more  to  the  south,  flowing  through  the  counties  of  Carroll  and  Tippe- 
canoe,  and  marking  the  boundary-line  between  the  counties  of  Warren 

16 


THE   MAUMEE   AND    PORTAGES.  17 

and  Vermillion  on  the  west,  and  Fountain  and  Park  on  the  east.  At 
Covington,  the  county  seat  of  Fountain  county,  the  river  runs  more 
directly  south,  between  the  counties  of  Vermillion  on  the  one  side, 
and  Fountain  and  Parke  on  the  other,  and  through  the  county  of  Vigo, 
some  miles  below  Terre  Haute,  from  which  place  it  forms  the  boundary- 
line  between  the  states  of  Indiana  and  Illinois  to  its  confluence  with 
the  Ohio. 

Its  principal  tributaries  from  the  north  and  west,  or  right  bank  of 
the  stream,  are  Little  River,  Eel  River,  Tippecanoe,  Pine  Creek,  Red 
Wood,  Big  Vermillion,  Little  Vermillion,  Bruletis,  Sugar  Creek,  Em- 
barras,  and  Little  Wabash.  The  streams  flowing  in  from  the  south  and 
east,  or  left  bank  of  the  river,  are  the  Salamonie,  Mississinewa,  Pipe 
Creek,  Deer  Creek,  "Wildcat,  Wea  and  Shawnee  Creeks,  Coal  Creek, 
Sugar  Creek,  Raccoon  Creek,  Otter  Creek,  Busseron  Creek,  and  White 
River. 

There  are  several  other,  and  smaller,  streams  not  necessary  here  to 
notice,  although  they  are  laid  down  on  earlier  maps,  and  mentioned  in 
old  "  Gazetteers"  and  "Emigrant's  Guides." 

The  Maumee  is  formed  by  the  St.  Joseph  and  St.  Mary's  Rivers, 
which  unite  their  waters  at  Ft.  Wayne,  Indiana.  The  St.  Joseph  has 
its  source  in  Hillsdale  county,  Michigan,  and  runs  southwesterly 
through  the  northwest  corner  of  Ohio,  through  the  county  of  De  Kalb, 
and  into  the  county  of  Allen,  Indiana.  The  St.  Mary's  rises  in 
Au  Glaize  county,  Ohio,  very  near  the  little  lake  at  the  head  of  the 
Wabash,  before  referred  to,  and  runs  northwestwardly  parallel  with  the 
Wabash,  through  the  counties  of  Mercer,  Ohio,  and  Adams,  Indiana, 
and  into  Allen  county  to  the  place  of  its  union  with  the  St.  Joseph, 
at  Ft.  Wayne.  The  principal  tributaries  of  the  Maumee  are  the  Au 
Glaize  from  the  south,  Bear  Creek,  Turkey  Foot  Creek,  Swan  Creek 
from  the  north.  The  length  of  the  Maumee  River,  from  Ft.  Wayne 
northeast  to  Maumee  Bay  at  the  west  end  of  Lake  Erie,  is  very  little 
over  100  miles. 

A  noticeable  feature  relative  to  the  territory  under  consideration, 
and  having  an  important  bearing  on  its  discovery  and  settlement,  is 
the  fact  that  many  of  the  tributaries  of  the  Mississippi  have  their 
branches  interwoven  with  numerous  rivers  draining  into  the  lakes. 
They  not  infrequently  issue  from  the  same  lake,  pond  or  marsh  situated 
on  the  summit  level  of  the  divide  from  which  the  waters  from  one  end 
of  the  common  reservoir  drain  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean  and  from  the  other 
to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  By  this  means  nature  herself  provided  navig- 
able communication  between  the  northern  lakes  and  the  Mississippi 
Valley.  It  was,  however,  only  at  times  of  the  vernal  floods  that  the 


18  HISTORIC    NOTES   OF   THE    NORTHWEST. 

communication  was  complete.  At  other  seasons  of  the  year  it  was 
interrupted,  when  transfers  by  land  were  required  for  a  short  distance. 
The  places  where  these  transfers  were  made  are  known  by  the  French 
term  portage,  which,  like  many  other  foreign  derivatives,  has  become 
anglicized,  and  means  a  carrying  place  ;  because  in  IOWT  stages  of  water 
the  canoes  and  effects  of  the  traveler  had  to  be  carried  around  the  dry 
marsh  or  pond  from  the  head  of  one  stream  to  the  source  of  that  beyond. 

The  first  of  these  portages  known  to  the  Europeans,  of  which 
accounts  have  come  down  to  us,  is  the  portage  of  the  Wisconsin,  in  the 
state  of  that  name,  connecting  the  Mississippi  and  Green  Bay  by  means 
of  its  situation  between  the  Wisconsin  and  Fox  Rivers.  The  next  is 
the  portage  of  Chicago,  uniting  Chicago  Creek,  which  empties  into 
Lake  Michigan  at  Chicago,  and  the  Desplaines  of  the  Illinois  River. 
The  third  is  the  portage  of  the  Kankakee,  near  the  present  city  of 
South  Bend,  Indiana,  which  connects  the  St.  Joseph  of  Lake  Michigan 
with  the  upper  waters  of  the  Kankakee.  And  the  fourth  is  the  portage 
of  the  Wabash  at  Ft.  Wayne.  Indiana,  between  the  Maumee  and  the 
Wabash,  by  way  of  Little  River. 

Though  abandoned  and  their  former  uses  forgotten  in  the  advance 
of  permanent  settlement  and  the  progress  of  more  efficient  means  of 
commercial  intercourse,  these  portages  were  the  gateways  of  the 
French  between  their  possessions  in  Canada  and  along  the  Mississippi. 

Formerly  the  Northwest  was  a  wilderness  of  forest  and  prairie,  with 
only  the  paths  of  wild  animals  or  the  trails  of  roving  Indians  leading, 
through  tangled  undergrowth  and  tall  grasses.  In  its  undeveloped 
form  it  was  without  roads,  incapable  of  land  carriage  and  could  not 
be  traveled  by  civilized  man,  even  on  foot,  without  the  aid  of  a  savage 
guide  arid  a  permit  from  its  native  occupants  which  afforded  little  or  no 
security  to  life  or  property.  For  these  reasons  the  lakes  and  rivers,  with 
their  connecting  portages,  were  the  only  highways,  and  they  invited 
exploration.  They  afforded  ready  means  of  opening  up  the  interior. 
The  French,  who  were  the  first  explorers,  at  an  early  day,  as  we  shall 
hereafter  see,  established  posts  at  Detroit,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Xiagara 
River,  at  Mackinaw,  Green  Bay,  on  the  Illinois  River,  the  St.  Joseph's 
of  Lake  Michigan,  on  the  Maumee,  the  Wabash,  and  at  other  places 
on  the  route  of  inter-lake  and  river  communication.  By  means  of 
having  seized  these  strategical  points,  and  their  influence  over  the 
Indian  tribes,  the  French  monopolized  the  fur  trade,  and  although 
feebly  assisted  by  the  home  government,  held  the  whole  Mississippi 
Yalley  and  regions  of  the  lakes,  for  near  three  quarters  of  a  century, 
against  all  efforts  of  the  English  colonies,  eastward  of  the  Alleghany 
ridge,  who,  assisted  by  England,  sought  to  wrest  it  from  their  grasp. 


' 


CHICAGO    PORTAGE.  19 

Recurring  to  the  old  portage  at  Chicago,  it  is  evident  that  at  a  com- 
paratively recent  period,  since  the  glacial  epoch,  a  large  part  of  Cook 
county  was  under  water.  The  waters  of  Lake  Michigan,  at  that  time, 
found  an  outlet  through  the  Desplaines  and  Illinois  Rivers  into  the 
Mississippi.*  This  assertion  is  confirmed  from  the  appearance  of  the 
whole  channel  of  the  Illinois  River,  which  formerly  contained  a  stream 
of  much  greater  magnitude  than  now.  The  old  beaches  of  Lake 

O  O 

Michigan  are  plainly  indicated  in  the  ridges,  trending  westward  several 
miles  away  from  the  present  water  line.  The  old  state  road,  from 
Yincennes  to  Chicago,  followed  one  of  these  ancient  lake  beaches  from 
Blue  Island  into  the  city. 

The  subsidence  of  the  lake  must  have  been  gradual,  requiring 
many  ages  to  accomplish  the  change  of  direction  in  the  flow  of  its 
waters  from  the  Mississippi  to  the  St.  Lawrence. 

The  character  of  the  portage  has  also  undergone  changes  within 
the  memory  of  men  still  living.  The  excavation  of  the  Illinois  and 
Michigan  Canal,  and  the  drainage  of  the  adjacent  land  by  artificial 
ditches,  has  left  little  remaining  from  which  its  former  appearance  can 
71  ow  be  recognized.  Major  Stephen  H.  Long,  of  the  U.  S.  Topo- 
graphical Engineers,  made  an  examination  of  this  locality  in  the  year 
1823,  before  it  had  been  changed  by  the  hand  of  man,  and  says,  con- 
cerning it,  as  follows :  "  The  south  fork  of  Chicago  River  takes  its  rise 
about  six  miles  from  the  fort,  in  a  swamp,  which  communicates  also 
with  the  Desplaines,  one  of  the  head  branches  of  the  Illinois.  Hav- 
ing been  informed  that  this  route  was  frequently  used  by  traders,  and 
that  it  had  b,een  traversed  by  one  of  the  officers  of  the  garrison, — who 
returned  with  provisions  from  St.  Louis  a  few  days  before  our  arrival 
at  the  fort, — we  determined  to  ascend  the  Chicago  River  in  order  to 
observe  this  interesting  division  of  waters.  We  accordingly  left  the 
fort  on  the  7th  day  of  June,  in  a  boat  which,  after  having  ascended 
the  river  four  miles,  we  exchanged  for  a  narrow  pirogue  that  drew 
less  water, —  the  stream  we  were  ascending  was  very  narrow,  rapid  and 
crooked,  presenting  a  great  fall.  It  so  continued  for  about  three  miles, 
when  we  reached  a  sort  of  a  swamp,  designated  by  the  Canadian  voy- 
agers under  the  name  of  '"Le  Petit  LacS  f  Our  course  through  this 
swamp,  which  extended  three  miles,  was  very  much  impeded  by  the 
high  grass,  weeds,  etc.,  through  which  our  pirogue  passed  with  diffi- 
culty. Observing  that  our  progress  through  the  fen  was  slow,  and  the 
day  being  considerably  advanced,  we  landed  on  the  north  bank,  and 
continued  our  course  along  the  edge  of  the  swamp  for  about  three 

*  Geological  Survey  of  Illinois,  vol.  3,  p.  240. 

t  What  remains  of  this  lake  is  now  known  by  the  name  of  Mud  Lake. 


20  HISTORIC    NOTES    OF   THE   NORTHWEST. 

miles,  until  we  reached  the  place  where  the  old  portage  road  meets  the 
current,  which  was  here  very  distinct  toward  the  south.  We  were 
delighted  at  beholding,  for  the  first  time,  a  feature  so  interesting  in 
itself,  but  which  we  had  afterward  an  opportunity  of  observing  fre- 
quently on  the  route,  viz,  the  division  of  waters  starting  from  the  same 
source,  and  running  in  two  different  directions,  so  as  to  become  feed- 
ers of  streams  that  discharge  themselves  into  the  ocean  at  immense  dis- 
tances apart.  Lieut.  Hobson,  who  accompanied  us  to  the  Desplaines, 
told  us  that  he  had  traveled  it  with  ease,  in  a  boat  loaded  with  lead 
and  flour.  The  distance  from  the  fort  to  the  intersection  of  the  port- 
age road  is  about  twelve  or  thirteen  miles,  and  the  portage  road  is 
about  eleven  miles  long ;  the  usual  distance  traveled  by  land  seldom 
exceeds  from  four  to  nine  miles ;  however,  in  very  dry  seasons  it  is 
said  to  amount  to  thirty  miles,  as  the  portage  then  extends  to  Mount 
Juliet,  near  the  confluence  of  the  Kankakee.  Although  at  the  time 
we  visited  it  there  was  scarcely  water  enough  to  permit  our  pirogue 
to  pass,  we  could  not  doubt  that  in  the  spring  of  the  year  the  route 
must  be  a  very  eligible  one.  It  is  equally  apparent  that  an  expendi- 
ture, trifling  when  compared  to  the  importance  of  the  object,  would 
again  render  Lake  Michigan  a  tributary  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico."  * 

*  Long's  Expedition  to  the  Source  of  the  St.  Peter's  River,  vol.  1,  pp.  165,  166, 
167.  The  State  of  Illinois  begun  work  on  the  construction  of  a  canal  on  this  old 
portage  on  the  4th  day  of  July,  1836.  with  great  ceremony.  Col.  Guerdon  S.  Hubbard, 
still  living,  cast  the  first  shovelful  of  earth  out  of  it  on  this  occasion.  The  work  was 
completed  in  1848.  The  canal  was  fed  with  water  elevated  by  a  pumping  apparatus 
at  Bridgeport.  Recently  the  city  of  Chicago,  at  enormous  expense  sunk  the  bed 
of  the  canal  to  a  depth  that  secures  a  flow  of  water  directly  from  the  lake,  by  means 
of  which,  the  navigation  is  improved,  and  sewerage  is  obtained  into  the  Illinois  River. 


CHAPTER  III. 

ANCIENT  MAUMEE  VALLEY. 

WHAT  has  been  said  of  the  changes  in  the  surface  geology  of  Lake 
Michigan  and  the  Illinois  River  may  also  be  affirmed  with  respect  to 
Lake  Erie  and  the  Maumee  and  "Wabash  Rivers.  There  are  peculiari- 
ties which  will  arrest  the  attention,  from  a  mere  examination  of  the 
course  of  the  Maumee  and  of  the  St.  Joseph  and  St.  Mary's  Rivers,  as 
they  appear  on  the  map  of  that  part  of  Ohio  and  Indiana.  The  St. 
Joseph,  after  running  southwest  to  its  union  with  the  St.  Mary's  at 
Ft.  Wayne,  as  it  were  almost  doubles  back  upon  its  former  course, 
taking  a  northeast  direction,  forming  the  shape  of  a  letter  V,  and  after 
having  flowed  over  two  hundred  miles  is  discharged  at  a  point  within 
less  than  fifty  miles  east  of  its  source.  It  is  evident,  from  an  exami- 
nation* of  that  part  of  the  country,  that,  at  one  time,  the  St.  Joseph 
ran  wholly  to  the  southwest,  and  that  the  Maumee  River  itself, 
instead  of  flowing  northeast  into  Lake  Erie,  as  now,  drained  this  lake 
southwest  through  the  present  valley  of  the  Wabash.  Then  Lake 
Erie  extended  very  nearly  to  Ft.  Wayne,  and  its  ancient  shores  are 
still  plainly  marked.  The  line  of  the  old  beach  is  preserved  in  the 
ridges  running  nearly  parallel  with,  and  not  a  great  distance  from,  the 
St.  Joseph  and  the  St.  Mary's  Rivers.  Professor  G.  K.  Gilbert,  in  his 
report  of  the  "  Surface  Geology  of  the  Maumee  Valley,"  gives  the 
result  of  his  examination  of  these  interesting  features,  from  which  we 
take  the  following  valuable  extract.* 

"  The  upper  (lake)  beach  consists,  in  this  region,  of  a  single  bold 
ridge  of  sand,  pursuing  a  remarkably  straight  course  in  a  northeast  and 
southwest  direction,  and  crossing  portions  of  Defiance,  Williams  and 
Fulton  counties.  It  passes  just  west  of  Hicksville  and  Bryan  ;  while 
Williams  Center,  West  Unity  and  Fayette  are  built  on  it.  When 
Lake  Erie  stood  at  this  level,  it  was  merged  at  the  north  with  Lake 
Huron.  Its  southwest  shore  crossed  Hancock,  Putnam,  Allen  and 
Van  Wert  counties,  and  stretched  northwest  in  Indiana,  nearly  to  Ft. 
Wayne.  The  northwestern  shore  line,  leaving  Ohio  near  the  south 
line  of  Defiance  county,  is  likewise  continued  in  Indiana,  and  the  two 
converge  at  Kew  Haven,  six  miles  east  of  Ft.  Wayne.  They  do  not, 

*  Geological  Survey  of  Ohio,  vol.  1,  p.  550. 

21 


22  HISTORIC    NOTES   OF   THE    NORTHWEST. 

however,  unite,  but,  instead,  become  parallel,  and  are  continued  as  the 
sides  of  a  broad  watercourse,  through  which  the  great  lake  basin  then 
discharged  its  surplus  waters,  southwestwardly,  into  the  valley  of  the 
Wabash  River,  and  thence  to  the  Mississippi.  At  New  Haven,  this 
channel  is  not  less  than  a  mile  and  a  half  broad,  and  has  an  average 
depth  of  twenty  feet,  with  sides  and  bottom  of  drift.  For  twenty-five 
miles  this  character  continues,  and  there  is  no  notable  fall.  Three 
miles  above  Huntington,  Indiana,  however,  the  drift  bottom  is  replaced 
by  a  floor  of  Niagara  limestone,  and  the  descent  becomes  comparatively 
quite  rapid.  At  Huntington,  the  valley  is  walled,  on  one  side  at  least, 
by  rock  in  situ.  In  the  eastern  portion  of  this  ancient  river-bed,  the 
Maumee  and  its  branches  have  cut  channels  fifteen  to  twenty-five  feet 
deep,  without  meeting  the  underlying  limestone.  Most  of  the  inter- 
val from  Ft.  Wayne  to  Huntington  is  occupied  by  a  marsh,  over  which 
meanders  Little  River,  an  insignificant  stream  whose  only  claim  to  the 
title  of  river  seems  to  lie  in  the  magnitude  of  the  deserted  channel  of 
which  it  is  sole  occupant.  At  Huntington,  the  Wabash  emerges  from 
a  narrow  cleft,  of  its  own  carving,  and  takes  possession  of  the  broad 
trough  to  which  it  was  once  an  humble  tributary." 

Within  the  personal  knowledge  of  men,  the  Wabash  River  has*been, 
and  is,  only  a  rivulet,  a  shriveled,  dried  up  representative  in  comparison 
with  its  greatness  in  pre-historic  times,  when  it  bore  in  a  broader 
channel  the  waters  of  Lakes  Erie  and  Huron,  a  mighty  flood,  south- 
ward to  the  Ohio.  Whether  the  change  in  the  direction  of  the  flow  of 
Lakes  Erie,  Huron  and  Michigan  toward  the  River  St.  Lawrence,  instead 
of  through  the  Wabash  and  Illinois  Rivers  respectively,  is  because 
hemispheric  depression  has  taken  place  more  rapidly  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  lakes  than  farther  southward,  or  that  the  earth's  crust  south  of  the 
lakes  has  been  arched  upward  by  subterraneous  influences,  and  thus 
caused  the  lakes  to  recede,  or  if  the  change  has  been  produced  by 
depression  in  one  direction  and  elevation  in  the  other,  combined,  is  not 
our  province  to  discuss.  The  fact,  however,  is  well  established  by  the 
most  abundant  and  conclusive  evidence  to  the  scientific  observer. 

The  portage,  or  carrying  place,  of  the  Wabash,*  as  known  to  the 
early  explorers  and  traders,  between  the  Maumee  and  Wabash,  or  rather 
the  head  of  Little  River,  called  by  the  French  "  La  Petit  Riviere," 
commenced  directly  at  Ft.  Wayne  ;  although,  in  certain  seasons  of  the 
year,  the  waters  approach  much  nearer  and  were  united  by  a  low  piece 

*  Schoolcraft's  Travels  in  the  Central  Portions  of  the  Mississippi  Valley, "  in  the  year 
1821,  pp.  90,  91.  In  this  year,  Mr.  Schoolcraft  made  an  examination  of  the  locality, 
with  a  view  to  furnish  the  public  information  on  the  practicability  of  a  canal  to  unite 
the  waters  of  the  Maumee  and  the  Wabash.  It  was  at  a  time  when  great  interest 
existed  through  all  parts  of  the  country  on  all  subjects  of  internal  navigation. 


PORTAGE    OF   THE    WABASH.  23 

of  ground  or  marsh  (an  arm  or  bay  of  what  is  now  called  Bear  Lake), 
where  the  two  streams  flow  within  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  of  each 
other  and  admitted  of  the  passage  of  light  canoes  from  the  one  to  the 
other. 

The  Miami  Indians  knew  the  value  of  this  portage,  and  it  was  a 
source  of  revenue  to  them,  aside  from  its  advantages  in  enabling  them 
to  exercise  an  influence  over  adjacent  tribes.  The  French,  in  passing 
from  Canada  to  New  Orleans,  and  Indian  traders  going  from  Montreal 
and  Detroit,  to  the  Indians  south  and  westward,  went  and  returned  by 
way  of  Ft.  Wayne,  where  the  Miamis,  kept  carts  and  pack-horses,  with 
a  corps  of  Indians  to  assist  in  carrying  canoes,  furs  and  merchandise 
around  the  portage,  for  which  they  charged  a  commission.  At  the 
great  treaty  of  Greenville,  1795,  where  General  Anthony  Wayne  met 
the  several  Wabash  tribes,  he  insisted,  as  one  of  the  fruits  of  his  victory 
over  them,  at  the  Fallen  Timbers,  on  the  Maumee,  the  year  before,  that 
they  should  cede  to  the  United  States  a  piece  of  ground  six  miles 
square,  where  the  fort,  named  in  honor  of  General  Wayne,  had  been 
erected  after  the  battle  named,  and  on  the  site  of  the  present  city  of 
Ft.  Wayne ;  and,  also,  a  piece  of  territory  two  miles  square  at  the 
carrying  place.  The  distinguished  warrior  and  statesman,  "  Mishe- 
kun-nogh-quah"  (as  he  signs  his  name  at  this  treaty),  or  the  Little  Turtle 
on  behalf  of  his  tribe,  objected  to  a  relinquishment  of  their  right  to 
their  ancient  village  and  its  portage,  and  in  his  speech  to  General 
Wayne  said  :  "  Elder  Brother, — When  our  forefathers  saw  the  French 
and  English  at  the  Miami  village  —  that  '  glorious  gate '  which  your 
younger  brothers  [meaning  the  Miamis]  had  the  happiness  to  own, 
and  through  which  all  the  good  words  of  our  chiefs  had  to  pass  [that 
is,  messages  between  the  several  tribes]  from  north  to  south  and  from 
east  to  west,  the  French  and  English  never  told  us  they  wished  to 
purchase  our  lands  from  us.  The  next  place  you  pointed  out  wa"s  the 
Little  River,  and  said  you  wanted  two  miles  square  of  that  place.  This 
is  a  request  that  our  fathers  the  French  or  British  never  made  of  us ; 
it  was  always  ours.  This  carrying  place  has  heretofore  proved,  in  a 
great  degree,  the  subsistence  of  your  brothers.  That  place  has  brought 
to  us,  in  the  course  of  one  day,  the  amount  of  one  hundred  dollars. 
Let  us  both  own  this  place  and  enjoy  in  common  the  advantages  it 
affords."  The  Little  Turtle's  speech  availed  nothing.* 

The  St.  Joseph  of  Lake  Michigan,  a  fine  stream  of  uniform,  rapid 
current,  reaches  its  most  southerly  position  near  the  city  of  South 
Bend,  Indiana, —  the  city  deriving  its  name  from  the  bend  of  the  river  ; 

*  Minutes  of  the  Treaty  of  Greenville:  American  State  Papers  on  Indian  Affairs, 
vol.  1,  pp.  576,  578. 


24  HISTOKIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NOKTHWEST. 

here  the  river  turns  northward,  reenters  the  State  of  Michigan  and  dis- 
charges ijito  the  lake.  West  of  the  city  is  Lake  Kankakee,  from 
which  the  Kankakee  River  takes  its  rise.  The  distance  intervening  be- 
tween the  head  of  this  little  lake  and  the  St.  Joseph  is  about  two  miles, 
over  a  piece  of  marshy  ground,  where  the  elevation  is  so  slight  '•  that 
in  the  year  1832  a  Mr.  Alexander  Croquillard  dug  a  race,  and  secured 
a  flow  of  water  from  the  lake  to  the  St.  Joseph,  of  sufficient  power  to 
run  a  grist  and  saw  mill."  * 

This  is  the  portage  of  the  Kankakee,  a  place  conspicuous  for  its 
historical  reminiscences.  It  was  much  used,  and  offered  a  choice  of 
routes  to  the  Illinois  River,  and  also  to  the  Wabash,  by  a  longer  land- 
carriage  to  the  upper  waters  of  the  Tippecanoe.  A  memoir  on  the 
Indians  of  Canada,  etc.,  prepared  in  the  year  1718  (Paris  Documents, 
vol.  1,  p.  889),  says :  "  The  river  St.  Joseph  is  south  of  Lake  Michi- 
gan, formerly  the  Lake  of  the  Illinois ;  many  take  this  river  to  pass  to 
the  Rocks  [as  Fort  St.  Louis,  situated  on  '  Starved  Rock '  in  La  Salle 
county,  Illinois,  wras  sometimes  called],  because  it  is  convenient,  and 
they  thereby  avoid  the  portages  '  des  Chaines '  and  (des  Perches,' " 
two  long,  difficult  carrying  places  on  the  Desplaines,  which  had  to 
be  encountered  in  dry  seasons,  on  the  route  by  the  way  of  Chicago 
Creek. 

The  following  description  of  the  Kankakee  portage,  and  its  adjacent 
surroundings,  is  as  that  locality  appeared  to  Father  Hennepin,  when  he 
was  there  with  La  Salle's  party  of  voyagers  two  hundred  years  ago  the 
coming  December :  "  The  next  morning  (December  5, 1679)  we  joined 
our  men  at  the  portage,  where  Father  Gabriel  had  made  the  day  before 
several  crosses  upon  the  trees,  that  we  might  not  miss  it  another  time." 
The  voyagers  had  passed  above  the  portage  without  being  aware  of  it, 
as  the  country  was  all  strange  to  them.  We  found  here  a  great  quan- 
tity of  horns  and  bones  of  wild  oxen,  buffalo,  and  also  some  canoes 
the  savages  had  made  with  the  skins  of  beasts,  to  cross  the  river  with 
their  provisions.  This  portage  lies  at  the  farther  end  of  a  champaign ; 
and  at  the  other  end  to  the  west  lies  a  village  of  savages, —  Miamis, 
Mascoutines  and  Oiatihons  (Weas),  who  live  together.  "  The  river  of 
the  Illinois  has  its  source  near  that  village,  and  springs  out  of  some 
marshy  lands  that  are  so  quaking  that  one  can  scarcely  walk  over  them. 
The  head  of  the  river  is  only  a  league  and  a  half  from  that  of  the  Mi- 
amis  (the  St.  Joseph),  and  so  our  portage  was  not  long.  We  marked 
the  way  from  place  to  place,  with  some  trees,  for  the  convenience  of 
those  we  expected  after  us ;  and  left  at  the  portage  as  well  as  at  Fort 

*  Prof.  G.  M.  Levette's  Report  on  the  Geology  of  St.  Joseph  County:  Geological 
Survey  of  Indiana  for  the  year  1873,  p.  459. 


THE    KANKAKEE.  25 

Mianiis  (which  they  had  previously  erected  at  the  mouth  of  the  St. 
Joseph),  letters  hanging  down  from  the  trees,  containing  M.  La  Salle's 
instructions  to  our  pilot,  and  the  other  five-and-twenty  men  who  were 
to  come  with  him."  The  pilot  had  been  sent  back  from  Mackinaw 
with  La  Salle's  ship,  the  Griffin,  loaded  with  furs ;  was  to  discharge 
the  cargo  at  the  fort  below  the  mouth  of  Niagara  River,  and  then 
bring  the  ship  with  all  dispatch  to  the  St.  Joseph. 

"  The  Illinois  River  (continues  Hennepin's  account)  is  navigable 
within  a  hundred  paces  from  its  source, —  I  mean  for  canoes  of  barks  of 
trees,  and  not  for  others, —  but  increases  so  much  a  little  way  from 
thence,  that  it  is  as  deep  and  broad  as  the  Meuse  and  the  Sambre  joined 
together.  It  runs  through  vast  marshes,  and  although  it  be  rapid 
enough,  it  makes  so  many  turnings  and  windings,  that  after  a  whole 
day's  journey  we  found  that  we  were  hardly  two  leagues  from  the  place 
we  left  in  the  morning.  That  country  is  nothing  but  marshes,  full  of 
alder  trees  and  bushes ;  and  we  could  have  hardly  found,  for  forty 
leagues  together,  any  place  to  plant  our  cabins,  had  it  not  been  for  the 
frost,  which  made  the  earth  more  firm  and  consistent." 


CHAPTER  IV. 

RAINFALL. 

AN  interesting  topic  connected  with  our  rivers  is  the  question  of 
rainfall.  The  streams  of  the  west,  unlike  those  of  mountainous  dis- 
tricts, which  are  fed  largely  by  springs  and  brooks  issuing  from  the 
rocks,  are  supplied  mostly  from  the  clouds.  It  is  within  the  observa- 
tion of  persons  who  lived  long  in  the  valleys  of  the  Wabash  and  Illinois, 
or  along  their  tributaries,  that  these  streams  apparently  carry  a  less 
volume  of  water  than  formerly.  Indeed,  the  water-courses  seem  to  be 
gradually  drying  up,  and  the  whole  surface  of  the  country  drained  by 
them  has  undergone  the  same  change.  In  early  days  almost  every 
land-owner  on  the  prairies  had  upon  his  farm  a  pond  that  furnished 
an  unfailing  supply  of  water  for  his  live  stock  the  year  around.  These 
never  went  dry,  even  in  the  driest  seasons. 

Formerly  the  "Wabash  afforded  reliable  steamboat  navigation  as 
high  up  as  La  Fayette.  In  1831,  between  the  5th  of  March  and  the 
16th  of  April,  fifty-four  steamboats  arrived  and  departed  from  Vin- 
cennes.  In  the  months  of  February,  March  and  April  of  the  same  year, 
there  were  sixty  arrivals  and  departures  from  La  Fayette,  then  a  village 
of  only  three  or  four  hundred  houses  ;  many  of  these  boats  were  large 
side-wheel  steamers,  built  for  navigating  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi,  and 
known  as  New  Orleans  or  lower  river  boats.*  The  writer  has  the 
concurrent  evidence  of  scores  of  early  settlers  with  whom  he  has  con- 
versed that  formerly  the  Vermilion,  at  Danville,  had  to  be  ferried  on 
an  average  six  months  during  the  year,  and  the  river  was  considered 
low  when  it  could  be  forded  at  this  place  without  water  running  into 
the  wagon  bed.  Now  it  is  fordable  at  all  times,  except  when  swollen 
with  freshets,  which  now  subside  in  a  very  few  days,  and  often  within 
as  many  hours.  Doubtless,  the  same  facts  can  be  affirmed  of  the  many 
other  tributaries  of  the  Illinois  and  Wabash  whose  names  have  been 
already  given. 

The  early  statutes  of  Illinois  and  Indiana  are  replete  with  special 
laws,  passed  between  the  years  1825  and  1840,  when  the  people  of 
these  two  states  were  crazed  over  the  question  of  internal  navigation, 
providing  enactments  and  charters  for  the  slack-water  improvement  of 

*  Tanner's  View  of  the  Mississippi,  published  in  1832,  p.  154. 
N 


RAINFALL.  27 

hundreds  of  streams  whose  insignificance  have  now  only  a  dry  bed, 
most  of  the  year,  to  indicate  that  they  were  ever  dignified  with  such 
legislation  and  invested  with  the  promise  of  bearing  upon  their  bosoms 
a  portion  of  the  future  internal  commerce  of  the  country. 

It  will  not  do  to  assume  that  the  seeming  decrease  of  water  in  the 
streams  is  caused  by  a  diminution  of  rain.  The  probabilities  are  that 
the  annual  rainfall  is  greater  in  Indiana  and  Illinois  than  before  their 
settlement  with  a  permanent  population.  The  "settling  up"  of  a 
country,  tilling  its  soil,  planting  trees,  constructing  railroads,  and  erect- 
ing telegraph  lines,  all  tend  to  induce  moisture  and  produce  changes 
in  the  electric  and  atmospheric  currents  that  invite  the  clouds  to  pre- 
cipitate their  showers.  Such  has  been  the  effect  produced  by  the  hand 
of  man  upon  the  hitherto  arid  plains  of  Kansas  and  Nebraska.  Indeed, 
at  an  early  day  some  portions  of  Illinois  were  considered  as  uninhab- 
itable as  western  Kansas  and  Nebraska  were  supposed,  a  few  years  ago, 
to  be  on  account  of  the  prevailing  drouths.  '  That  part  of  the  state 
lying  between  the  Illinois  and  Mississippi  Rivers,  south  of  a  line  run- 
ning from  the  Mississippi,  between  Rock  Island  and  Mercer  counties, 
east  to  the  Illinois,  set  off  for  the  benefit  of  the  soldiers  of  the  War 
of  1812,  and  for  that  reason  called  the  "Military  Tract,"  except  that 
part  of  it  lying  more  immediately  near  the  rivers  named,  was  laid  under 
the  bane  of  a  drouth-stricken  region.  Mr.  Lewis  A.  Beck,  a  shrewd 
and  impartial  observer,  and  a  gentleman  of  great  scientific  attainments,* 
was  through  the  "  military  tract  "  shortly  after  it  had  been  run  out  into 
sections  and  townships  by  the  government,  and  says  concerning  it, 
"  The  northern  part  .of  the  tract  is  not  so  favorable  for  settlement. 
The  prairies  become  very  extensive  and  are  badly  watered.  In  fact, 
this  last  is  an  objection  to  the  whole  tract.  In  dry  seasons  it  is  not 
unusual  to  walk  through  beds  of  the  largest  streams  without  finding  a 
drop  of  water.  It  is  not  surprising  that  a  country  so  far  distant  from 
the  sea  and  drained  by  such  large  rivers,  which  have  a  course  of  several 
thousand  miles  before  they  reach  the  great  reservoir,  should  not  be  well 
watered.  This,  we  observe,  is  the  case  with  all  fine-flowing  streams  of 
the  highlands,  whereas  those  of  the  Champaign  and  prairies  settle  in 
the  form  of  ponds,  which  stagnate  and  putrify.  Besides,  on  the  same 
account  there  are  very  few  heavy  rains  in  the  summer ;  and  hence 
during  that  season  water  is  exceedingly  scarce.  The  Indians,  in  their 
journeys,  pass  by  places  where  they  know  there  are  ponds,  but  gener- 
ally they  are  under  the  necessity  of  carrying  water  in  bladders.  This 
drouth  is  not  confined  to  the  '  military  tract,'  but  in  some  seasons  is 
very  general.  During  the  summer  of  1820  it  was  truly  alarming; 

*  Beck's  Illinois  and  Missouri  Gazetteer,  published  in  1823,  pp.  79,  80. 


28  HISTORIC    NOTES   ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

travelers,  in  many  instances,  were  obliged  to  pass  whole  days,  in  the 
warmest  weather,  without  being  able  to  procure  a  cupful  of  water  for 
themselves  or  their  horses,  and  that  which  they  occasionally  did  find 
was  almost  putrid.  It  may  be  remarked,  however,  that  such  seasons 
rarely  occur ;  but  on  account  of  its  being  washed  by  rivers  of  such 
immense  length  this  section  of  the  country  is  peculiarly  liable  to  suffer 
from  excessive  drouth."  The  millions  of  bushels  of  grain  annually 
raised  in,  and  the  vast  herds  of  cattle  and  other  live  stock  that  are  fat- 
tened on,  the  rich  pastures  of  Bureau,  Henry,  Stark,  Peoria,  Knox, 
Warren,  and  other  counties  lying  wholly  or  partially  within  the  "  mili- 
tary tract,"  illustrate  an  increase  and  uniformity  of  rainfall  since  the 
time  Professor  Beck  recorded  his  observations.  In  no  part  of  Illinois 
are  the  crops  more  abundant  and  certain,  and  less  liable  to  suffer  from 
excessive  drouth,  than  in  the  "  military  tract."  The  apparent  decrease  in 
the  volume  of  water  carried  by  the  Wabash  and  its  tributaries  is  easily 
reconciled  writh  the  theory  of  an  increased  rainfall  since  the  settlement 
of  the  country.  These  streams  for  the  most  part  have  their  sources  in 
ponds,  marshes  and  low  grounds.  These  basins,  covering  a  great  extent 
of  the  surface  of  the  country,  served  as  reservoirs ;  the  earth  was  cov- 
ered with  a  thick  turf  that  prevented  the  water  penetrating  the  ground  ; 
tall  grasses  in  the  valleys  and  about  the  margin  of  the  ponds  impeded 
the  flow  of  water,  and  fed  it  out  gradually  to  the  rivers.  In  the  tim- 
ber the  marshes  were  likewise  protected  from  a  rapid  discharge  of  their 
contents  by  the  trunks  of  fallen  trees,  limbs  and  leaves. 

Since  the  lands  have  been  reduced  to  cultivation,  millions  of  acres 
of  sod  have  been  broken  by  the  plow,  a  spongy  surface  has  been  turned 
to  the  heavens  and  much  of  the  rainfall  is  at  once  soaked  into  the 
ground.  The  ponds  and  low  grounds  have  been  drained.  The  tall 
grasses  with  their  mat  of  penetrating  roots  have  disappeared  from  the 
swales.  The  brooks  and  drains,  from  causes  partially  natural,  or  artifi- 
cially aided  by  man,  have  cut  through  the  ancient  turf  and  made  well 
defined  ditches.  The  rivers  themselves  have  worn  a  deeper  passage  in 
their  beds.  By  these  means  the  water  is  now  soon  collected  from  the 
earth's  surface  and  carried  off  with  increased  velocity.  Formerly  the 
streams  would  sustain  their  volume  continuously  for  weeks.  Hence 
much  of  the  rainfall  is  directly  taken  into  the  ground,  and  only  a  por- 
tion of  it  now  finds  its  way  to  the  rivers,  and  that  which  does  has  a 
speedier  exit.  Besides  this,  settlement  of  and  particularly  the  growing 
of  trees  on  the  prairies  and  the  clearing  out  of  the  excess  of  forests  in  the 
timbered  districts,  tends  to  distribute  the  rainfall  more  evenly  through- 
out the  year,  and  in  a  large  degree  prevents  the  recurrence  of  those  ex- 
tremes of  drouth  and  flood  with  which  this  country  was  formerly  visited. 


CHAPTER  V. 

ORIGIN  OF  THE  PRAIRIES. 

THE  prairies  have  ever  been  a  wonder,  and  their  origin  the  theme  of 
much  curious  speculation.  The  vast  extent  of  these  natural  meadows 
would  naturally  excite  curiosity,  and  invite  the  many  theories  which, 
from  time  to  time,  have  been  advanced  by  writers  holding  conflicting 
opinions  as  to  the  manner  in  which  they  were  formed.  Major  Stod- 
dard,  H.  M.  Brackenridge  and  Governor  Reynolds,  whose  personal 
acquaintance  with  the  prairies,  eastward  of  the  Mississippi,  extended 
back  prior  to  the  year  1800,  and  whose  observations  were  supported 
by  the  experience  of  other  contemporaneous  residents  of  the  \vest,  held 
that  the  prairies  were  caused  by  fire.  The  prairies  are  covered  with 
grass,  and  were  probably  occasioned  by  the  ravages  of.  fire ;  because 
wherever  copses  of  trees  were  found  on  them,  the  grounds  about  them 
are  low  and  too  moist  to  admit  the  fire  to  pass  over  it ;  and  because  it  is 
a  common  practice  among  the  Indians  and  other  hunters  to  set  the 
woods  and  prairies  on  fire,  by  means  of  which  they  are  able  to  kill  an 
abundance  of  game.  They  take  secure  stations  to  the  leeward,  and 
the  fire  drives  the  game  to  them.* 

The  plains  of  Indiana  and  Illinois  have  been  mostly  produced  by 
the  same  cause.  They  are  very  different  from  the  Savannahs  on  the 
seaboard  and  the  immense  plains  of  the  upper  Missouri.  In  the 
prairies  of  Indiana  I  have  been  assured  that  the  woods  in  places  have 
been  known  to  recede,  and  in  others  to  increase,  within  the  recollection 
of  the  old  inhabitants.  In  moist  places,  the  woods  are  still  standing, 
the  fire  meeting  here  with  obstruction.  Trees,  if  planted  in  these 
prairies,  would  doubtless  grow.  In  the  islands,  preserved  by  accidental 
causes,  the  progress  of  the  fire  can  be  traced ;  the  first  burning  would 
only  scorch  the  outer  bark  of  the  tree;  this  would  render  it  more 
susceptible  to  the  next,  the  third  would  completely  kill.  I  have  seen 
in  places,  at  present  completely  prairie,  pieces  of  burnt  trees,  proving 
that  the  prairie  had  been  caused  by  fire.  The  grass  is  generally  very 
luxuriant,  which  is  not  the  case  in  the  plains  of  the  Missouri.  There 
may,  doubtless,  be  spots  where  the  proportion  of  salts  or  other  bodies 
may  be  such  as  to  favor  the  growth  of  grass  only.f 

*  Sketches  of  Louisiana,  by  Major  Amos  Stoddard,  p.  213. 
t  Brackenridge's  Views  of  Louisiana,  p.  108. 
29 


30  HISTORIC    NOTES   ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

Governor  Reynolds,  who  came  to  Illinois  at  the  age  of  thirteen,  in 
the  year  1800,  and  lived  here  for  over  sixty  years,  the  greater  portion 
of  his  time  employed  in  a  public  capacity,  roving  over  the  prairies 
in  the  Indian  border  wars  or  overseeing  the  affairs  of  a  public  and  busy 
life,  in  his  interesting  autobiography,  published  in  1855,  says:  "Many 
learned  essays  are  written  on  the  origin  of  the  prairies,  but  any  atten- 
tive observer  will  come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  is  fire  burning  the 
strong,  high  grass  that  caused  the  prairies.  I  have  witnessed  the 
growth  of  the  forest  in  these  southern  counties  of  Illinois,  and  know 
there  is  more  timber  in  them  now  than  there  was  forty  or  fifty  years 
before.  The  obvious  reason  is,  the  fire  is  kept  out.  This  is  likewise 
the  reason  the  prairies  are  generally  the  most  fertile  soil.  The  vegeta- 
tion in  them  was  the  strongest  and  the  fires  there  burnt  with  the  most 
power.  The  timber  was  destroyed  more  rapidly  in  the  fertile  soil  than 
in  the  barren  lands.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  timber  in  the  north  of 
the  state,  is  found  only  on  the  margins  of  streams  and  other  places 
where  the  prairie  fires  could  not  reach  it." 

The  later  and  more  satisfactory  theory  is,  that  the  prairies  were 
formed  by  the  action  of  water  instead  of  fire.  This  position  was  taken 
and  very  ably  discussed  by  that  able  and  learned  writer,  Judge  James 
Hall,  as  early  as  1836.  More  recently,  Prof.  Lesquereux  prepared  an 
article  on  the  origin  and  formation  of  the  prairies,  published  at  length 
in  vol.  1,  Geological  Survey  of  Illinois,  pp.  238  to  254,  inclusive ;  and  Dr. 
Worthen,  the  head  of  the  Illinois  Geological  Department,  referring  to 
this  article  and  its  author,  gives  to  both  a  most  flattering  indorsement. 
Declining  to  discuss  the  comparative  merits  of  the  various  theories  as 
to  the  formation  of  the  prairies,  the  doctor  "  refers  the  reader  to  the 
very  able  chapter  on  the  subject  by  Prof.  Lesquereux,  whose  thorough 
acquaintance,  both  with  fossil  and  recent  botany,  and  the  general  laws 
which  govern  the  distribution  of  the  ancient  as  well  as  the  recent  flora, 
entitles  his  opinion  to  our  most  profound  consideration."  ' 

Prof.  Lesquereux'  article  is  exhaustive,  and  his  conclusions  are 
summed  up  in  the  declaration  "  that  all  the  prairies  of  the  Mississippi 
Valley  have  been  formed  by  the  slow  recessions  of  waters  of  various 
extent;  first  transformed  into  swamps,  and  in  the  process  of  time 
drained  and  dried ;  and  that  the  high  rolling  prairies,  and  those  of 
these  bottoms  along  the  rivers  as  well,  are  all  the  result  of  the  same 
cause,  and  form  one  whole,  indivisible  system." 

Still  later,  another  eminent  writer,  Hon.  John  D.  Caton,  late  Judge 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Illinois,  has  given  the  result  of  his  observa- 

*Chap.  1,  p.  10,  Geology  of  Illinois,  by  Dr.  Worthen;  vol.  1.  Illinois  Geological 
Survey. 


THE    PRAIKIES.  31 

tions.  While  assenting  to  the  received  conclusion  that  the  prairies  — 
the  land  itself —  have  been  formed  under  water,  except  the  decomposed 
animal  and  vegetable  matter  that  has  been  added  to  the  surface  of  the 
lands  since  their  emergence,  the  judge  dissents  from  Prof.  Lesquereux, 
in  so  far  as  the  latter  holds  that  the  presence  of  ulmic  acid  and  other 
unfavorable  chemicals  in  the  soil  of  the  prairies,  rendered  them  unfit 
for  the  growth  of  trees ;  and  in  extending  his  theory  to  the  prairies  on 
the  uplands,  as  well  as  in  their  more  level  and  marshy  portions.  The 
learned  judge  holds  to  the  popular  theory  that  the  most  potent  cause 
in  keeping  the  prairies  as  such,  and  retarding  and  often  destroying 
forest  growth  on  them,  is  the  agency  of  fire.  Whatever  may  have 
been  the  condition  of  the  ground  when  the  prairie  lands  first  emerged 
from  the  waters,  or  the  chemical  changes  they  may  have  since  under- 
gone, how  many  years  the  process  of  vegetable  growth  and  decay  may 
have  gone  on,  adding  their  deposits  of  rich  loam  to  the  original  sur- 
face, making  the  soil  the  most  fertile  in  the  world,  is  a  matter  of  mere 
speculation ;  certain  it  is,  however,  that  ever  within  the  knowledge  of 
man  the  prairies  have  possessed  every  element  of  soil  necessary  to  in- 
sure a  rapid  and  vigorous  growth  of  forest  trees,  wherever  the  germ 
could  find  a  lodgment  and  their  tender  years  be  protected  against  the 
one  formidable  enemy,  fire.  Judge  Caton  gives  the  experience  of  old 
settlers  in  the  northern  part  of  the  state,  similar  to  that  of  Bracken- 
ridge  and  Reynolds,  already  quoted,  where,  on  the  Vermillion  River 
of  the  Illinois,  and  also  in  the  neighborhood  of  Ottawa  many  years 
ago,  fires  occurred  under  the  observation  of  the  narrators,  which 
utterly  destroyed,  root  and  branch,  an  entire  hardwood  forest,  the 
prairie  taking  immediate  possession  of  the  burnt  district,  clothing  it 
with  grasses  of  its  own  ;  and  in  a  few  years  this  forest  land,  reclaimed 
to  prairie,  could  not  be  distinguished  from  the  prairie  itself,  except 
from  its  greater  luxuriance. 

Judge  Caton's  illustration  of  how  the  forests  obtain  a  foot-hold  in 
the  prairies  is  so  aptly  expressed,  and  in  such  harmony  with  the  ex- 
perience of  every  old  settler  on  the  prairies  of  eastern  Illinois  and 
western  Indiana,  that  we  quote  it. 

"  The  cause  of  the  absence  of  trees  on  the  upland  prairies  is  the 
problem  most  important  to  the  agricultural  interests  of  our  state,  and 
it  is  the  inquiry  which  alone  I  propose  to  consider,  but  cannot  resist 
the  remark  that  wherever  we  do  find  timber  throughout  this  broad 
field  of  prairie,  it  is  always  in  or  near  the  humid  portions  of  it, —  as 
along  the  margins  of  streams,  or  upon  or  near  the  springy  uplands. 
Many  most  luxuriant  groves  are  found  on  the  highest  portions  of  the 
uplands,  but  always  in  the  neighborhood  of  water.  For  a  remarkable 


32  HISTORIC    NOTES    OX    THE    NORTHWEST. 

example  I  may  refer  to  that  great  chain  of  groves  extending  from  and 
including  the  Au  Sable  Grove  on  the  east  and  Holderman's  Grove  on 
the  west,  in  Kendall  county,  occupying  the  high  divide  between  the 
waters  of  the  Illinois  and  the  Fox  Rivers.  In  and  around  all  the 
groves  flowing  springs  abound,  and  some  of  them  are  separated  by 
marshes,  to  the  very  borders  of  which  the  great  trees  approach,  as  if 
the  forest  were  ready  to  seize  upon  each  yard  of  ground  as  soon  as  it  is 
elevated  above  the  swamps.  Indeed,  all  our  groves  seem  to  be  located 
where  water  is  so  disposed  as  to  protect  them,  to  a  great  or  less  extent, 
from  the  prairie  fire,  although  not  so  situated  as  to  irrigate  them.  If 
the  head-waters  of  the  streams  on  the  prairies  are  most  frequently  with- 
out timber,  so  soon  as  they  have  attained  sufficient  volume  to  impede 
the  progress  of  the  fires,  with  very  few  exceptions  we  find  forests  on 
their  borders,  becoming  broader  and  more  vigorous  as  the  magnitude 
of  the  streams  increase.  It  is  manifest  that  land  located  on  the  borders 
of  streams  which  the  fire  cannot  pass  are  only  exposed  to  one-half  the 
fires  to  which  they  would  be  exposed  but  for  such  protection.  This 
tends  to  show,  at  least,  that  if  but  one-half  the  fires  that  have  occurred 
had  been  kindled,  the  arboraceous  growth  could  have  withstood  their 
destructive  influences,  and  the  whole  surface  of  what  is  now  prairie 
would  be  forest.  Another  confirmatory  fact,  patent  to  all  observers,  is, 
that  the  prevailing  winds  upon  the  prairies,  especially  in  the  autumn, 
are  from  the  west,  and  these  give  direction  to  the  prairie  fires.  Conse- 
quently, the  lands  on  the  westerly  sides  of  the  streams  are  the  most 
exposed  to  the  fires,  and,  as  might  be  expected,  we  find  much  the  most 
timber  on  the  easterly  sides  of  the  streams." 

"Another  fact,  always  a  subject  of  remark  among  the  dwellers  on 
the  prairies,  I  regard  as  conclusive  proof  that  the  prairie  soils  are  pecu- 
liarly adapted  to  the  growth  of  trees  is,  that  wherever  the  fires  have 
been  kept  from  the  groves  by  the  settlers,  they  have  rapidly  encroached 
upon  the  prairies,  unless  closely  depastured  by  the  farmers'  stock,  or 
prevented  by  cultivation.  This  fact  I  regard  as  established  by  careful 
observation  of  more  than  thirty-five  years,  during  which  I  have  been 
an  interested  witness  of  the  settlement  of  this  country, —  from  the  time 
when  a  few  log  cabins,  many  miles  apart,  built  in  the  borders  of  the 
groves,  alone  were  met  with,  till  now  nearly  the  whole  of  the  great 
prairies  in  our  state,  at  least,  are  brought  under  cultivation  by  the  in- 
dustry of  the  husbandman.  Indeed,  this  is  a  fact  as  well  recognized 
by  the  settlers  as  that  corn  will  grow  upon  the  prairies  when  properly 
cultivated.  Ten  years  ago  I  heard  the  observation  made  by  intelligent 
men,  that  within  the  preceding  twenty-five  years  the  area  of  the  timber 
in  the  prairie  portions  of  the  state  had  actually  doubled  by  the  sponta- 


FOREST    ENCROACHMENT.  33 

neous  extension  of  the  natural  groves.  However  this  may  be,  certain 
it  is  that  the  encroachments  of  the  timber  upon  the  prairies  have  been 
universal  and  rapid,  wherever  not  impeded  by  fire  or  other  physical 
causes." 

When  Europeans  first  landed  in  America,  as  they  left  the  dense 
forests  east  of  the  Alleghanies  and  went  west  over  the  mountains  into 
the  valleys  beyond,  anywhere  between  Lake  Erie  and  the  fortieth 
degree  of  latitude,  approaching  the  Scioto  River,  they  would  have  seen 
small  patches  of  country  destitute  of  timber.  These  were  called  open- 
ings. As  they  proceeded  farther  toward  the  Wabash  the  number  and 
area  of  these  openings  or  barrens  would  increase.  These  last  were  called 
by  the  English  savannahs  or  meadows,  and  by  the  French,  prairies. 
Westward  of  the  Wabash,  except  occasional  tracts  of  timbered  lands 
in  northern  Indiana,  and  fringes  of  forest  growth  along  the  inter- 
vening water-courses,  the  prairies  stretch  westward  continuously  across 
a  part  of  Indiana  and  the  whole  of  Illinois  to  the  Mississippi.  Taking 
the  line  of  the  Wabash  railway,  \vhich  crosses  Illinois  in  its  greatest 
breadth,  and  beginning  in  Indiana,  where  the  railway  leaves  the  tim- 
ber, west  of  the  Wabash  nearMarshfield.  the  prairie  extends  to  Quincy, 
a  distance  of  more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  and  its  contin- 
uity the  entire  way  is  only  broken  by  four  strips  of  timber  along  four 
streams  running  at  right  angles  with  the  route  of  the  railway,  namely 
the  timber  on  the  Vermillion  River,  between  Danville  and  the  Indiana 
state-line,  the  Sangamon,  seventy  miles  west  of  Danville  near  Decatur, 
the  Sangamon  again  a  few  miles  east  of  Springfield,  and  the  Illinois 
River  at  Meredosia ;  and  all  of  the  timber  at  the  crossing  of  these 
several  streams,  if  put  together,  would  not  aggregate  fifteen  miles 
against  the  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  of  prairie.  Taking  a  north 
and  south  direction  and  parallel  with  the  drainage  of  the  rivers,  one 
could  start  near  Ashley,  on  the  Illinois  Central  railway,  in  Washing- 
ton county,  and  going  northward,  nearly  on  an  air-line,  keeping  on  the 
divide  between  the  Kaskaskia  and  Little  Wabash,  the  Sangamon  and 
the  Vermillion,  the  Iroquois  and  the  Vermillion  of  the  Illinois,  cross- 
ing the  latter  stream  between  the  mouths  of  the  Fox  and  Du  Page  and 
travel  through  to  the  state  of  Wisconsin,  a  distance  of  nearly  three 
hundred  miles,  without  encountering  five  miles  of  timber  during  the 
whole  journey.  Mere  figures  of  distances  across  the  "  Grand  Prairie," 
as  this  vast  meadow  was  called  by  the  old  settlers,  fail  to  give  an  ade- 
quate idea  of  its  magnitude. 

Let  the  reader,  in  fancy,  go  back  fifty  or  sixty  years,  when  there 
were  no  farms  between  the  settlement  on  the  Xorth  Arm  Prairie,  in 
Edgar  county,  and  Ft.  Clark,  now  Peoria,  on  the  Illinois  River,  or 
3 


34  HISTORIC   NOTES   ON  THE    NORTHWEST. 

between  the  Salt  Works,  west  of  Danville,  and  Ft.  Dearborn,  where 
Chicago  now  is,  or  when  there  was  not  a  house  between  the  Wabash 
and  Illinois  Rivers  in  the  direction  of  La  Fayette  and  Ottawa ;  when 
there  was  not  a  solitary  road  to  mark  the  way ;  .when  Indian  trails  alone 
led  to  unknown  places,  where  no  animals  except  the  wild  deer  and 
slinking  wolf  would  stare,  the  one  with  timid  wonder,  the  other  with 
treacherous  leer,  upon  the  ventursome  traveler;  when  the  gentle  winds 
moved  the  supple  grasses  like  waves  of  a  green  sea  under  the  sum- 
mer's sky;  —  the  beauty,  the  grandeur  and  solitude  of  the  prairies  may 
be  imagined  as  they  were  a  reality  to  the  pioneer  when  he  first  beheld 
them. 

There  is  an  essential  difference  between  the  prairies  eastward  of  the 
Mississippi  and  the  great  plains  westward  necessary  to  be  borne  in 
mind.  The  western  plains,  while  they  present  a  seeming  level  appear- 
ance to  the  eye,  rise  rapidly  to  the  westward.  From  Kansas  City  to 
Pueblo  the  ascent  is  continuous;  beyond  Ft.  Dodge,  the  plains,  owing 
to  their  elevation  and  consequent  dryness  of  the  atmosphere  and 
absence  of  rainfall,  produce  a  thin  and  stunted  vegetation.  The  prai- 
ries of  Illinois  and  Indiana,  on  the  contrary,  are  much  nearer  the  sea- 
level,  where  the  moisture  is  greater.  There  were  many  ponds  and 
sloughs  which  aided  in  producing  a  humid  atmosphere,  all  which 
induced  a  rank  growth  of  grasses.  All  early  writers,  referring  to  the 
vegetation  of  our  prairies,  including  Fathers  Henriepin,  St.  Cosme, 
Charlevoix  and  others,  who  recorded  their  personal  observations  nearly 
two  hundred  years  ago,  as  well  as  later  English  and  American  travel- 
ers, bear  uniform  testimony  to  the  fact  of  an  unusually  luxuriant 
growth  of  grasses. 

Early  settlers,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  author,  all  bear  witness 
to  the  rank  growth  of  vegetation  on  the  prairies  before  it  was  grazed 
by  live  stock,  and  supplanted  writh  shorter  grasses,  that  set  in  as  the 
country  improved.  Since  the  organization  of  Edgar  county  in  1823, — 
of  which,  all  the  territory  north  to  the  Wisconsin  line  was  then  a 
part, —  on  the  level  prairie  between  the  present  sites  of  Danville  and 
Georgetown,  the  grass  grew  so  high  that  it  was  a  source  of  amusement 
to  tie  the  tops  over  the  withers  of  a  horse,  and  in  places  the  height  of 
the  grass  would  nearly  obscure  both  horse  and  rider  from  view.  This 
was  not  a  slough,  but  on  arable  land,  where  some  of  the  first  farms  in 
Vermillion  county  were  broken  out.  On  the  high  rolling  prairies  the 
vegetation  was  very  much  shorter,  though  thick  and  compact ;  its  aver- 
age height  being  about  two  feet. 

The  prairie  fires  have  been  represented  in  exaggerated  pictures  of 
men  and  wild  animals  retreating  at  full  speed,  with  every  mark  of  ter- 


PRAIRIE   FIRES.  35 

Tor,  before  the  devouring  element.  Such  pictures  are  overdrawn.  In- 
stances of  loss  of  human  life,  or  animals,  may  have  sometimes  occurred. 
The  advance  of  the  fire  is  rapid  or  slow,  as  the  wind  may  be  strong  or 
light ;  the  flames  leaping  high  in  the  air  in  their  progress  over  level 
ground,  or  burning  lower  over  the  uplands.  When  a  fire  starts  under 
favorable  causes,  the  horizon  gleams  brighter  and  brighter  until  a  fiery 
redness  rises  above  its  dark  outline,  while  heavy,  slow-moving  masses 
of  dark  clouds  curve  upward  above  it.  In  another  moment  the  blaze 
itself  shoots  up,  first  at  one  spot  then  at  another,  advancing  until  the 
whole  horizon  extending  across  a  wide  prairie  is  clothed  with  flames, 
that  roll  and  curve  and  dash  onward  and  upward  like  waves  of  a  burn- 
ing ocean,  lighting  up  the  landscape  with  the  brilliancy  of  noon-day. 
A  roaring,  crackling  sound  is  heard  like  the  rushing  of  a  hurricane. 
The  flame,  which  in  general  rises  to  the  height  of  twenty  feet,  is  seen 
rolling  its  waves  against  each  other  as  the  liquid,  fiery  mass  moves  for- 
ward, leaving  behind  it  a  blackened  surface  on  the  ground,  and  long 
trails  of  murky  smoke  floating  above.  A  more  terrific  sight  than  the 
burning  prairies  in  early  days  can  scarcely  be  conceived.  Woe  to  the 
farmer  whose  fields  extended  into  the  prairie,  and  who  had  suffered 
the  tall  grass  to  grow  near  his  fences ;  the  labor  of  the  year  would  be 
swept  away  in  a  few  hours.  Such  accidents  occasionally  occurred, 
although  the  preventive  was  simple.  The  usual  remedy  was  to  set 
fire  against  fire,  or  to  burn  off  a  strip  of  grass  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
improved  ground,  a  beaten  road,  the  treading  of  domestic  animals 
about  the  inclosure  of  the  farmer,  would  generally  afford  protection. 
In  other  cases  a  few  furrows  would  be  plowed  around  the  field,  or  the 
grass  closely  mowed  between  the  outside  of  the  fence  and  the  open 
prairie.* 

No  wonder  that  the  Indians,  noted  for  their  naming  a  place  or 
thing  from  some  of  its  distinctive  peculiarities,  should  have  called 
the  prairies  Mas-ko-tia,  or  the  place  of  fire.  In  the  ancient  Algon- 
quin tongue,  as  well  as  in  its  more  modern  form  of  the  Ojibbeway  (or 
Chippeway,  as  this  people  are  improperly  designated),  the  word  scoutay 
means  fire ;  and  in  the  Illinois  and  Pottowatamie,  kindred  dialects,  it 
is  scotte  and  scutay,  respectively.f  It  is  also  eminently  characteristic 
that  the  Indians,  who  lived  and  hunted  exclusively  upon  the  prairies, 
were  known  among  their  red  brethren  as  "  Maskoutes,"  rendered  by 
the  French  writers,  Maskoutines,  or  People  of  the  Fire  or  Prairie 
Country. 

North   of  a   line   drawn  west  from  Yincennes,  Illinois  is  wholly 

*  Judge  James  Hall:  Tales  of  the  Border,  p.  244;  Statistics  of  the  West,  p.  82. 
fGallatin's  Synopsis  of  the  Indian  Tribes,  etc. 


36  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE   NORTHWEST. 

prairie, —  always  excepting  the  thin  curtain  of  timber  draping  the 
water-courses ;  and  all  that  part  of  Indiana  lying  north  and  west  of 
the  Wabash,  embracing  fully  one-third  of  the  area  of  the  state,  is 
essentially  so. 

Of  the  twenty-seven  counties. in  Indiana,  lying  wholly  or  partially 
west  and  north  of  the  Wabash,  twelve  of  them  are  prairie ;  seven  are 
mixed  prairies,  barrens  and  timber,  the  barrens  and  prairie  predomi- 
nating. In  five,  the  barrens,  with  the  prairies,  are  nearly  equal  to  the 
timber,  while  only  three  of  the  counties  can  be  characterized  as  heavily 
timbered.  And  wherever  timber  does  occur  in  these  twenty-seven 
counties,  it  is  found  in  localities  favorable  to  its  protection  against  the 
ravages  of  fire,  by  the  proximity  of  intervening  lakes,  marshes  or 
water-courses.  We  cannot  know  how  long  it  took  the  forest  to  ad- 
vance from  the  Scioto ;  how  often  capes  and  points  of  trees,  like  skir- 
mishers of  an  army,  secured  a  foothold  to  the  eastward  of  the  lakes  and 
rivers  of  Ohio  and  Indiana,  only  to  be  driven  back  again  by  the  prairie 
fires  advancing  from  the  opposite  direction ;  or  conceive  how  many 
generations  of  forest  growth  were  consumed  by  the  prairie  fires  before 
the  timber-line  was  pushed  westward  across  the  state  of  Ohio,  and 
through  Indiana  to  the  banks  of  the  Wabash. 

The  prairies  of  Illinois  and  Indiana  were  born  of  water  and  pre- 
served by  fire  for  the  children  of  civilized  men,  who  have  come  and 
taken  possession  of  them.  The  manner  of  their  coming,  and  the  diffi- 
culties that  befell  them  on  the  way,  will  hereafter  be  considered.  The 
white  man,  like  the  forests,  advanced  from  the  east.  The  red  man, 
like  the  prairie  fires,  as  we  shall  hereafter  see,  came  from  the  west. 


CHAPTER  VI 

EARLY  DISCOVERIES. 

HAVING  given  a  description  of  the  lakes  and  rivers,  and  noticed 
some  of  the  more  prominent  features  that  characterize  the  physical 
geography  of  the  territory  within  the  scope  of  our  inquiry,  and  the 
parts  necessarily  connected  with  it,  forming,  as  it  were,  the  outlines  or 
ground  plan  of  its  history,  we  will  now  proceed  to  fill  in  the  frame- 
work, with  a  narration  of  its  discovery.     Jacques  Cartier,  as  already 
intimated  in  a  note  on  a  preceding  page,  ascended  the  St.  Lawrence 
Kiver  in  1535.     He  sailed  up  the  stream  as  far  as  the  great  Indian  vil- 
lage of  Hoc  Lelaga,  situated  on  an  island  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain, 
styled  by  him  Mont  Royal,  now  called  Montreal,  a  name  since  extend- 
ed to  the  whole  island.     The  country  thus  discovered  was  called  New 
France.      Later,  and  in  the  year  1598,  France,  after  fifty  years  of 
domestic  troubles,  recovered  her  tranquillity,  and,  finding  herself  once 
more  equal  to  great  enterprises,  acquired  a  taste  for  colonization.    Her 
attention  was  directed  to  her  possessions,  by  right  of  discovery,  in  the 
new  world,  where  she  now  wished  to  establish  colonies  and  extend  the 
faith  of  the  Catholic  religion.    Commissions  or  grants  were  accordingly 
issued  to  companies  of  merchants,  and  others  organized  for  this  pur- 
pose, who  undertook  to  make  settlements  in  Acadia,  as  Nova  Scotia 
was  then  called,  and  elsewhere  along  the  lower  waters  of  the  St.  Law- 
rence ;    and,  at  a  later  day,  like  efforts  were  made  higher  up  the  river. 
In  1607  Mr.  De  Monts,  having  failed  in  a  former  enterprise,  was 
deprived  of  his  commission,  which  was  restored  to  him  on  the  condition 
that  he  would  make  a  settlement  on  the  St.  Lawrence.      The  company 
he  represented  seems  to  have  had  the  fur  trade  only  in  view,  and  this 
object  caused  it  to  change  its  plans  and  avoid  Acadia  altogether.     De 
Monts'  company  increased  in  numbers  and  capital  in  proportion  as  the 
fur  trade  developed  expectations  of  profit,  and  many  persons  at  St. 
Malo,  particularly,  gave   it   their  support.      Feeling  that  his  name 
injured  his  associates,  M.  De  Monts  retired ;  and  when  he  ceased  to  be 
its  governing  head,  the  company  of  merchants  recovered  the  monopoly 
with  which  the  charter  was  endowed,  for  no  other  object  than  making 
money  out  of  the  fur  trade.     They  cared  nothing  whatever  for  the  col- 
ony in  Acadia,  which  \vas  dying  out,  and  made  no  settlements  else- 


37 


38  HISTORIC   NOTES  ON  THE   NORTHWEST. 

where.  However,  Mr.  Samuel  Champlain,  who  cared  little  for  the  fur 
trade,  and  whose  thoughts  were  those  of  a  patriot,  after  maturely  ex- 
amining where  the  settlements  directed  by  the  court  might  be  best 
established,  at  last  fixed  on  Quebec.  He  arrived  there  on  the  3d  of 
July,  1608,  put  up  some  temporary  buildings  for  himself  and  company, 
and  began  to  clear  off  the  ground,  which  proved  fertile.* 

The  colony  at  Quebec  grew  apace  with  emigrants  from  France; 
and  later,  the  establishment  of  a  settlement  at  the  island  of  Montreal 
was  undertaken.  Two  religious  enthusiasts,  the  one  named  Jerome  le 
Royer  de  la  Dauversiere,  of  Anjou,  and  the  other  John  James  Olier, 
assumed  the  undertaking  in  1636.  The  next  who  joined  in  the  move- 
ment was  Peter  Chevirer,  Baron  Fancamp,  who  in  1640  sent  tools  and 
provisions  for  the  use  of  the  coming  settlers.  The  projectors  were 
now  aided  by  the  celebrated  Baron  de  Renty,  and  two  others.  Father 
Charles  Lalemant  induced  John  de  Lauson,  the  proprietor  of  the  island 
of  Montreal,  to  cede  it  to  these  gentlemen,  which  he  did  in  August, 
1640  ;  and  to  remove  all  doubts  as  to  the  title,  the  associates  obtained 
a  grant  from  the  New  France  Company,  in  December  of  the  same  year, 
which  was  subsequently  ratified  by  the  king  himself.  The  associates 
agreed  to  send  out  forty  settlers,  to  clear  and  cultivate  the  ground ;  to 
increase  the  number  annually ;  to  supply  them  with  two  sloops,  cattle 
and  farm  hands,  and,  after  five  years,  to  erect  a  seminary,  maintain 
ecclesiastics  as  missionaries  and  teachers,  and  also  nuns  as  teachers  and 
hospitalers.  On  its  part  the  New  France  Company  agreed  to  trans- 
port thirty  settlers.  The  associates  then  contributed  twenty-five  thou- 
sand crowns  to  begin  the  settlement,  and  Mr.  de  Maisonneuve  embarked 
with  his  colony  on  three  vessels,  which  sailed  from  Rochelle  and 
Dieppe,  in  the  summer  of  1641.  The  colony  wintered  in  Quebec, 
spending  their  time  in  building  boats  and  preparing  timber  for  their 
houses ;  and  on  the  8th  of  May,  1642,  embarked,  and  arrived  nine 
days  after  at  the  island  of  Montreal,  and  after  saying  mass  began  an 
intrenchment  around  their  tents,  f 

Notwithstanding  the  severity  of  the  climate,  the  loss  of  life  by  dis- 
eases incident  to  settling  of  new  countries,  and  more  especially  the 

*  History  of  New  France. 

t  From  Dr.  Shea's  valuable  note  on  Montreal,  on  pages  129  and  130,  vol.  2,  of 
his  translation  of  Father  Charlevoix'  History  of  New  France.  Mr.  Albach,  publisher 
of  "Annals  of  the  West,"  Pittsburgh  edition,  1857,  p.  49,  is  in  error  in  saying  that 
Montreal  was  founded  in  1613,  by  Samuel  Champlain.  Champlain,  in  company  with 
a  young  Huron  Indian,  whom  he  had  taken  to  and  brought  back  from  France  on  a 
previous  voyage,  visited  the  island  of  Montreal  in  1611,  and  chose  it  as  a  place  for  a 
settlement  he  designed  to  establish,  but  which  he  did  not  begin,  as  he  was  obliged  to 
return  to  France;  vide  Charlevoix'  "  History  of  New  France,"  vol.  2,  p.  23.  The  Ameri- 
can Clyclopedia,  as  well  as  other  authorities,  concur  with  Dr.  Shea,  that  Montreal  was- 
founded  in  1642,  seven  years  after  Champlain's  death. 


QUEBEC    FOUNDED.  39 

destruction  of  its  people  from  raids  of  the  dreaded  Iroquois  Indians, 
the  French  colonies  grew  until,  according  to  a  report  of  Governor 
Mons.  Denonville  to  the  Minister  at  Paris,  the  population  of  Canada, 
in  1686,  had  increased  to  12,373  souls.  Quebec  and  Montreal  became 
the  base  of  operations  of  the  French  in  America;  the  places  from 
which  missionaries,  traders  and  explorers  went  out  among  the  savages 
into  countries  hitherto  unknown,  going  northward  and  westward, 
even  beyond  the  extremity  of  Lake  Superior  to  the  upper  waters  of 
the  Mississippi,  and  southward  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico ;  and  it  was 
from  these  cities  that  the  religious,  military  and  commercial  affairs  of 
this  widely  extended  region  were  administered,  and  from  which  the 
French  settlements  subsequently  established  in  the  northwest  and  at 
New  Orleans  were  principally  recruited.  The  influence  of  Quebec  and 
Montreal  did  not  end  with  the  fall  of  French  power  in  America.  It 
was  from  these  cities  that  the  English  retained  control  of  the  fur  trade 
in,  and  exerted  a  power  over  the  Indian  tribes  of,  the  northwest  that 
harassed  and  retarded  the  spread  of  the  American  settlements  through 
all  the  revolutionary  war,  and  during  the  later  contest  between  Great 
Britain  and  the  United  States  in  the  war  of  1812.  Indeed,  it  was 
only  until  after  the  fur  trade  was  exhausted  and  the  Indians  placed 
beyond  the  Mississippi,  subsequent  to  1820,  that  Quebec  and  Montreal 
ceased  to  exert  an  influence  in  that  part  of  New  France  now  known  as 
Illinois  and  Indiana. 

Father  Claude  Allouez,  coasting  westward  from  Sault  Ste.  Marie, 
reached  Chegoimegon,  as  the  Indians  called  the  bay  south  of  the  Apos- 
tle Islands  and  near  La  Pointe  on  the  southwestern  shore  of  Lake  Supe- 
rior, in  October,  1665.  Here  he  found  ten  or  twelve  fragments  of 
Algonquin  tribes  assembled  and  about  to  hang  the  war  kettle  over  the 
fire  preparatory  for  an  incursion  westward  into  the  territory  of  the 
Sioux.  The  good  father  persuaded  them  to  give  up  their  intended 
hostile  expedition.  He  set  up  in  their  midst  a  chapel,  to  which  he  gave 
the  name  of  the  "  Mission  of  the  Holy  Ghost,"  at  the  spot  afterward 
known  as  "  Lapointe  du  Saint  Esprit,"  and  at  once  began  his  mission 
work.  His  chapel  was  an  object  of  wonder,  and  its  establishment  soon 
spread  among  the  wild  children  of  the  forest,  and  thither  from  great 
distances  came  numbers  all  alive  with  curiosity, —  the  roving  Potta- 
watomies,  Sacs  and  Foxes,  the  Kickapoos,  the  Illinois  and  Miamis, — 
to  whom  the  truths  of  Christianity  were  announced.* 

Three  years  later  Father  James  Marquette  took  the  place  of  Allouez, 
and  while  here  he  seems  to  have  been  the  first  that  learned  of  the  Missis- 
sippi.     In  a  letter  written  from  this  mission  by  Father  Marquette  to 
*  Shea's  History  of  Catholic  Missions,  358. 


40  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

his  Reverend  Father  Superior,  preserved  in  the  Relations  for  1669  and 
1670,  he  says:  "When  the  Illinois  come  to  the  point  they  pass  a 
great  river,  which  is  almost  a  league  in  width.  It  flows  from  north 
to  south,  and  to  so  great  a  distance  that  the  Illinois,  who  know  nothing 
of  the  use  of  the  canoe,  have  never  as  yet  heard  tell  of  the  mouth  ;  they 
only  know  that  there  are  great  nations  below  them,  some  of  whom, 
dwelling  to  the  east-southeast  of  their  country,  gather  their  Indian-corn 
twice  a  year.  A  nation  that  they  call  Chaouanon  (Shawnees)  came  to 
visit  them  during  the  past  summer;  the  young  man  that  has  been 
given  to  me  to  teach  me  the  language  has  seen  them  ;  they  were  loaded 
with  glass  beads,  which  shows  that  they  have  communication  with  the 
Europeans.  They  had  to  journey  across  the  land  for  more  than  thirty 
days  before  arriving  at  their  country.  It  is  hardly  probable  that  this 
great  river  discharges  itself  in  Virginia.  We  are  more  inclined  to 
believe  that  it  has  its  mouth  in  California.  If  the  savages,  who  have 
promised  to  make  me  a  canoe,  do  not  fail  in  their  word,  we  will  navi- 
gate this  river  as  far  as  is  possible  in  company  with  a  Frenchman  and 
this  young  man  that  they  have  given  me,  who  understands  several  of 
these  languages  and  possesses  great  facility  for  acquiring  others.  We 
shall  visit  the  nations  who  dwell  along  its  shores,  in  order  to  open  the 
way  to  many  of  our  fathers  who  for  a  long  time  have  awaited  this 
happiness.  This  discovery  will  give  us  a  perfect  knowledge  of  the  sea 
either  to  the  south  or  to  the  west." 

These  reports  concerning  the  great  river  came  to  the  knowledge 
of  the  authorities  at  Quebec  and  Paris,  and  naturally  enough  stimu- 
lated further  inquiry.  There  were  three  theories  as  to  where  the  river 
emptied  ;  one,  that  it  discharged  into  the  Atlantic  south  of  the  British 
colony  of  Virginia;  second,  that  it  flowed  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico; 
and  third,  which  was  the  more  popular  belief,  that  it  emptied  into  the 
Red  Sea,  as  the  Gulf  of  California  was  called  ;  and  if  the  latter,  that  it 
would  afford  a  passage  to  China.  To  solve  this  important  commercial 
problem  in  geography,  it  was  determined,  as  appears  from  a  letter  from 
the  Governor,  Count  Frontenac,  at  Quebec,  to  M.  Colbert,  Minister  of 
the  navy  at  Paris,  expedient  "  for  the  service  to  send  Sieur  Joliet  to 
the  country  of  the  Mascoutines,  to  discover  the  South  Sea  and  the  great 
river —  they  call  the  Mississippi  —  which  is  supposed  to  discharge  itself 
into  the  Sea  of  California.  Sieur  Joliet  is  a  man  of  great  experience 
in  these  sorts  of  discoveries,  and  has  already  been  almost  to  that  great 
river,  the  mouth  of  which  he  promises  to  see.  We  shall  have  intelli- 
gence of  him,  certainly,  this  summer.*  Father  Marquette  was  chosen 
to  accompany  Joliet  on  account  of  the  information  he  had  already  ob- 

*  Paris  Documents,  vol.  9,  p.  92. 


SPANISH    EXPLORATIONS.  41 

tained  from  the  Indians  relating  to  the  countries  to  be  explored,  and 
also  because,  as  he  wrote  Father  Dablon,  his  superior,  when  informed 
by  the  latter  that  he  was  to  be  Joliet's  companion,  "  I  am  ready  to  go 
on  your  order  to  seek  new  nations  toward  the  South  Sea,  and  teach 
them  of  our  great  God  whom  they  hitherto  have  not  known." 

The  voyage  of  Joliet  and  Marquette  is  so  interesting  that  we  intro- 
duce extracts  from  Father  Marquette's  journal.  The  version  we  adopt 
is  Father  Marquette's  original  journal,  prepared  for  publication  by  his 
superior,  Fathe'r  Dablon,  and  which  lay  in  manuscript  at  Quebec,  among 
the  archives  of  the  Jesuits,  until  1852,  when  it,  together  with  Father 
Marquette's  original  map,  were  brought  to  light,  translated  into  Eng- 
lish, and  published  by  Dr.  John  G.  Shea,  in  his  "  Discovery  and  Explo- 
ration of  the  Mississippi."  The  version  commonly  sanctioned  was 
Marquette's  narrative  sent  *to  the  French  government,  where  it  lay 
unpublished  until  it  came  into  the  hands  of  M.  Thevenot,  who  printed 
it  at  Paris,  in  a  book  issued  by  him  in  1681,  called  "  Receuil  de  Voy- 
ages." This  account  differs  somewhat,  though  not  essentially,  from 
the  narrative  as  published  by  Dr.  Shea. 

Before  proceeding  farther,  however,  we  will  turn  aside  a  moment 
to  note  the  fact  that  Spain  had  a  prior  right  over  France  to  the  Missis- 
sippi Valley  by  virtue  of  previous  discovery.  As  early  as  the  year 
1525,  Cortez  had  conquered  Mexico,  portioned  out  its  rich  mines 
among  his  favorites  and  reduced  the  inoffensive  inhabitants  to  the  worst 
of  slavery,  making  them  till  the  ground  and  toil  in  the  mines  for  their 
unfeeling  masters.  A  few  years  following  the  conquest  of  Mexico,  the 
Spaniards,  under  Pamphilus  de  Narvaez,  in  1528,  undertook  to  conquer 
and  colonize  Florida  and  the  entire  northern  coast-line  of  the  Gulf. 
After  long  and  fruitless  wanderings  in  the  interior,  his  party  returned 
to  the  sea-coast  and  endeavored  to  reach  Tarnpico,  in  wretched  boats. 
Nearly  all  perished  by  storm,  disease  or  famine.  The  survivors,  with 
one  Cabeza  de  Vaca  at  their  head,  drifted  to  an  island  near  the  present 
state  of  Mississippi ;  from  which,  after  four  years  of  slavery,  De  Vaca, 
with  four  companions,  escaped  to  the  mainland  and  started  westward, 
going  clear  across  the  continent  to  the  Gulf  of  California.  The 
natives  took  them  for  supernatural  beings.  They  assumed  the  guise 
of  jugglers,  and  the  Indian  tribes,  through  which  they  passed,  invested 
them  with  the  title  of  medicine-men,  and  their  lives  were  thus  guarded 
with  superstitious  awe.  They  are,  perhaps,  the  first  Europeans  who 
ever  went  overland  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  They  must  have 
crossed  the  Great  River  somewhere  on  their  route,  and,  says  Dr. 
Shea,  "  remain  in  history,  in  a  distant  twilight,  as  the  first  Europeans 
known  to  have  stood  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi."  In  1539, 


42  HISTORIC   NOTES  ON   THE   NORTHWEST. 

Hernando  de  Soto,  with  a  party  of  cavaliers,  most  of  them  sons  of 
titled  nobility,  landed  with  their  horses  upon  the  coast  of  Florida. 
During  that  and  the  following  four  years,  these  daring  adventurers 
wandered  through  the  wilderness,  traveling  in  portions  of  Florida, 
Carolina,  the  northern  parts  of  Georgia,  Alabama  and  Mississippi, 
crossing  the  Mississippi,  as  is  supposed,  as  high  up  as  White  River, 
and  going  still  westward  to  the  base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  vainly 
searching  for  the  rich  gold  mines  of  which  De  Vaca  had  given  marvel- 
ous accounts.  De  Soto's  party  endured  hardships  that  would  depress 
the  stoutest  heart,  while,  with  fire  and  sword,  they  perpetrated  atrocities 
upon  the  Indian  tribes  through  which  they  passed,  burning  their 
villages  and  inflicting  cruelties  which  make  us  blush  for  the  wicked- 
ness of  men  claiming  to  be  Christians.  De  Soto  died,  in  May  or  June, 
1542,  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  below  the  mouth  of  the 
Washita,  and  his  immediate  attendants  concealed  his  death  from  the 
others  and  secretly,  in  the  night,  buried  his  body  in  the  middle  of  the 
stream.  The  remnant  of  his  survivors  went  westward  and  then 
returned  back  again  to  the  river,  passing  the  winter  upon  its  banks. 
The  following  spring  they  went  down  the  river,  in  seven  boats  which 
they  had  rudely  constructed  out  of  such  scanty  material  and  with  the 
few  tools  they  could  command.  In  these,  after  a  three  months'  voyage, 
they  arrived  at  the  Spanish  town  of  Panuco,  on  the  river  of  that  name 
in  Mexico. 

Later,  in  1565,  Spain,  failing  in  previous  attempts,  eifected  a  lodg- 
ment in  Florida,  and  for  the  protection  of  her  colony  built  the  fort  at 
St.  Augustine,  whose  ancient  ruin,  still  standing,  is  an  object  of  curi- 
osity to  the  health-seeker  and  a  monument  to  the  hundreds  of  native 
Indians  who,  reduced  to  bondage  by  their  Spanish  conquerors,  perished, 
after  years  of  unrequited  labor,  in  erecting  its  frowning  walls  and 
gloomy  dungeons. 

While  Spain  retained  her  hold  upon  Mexico  and  enlarged  her  posses- 
sions, and  continued,  with  feebler  efforts,  to  keep  possession  of  the 
Floridas,  she  took  no  measures  to  establish  settlements  along  the  Mis- 
sissippi or  to  avail  herself  of  the  advantage  that  might  have  resulted 
from  its  discovery.  The  Great  River  excited  no  further  notice  after 
De  Soto's  time.  For  the  next  hundred  years  it  remained  as  it  were 
a  sealed  mystery  until  the  French,  approaching  from  the  north  by 
way  of  the  lakes,  explored  it  in  its  entire  length,  and  brought  to 
public  light  the  vast  extent  and  wonderful  fertility  of  its  valleys. 
Resuming  the  thread  of  our  history  at  the  place  where  we  turned  aside 
to  notice  the  movements  of  the  Spanish  toward  the  Gulf,  we  now  pro- 
ceed with  the  extracts  from  Father  Marquette's  journal  of  the  voyage 
of  discovery  down  the  Mississippi. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

JOLIET  AND  MARQUETTE'S  VOYAGE. 

THE  day  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  of  the  Blessed  Virgin, 
whom  I  had  always  invoked,  since  I  have  been  in  this  Ottawa  country, 
to  obtain  of  God  the  grace  to  be  able  to  visit  the  nations  on  the  River 
Mississippi,  was  identically  that  on  which  M.  Jollyet  arrived  with 
orders  of  the  Comte  de  Frontenac,  our  governor,  and  M.  Talon,  our 
intendant,  to  make  this  discovery  with  me.  I  was  the  more  enraptured 
at  this  good  news,  as  I  saw  my  designs  on  the  point  of  being  accom- 
plished, and  myself  in  the  happy  necessity  of  exposing  my  life  for  the 
salvation  of  all  these  nations,  and  particularly  for  the  Illinois,  who  had, 
when  I  was  at  Lapointe  du  Esprit,  very  earnestly  entreated  me  to  carry 
the  word  of  God  to  their  country." 

"  We  were  not  long  in  preparing  our  outfit,  although  we  were 
embarking  on  a  voyage  the  duration  of  which  we  could  not  foresee. 
Indian  corn,  with  some  dried  meats,  was  our  whole  stock  of  provisions. 
With  this  we  set  out  in  two  bark  canoes,  M.  Jollyet,  myself  and  five 
men,  firmly  resolved  to  do  all  and  suffer  all  for  so  glorious  an  enterprise." 

"  It  was  on  the  17th  of  May,  1673,  that  we  started  from  the  mission 
of  St.  Ignatius,  at  Michilimakinac,  where  I  then  was."* 

"  Our  joy  at  being  chosen  for  this  expedition  roused  our  courage 
and  sweetened  the  labor  of  rowing  from  morning  to  night.  As  we 
were  going  to  seek  unknown  countries,  we  took  all  possible  precau- 
tions that,  if  our  enterprise  was  hazardous,  it  should  not  be  foolhardy ; 
for  this  reason  we  gathered  all  possible  information  from  the  Indians 
who  had  frequented  those  parts,  and  even  from  their  accounts,  traced 
a  map  of  all  the  new  country,  marking  down  the  rivers  on  which  we 
were  to  sail,  the  names  of  the  nations  and  places  through  which  we 
were  to  pass,  the  course  of  the  Great  River,  and  what  direction  we 
should  take  when  we  got  to  it." 

"Above  all,  I  put  our  voyage  under  the  protection  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin  Immaculate,  promising  her  that,  if  she  did  us  the  grace  to  dis- 
cover the  Great  River,  I  would  give  it  the  name  of  the  conception  ; 

*  St.  Ignatius  was  not  on  the  Island  of  Mackinaw,  but  westward  of  it.  on  a  point 
of  land  extending  into  the  strait,  from  the  north  shore,  laid  down  on  modern  maps  as 
'Point  St.  Ignace."     On  this  bleak,  exposed  and  barren  spot  this  mission  was  estab- 
lished by  Marquette  himself  in  1671.     Shea's  Catholic  Missions,  p.  364. 

4.3 


44  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

and  that  I  would  also  give  that  name  to  the  first  mission  I  should 
establish  among  these  new  nations,  as  I  have  actually  done  among  the 
Illinois." 

After  some  days  they  reached  an  Indian  village,  and  the  journal 
proceeds :'"  Here  we  are,  then,  at  the  Maskoutens.  This  word,  in 
Algonquin,  may  mean  Fire  Nation,  and  that  is  the  name  given  to  them. 
This  is  the  limit  of  discoveries  made  by  the  French,  for  they  have  not 
yet  passed  beyond  it.  This  town  is  made  up  of  three  nations  gathered 
here,  Miamis,  Maskoutens  and  Ivikabous.*  As  bark  for  cabins,  in  this 
country,  is  rare,  they  use  rushes,  which  serve  them  for  walls  and  roofs, 
but  which  afford  them  no  protection  against  the  wind,  and  still  less 
against  the  rain  when  it  falls  in  torrents.  The  advantage  of  this  kind 
of  cabins  is  that  they  can  roll  them  up  and  carry  them  easily  where 
they  like  in  hunting  time." 

"  I  felt  no  little  pleasure  in  beholding  the  position  of  this  town.  The 
view  is  beautiful  and  very  picturesque,  for,  from  the  eminence  on  which 
it  is  perched,  the  eye  discovers  on  every  side  prairies  spreading  away 
beyond  its  reach  interspersed  with  thickets  or  groves  of  trees.  The 
soil  is  very  good,  producing  much  corn.  The  Indians  gather  also 
quantities  of  plums  and  grapes,  from  which  good  wine  could  be  made 
if  they  choose." 

"No  sooner  had  we  arrived  than  M.  Jollyet  and  I  assembled  the 
Sachems.  He  told  them  that  he  was  sent  by  our  governor  to  discover 
new  countries,  and  I  by  the  Almighty  to  illumine  them  with  the  ligttt 
of  the  gospel ;  that  the  Sovereign  Master  of  our  lives  wished  to  be 
known  to  all  nations,  and  that  to  obey  his  will  I  did  not  fear  death,  to 
which  I  exposed  myself  in  such  dangerous  voyages ;  that  we  needed 
two  guides  to  put  us  on  our  way ;  these,  making  them  a  present,  we 
begged  them  to  grant  us.  This  they  did  very  civilly,  and  even  pro- 
ceeded to  speak  to  us  by  a  present,  which  was  a  mat  to  serve  us  on  our 
voyage." 

"The  next  day,  which  was  the  10th  of  June,  two  Miamis  whom 
they  had  given  us  as  guides  embarked  with  us  in  the  sight  of  a  great 
crowd,  who  could  not  wonder  enough  to  see  seven  Frenchmen,  alone 
in  two  canoes,  dare  to  undertake  so  strange  and  so  hazardous  an  expe- 
dition." 

"  We  knew  that  there  was,  three  leagues  from  Maskoutens,  a  river 
emptying  into  the  Mississippi.  We  knew,  too,  that  the  point  of  the 
compass  we  were  to  hold  to  reach  it  was  the  west-southwest,  but  the 

*  The  village  was  near  the  mouth  of  Wolf  River,  which  empties  into  Winnebago 
Lake,  Wisconsin.  The  stream  was  formerly  called  the  Maskouten,  and  a  tribe  of  this 
name  dwelt  along  its  banks. 


MARQUETTE'S  VOYAGE.  45 

way  is  so  cut  up  with  marshes  and  little  lakes  that  it  is  easy  to  go 
astray,  especially  as  the  river  leading  to  it  is  so  covered  with  wild  oats 
that  you  can  hardly  discover  the  channel ;  hence  we  had  need  of  our 
two  guides,  who  led  us  safely  to  a  portage  of  twenty-seven  hundred 
paces  and  helped  us  transport  our  canoes  to  enter  this  river,  after 
which  they  returned,  leaving  us  alone  in  an  unknown  country  in  the 
hands  of  Providence."'55' 

"  We  now  leave  the  waters  which  flow  to  Quebec,  a  distance  of  four 
or  five  hundred  leagues,  to  follow  those  which  will  henceforth  lead  us. 
into  strange  lands. 

"  Our  route  was  southwest,  and  after  sailing  about  thirty  leagues  we 
perceived  a  place  which  had  all  the  appearances  of  an  iron  mine,  and 
in  fact  one  of  our  party  who  had  seen  some  before  averred  that  the  one 
we  had  found  was  very  rich  and  very  good.  After  forty  leagues  on 
this  same  route  we  reached  the  mouth  of  our  river,  and  finding  our- 
selves at  42£°  K  we  safely  entered  the  Mississippi  on  the  17th  of  June 
with  a  joy  that  I  cannot  express."f 

*This  portage  has  given  the  name  to  Portage  City,  Wisconsin,  where  the  upper 
waters  of  Fox  River,  emptying  into  Green  Bay,  approach  the  Wisconsin  River,  which, 
coming  from  the  northwest,  here  changes  its  course  to  the  southwest  Ihe  distance 
from  the  Wisconsin  to  the  Fox  River  at  this  point  is,  according  to  Henry  K.  School- 
craft,  a  mile  and1  a  half  across  a  level  prairie,  and  the  level  of  the  two  streams  is  so  nearly 
the  same  that  in  high  water  loaded  canoes  formerly  passed  from  the  one  to  the  other 
across  this  low  prairie.  For  many  miles  below  the  portage  the  channel  ot  .box  Kiyer 
was  choked  with  a  growth  of  tangled  wild  rice.  The  stream  frequently  expanding 
into  little  lakes,  and  its  winding,  crooked  course  through  the  prairie,  well  justifies  the 
tradition  of  the  Winnebago  Indians  concerning  its  origin.  A  vast  serpent  that  lived 
in  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi  took  a  freak  t9  visit  the  great  lakes  ;  he  left  his  trail 
where  he  crossed  over  the  prairie,  which,  collecting  the  waters  as  they  tell  trom  the  rains 
of  heaven,  at  length  became  Fox  River.  The  little  lakes  along  its  course  were,  prob- 
ably, the  places  where  he  nourished  about  in  his  uneasy  slumbers  at  night.  Mrs.  John 
H.  Kin/.ie's  Waubun,  p.  80. 

t  Father  Marquette,  agreeably  to  his  vow,  named  the  river  the  Immaculate  Concep- 
tion. Nine  years  later,  when  Robert  La  Salle,  having  discovered  the  river  m  its  entire 
length,  took  possession  at  its  mouth  of  the  whole  Mississippi  Valley,  he  named  the 
river  Colbert,  in  honor  of  the  Minister  of  the  Navy,  a  man  renowned  alike  tor  his 
ability,  at  the  head  of  the  Department  of  the  Marine,  and  for  the  encouragement  he 
gave  to  literature,  science  and  art.  Still  later,  in  1712,  when  the  vast  country  drained  by 
its  waters  was  farmed  out  to  private  enterprise,  as  appears  from  letters  patent  trom  the 
King  of  France,  conveying  the  whole  to  M.  Crozat,  the  name  of  the  river  was  changed 
to  St.  Lewis.  Fortunately  the  Mississippi  retains  its  aboriginal  name,  which  is  a  com- 
pound from  the  two  Algonquin  words  missi,  signifying  great,  and  sepe,  a  river.  Ihe 
former  is  variously  pronounced  missil  or  michil,  as  in  Michilimakinac  ;  michi,  as  in  Mich- 
igan ;  missii,  as  in  Missouri,  and  missi,  as  in  the  Mississeneway  of  the  Wabash.  Ihe 
variation  in  pronunciation  is  not  greater  than  we  might  expect  in  an  unwritten  lan- 
guage. "The  Western  Indians,"  says  Mr.  Schoolcraft,  "  have  no  other  word  than  nnsst 
to  express  the  highest  degree  of  magnitude,  either  in  a  moral  or  in  a  physical  sense,  and 
it  may  be  considered  as  not  only  synonymous  to  our  word  great,  but  also  magnificent, 
supreme,  stupendous,  etc."  Father  Hennepin,  who  next  to  Marquette  wrote  concern- 
ing the  derivation  of  the  name,  says  :  "  Mississippi,  in  the  language  of  the  Illinois, 
means  the  great  river."  Some  authors,  perhaps  with  more  regard  for  a  pleasing  hc- 
tion  than  plain  matter-of-fact,  have  rendered  Mississippi  "The  Father  of  Waters; 
whereas,  nos,  noussey  and  nosha  mean  father,  and  neebi,  nipi  or  nepee  mean  water,  as 
universally  in  the  dialect  of  Algonquin  tribes,  as  does  the  word  missi  mean  great  and 


sepi  a  river. 


46  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

"  Having  descended  as  far  as  41°  28',  following  the  same  direction, 
we  find  that  turkeys  have  taken  the  place  of  game,  and  pisikious  (buf- 
falo) or  wild  cattle  that  of  other  beasts. 

"  At  last,  on  the  25th  of  June,  \ve  perceived  foot-prints  of  men  by 
the  water-side  and  a  beaten  path  entering  a  beautiful  prairie.  We 
stopped  to  examine  it,  and  concluding  that  it  was  a  patli  leading  to 
some  Indian  village  we  resolved  to  go  and  reconnoitre  :  we  accordinglv 
left  our  two  canoes  in  charge  of  our  people,  cautioning  them  to  beware 
of  a  surprise ;  then  M.  Jollyet  and  I  undertook  this  rather  hazardous 
discovery  for  two  single  men,  who  thus  put  themselves  at  the  mercy  of 
an  unknown  and  barbarous  people.  We  followed  the  little  path  in 
silence,  and  having  advanced  about  two  leagues  we  discovered  a  village 
on  the  banks  of  the  river,  and  two  others  on  a  hill  half  a  league  from 
the  former.  Then,  indeed,  we  recommended  ourselves  to  God  with  all 
our  hearts,  and  having  implored  his  help  we  passed  on  undiscovered, 
and  came  so  near  that  we  even  heard  the  Indians  talking.  We  then 
deemed  it  time  to  announce  ourselves,  as  we  did,  by  a  cry  which  we 
raised  with  all  pur  strength,  and  then  halted,  without  advancing  any 
farther.  At  this  cry  the  Indians  rushed  out  of  their  cabins,  and  hav- 
ing probably  recognized  us  as  French,  especially  seeing  a  black  gown, 
or  at  least  having  no  reason  to  distrust  us,  seeing  we  were  but  two  and 
had  made  known  our  coming,  they  deputed  four  old  men  to  come  and 
speak  to  us.  Two  carried  tobacco-pipes  well  adorned  and  trimmed 
with  many  kinds  of  feathers.  They  marched  slowly,  lifting  their  pipes 
toward  the  sun  as  if  offering  them  to  it  to  smoke,  but  yet  without 
uttering  a  single  word.  They  were  a  long  time  coming  the  little  way 
from  the  village  to  us.  Having  reached  us  at  last,  they  stopped  to  con- 
sider us  attentively. 

"  I  now  took  courage,  seeing  these  ceremonies,  which  are  used  by 
them  only  with  friends,  and  still  more  on  seeing  them  covered  with  stuffs 
which  made  me  judge  them  to  be  allies.  I,  therefore,  spoke  to  them 
first,  and  asked  them  who  they  were.  They  answered  that  they  were 
Illinois,  and  in  token  of  peace  they  presented  their  pipes  to  smoke. 
They  then  invited  us  to  their  village,  where  all  the  tribe  awaited  us 
with  impatience.  These  pipes  for  smoking  are  all  called  in  this  country 
calumets,  a  word  that  is  so  much  in  use  that  I  shall  be  obliged  to  employ 
it  in  order  to  be  understood,  as  I  shall  have  to  speak  of  it  frequently. 

"  At  the  door  of  the  cabin  in  which  we  were  to  be  received  was  an 
old  man  awaiting  us  in  a  very  remarkable  posture,  which  is  their  usual 
ceremony  in  receiving  strangers.  This  man  was  standing  perfectly 
naked,  with  his  hands  stretched  out  and  raised  toward  the  sun,  as  if  he 
wished  to  screen  himself  from  its  rays,  which,  nevertheless,  passed 


PRESENTATION    OF   THE    CALUMET.  47 

through  his  fingers  to  his  face.  When  we  came  near  him  he  paid  us 
this  compliment :  '  How  beautiful  is  the  sun,  O  Frenchman,  when 
thou  comest  to  visit  us !  All  our  town  awaits  thee,  and  thou  shalt 
enter  all  our  cabins  in  peace.'  He  then  took  us  into  his,  where  there 
was  a  crowd  of  people,  who  devoured  us  with  their  eyes  but  kept  a 
profound  silence.  "We  heard,  however,  these  words  occasionally  ad- 
dressed to  us :  '  Well  done,  brothers,  to  visit  us ! '  As  soon  as  we  had 
taken  our  places  they  showed  us  the  usual  civility  of  the  country, 
which  is  to  present  the  calumet.  You  must  not  refuse  it  unless  you 
would  pass  for  an  enemy,  or  at  least  for  being  very  impolite.  It  is, 
however,  enough  to  pretend  to  smoke.  While  all  the  old  men  smoked 
after  us  to  honor  us,  some  came  to  invite  us,  on  behalf  of  the  great 
sachem  of  all  the  Illinois,  to  proceed  to  his  town,  where  he  wished  to 
hold  a  council  with  us.  We  went  with  a  good  retinue,  for  all  the 
people  who  had  never  seen  a  Frenchman  among  them  could  not  tire 
looking  at  us ;  they  threw  themselves  on  the  grass  by  the  wayside, 
they  ran  ahead,  then  turned  and  walked  back  to  see  us  again.  All  this 
was  done  without  noise,  and  with  marks  of  a  great  respect  entertained 
for  us. 

"  Having  arrived  at  the  great  sachem's  town,  we  espied  him  at  his 
cabin  door  between  two  old  men ;  all  three  standing  naked,  with  their 
calumet  turned  to  the  sun.  He  harangued  us  in  a  few  words,  to  con- 
gratulate us  on  our  arrival,  and  then  presented  us  his  calumet  and  made 
us  smoke ;  at  the  same  time  we  entered  his  cabin,  where  we  received 
all  their  usual  greetings.  Seeing  all  assembled  and  in  silence,  I  spoke 
to  them  by  four  presents  which  I  made.  By  the  first,  I  said  that  we 
marched  in  peace  to  visit  the  nations  on  the  river  to  the  sea ;  by  the 
second,  I  declared  to  them  that  God,  their  creator,  had  pity  on  them, 
since,  after  their  having  been  so  long  ignorant  of  him,  he  wished  to 
become  known  to  all  nations ;  that  I  was  sent  on  his  behalf  with  this 
design ;  that  it  was  for  them  to  acknowledge  and  obey  him ;  by  the 
third,  that  the  great  chief  of  the  French  informed  them  that  he  spread 
peace  everywhere,  and  had  overcome  the  Iroquois ;  lastly,  by  the  fourth, 
we  begged  them  to  give  us  all  the  information  they  had  of  the  sea,  and 
of  nations  through  which  we  should  have  to  pass  to  reach  it. 

"  When  I  had  finished  my  speech,  the  sachem  rose,  and  laying  his 
hand  on  the  head  of  a  little  slave  whom  he  was  about  to  give  us,  spoke 
thus :  '  I  thank  thee,  Black-gown,  and  thee,  Frenchman,'  addressing 
M.  Jollyet,  '  for  taking  so  much  pains  to  come  and  visit  us.  Never  has 
the  earth  been  so  beautiful,  nor  the  sun  so  bright,  as  to-day ;  never  has 
our  river  been  so  calm,  nor  so  free  from  rocks,  which  your  canoes  have 
removed  as  they  passed ;  never  has  our  tobacco  had  so  fine  a  flavor, 


48  HISTORIC    NOTES   ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

nor  our  corn  appeared  so  beautiful  as  we  behold  it  to-day.  Here  is  my 
son  that  I  give  thee  that  thou  mayest  know  my  heart.  I  pray  thee 
take  pity  on  me  and  all  my  nation.  Thou  knowest  the  Great  Spirit 
who  has  made  us  all ;  thou  speakest  to  him  and  hearest  his  word ;  ask 
him  to  give  me  life  and  health,  and  come  and  dwell  with  us  that  we 
may  know  him.'  Saying  this,  he  placed  the  little  slave  near  us  and 
made  us  a  second  present,  an  all  mysterious  calumet,  which  they  value 
more  than  a  slave.  By  this  present  he  showed  us  his  esteem  for  our 
governor,  after  the  account  we  had  given  of  him.  By  the  third  he 
begged  us,  on  behalf  of  his  whole  nation,  not  to  proceed  farther  on 
account  of  the  great  dangers  to  which  we  exposed  ourselves. 

"  I  replied  that  I  did  not  fear  death,  and  that  I  esteemed  no  happi- 
ness greater  than  that  of  losing  my  life  for  the  glory  of  him  who  made 
us  all.  But  this  these  poor  people  could  not  understand.  The  coun- 
cil was  followed  by  a  great  feast  which  consisted  of  four  courses,  which 
we  had  to  take  with  all  their  ways.  The  first  course  was  a  great  wooden 
dish  full  of  sagamity. —  that  is  to  say,  of  Indian  meal  boiled  in  water 
and  seasoned  with  grease.  The  master  of  ceremonies,  with  a  spoonful 
of  sagamity,  presented  it  three  or  four  times  to  my  mouth,  as  we  would 
do  with  a  little  child  ;  he  did  the  same  to  M.  Jollyet.  For  the  second 
course,  he  brought  in  a  second  dish  containing  three  fish ;  he  took 
some  pains  to  remove  the  bones,  and  having  blown  upon  it  to  cool  it, 
put  it  in  my  mouth  as  we  would  food  to  a  bird.  For  the  third  course 
they  produced  a  large  dog  which  they  had  just  killed,  but,  learning 
that  we  did  not  eat  it,  withdrew  it.  Finally,  the  fourth  course  was  a 
piece  of  wild  ox,  the  fattest  portions  of  which  were  put  into  our 
mouths. 

"  We  took  leave  of  our  Illinois  about  the  end  of  June,  and  em- 
barked in  sight  of  all  the  tribe,  who  admire  our  little  canoes,  having 
never  seen  the  like. 

"As  we  were  discoursing,  while  sailing  gently  down  a  beautiful, 
still,  clear  water,  we  heard  the  noise  of  a  rapid  into  which  we  were 
about  to  fall.  I  have  seen  nothing  more  frightful ;  a  mass  of  large 
trees,  entire,  with  branches, —  real  floating  islands, —  came  rushing  from 
the  mouth  of  the  river  Pekitanoiii,  so  impetuously  that  we  could  not, 
without  great  danger,  expose  ourselves  to  pass  across.  The  agitation 
was  so  great  that  the  water  was  all  muddy  and  could  not  get  clear.* 

*  Pekitanoiii,  with  the  aboriginals,  signified  "  muddy  water,"  on  the  authority  of 
Father  Marest,  in  his  letter  referred  to  in  a  previous  note.  The  present  name,  Mis- 
souri, according  to  Le  Page  du  Pratz,  vol.  2,  p.  157,  was  derived  from  the  tribe,  Mis- 
souris,  whose  village  was  some  forty  leagues  above  its  mouth,  and  who  massacred  a 
French  garrison  situated  in  that  part  of  the  country.  The  late  statesman  and  orator, 
Thomas  A.  Benton,  referring  to  the  muddiness  prevailing  at  all  seasons  of  the  year  in 
the  Missouri  River,  said  that  its  waters  were  "too  thick  to  swim  in  and  too  thin  to 
walk  on." 


PLOT    AGAINST   MARQUETTE'S    LIFE.  49 

"After  having  made  about  twenty  leagues  due  south,  and  a  little 
less  to  the  southeast,  we  came  to  a  river  called  Ouabouskigou,  the  mouth 
of  which  is  at  36°  north.*  This  river  comes  from  the  country  on  the 
east  inhabited  by  the  Chaouanons,  in  such  numbers  that  they  reckon 
as  many  as  twenty-three  villages  in  one  district,  and  fifteen  in  another, 
lying  quite  near  each  other.  They  are  by  no  means  warlike,  and  are 
the  people  the  Iroquois  go  far  to  seek  in  order  to  wage  an  unprovoked 
war  upon  them ;  and  as  these  poor  people  cannot  defend  themselves 
they  allow  themselves  to  be  taken  and  carried  off  like  sheep,  and,  inno- 
cent as  they  are,  do  not  fail  to  experience  the  barbarity  of  the  Iroquois, 
who  burn  them  cruelly.' 

Having  arrived  about  half  a  league  from  Akansea  (Arkansas 
River),  we  saw  two  canoes  coining  toward  us.  The  commander  was 
standing  up  holding  in  his  hand  a  calumet,  with  which  he  made  signs 
according  to  the  custom  of  the  country.  He  approached  us,  singing  quite 
agreeably,  and  invited  us  to  smoke,  after  which  he  presented  us  some 
sagarnity  and  bread  made  of  Indian  corn,  of  which  we  ate  a  little. 
We  fortunately  found  among  them  a  man  who  understood  Illinois  much 
better  than  the  man  we  brought  from  Mitchigameh.  By  means  of 
him,  I  first  spoke  to  the  assembly  by  ordinary  presents.  They  admired 
what  I  told  them  of  God  and  the  mysteries  of  our  holy  faith,  and 
showed  a  great  desire  to  keep  me  with  them  to  instruct  them. 

"  We  then  asked  them  what  they  knew  of  the  sea ;  they  replied 
that  we  were  only  ten  days'  journey  from  it  (we  could  have  made  the 
distance  in  five  days) ;  that  they  did  not  know  the  nations  who  inhab- 
ited it,  because  their  enemies  prevented  their  commerce  with  those 
Europeans ;  that  the  Indians  with  fire-arms  whom  we  had  met  were 
their  enemies,  who  cut  off  the  passage  to  the  sea,  and  prevented  their 
making  the  acquaintance  of  the  Europeans,  or  having  any  commerce 
with  them  ;  that  besides  we  should  expose  ourselves  greatly  by  passing 
on,  in  consequence  of  the  continual  war  parties  that  their  enemies  sent 
out  on  the  river;  since,  being  armed  and  used  to  war,  we  could  not, 
without  evident  danger,  advance  on  that  river  which  they  constantly 
occupy. 

"  In  the  evening  the  sachems  held  a  secret  council  on  the  design  of 
some  to  kill  us  for  plunder,  but  the  chief  broke  up  all  these  schemes, 
and  sending  for  us,  danced  the  calumet  in  our  presence,  and  then,  to 
remove  all  fears,  presented  it  to  me. 

"M.  Jollyet  and  I  held  another  council  to  deliberate  on  what  we 
should  do,  whether  we  should  push  on,  or  rest  satisfied  with  the  dis- 

*The  W abash  here  appears,  for  the  first  time,  by  name.     A  more  extended  notice 
of  the  various  names  by  which  this  stream  has  been  known  will  be  given  farther  on. 
4 


50  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON    THE    NORTHWEST. 

covery  that  we  had  made.  After  having  attentively  considered  that 
we  were  not  far  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  the  basin  of  which  is  31° 
40'  north,  and  we  at  33°  40';  so  that  we  could  not  be  more  than  two 
or  three  days'  journey  off;  that  the  Mississippi  undoubtedly  had  its 
mouth  in  Florida  or  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  not  on  the  east  in  Vir- 
ginia, whose  sea-coast  is  at  34°  north,  which  we  had  passed,  without 
having  as  yet  reached  the  sea,  nor  on  the  western  side  in  California, 
because  that  would  require  a  west,  or  west-southwest  course,  and  we 
had  always  been  going  south.  We  considered,  moreover,  that  we 
risked  losing  the  fruit  of  this  voyage,  of  which  we  could  give  no 
information,  if  we  should  throw  ourselves  into  the  hands  of  the  Span- 
iards, who  would  undoubtedly  at  least  hold  us  as  prisoners.  Besides 
it  was  clear  that  we  wrere  not  in  a  condition  to  resist  Indians  allied  to 
Europeans,  numerous  and  expert  in  the  use  of  fire-arms,  who  contin- 
ually infested  the  lower  part  of  the  river.  Lastly,  we  had  gathered  all 
the  information  that  could  be  desired  from  the  expedition.  All  these 
reasons  induced  us  to  return.  This  we  announced  to  the  Indians,  and 
after  a  day's  rest  prepared  for  it. 

"After  a  month's  navigation  down  the  Mississippi,  from  the  42d  to 
below  the  34th  degree,  and  after  having  published  the  gospel  as  well 
as  I  could  to  the  nations  I  had  met,  we  left  the  village  of  Akansea  on 
the  17th  of  July,  to  retrace  our  steps.  We  accordingly  ascended  the 
Mississippi,  which  gave  us  great  trouble  to  stem  its  currents.  We  left 
it,  indeed,  about  the  38th  degree,  to  enter  another  river  (the  Illinois), 
which  greatly  shortened  our  way,  and  brought  us,  with  little  trouble, 
to  the  lake  of  the  Illinois. 

"  We  had  seen  nothing  like  this  river  for  the  fertility  of  the  land,  its 
prairies,  woods,  wild  cattle,  stag,  deer,  wrild-cats,  bustards,  swans,  ducks, 
parrots,  and  even  beaver;  its  many  little  lakes  and  rivers.  That  on 
which  wre  sailed  is  broad  deep  and  gentle  for  sixty-five  leagues. 
During  the  spring  and  part  of  the  summer,  the  only  portage  is  half  a 
league. 

"  We  found  there  an  Illinois  town  called  Kaskaskia,  composed  of 
seventy -four  cabins :  they  received  us  well,  and  compelled  me  to  promise 
them  to  return  and  instruct  them.  One  of  the  chiefs  of  this  tribe,  with 
his  young  men,  escorted  us  to  the  Illinois  Lake,  whence  at  last  we 
returned  in  the  close  of  September  to  the  Bay  of  the  Fetid  (Green  Bay), 
whence  we  had  set  out  in  the  beginning  of  June.  Had  all  this  voyage 
caused  but  the  salvation  of  a  single  soul,  I  should  deem  all  my  fatigue 
well  repaid,  and  this  I  have  reason  to  think,  for,  when  I  was  returning, 
I  passed  by  the  Indians  of  Peoria.  1  was  three  days  announcing  the 
faith  in  their  cabins,  after  which,  as  we  were  embarking,  they  brought 


BIOGRAPHY    OF   JOLIET.  51 

me,  on  the  water's  edge,  a  dying  child,  which  I  baptized  a  little  before 
it  expired,  by  an  admirable  providence  for  the  salvation  of  that  inno- 
cent soul." 

Count  Frontenac,  writing  from  Quebec  to  M.  Colbert,  Minister  of 
the  Marine,  at  Paris,  under  date  of  November  14,  1674,  announces  that 
^'Sieur  Joliet,  whom  Monsieur  Talon  advised  me,  on  my  arrival  from 
France,  to  dispatch  for  the  discovery  of  the  South  Sea,  has  returned  three 
months  ago.  He  has  discovered  some  very  fine  countries,  and  a  navi- 
gation so  easy  through  beautiful  rivers  he  has  found,  that  a  person  can 
go  from  Lake  Ontario  in  a  bark  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  there  being 
only  one  carrying  place  (around  Niagara  Falls),  where  Lake  Ontario 
communicates  with  Lake  Erie.  I  send  you,  by  my  secretary,  the  map 
which  Sieur  Joliet  has  made  of  the  great  river  he  has  discovered,  and 
the  observations  he  has  been  able  to  recollect,  as  he  lost  all  his  minutes 
and  journals  in  the  shipwreck  he  suffered  within  sight  of  Montreal, 
where,  after  having  completed  a  voyage  of  twelve  hundred  leagues, 
he  was  near  being  drowned,  and  lost  all  his  papers  and  a  little  Indian 
whom  he  brought  from  those  countries.  These  accidents  have  caused 
me  great  regret."* 

Louis  Joliet,  or  Jolliet,  or  Jollyet,  as  the  name  is  variously  spelled, 
was  the  son  of  Jean  Joliet,  a  wheelwright,  and  Mary  d'Abancour;  he 
was  born  at  Quebec  in  the  year  1645.  Having  finished  his  studies  at 
the  Jesuit  college  he  determined  to  become  a  member  of  that  order,  and 
with  that  purpose  in  view  took  some  of  the  minor  orders  of  the  society 
in  August,  1662.  He  completed  his  studies  in  1666,  but  during  this 
time  his  attention  had  become  interested  in  Indian  affairs,  and  he  laid 
aside  all  thoughts  of  assuming  the  "  black  gown."  That  he  acquired 
great  ability  and  tact  in  managing  the  savages,  is  apparent  from  the 
fact  of  his  having  been  selected  to  discover  the  south  sea  by  the  way  of 
the  Mississippi.  The  map  which  he  drew  from  memory,  and  which 
was  forwarded  by  Count  Frontenac  to  France,  was  afterward  attached 
to  Marquette's  Journal,  and  was  published  by  Therenot,  at  Paris,  in 
1681.  Sparks,  in  his  "  Life  of  Marquette,"  copies  this  map,  and  ascribes 
it  to  his  hero.  This  must  be  a  mistake,  since  it  differs  quite  essentially 
from  Marquette's  map,  which  has  recently  been  brought  to  public  notice 
by  Dr.  Shea. 

Joliet's  account  of  the  voyage,  mentioned  by  Frontenac,  is  published 
in  Hennepin's  "  Discovery  of  a  Vast  Country  in  America."  It  is  very 
meagre,  and  does  not  present  any  facts  not  covered  by  Marquette's  nar- 
rative. 

In  1680  Joliet  was  appointed  hydrographer  to  the  king,  and  many 
*  Paris  Documents,  vol.  9,  p.  121. 


52  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON    THE    NORTHWEST. 

well-drawn  maps  at  Quebec  show  that  his  office  was  no  sinecure.  After- 
ward, he  made  a  voyage  to  Hudson's  Bay  in  the  interest  of  the  king; 
and  as  a  reward  for  the  faithful  performance  of  his  duty,  he  was  granted 
the  island  of  Anticosti,  which,  on  account  of  the  fisheries  and  Indian 
trade,  was  at  that  time  very  valuable.  After  this,  he  signed  himself 
Joliet  d'Anticosty.  In  the  year  1697,  he  obtained  the  seignory  of 
Joliet  on  the  river  Etchemins,  south  of  Quebec.  M.  Joliet  died  in 
1701,  leaving  a  wife  and  four  children,  the  descendants  of  whom  are 
living  in  Canada  still  possessed  of  the  seignory  of  Joliet,  among  whom 
are  Archbishop  Taschereau  of  Quebec  and  Archbishop  Tache  of  Red 
River. 

Mount  Joliet,  on  the  Desplaines  River,  above  its  confluence  with  the 
Kankakee,  and  the  city  of  Joliet,  in  the  county  of  Will,  perpetuate 
the  name  of  Joliet  in  the  state  of  Illinois. 

Jacques  Marquette  was  born  in  Laon,  France,  in  1637.  His  was 
the  oldest  and  one  of  the  most  respectable  citizen  families  of  the  place. 
At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  entered  the  Society  of  Jesus ;  received  or- 
ders in  1666  to  embark  for  Canada,  arriving  at  Quebec  in  September 
of  the  same  year.  For  two  years  he  remained  at  Three  Rivers,  study- 
ing the  different  Indian  dialects  under  Father  Gabriel  Druillentes. 
At  the  end  of  that  period  he  received  orders  to  repair  to  the  upper 
lakes,  which  he  did,  and  established  the  Mission  of  Sault  Ste.  Marie. 
The  following  year  Dablon  arrived,  having  been  appointed  Superior  of 
the  Ottawa  missions ;  Marquette  then  went  to  the  "  Mission  of  the  Holy 
Ghost "  at  the  western  extremity  of  Lake  Superior ;  here  he  remained 
for  two  years,  and  it  was  his  accounts,  forwarded  from  this  place,  that 
caused  Frontenac  and  Talon  to  send  Joliet  on  his  voyage  to  the  Mis- 
sissippi. The  Sioux  having  dispersed  the  Algonquin  tribes  at  Lapointe, 
the  latter  retreated  eastward  to  Mackinaw ;  Marquette  followed  and 
founded  there  the  Mission  of  St.  Ignatius.  Here  he  remained  until 
Joliet  came,  in  1673,  with  orders  to  accompany  him  on  his  voyage  of 
discovery  down  the  Mississippi.  Upon  his  return,  Marquette  remained 
at  Mackinaw  until  October,  1674,  when  he  received  orders  to  carry  out 
his  pet  project  of  founding  the  "  Mission  of  the  Immaculate  Concep- 
tion of  the  Blessed  Virgin  "  among  the  Illinois.  He  immediately  set 
out,  but  owing  to  a  severe  dysentery,  contracted  the  year  previous,  he 
made  but  slow  progress.  However,  he  reached  Chicago  Creek,  De- 
cember 4,  where,  growing  rapidly  worse,  he  was  compelled  to  winter. 
On  the  29th  of  the  following  March  he  set  out  for  the  Illinois  town, 
on  the  river  of  that  name.  He  succeeded  in  getting  there  on  the  8th 
of  April.  Being  cordially  received  by  the  Indians,  he  was  enabled  to 
realize  his  long  deferred  and  much  cherished  project  of  establishin 


DEATH    OF   MARQUETTE.  53 

the  "  Mission  of  the  Immaculate  Conception."  Believing  that  his  life 
was  drawing  to  a  close,  he  endeavored  to  reach  Mackinaw  before  his 
death  should  take  place.  But  in  this  hope  he  was  doomed  to  disap- 
pointment ;  by  the  time  he  reached  Lake  Michigan  "  he  was  so  weak 
that  he  had  to  be  carried  like  a  child."  One  Saturday,  Marquette  and 
his  two  companions  entered  a  small  stream  —  which  still  bears  his 
name  —  on  the  eastern  side  of  Lake  Michigan,  and  in  this  desolate 
spot,  virtually  alone,  destitute  of  all  the  comforts  of  life,  died  James 
Marquette.  His  life-long  wish  to  die  a  martyr  in  the  holy  cause  of 
Jesus  and  the  Blessed  Yirgin,  was  granted.  Thus  passed  away  one  of 
the  purest  and  most  sacrificing  servants  of  God, —  one  of  the  bravest 
and  most  heroic  of  men. 

The  biographical  sketch  of  Joliet  has  been  collated  from  a  number 
of  reliable  authorities,  and  is  believed  truthful.  Our  notice  of  Father 
Marquette  is  condensed  from  his  life  as  written  by  Dr.  Shea,  than 
whom  there  is  no  one  better  qualified  to  perform  the  task. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

EXPLORATIONS  BY  LA  SALLE. 

THE  success  of  the  French,  in  their  plan  of  colonization,  was  so 
great,  and  the  trade  with  the  savages,  exchanging  fineries,  guns,  knives, 
and,  more  than  all,  spirituous  liquors  for  valuable  furs,  yielded  such 
enormous  profits,  that  impetus  was  given  to  still  greater  enterprises. 
They  involved  no  less  than  the  hemming  in  of  the  British  colonies 
along  the  Atlantic  coast  and  a  conquest  of  the  rich  mines  in  Mexico, 
from  the  Spanish.  These  purposes  are  boldly  avowed  in  a  letter  of 
M.  Talon,  the  king's  enterprising  intendant  at  Quebec,  in  1671 ;  and 
also  in  the  declarations  of  the  great  Colbert,  at  Paris,  "  I  am,"  says  M. 
Talon,  in  his  letter  to  the  king  referred  to,  "no  courtier,  and  assert, 
not  through  a  mere  desire  to  please  the  king,  nor  without  just  reason, 
that  this  portion  of  the  French  monarchy  will  become  something 
grand.  What  I  discover  around  me  makes  me  foresee  this  ;  and  those 
colonies  of  foreign  nations  so  long  settled  on  the  seaboard  already 
tremble  with  fright,  in  view  of  what  his  majesty  has  accomplished 
here  in  the  interior.  The  measures  adopted  to  confine  them  within 
narrow  limits,  by  taking  possession,  which  I  have  caused  to  be  effected, 
do  not  allow  them  to  spread,  without  subjecting  themselves,  at  the 
same  time,  to  be  treated  as  usurpers,  and  have  war  waged  against  them. 
This  in  truth  is  what  by  all  their  acts  they  seem  to  greatly  fear.  They 
already  know  that  your  name  is  spread  abroad  among  the  savages 
throughout  all  those  countries,  and  that  they  regard  your  majesty  alone 
as  the  arbitrator  of  peace  and  war ;  they  detach  themselves  insensibly 
from  other  Europeans,  and  excepting  the  Iroquois,  of  whom  I  am  not 
as  vet  assured,  we  can  safely  promise  that  the  others  will  take  up  arms 
whenever  we  please."  "  The  principal  result,"  says  La  Salle,  in  his 
memoir  at  a  later  day,  "  expected  from  the  great  perils  and  labors  which 
I  underwent  in  the  discovery  of  the  Mississippi  was  to  satisfy  the  wish 
expressed  to  me  by  the  late  Monsieur  Colbert,  of  finding  a  port  where 
the  French  might  establish  themselves  and  harass  the  Spaniards  in 
those  regions  from  whence  they  derive  all  their  wealth.  The  place  I 
propose  to  fortify  lies  sixty  leagues  above  the  mouth  of  the  river  Col- 
bert (i.  e.  Mississippi)  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  possesses  all  the 
advantages  for  such  a  purpose  which  can  be  wished  for,  both  on  account 


54 


EARLY  LIFE  OF  LA  SALLE.  55 

of  its  excellent  position  and  the  favorable  disposition  of  the  savages  who 
live  in  that  part  of  the  country."*  It  is  not  our  province  to  indulge 
in  conjectures  as  to  how  far  these  daring  purposes  of  Talon  and  Col- 
bert would  have  succeeded  had  not  the  latter  died,  and  their  active 
assistant,  Robert  La  Salle,  have  lost  his  life,  at  the  hands  of  an  assassin, 
when  in  the  act  of  executing  the  preliminary  part  of  the  enterprise. 
"We  turn,  rather,  to  matters  of  historical  record,  and  proceed  with  a 
condensed  sketch  of  the  life  and  voyages  of  La  Salle,  as  it  was  his  dis- 
coveries that  led  to  the  colonization  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  by  the 
French. 

La  Salle  was  born,  of  a  distinguished  family,  at  Rouen,  France. 
He  was  consecrated  to  the  service  of  God  in  early  life,  and  entered  the 
Society  of  Jesus,  in  which  he  remained  ten  years,  laying  the  foundation 
of  moral  principles,  regular  habits  and  elements  of  science  that  served 
him  so  well  in  his  future  arduous  undertakings.  Like  many  other 
young  men  having  plans  of  useful  life,  he  thought  Canada  would  offer 
better  facilities  to  develop  them  than  the  cramped  and  fixed  society 
of  France.  He  accordingly  left  his  home,  and  reached  Montreal  in 
1666.  Being  of  a  resolute  and  venturesome  disposition,  he  found 
employment  in  making  explorations  of  the  country  about  the  lakes. 
He  soon  became  a  favorite  of  Talon,  the  intendant,  and  of  Frontenae, 
the  governor,  at  Quebec.  He  was  selected  by  the  latter  to  take  com- 
mand of  Fort  Frontenac,  near  the  present  city  of  Kingston,  on  the  St. 
Lawrence  River,  and  at  that  time  a  dilapidated,  wooden  structure  on 
the  frontier  of  Canada.  He  remained  in  Canada  about  nine  years, 
acquiring  a  knowledge  of  the  country  and  particularly  of  the  Indian 
tribes,  their  manners,  habits  and  customs,  and  winning  the  confidence 
of  the  French  authorities.  He  returned  to  France  and  presented  a 
memoir  to  the  king,  in  which  he  urged  the  necessity  of  maintaining 
Fort  Frontenac,  which  he  offered  to  restore  with  a  structure  of 
stone ;  to  keep  there  a  garrison  equal  to  the  one  at  Montreal ;  to  em- 
ploy as  many  as  fifteen  laborers  during  the  first  year;  to  clear  and  till 
the  land,  and  to  supply  the  surrounding  Indian  villages  with  Recollect 
missionaries  in  furtherance  of  the  cause  of  religion,  all  at  his  own  ex- 
pense, on  condition  that  the  king  would  grant  him  the  right  of  seigniory 
and  a  monopoly  of  the  trade  incident  to  it.  He  further  petitioned  for 
title  of  nobility  in  consideration  of  voyages  he  had  already  made  in 
Canada  at  his  own  expense,  and  which  had  resulted  in  the  great  bene- 
fit to  the  king's  colony.  The  king  heard  the  petition  graciously,  and 

*  Talon's  letter  to  the  king1:  Paris  Documents,  vol.  9,  p.  73.  La  Salle's  Memoir  to 
the  king,  on  the  necessity  of  fitting  out  an  expedition  to  take  possession  of  Louisiana: 
Historical  Collections  of  Louisiana,  part  1,  p.  5. 


56  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

on  the  13th  May,  1675,  granted  La  Salle  and  his  heirs  Fort  Frontenac, 
with  four  leagues  of  the  adjacent  country  along  the  lakes  and  rivers 
above  and  below  the  fort  and  a  half  a  league  inward,  and  the  adjacent 
islands,  with  the  right  of  hunting  and  fishing  on  Lake  Ontario  and 
the  circumjacent  rivers.  On  the  same  day,  the  king  issued  to  La  Salle 
letters  patent  of  nobility,  having,  as  the  king  declares,  been  informed 
of  the  worthy  deeds  performed  by  the  people,  either  in  reducing  or 
civilizing  the  savages  or  in  defending  themselves  against  their  frequent 
insults,  especially  those  of  the  Iroquois  ;  in  despising  the  greatest  dan- 
gers in  order  to  extend  the  king's  name  and  empire  to  the  extremity 
of  that  new  world  ;  and  desiring  to  reward  those  who  have  thus  ren- 
dered themselves  most  eminent ;  and  wishing  to  treat  most  favorably 
Robert  Cavalier  Sieur  de  La  Salle  on  account  of  the  good  and  laudable 
report  that  has  been  rendered  concerning  his  actions  in  Canada,  the 
king  does  ennoble  and  decorate  with  the  title  of  nobility  the  said  cav- 
alier, together  with  his  wife  and  children.  He  left  France  with  these 
precious  documents,  and  repaired  to  Fort  Frontenac,  where  he  per- 
formed the  conditions  imposed  by  the  terms  of  his  titles. 

He  sailed  for  France  again  in  1677,  and  in  the  following  year  after 
he  and  Colbert  had  fully  matured  their  plans,  he  again  petitioned  the 
king  for  a  license  to  prosecute  further  discoveries.  The  king  granted 
his  request,  giving  him  a  permit,  under  date  of  May  12,  1678,  to  en- 
deavor to  discover  the  western  part  of  New  France ;  the  king  avowing 
in  the  letters  patent  that  "  he  had  nothing  more  at  heart  than  the  dis- 
covery of  that  country  where  there  is  a  prospect  of  finding  a  way  to 
penetrate  as  far  as  Mexico,"  and  authorizing  La  Salle  to  prosecute  dis- 
coveries, and  construct  forts  in  such  places  as  he  might  think  necessary, 
and  enjoy  there  the  same  monopoly  as  at  Fort  Frontenac, —  all  on  con- 
dition that  the  enterprise  should  be  prosecuted  at  LaSalle's  expense, 
and  completed  within  five  years;  that  he  should  not  trade  with  the 
savages,  who  carried  their  peltries  and  beavers  to  Montreal ;  and  that 
the  governor,  intendant,  justices,  and  other  officers  of  the  king  in  New 
France,  should  aid  La  Salle  in  his  enterprise.*  Before  leaving  France, 
La  Saiie,  through  the  Prince  de  Conti,  was  introduced  to  one  Henri 
de  Tonti,  an  Italian  by  birth,  who  for  eight  years  had  been  in  the 
French  service.  Having  had  one  of  his  hands  shot  off  while  in  Sicily, 
he  repaired  to  France  to  seek  other  employment.  It  was  a  most  for- 
tunate meeting.  Tonti  —  a  name  that  should  be  prominently  associ- 
ated with  discoveries  in  this  part  of  America  —  became  La  Salle's 
companion.  Ever  faithful  and  courageous,  he  ably  and  zealously  fur- 

*  Vide  the  petitions  of  La  Salle  to,  and  the  grants  from,  the  king,  which  are  found 
at  length  in  the  Paris  Documents,  vol.  9,  pp.  122  to  127. 


LOUIS    HENNEPIN.  57 

thered  all  of  La  Salle's  plans,  followed  and  defended  him  under  the 
most  discouraging  trials,  with  an  unselfish  fidelity  that  has  few  paral- 
lels in  any  age. 

Supplied  with  this  new  grant  of  enlarged  powers,  La  Salle,  in  com- 
pany with  Tonti, —  or  Tonty,  as  Dr.  Sparks  says  he  has  seen  the  name 
written  in  an  autograph  letter, —  and  thirty  men,  comprising  pilots, 
sailors,  carpenters  and  other  mechanics,  with  a  supply  of  material 
necessary  for  the  intended  exploration,  left  France  for  Quebec.  Here 
the  party  were  joined  by  some  Canadians,  and  the  whole  force  was 
sent  forward  to  Fort  Frontenac,  at  the  outlet  of  Lake  Ontario,  since 
this  fort  had  been  granted  to  La  Salle.  He  had,  in  conformity  to  the 
terms  of  his  letters  patent,  greatly  enlarged  and  strengthened  its  de- 
fenses. Here  he  met  Louis  Hennepin,  a  Franciscan  Friar,  whom  it 
seems  had  been  sent  thither  along  with  Father  Gabriel  de  la  Ribourde 
and  Zenobius  Membre,  all  of  the  same  religious  order,  to  accompany 
La  Salle's  expedition.  In  the  meantime,  Hennepin  was  occupied  in 
pastoral  labors  among  the  soldiers  of  the  garrison,  and  the  inhabitants 
of  a  little  hamlet  of  peasants  near  by,  and  proselyting  the  Indians  of 
the  neighboring  country.  Hennepin,  from  his  own  account,  had  not 
only  traveled  over  several  parts  of  Europe  before  coming  to  Canada, 
but  since  his  arrival  in  America,  had  spent  much  time  in  roaming 
about  among  the  savages,  to  gratify  his  love  of  adventure  and  acquire 
knowledge. 

Hennepin's  name  and  writings  are  so  prominently  connected  with 
the  early  history  of  the  Mississippi  Yalley,  and,  withal,  his  contradic- 
tory statements,  made  at  a  later  day  of  his  life,  as  to  the  extent  of  his 
own  travels,  have  so  clouded  his  reputation  with  grave  doubt  as  to  his 
regard  for  truth,  that  we  will  turn  aside  and  give  the  reader  a  sketch 
of  this  most  singular  man  and  his  claims  as  a  discoverer.  He  was 
bold,  courageous,  patient  and  hopeful  under  the  most  trying  fatigues ; 
and  had  a  taste  for  the  privations  and  dangers  of  a  life  among  the 
savages,  whose  ways  and  caprices  he  well  understood,  and  knew  how 
to  turn  them  to  insure  his  own  safety.  He  was  a  shrewd  observer  and 
possessed  a  faculty  for  that  detail  and  little  minutiae,  which  make  a 
narrative  racy  and  valuable.  He  was  vain  and  much  given  to  self- 
glorification.  He  accompanied  La  Salle,  in  the  first  voyage,  as  far  as 
Peoria  Lake,  and  he  and  Father  Zenobe  Membre  are  the  historians  of 
that  expedition.  From  Peoria  Lake  he  went  down  the  Illinois,  under 
orders  from  La  Salle,  and  up  the  Mississippi  beyond  St.  Anthony's 
Falls,  giving  this  name  to  the  falls.  This  interesting  voyage  was  not 
prosecuted  voluntarily ;  for  Hennepin  and  his  two  companions  were 
captured  by  the  Sioux  and  taken  up  the  river  as  prisoners,  often  in 


58  HISTORIC    NOTES   ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

great  peril  of  their  lives.  He  saw  La  Salle  no  more,  after  parting  with 
him  at  Peoria  Lake.  He  was  released  from  captivity  through  the 
intervention  of  Mons.  Duluth,  a  French  Coureur  de  Bois,  who  had 
previously  established  a  trade  with  the  Sioux,  on  the  upper  Mississippi, 
by  way  of  Lake  Superior.  After  his  escape,  Hennepin  descended  the 
Mississippi  to  the  mouth  of  the  "Wisconsin,  which  he  ascended,  made 
the  portage  at  the  head  of  Fox  River,  thence  to  Green  Bay  and  Mack- 
inaw, by  the  route  pursued  by  Joliet  and  Marquette  on  their  way  to 
the  Mississippi,  seven  years  before.  From  Mackinaw  he  proceeded  to 
France,  where,  in  1683,  he  published,  under  royal  authority,  an  account 
of  his  travels.  For  refusing  to  obey  an  order  of  his  superiors,  to  return 
to  America,  he  was  banished  from  France.  He  went  to  Holland  and 
obtained  the  favor  and  patronage  of  William  HI,  king  of  England,  to 
whose  service,  as  he  himself  says,  "  he  entirely  devoted  himself."  In 
Holland,  he  received  money  and  sustenance  from  Mr.  Blathwait,  King 
William's  secretary  of  war,  while  engaged  in  preparing  a  new  volume 
of  his  voyages,  which  was  published  at  Utrecht,  in  1697,  and  dedicated 
"To  His  Most  Excellent  Majesty  William  the  Third."  The  revised 
edition  contains  substantially  all  of  the  first,  and  a  great  deal  besides ; 
for  in  this  last  work  Hennepin  lays  claim,  for  the  first  time,  to  having 
gone  down  the  Mississippi  to  its  mouth,  thus  seeking  to  deprive  La 
Salle  of  the  glory  attaching  to  his  name,  on  account  of  this  very  dis- 
covery. La  Salle  had  now  been  dead  about  fourteen  years,  and  from 
the  time  he  went  down  the  Mississippi,  in  1682,  to  the  hour  of  his 
death,  although  his  discovery  was  well  known,  especially  to  Hennepin, 
the  latter  never  laid  any  claim  to  having  anticipated  him  in  the  discov- 
ery. Besides,  Hennepin's  own  account,  after  so  long  a  silence,  of  his 
pretended  voyage  down  the  river  is  so  utterly  inconsistent  with  itself, 
especially  with  respect  to  dates  and  the  impossibility  of  his  traveling 
the  distances  within  the  time  he  alleges,  that  the  story  carries  its  own 
refutation.  For  this  mendacious  act,  Father  Hennepin  has  merited  the 
severest  censures  of  Charlevoix,  Jared  Sparks,  Francis  Parkman,  Dr. 
Shea  and  other  historical  critics. 

His  first  work  is  generally  regarded  as  authority.  That  he  did  go 
up  the  Mississippi  river  there  seems  to  be  no  controversy,  while  grave 
doubts  prevail  as  to  many  statements  in  his  last  publication,  which 
would  otherwise  pass  without  suspicion  were  they  not  found  in  com- 
pany with  statements  known  to  be  untrue. 

In  the  preface  to  his  last  work,  issued  in  1697,  Father  Hennepin 
assigns  as  a  reason  why  he  did  not  publish  his  descent  of  the  Missis- 
sippi in  his  volume  issued  in  1683,  "  that  I  was  obliged  to  say  nothing 
of  the  course  of  the  Mississippi,  from  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  down 


HENNEPIN    AND    LA    SALLE.  59 

to  the  sea,  for  fear  of  disobliging  M.  La  Salle,  with  whom  I  began  my 
discovery.  This  gentleman,  alone,  would  have  the  glory  of  having  dis- 
covered the  course  of  that  river.  But  when  he  heard  that  I  had  done 
it  two  years  before  him  he  could  never  forgive  me,  though,  as  I  have 
said,  I  was  so  modest  as  to  publish  nothing  of  it.  This  was  the  true 
cause  of  his  malice  against  me,  and  of  the  barbarous  usage  I  met  with 
in  France." 

Still,  his  description  of  places  he  did  visit ;  the  aboriginal  names 
and  geographical  features  of  localities  ;  his  observations,  especially  upon 
the  manners  and  customs  of  the  Indians,  and  other  facts  which  he  had 
no  motive  to  misrepresent,  are  generally  regarded  as  true  in  his  last  as 
well  as  in  his  first  publication.  His  works,  indeed,  are  the  only  repos- 
itories of  many  interesting  particulars  relating  to  the  northwest,  and 
authors  quote  from  him,  some  indiscriminately  and  others  with  more 
caution,  while  all  criticise  him  without  measure. 

Hennepin  was  born  in  Belgium  in  1640,  as  is  supposed,  and  died 
at  Utrecht,  Holland,  within  a  few  years  after  issuing  his  last  book.  This 
was  republished  in  London  in  1698,  the  translation  into  English  being 
wretchedly  executed.  The  book,  aside  from  its  historical  value  and  the 
notoriety  attaching  to  it  because  of  the  new  claims  Hennepin  makes, 
is  quite  a  curiosity.  It  is  made  up  of  Hennepin's  own  travels,  blended 
with  his  fictitious  discoveries,  scraps  and  odd  ends  taken  from  the 
writings  of  other  travelers  without  giving'credit ;  the  whole  embellished 
with  plates  and  a  map  inserted  by  the  bookseller,  and  the  text  empha- 
sized with  italics  and  displayed  type;  all  designed  to  render  it  a  speci- 
men, as  it  probably  was  in  its  day,  of  the  highest  skill  attained  in  the 
art  of  book-making. 

La  Salle  brought  up  the  St.  Lawrence  to  Fort  Frontenac  the 
anchors,  cordage  and  other  material  to  be  used  in  the  vessel  which  he 
designed  to  construct  above  the  Falls  of  Niagara  for  navigating  the 
western  lakes.  He  already  had  three  small  vessels  on  Lake  Ontario, 
which  he  had  made  use  of  in  a  coasting  trade  with  the  Indians.  One 
of  these,  a  brigantine  of  ten  tons,  was  loaded  with  his  effects ;  his  men, 
including  Fathers  Gabriel,  Zenobius  Membre  and  Hennepin,  who  were, 
as  Father  Zenobia  declares,  commissioned  with  care  of  the  spiritual 
direction  of  the  expedition,  were  placed  aboard,  and  on  the  18th  of 
November  the  vessel  sailed  westward  for  the  Niagara  River.  They 
kept  the  northern  shore,  and  run  into  land  and  bartered  for  corn  with 
the  Iroquois  at  one  of  their  villages,  situated  where  Toronto,  Canada, 
is  located,  and  for  fear  of  being  frozen  up  in  the  river,  which  here 
empties  into  the  lake,  had  to  cut  the  ice  from  about  their  ship.  Detained 
by  adverse  winds,  they  remained  here  until  the  wind  was  favorable, 


60  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

when  they  sailed  across  the  end  of  the  lake  and  found  an  anchorage  in 
the  mouth  of  Niagara  River  on  the  6th  of  December.  The  season  was 
far  advanced,  and  the  ground  covered  with  snow  a  foot  deep.  Large 
masses  of  ice  were  floating  down  the  river  endangering  the  vessel,  and 
it  was  necessary  to  take  measures  to  give  it  security.  Accordingly  the 
vessel  was  hauled  with  cables  up  against  the  strong  current.  One  of 
the  cables  broke,  and  the  vessel  itself  came  very  near  being  broken  to 
pieces  or  carried  away  by  the  ice,  which  was  grinding  its  way  to  the 
open  lake.  Finally,  by  sheer  force  of  human  strength,  the  vessel  was 
dragged  to  the  shore,  and  moored  with  a  strong  hawser  under  a  protect- 
ing cliff  out  of  danger  from  the  floating  ice.  A  cabin,  protected  with 
palisades,  for  shelter  and  to  serve  as  a  magazine  to  store  the  supplies, 
was  also  constructed.  The  ground  was  frozen  so  hard  that  it  had  to  be 
thawed  out  with  boiling  water  before  the  men  could  drive  stakes  into  it. 

The  movements  of  La  Salle  excited,  first  the  curiosity  of  the  Iro- 
quois  Indians,  in  whose  country  he  was  an  intruder,  and  then  their  jeal- 
ousy became  aroused  as  they  began  to  fear  he  intended  the  erection  of  a 
fort.  The  Sieur  de  La  Salle,  says  the  frank  and  modest-minded  Father 
Zenobe  Membre,  "with  his  usual  address  met  the  principal  Iroquois 
chiefs  in  conference,  and  gained  them  so  completely  that  they  not  only 
agreed,  but  offered,  to  contribute  with  all  their  means  to  the  execu- 
tion of  his  designs.  The  conference  lasted  for  some  time.  La  Salle 
also  sent  many  canoes  to  trade  north  and  south  of  the  lake  among 
these  tribes."  Meanwhile  La  Salle's  enemies  were  busy  in  thwarting 
his  plans.  They  insinuated  themselves  among  the  Indians  in  the 
vicinity  of  Niagara,  and  filled  their  ears  with  all  sorts  of  stories  to  La 
Salle's  discredit,  and  aroused  feelings  of  such  distrust  that  work  on  the 
fort,  or  depot  for  supplies,  had  to  be  suspended,  and  La  Salle  content 
himself  with  a  house  surrounded  by  palisades. 

A  place  was  selected  above  the  falls,*  on  the  eastern  side  of  the 
river,  for  the  construction  of  the  new  vessel. 

The  ground  was  cleared  away,  trees  were  felled,  and  the  carpen- 
ters set  to  work.  The  keel  of  the  vessel  was  laid  on  the  26th  of  Jan- 
uary, and  some  of  the  plank  being  ready  to  fasten  on,  La  Salle  drove 
the  first  spike.  As  the  work  progressed,  La  Salle  made  several  trips,  over 
ice  and  snow,  and  later  in  the  spring  with  vessels,  to  Fort  Frontenac,  to 
hurry  forward  provisions  and  material.  One  of  his  vessels  was  lost  on 
Lake  Ontario,  heavily  laden  with  a  cargo  of  valuable  supplies,  through 
the  fault  or  willful  perversity  of  her  pilots.  The  disappointment  over  this 
calamity,  says  Hennepin,  would  have  dissuaded  any  other  person  than 

*  Francis  Parkman,  in  his  valuable  work,  "The  Discovery  of  the  Great  West," 
p.  133,  locates  the  spot  at  the  mouth  of  Cayuga  Creek  on  the  American  shore. 


THE   FIRST   SAIL    ON    LAKE    ERIE.  61 

La  Salle  from  the  further  prosecution  of  the  enterprise.  The  men 
worked  industriously  on  the  ship.  The  most  of  the  Iroquois  having 
gone  to  war  with  a  nation  on  the  northern  side  of  Lake  Erie,  the  few 
remaining  behind  were  become  less  insolent  than  before.  Still  they 
lingered  about  where  the  work  was  going  on,  and  continued  expres- 
sions of  discontent  at  what  the  French  were  doing.  One  of  them  let 
on  to  be  drunk  and  attempted  to  kill  the  blacksmith,  but  the  latter 
repulsed  the  Indian  with  a  piece  of  iron  red-hot  from  the  forge.  The 
Indians  threatened  to  burn  the  vessel  on  the  stocks,  and  might  have 
done  so  were  it  not  constantly  guarded.  Much  of  the  time  the  only 
food  of  the  men  was  Indian  corn  and  lish ;  the  distance  to  Fort  Fron- 
tenac  and  the  inclemency  of  the  winter  rendering  it  out  of  power  ta 
procure  a  supply  of  other  or  better  provisions. 

The  frequent  alarms  from  the  Indians,  a  want  of  wholesome  food, 
the  loss  of  the  vessel  with  its  promised  supplies,  and  a  refusal  of  the 
neighboring  tribes  to  sell  any  more  of  their  corn,  reduced  the  party  to 
such  extremities  that  the  ship-carpenters  tried  to  run  away.  They 
were,  however,  persuaded  to  remain  and  prosecute  their  work.  Two 
Mohegan  Indians,  successful  hunters  in  La  Salle's  service,  were  fortu- 
nate enough  to  bring  in  some  wild  goats  and  other  game  they  had 
killed,  which  greatly  encouraged  the  workmen  to  go  on  with  their  task 
more  briskly  than  before.  The  vessel  was  completed  within  six  months 
from  the  time  its  keel  was  laid.  The  ship  was  gotten  afloat  before  en- 
tirely finished,  to  prevent  the  designs  of  the  natives  to  burn  it.  She 
was  sixty  tons  burthen,  and  called  the  "  Griffin,"  a  name  given  it  by 
La  Salle  by  way  of  a  compliment  to  Count  Frontenac,  whose  armorial 
bearings  were  supported  by  two  griffins.  Three  guns  were  fired,  and 
11  Te  Deums"  chanted  at  the  christening,  and  prayers  offered  up  for  a 
prosperous  voyage.  The  air  in  the  wild  forest  rung  with  shouts  of 
joy ;  even  the  Iroqnois,  looking  suspiciously  on,  were  seduced  with 
alluring  draughts  of  brandy  to  lend  their  deep-mouthed  voices  to  the 
happy  occasion.  The  men  left  their  cabins  of  bark  and  swung  their 
hammocks  under  the  deck  of  the  ship,  where  they  could  rest  with 
greater  security  from  the  savages  than  on  the  shore. 

The  Griffin,  under  press  of  a  favorable  breeze,  and  with  the  help 
of  twelve  men  on  the  shore  pulling  at  tow-ropes,  was  forced  up  against 
the  strong  current  of  the  Niagara  River  to  calmer  waters  at  the  en- 
trance of  the  lake.  On  the  7th  of  August,  1679,  her  canvas  was  spread, 
and  the  pilot  steering  by  the  compass,  the  vessel,  with  La  Salle  and  his 
thirty  odd  companions  and  their  effects  aboard,  sailed  out  westward 
upon  the  unknown,  silent  waters  of  Lake  Erie.  In  three  days  they 
reached  the  mouth  of  Detroit  River.  Father  Hennepin  was  fairly 


62  HISTORIC    NOTES   ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

delighted  with  the  country  along  this  river  — it  was  "so  well  situated 
and  the  soil  so  fertile.  Vast  meadows  extending  back  from  the  strait 
and  terminating  at  the  uplands,  which  were  clad  with  vineyards,  and 
plum  and  pear  and  other  fruit-bearing  trees  of  nature's  own  planting,  all 
so  well  arranged  that  one  would  think  they  could  not  have  been  so  dis- 
posed without  the  help  of  art.  The  country  was  also  well  stocked 
with  deer,  bear,  wild  goats,  turkeys,  and  other  animals  and  birds,  that 
supplied  a  most  relishing  food.  The  forest  comprised  walnut  and 
other  timber  in  abundance  suitable  for  building  purposes.  So  charmed 
was  he  with  the  prospect  that  he  "  endeavored  to  persuade  La  Salle  to 
settle  at  the  '  De  Troit,' "  it  being  in  the  midst  of  so  many  savage  na- 
tions among  whom  a  good  trade  could  be  established.  La  Salle  would 
not  listen  to  this  proposal.  He  said  he  would  make  no  settlement 
within  one  hundred  leagues  of  Frontenac,  lest  other  Europeans  would 
be  before  them  in  the  new  country  they  were  going  to  discover.  This, 
says  Hennepin,  was  the  pretense  of  La  Salle  and  the  adventurers  who 
were  with  him  ;  for  I  soon  discovered  that  their  intention  was  to  buy  all 
the  furs  and  skins  of  the  remotest  savages  who,  as  they  thought,  did 
not  know  their  value,  and  thus  enrich  themselves  in  one  single  voyage. 
On  Lake  Huron  the  Griffin  encountered  a  storm.  The  main-yards 
and  topmast  were  blown  away,  giving  the  ship  over  to  the  mercy  of 
the  winds.  There  was  no  harbor  to  run  into  for  shelter.  La  Salle, 
although  a  courageous  man,  gave  way  to  his  fears,  and  said  they  all 
were  undone.  Everyone  thereupon  fell  upon  their  knees  to  say  pray- 
ers and  prepare  for  death,  except  the  pilot,  who  cursed  and  swore  all 
the  while  at  La  Salle  for  bringing  him  there  to  perish  in  a  nasty  lake, 
after  he  had  acquired  so  much  renown  in  a  long  and  successful  naviga- 
tion on  the  ocean.  The  storm  abated,  and  on  the  27th  of  August,  the 
Griffin  resumed  her  course  northwest,  and  was  carried  on  the  evening 
of  the  same  day  beyond  the  island  of  Mackinaw  to  point  St.  Ignace, 
and  safely  anchored  in  a  bay  that  is  sheltered,  except  from  the  south, 
by  the  projecting  mainland. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

LA  SALLE'S    VOYAGE    CONTINUED. 

ST.  IGNACE,  or  Mackinaw,  as  previously  stated,  had  become  a  princi- 
pal center  of  the  Jesuit  missions,  and  it  had  also  grown  into  a  head- 
quarters for  an  extensive  Indian  trade.  Duly  licensed  traders,  as  well 
as  the  Coureurs  de  Bois, —  men  who  had  run  wild,  as  it  were,  and  by 
their  intercourse  with  the  nations  had  thrown  off  all  restraints  of 
civilized  life, —  resorted  to  this  vicinity  in  considerable  numbers.  These, 
lost  to  all  sense  of  national  pride,  instead  of  sustaining  took  every 
measure  to  thwart  La  Salle's  plans.  They,  with  some  of  the  dissatis- 
fied crew,  represented  to  the  Indians  that  La  Salle  and  his  associates 
were  a  set  of  dangerous  and  ambitious  adventurers,  who  meant  to 
engross  all  the  trade  in  furs  and  skins  and  invade  their  liberties.  These 
jealous  and  meddlesome  busybodies  had  already,  before  the  arrival  of 
the  Griffin,  succeeded  in  seducing  fifteen  men  from  La  Salle's  service, 
whom  with  others,  he  had  sent  forward  the  previous  spring,  under 
command  of  Tonty,  with  a  stock  of  merchandise;  'and,  instead  of 
going  to  the  tribes -beyond  and  preparing  the  way  for  a  friendly  recep- 
tion of  La  Salle,  as  they  were  ordered  to  do,  they  loitered  about 
Mackinaw  the  whole  summer  and  squandered  the  goods,  in  spite  of 
Tonty's  persistent  efforts  to  urge  them  forward  in  the  performance  of 
their  duty.  La  Salle  sent  out  other  parties  to  trade  with  the  natives, 
and  these  went  so  far,  and  were  so  busy  in  bartering  for  and  collect- 
ing furs,  that  they  did  not  return  to  Mackinaw  until  November.  It 
was  now  getting  late  and  La  Salle  was  warned  of  the  dangerous  storms 
that  sweep  the  lakes  at  the  beginning  of  winter ;  he  resolved,  therefore, 
to  continue  his  voyage  without  waiting  the  return  of  his  men.  He 
weighed  anchor  and  sailed  westward  into  Lake  Michigan  as  far  as  the 
islands  at  the  entrance  of  Green  Bay,  then  called  the  Pottawatomie 
Islands,  for  the  reason  that  they  were  then  occupied  by  bands  of  that 
tribe.  On  one  of  these  islands  La  Salle  found  some  of  the  men 
belonging  to  his  advance  part}^  of  traders,  and  who,  having  secured  a 
large  quantity  of  valuable  furs,  had  long  and  impatiently  waited  his 
coming. 

La  Salle,  as  is  already  apparent,  determined  to  engage  in  a  fur  trade 
that  already  and  legitimately  belonged  to  merchants  operating  at 


64  HISTORIC    NOTES   ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

Montreal,  and  with  which  the  terms  of  his  own  license  prohibited  his 
interfering.  Without  asking  any  one's  advice  he  resolved  to  load  his 
ship  with  furs  and  send  it  back  to  Niagara,  and  the  furs  to  Quebec,  and 
out  of  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  to  discharge  some  very  pressing  debts. 
The  pilot  with  five  men  to  man  the  vessel  were  ordered  to  proceed  with 
the  Griffin  to  Niagara,  and  return  with  all  imaginable  speed  and  join  La 
Salle  at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Joseph  River,  near  the  southern  shore  of 
Lake  Michigan.  The  Griffin  did  not  go  to  Green  Bay  City,  as  many 
writers  have  assumed  in  hasty  perusals  of  the  original  authorities,  or 
even  penetrate  the  body  of  water  known  as  Green  Bay  beyond  the 
chain  of  islands  at  its  mouth. 

The  resolution  of  La  Salle,  taken,  it  seems,  on  the  spur  of  the 
moment,  to  send  his  ship  back  down  the  lakes,  and  prosecute  his 
voyage  the  rest  of  the  way  to  the  head  of  Lake  Michigan  in  frail 
birchen  canoes,  was  a  most  unfortunate  measure.  It  delayed  his 
discoveries  two  years,  brought  severe  hardships  upon  himself  and 
greatly  embarrassed  all  his  future  plans.  The  Griffin  itself  was  lost, 
with  all  her  cargo,  valued  at  sixty  thousand  livres.  She,  nor  her  crew, 
was  ever  heard  of  after  leaving  the  Pottawatomie  Islands.  What 
became  of  the  ship  and  men  in  charge  remains  to  this  day  a  mystery, 
or  veiled  in  a  cloud  of  conjecture.  La  Salle  himself,  says  Francis 
Parkman,  "grew  into  a  settled  conviction  that  the  Griffin  had  been 
treacherously  sunk  by  the  pilot  and  sailors  to  whom  he  had  intrusted 
her ;  and  he  thought  he  had,  in  after-years,  found  evidence  that  the 
authors  of  the  crime,  laden  with  the  merchandise  they  had  taken  from 
her,  had  reached  the  Mississippi  and  ascended  it,  hoping  to  join  Du 
Shut,  the  famous  chief  of  the  Coureurs  de  Bois,  and  enrich  them- 
selves by  traffic  with  the  northern  tribes.* 

The  following  is,  substantially,  Hennepin's  account  of  La  Salle's 
canoe  voyage  from  the  mouth  of  Green  Bay  south,  along  the  shore  of 
Lake  Michigan,  past  Milwaukee  and  Chicago,  and  around  the  southern 
end  of  the  lake ;  thence  north  along  the  eastern  shore  to  the  mouth  of 
the  St.  Joseph  River ;  thence  up  the  St.  Joseph  to  South  Bend,  mak- 
ing the  portage  here  to  the  head-waters  of  the  Kankakee ;  thence  down 
the  Kankakee  and  Illinois  through  Peoria  Lake,  with  an  account  of 
the  building  of  Fort  Crevecreur.  Hennepin's  narrative  is  full  of  in- 
teresting detail,  and  contains  many  interesting  observations  upon  the 
condition  of  the  country,  the  native  inhabitants  as  they  appeared  nearly 
two  hundred  years  ago.  The  privation  and  suffering  to  which  La  Salle 
and  his  party  were  exposed  in  navigating  Lake  Michigan  at  that  early 
day,  and  late  in  the  fall  of  the  year,  when  the  waters  were  vexed  with: 

*  Discovery  of  the  Great  West,  p.  169. 


FIRST   VOYAGE   ON    LAKE   MICHIGAN.  65 

tempestuous  storms,  illustrate  the  courage  and  daring  of  the  under- 
taking. 

Their  suffering  did  not  terminate  with  their  voyage  upon  the  lake. 
Difficulties  of  another  kind  were  experienced  on  the  St.  Joseph,  Kan- 
kakee  and  Illinois  Rivers.  Hennepin's  is,  perhaps,  the  first  detailed 
account  we  have  of  this  part  of  the  "Great  West,"  and  is  therefore  of 
great  interest  and  value  on  this  account. 

"We  left  the  Pottawatomies  to  continue  our  voyage,  being  fourteen 
men  in  all,  in  four  canoes.  I  had  charge  of  the  smallest,  which  carried 
five  hundredweight  and  two  men.  My  companions  being  recently 
from  Europe,  and  for  that  reason  being  unskilled  in  the  management 
of  these  kind  of  boats,  its  whole  charge  fell  upon  me  in  stormy 
weather. 

"  The  canoes  were  laden  with  a  smith's  forge,  utensils,  tools  for  car- 
penters, joiners  and  sawyers,  besides  our  goods  and  arms.  We  steered 
to  the  south  toward  the  mainland,  from  which  the  Pottawatomie 
Islands  are  distant  some  forty  leagues ;  but  about  midway,  and  in  the 
night  time,  we  were  greatly  endangered  by  a  sudden  storm.  The 
waves  dashed  into  our  canoes,  and  the  night  was  so  dark  we  had  -great 
difficulty  in  keeping  our  canoes  together.  The  daylight  coming  on, 
we  reached  the  shore,  where  we  remained  for  four  days,  waiting  for  the 
lake  to  grow  calm.  In  the  meantime  our  Indian  hunter  went  in  quest 
of  game,  but  killed  nothing  other  than  a  porcupine ;  this,  however, 
made  our  Indian  corn  more  relishing.  The  weather  becoming  fair,  we 
resumed  our  voyage,  rowing  all  day  and  well  into  the  night,  along  the 
western  coast  of  the  Lake  of  the  Illinois.  The  wind  again  grew  to  fresh, 
and  we  landed  upon  a  rocky  beach  where  we  had  nothing  to  protect 
ourselves  against  a  storm  of  snow  and  rain  except  the  clothing  on  our 
persons.  We  remained  here  two  days  for  the  sea  to  go  down,  hav- 
ing made  a  little  fire  from  wood  cast  ashore  by  the  waves.  We  pro- 
ceeded on  our  voyage,  and  toward  evening  the  winds  again  forced  us 
to  a  beach  covered  with  rushes,  where  we  remained  three  days ;  and  in 
the  meantime  our  provisions,  consisting  only  of  pumpkins  and  Indian 
corn  purchased  from  the  Pottawatomies,  entirely  gave  out.  Our 
canoes  were  so  heavily  laden  that  we  could  not  carry  provisions  with 
us,  and  we  were  compelled  to  rely  on  bartering  for  such  supplies  on 
our  way.  We  left  this  dismal  place,  and  after  twelve  leagues  rowing 
came  to  another  Pottawatomie  village,  whose  inhabitants  stood  upon 
the  beach  to  receive  us.  But  M.  La  Salle  refused  to  let  anyone  land, 
notwithstanding  the  severity  of  the  weather,  fearing  some  of  his  men 
might  run  away.  We  were  in  such  great  peril  that  La  Salle  flung 
himself  into  the  water,  after  we  had  gone  some  three  leagues  farther, 
5 


66  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

and  with  the  aid  of  his  three  men  carried  the  canoe  of  which  he  had 
charge  to  the  shore,  upon  their  shoulders,  otherwise  it  would  have  been 
broken  to  pieces  by  the  waves.  We  were  obliged  to  do  the  same  with 
the  other  canoes.  I,  myself,  carried  good  Father  Gabriel  upon  my 
back,  his  age  being  so  well  advanced  as  not  to  admit  of  his  ventur- 
ing in  the  wrater.  We  took  ourselves  to  a  piece  of  rising  ground  to 
avoid  surprise,  as  we  had  no  manner  of  acquaintance  with  the  great 
number  of  savages  whose  village  was  near  at  hand.  We  sent  three 
men  into  the  village  to  buy  provisions,  under  protection  of  the  calu- 
met or  pipe  of  peace,  which  the  Indians  at  Pottawatomie  Islands  had 
presented  us  as  a  means  of  introduction  to,  and  a  measure  of  safety 
against,  other  tribes  that  we  might  meet  on  our  way." 

The  calumet  has  always  been  a  symbol  of  amity  among  all  the  In- 
dian tribes  of  North  America,  and  so  uniformly  used  by  them  in  all 
their  negotiations  with  their  own  race,  and  Europeans  as  well ;  and 
Father  Hennepin's  description  of  it,  and  the  respect  that  is  accorded  to 
its  presence,  are  so  truthful  that  we  here  insert  his  account  of  it  at 
length : 

"  This  calumet,"  says  Father  Hennepin,  "  is  the  most  mysterious 
thing  among  the  savages,  for  it  is  used  in  all  important  transactions. 
It  is  nothing  else,  however,  than  a  large  tobacco  pipe,  made  of  red, 
black,  or  white  stone.  The  head  is  highly  polished,  and  the  quill  or 
stem  is  usually  about  two  feet  in  length,  made  of  a  pretty  strong  reed 
or  cane,  decorated  with  highly  colored  feathers  interlaced  with  locks  of 
•women's  hair.  Wings  of  gaudily  plumaged  birds  are  tied  to  it,  mak- 
ing the  calumet  look  like  the  wand  of  Mercury,  or  staff  which  ambas- 
sadors of  state  formerly  carried  when  they  went  to  conduct  treaties  of 
peace.  The  stem  is  sheathed  in  the  skin  of  the  neck  of  birds  called 
'ITuars'  (probably  the  loon),  which  are  as  large  as  our  geese,  and 
spotted  with  white  and  black;  or  else  with  those  of  a  duck  (the  little 
wood  duck  whose  neck  presents  a  beautiful  contrast  of  colors)  that 
make  their  nests  upon  trees,  although  the  water  is  their  ordinary  ele- 
ment, and  whose  feathers  are  of  many  different  colors.  However, 
every  tribe  ornament  their  calumets  according  to  their  own  fancy,  with 
the  feathers  of  such  birds  as  they  may  have  in  their  own  country. 

"A  pipe,  such  as  I  have  described,  is  a  pass  of  safe  conduct  among  all 
the  allies  of  the  tribe  which  has  given  it ;  and  in  all  embassies  it  is  car- 
ried as  a  symbol  of  peace,  and  is  always  respected  as  such,  for  the  sav- 
ages believe  some  great  misfortune  would  speedily  befall  them  if  they 
violated  the  public  faith  of  the  calumet.  All  their  enterprises,  declara- 
tions of  war,  treaties  of  peace,  as  wrell  as  all  of  the  rest  of  their  cere- 
monies, are  sealed  with  the  calumet.  The  pipe  is  filled  with  the  best 


CANOE   VOYAGE   ON"   LAKE   MICHIGAN.  67 

tobacco  they  have,  and  then  it  is  presented  to  those  with  whom  they 
»are  about  to  conduct  an  important  affair ;  and  after  they  have  smoked 
out  of  it,  the  one  offering  it  does  the  same.  I  would  have  perished," 
concludes  Hennepin,  "had  it  not  been  for  the  calumet.  Our  three 
men,  carrying  the  calumet  and  being  well  armed,  went  to  the  little 
village  about  three  leagues  from  the  place  where  we  landed ;  they 
found  no  one  at  home,  for  the  inhabitants,  having  heard  that  we  refused 
to  land  at  the  other  village,  supposed  we  were  enemies,  and  had  aban- 
doned their  habitations.  In  their  absence  our  men  took  some  of  their 
•corn,  and  left  instead,  some  goods,  to  let  them  know  we  were  neither 
their  enemies  nor  robbers.  Twenty  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  village 
•came  to  our  encampment  on  the  beach,  armed  with  axes,  small  guns, 
bows,  and  a  sort  of  club,  which,  in  their  language,  means  a  head- 
breaker.  La  Salle,  with  four  well-armed  men,  advanced  toward  them 
for  the  purpose  of  opening  a  conversation.  He  requested  them  to  come 
near  to  us,  saying  he  had  a  party  of  hunters  out  who  might  come 
across  them  and  take  their  lives.  They  came  forward  and  took  seats 
at  the  foot  of  an  eminence,  where  we  were  encamped ;  and  La  Salle 
amused  them  with  the  relation  of  his  voyage,  which  he  informed  them 
lie  had  undertaken  for  their  advantage ;  and  thus  occupied  their  time 
until  the  arrival  of  the  three  men  who  had  been  sent  out  with  the 
calumet ;  on  seeing  which  the  savages  gave  a  great  shout,  arose  to  their 
feet  and  danced  about.  We  excused  our  men  from  having  taken  some 
of  their  corn,  and  informed  them  that  we  had  left  its  true  value  in 
gOods ;  they  were  so  well  pleased  with  this  that  they  immediately  sent 
for  more  corn,  and  on  the  next  day  they  made  us  a  gift  of  as  much  as 
we  could  conveniently  find  room  for  in  our  canoes. 

';  The  next  day  morning  the  old  men  of  the  tribe  came  to  us  with 
their  calumet  of  peace,  and  entertained  us  with  a  free  offering  of  wild 
goats,  which  their  own  hunters  had  taken.  In  return,  we  presented 
them  our  thanks,  accompanied  with  some  axes,  knives,  and  several  little 
toys  for  their  wives,  with  all  which  they  were  very  much  pleased. 

"  We  left  this  place  and  continued  our  voyage  along  the  coast  of 
the  lake,  which,  in  places,  is  so  steep  that  we  often  found  it  difficult  to 
obtain  a  landing ;  and  the  wind  was  so  violent  as  to  oblige  us  to  carry 
our  canoes  sometimes  upon  top  of  the  bluff,  to  prevent  their  being 
dashed  in  pieces.  The  stormy  weather  lasted  four  days,  causing  us 
much  suffering ;  for  every  time  we  made  the  shore  we  had  to  wade 
in  the  water,  carrying  our  effects  and  canoes  upon  our  shoulders.  The 
water  being  very  cold,  most  of  us  were  taken  sick.  Our  provisions 
again  failed  us,  which,  with  the  fatigues  of  rowing,  made  old  Father 
Gabriel  faint  away  in  such  a  manner  that  we  despaired  of  his  life. 


68  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

With  a  use  of  a  decoction  of  hyacinth  I  had  with  me,  and  which  I 
found  of  great  service  on  our  voyage,  he  was  restored  to  his  senses. 
We  had  no  other  subsistence  but  a  handful  of  corn  per  man  every 
twenty-four  hours,  which  we  parched  or  boiled ;  and,  although  reduced 
to  such  scanty  diet,  we  rowed  our  canoes  almost  daily,  from  morning 
to  night.  Our  men  found  some  hawthorns  and  other  wild  berries^ 
of  which  they  ate  so  freely  that  most  of  them  were  taken  sick,  and  we 
imagined  that  they  were  poisoned. 

"  Yet  the  more  we  suifered,  the  more,  by  God's  grace,  did  I  become 
stronger,  so  that  I  could  outrow  the  other  canoes.  Being  in  great  dis- 
tress, He,  who  takes  care  of  his  meanest  creatures,  provided  us  with 
an  unexpected  relief.  We  saw  over  the  land  a  great  many  ravens 
and  eagles  circling  in  mid-air ;  from  whence  we  conjectured  there  was 
prey  near  by.  We  landed,  and,  upon  search,  found  the  half  of  a  wild 
goat  which  the  wolves  had  strangled.  This  provision  was  very  ac- 
ceptable, and  the  rudest  of  our  men  could  not  but  praise  a  kind  Provi- 
dence,  who  took  such  particular  care  of  us. 

"  Having  thus  refreshed  ourselves,  we  continued  our  voyage  directly 
to  the  southern  part  of  the  lake,  every  day  the  country  becoming  finer 
and  the  climate  more  temperate.  Oh  the  16th  of  October  we  fell  in 
with  abundance  of  game.  Our  Indian  hunter  killed  several  deer  and 
wild  goats,  and  our  men  a  great  many  big  fat  turkey-cocks,  with 
which  we  regaled  ourselves  for  several  days.  On  the  18th  we  came  to 
the  farther  end  of  the  lake.*  Here  we  landed,  and  our  men  were  sent 
out  to  prospect  the  locality,  and  found  great  quantities  of  ripe  grapes, 
the  fruit  of  which  were  as  large  as  damask  plums.  We  cut  down  th& 
trees  to  gather  the  grapes,  out  of  which  we  made  pretty  good  wine,, 
which  we  put  into  gourds,  used  as  flasks,  and  buried  them  in  the  sand 
to  keep  the  contents  from  turning  sour.  Many  of  the  trees  here  are 
loaded  with  vines,  which,  if  cultivated,  would  make  as  good  wine  as 
any  in  Europe.  The  fruit  was  all  the  more  relishing  to  us,  because  we 
wanted  bread." 

Other  travelers  besides  Hennepin,  passing  this  locality  at  an  early 
day,  also  mention  the  same  fact.  It  would  seem,  therefore,  that  Lake 
Michigan  had  the  same  modifying  influence  upon,  and  equalized  the 
temperature  of,  its  eastern  shore,  rendering  it  as  famous  for  its  wild 
fruits  and  grapes,  two  hundred  years  ago,  as  it  has  since  become  noted 
for  the  abundance  and  perfection  of  its  cultivated  varieties. 

"  Our  men  discovered  prints  of  men's  feet.     The  men  were  ordered 

*  From  the  description  given  of  the  country,  the  time  occupied,  and  forest  growth, 
the  voyagers  must  now  be  eastward  of  Michigan  City,  and  where  the  lake  shore  trends 
more  rapidly  to  the  north. 


SAVAGES  PLUNDER  LA  SALLE.  69 

to  be  upon  guard  and  make  no  noise.  In  spite  of  this  precaution,  one 
of  our  men,  finding  a  bear  upon  a  tree,  shot  him  dead  and  dragged 
him  into  camp.  La  Salle  was  very  angry  at  this  indiscretion,  and,  to 
avoid  surprise,  placed  sentinels  at  the  canoes,  under  which  our  effects 
had  been  put  for  protection  against  the  rain.  There  was  a  hunting 
party  of  Fox  Indians  from  the  vicinity  of  Green  Bay,  about  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  in  number,  encamped  near  to  us,  who,  having  heard 
the  noise  of  the  gun  of  the  man  who  shot  the  bear,  became  alarmed, 
and  sent  out  some  of  their  men  to  dfscover  who  we  were.  These 
spies,  creeping  upon  their  bellies,  and  observing  great  silence,  came 
in  the  night-time  and  stole  the  coat  of  La  Salle's  footman  and  some 
goods  secreted  under  the  canoes.  The  sentinel,  hearing  a  noise,  gave  the 
alarm,  and  we  all  ran  to  our  arms.  On  being  discovered,  and  thinking 
our  numbers  were  greater  than  we  really  were,  they  cried  out,  in 
the  dark,  that  they  were  friends.  We  answered,  friends  did  not  visit 
at  such  unseasonable  hours,  and  that  their  actions  were  more  like 
those  of  robbers,  who  designed  to  plunder  and  kill  us.  Their  headsman 
replied  that  they  heard  the  noise  of  our  gun,  and,  as  they  knew  that 
none  of  the  neighboring  tribes  possessed  firearms,  they  supposed  we 
were  a  war  party  of  Iroquois,  come  with  the  design  of  murdering 
them ;  but  now  that  they  learned  we  were  Frenchmen  from  Canada, 
whom  they  loved  as  their  own  brethren,  they  would  anxiously  wait 
until  daylight,  so  that  they  could  smoke  out  of  our  calumet.  This  is  a 
compliment  among  the  savages,  and  the  highest  mark  they  can  give  of 
their  affection. 

"  We  appeared  satisfied  with  their  reasons,  and  gave  leave  to  four  of 
their  old  men,  only,  to  come  into  our  camp,  telling  them  we  would  not 
permit  a  greater  number,  as  their  young  men  were  much  given  to 
stealing,  and  that  we  would  not  suffer  such  indignities.  Accordingly, 
four  of  their  old  men  came  among  us;  we  entertained  them  until 
morning,  when  they  departed.  After  they  were  gone,  we  found  out 
about  the  robbery  of  the  canoes,  and  La  Salle,  well  knowing  the  genius 
of  the  savages,  saw,  if  he  allowed  this  affront  to  pass  without  resenting 
it,  that  we  would  be  constantly  exposed  to  a  renewal  of  like  indigni- 
ties. Therefore,  it  was  resolved  to  exact  prompt  satisfaction.  La 
Salle,  with  four  of  his  men,  went  out  and  captured  two  of  the  Indian 
hunters.  One  of  the  prisoners  confessed  the  robbery,  with  the  cir- 
cumstances connected  with  it.  The  thief  was  detained,  and  his  comrade 
was  released  and  sent  to  his  band  to  tell  their  headsman  that  the  cap- 
tive in  custody  would  be  put  to  death  unless  the  stolen  property  were 
returned. 

"  The  savages  were  greatly  perplexed  at  La  Salle's  peremptory  mes- 


70  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

sage.  They  could  not  comply,  for  they  had  cut  up  the  goods  and  coat 
and  divided  among  themselves  the  pieces  and  the  buttons ;  they  there- 
fore resolved  to  rescue  their  man  by  force.  The  next  day,  October 
30,  they  advanced  to  attack  us.  The  peninsula  we  were  encamped 
on  was  separated  from  the  forest  where  the  savages  lay  by  a  little  sandy 
plain,  on  which  and  near  the  wood  were  two  or  three  eminences.  La 
Salle  determined  to  take  possession  of  the  most  prominent  of  these 
elevations,  and  detached  five  of  his  men  to  occupy  it,  following  him- 
self, at  a  short  distance,  with  all  of  his  force,  every  one  having  rolled 
their  coats  about  the  left  arm,  which  was  held  up  as  a  protection 
against  the  arrows  of  the  savages.  Only  eight  of  the  enemy  had  fire- 
arms. The  savages  were  frightened  at  our  advance,  and  their  young 
men  took  behind  the  trees,  but  their  captains  stood  their  ground,  while 
we  moved  forward  and  seized  the  knoll.  I  left  the  two  other  Francis- 
cans reading  the  usual  prayers,  and  went  about  among  the  men  ex- 
horting them  to  their  duty ;  I  had  been  in  some  battles  and  sieges  in 
Europe,  and  was  not  afraid  of  these  savages,  and  La  Salle  was  highly 
pleased  with  my  exhortations,  and  their  influence  upon  his  men.  When 
I  considered  what  might  be  the  result  of  the  quarrel,  and  how  much 
more  Christian-like  it  would  be  to  prevent  the  effusion  of  blood,  and 
end  the  difficulty  in  a  friendly  manner,  I  went  toward  the  oldest 
savage,  who,  seeing  me  unarmed,  supposed  I  came  with  designs  of  a 
mediator,  and  received  me  with  civility.  In  the  meantime  one  of  our 
men  observed  that  one  of  the  savages  had  a  piece  of  the  stolen  cloth 
wrapped  about  his  head,  and  he  went  up  to  the  savage  and  snatched 
the  cloth  away.  This  vigorous  action  so  much  terrified  the  savages  that, 
although  they  were  near  six  score  against  eleven,  they  presented  me- 
with  the  pipe  of  peace,  which  I  received.  M.  La  Salle  gave  his  word 
that  they  might  come  to  him  in  security.  Two  of  their  old  men  came 
forward,  and  in  a  speech  disapproved  the  conduct  of  their  young  men  ; 
that  they  could  not  restore  the  goods  taken,  but  that,  having  been  cut 
to  pieces,  they  could  only  return  the  articles  which  were  not  spoiled, 
and  pay  for  the  rest.  The  orators  presented,  with  their  speeches,  some 
garments  made  of  beaver  skins,  to  appease  the  wrath  of  M.  La  Salle, 
who,  frowning  a  little,  informed  them  that  while  he  designed  to  wrong- 
no  one,  he  did  not  intend  others  should  affront  or  injure  him  ;  but,  inas- 
much as  they  did  not  approve  what  their  young  men  had  done,  and  were- 
willing  to  make  restitution  for  the  same,  he  would  accept  their  gifts  and 
become  their  friend.  The  conditions  were  fully  complied  with,  and 
peace  happily  concluded  without  farther  hostility. 

"  The  day  was  spent  in  dancing,  feasting  and  speech-making.     The 
chief  of  the  band  had  taken  particular  notice  of  the  behavior  of  the 


INDIAN    SPEECH   TO   THE    GRAY-COATS.  71 

Franciscans.  'These  gray-coats,'*  said  the  chief  of  the  Foxes,  'we 
value  very  much.  They  go  barefooted  as  well  as  we.  They  scorn  our 
beaver  gowns,  and  decline  all  other  presents.  They  do  not  carry  arms 
to  kill  us.  They  flatter  and  make  much  of  our  children,  and  give  them 
knives  and  other  toys  without  expecting  any  reward.  Those  of  our 
tribe  who  have  been  to  Canada  tell  us  that  Onnotio  (so  they  call  the 
Governor)  loves  them  very  much,  and  that  the  Fathers  of  the  Gown 
have  given  up  all  to  come  and  see  us.  Therefore,  you  who  are  captain 
over  all  these  men,  be  pleased  to  leave  with  us  one  of  these  gray-coats, 
whom  we  will  conduct  to  our  village  when  we  shall  have  killed  what 
we  design  of  the  buffaloes.  Thou  art  also  master  of  these  warriors ; 
remain  with  us,  instead  of  going  among  the  Illinois,  who,  already 
advised  of  your  coming,  are  resolved  to  kill  you  and  all  of  your 
soldiers.  And  how  can  you  resist  so  powerful  nation  ? ' 

"  The  day  November  1st  we  again  embarked  on  the  lake,  and  came 
to  the  mouth  of  the  river  of  the  Miamis,  which  comes  from  the  south- 
east and  falls  into  the  lake." 

*  While  the  Jesuit  Fathers  wore  black  gowns  as  a  distinctive  mark  of  their  sect,  the 
Recollects,  or  Franciscan  missionaries,  wore  coats  of  gray. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  SEVERAL  MTAMIS  — LA  SALLE'S  VOYAGE   DOWN  THE  ILLINOIS. 

MUCH  confusion  has  arisen  because,  at  different  periods,  the  name 
of  "  Miami "  has  been  applied  to  no  less  than  five  different  rivers,  viz. : 
The  St.  Joseph,  of  Lake  Michigan ;  the  Maumee,  often  designated  as 
the  Miami  of  the  Lakes,  to  distinguish  it  from  the  Miami  which  falls 
into  the  Ohio  River  below  Cincinnati ;  then  there  is  the  Little  Miami 
of  the  Ohio  emptying  in  above  its  greater  namesake;  and  finally 
the  Wabash,  which  with  more  propriety  bore  the  name  of  the 
"  River  of  the  Miamis."  The  French,  it  is  assumed,  gave  the  name 
"  Miami "  to  the  river  emptying  into  Lake  Michigan,  for  the  reason  that 
there  was  a  village  of  that  tribe  on  its  banks  before  and  at  the  time  of  La 
Salle's  first  visit,  as  already  noted  on  page  24.  The  name  was  not  of 
long  duration,  for  it  was  soon  exchanged  for  that  of  St.  Joseph,  by  which 
it  has  ever  since  been  known.  La  Hontan  is  the  last  authority  who 
refers  to  it  by  the  name  of  Miami.  Shortly  after  the  year  named,  the 
date  being  now  unknown,  a  Catholic  mission  was  established  up  the 
river,  and,  Charlevoix  says,  about  six  leagues  below  the  portage,  at 
South  Bend,  and  called  the  Mission  of  St.  Joseph ;  and  from  this  cir- 
cumstance, we  may  safely  infer,  the  river  acquired  the  same  name.  It 
is  not  known,  either,  by  whom  the  Mission  of  St.  Joseph  was  organ- 
ized ;  very  probably,  however,  by  Father  Claude  Allouez.  This  good 
man,  and  to  whose  writings  the  people  of  the  west  are  so  largely 
indebted  for  many  valuable  historical  reminiscences,  seems  to  have  been 
forgotten  in  the  respect  that  is  showered  upon  other  more  conspicuous 
though  less  meritorious  characters.  The  Mission  of  the  Immaculate 
Conception,  after  Marquette's  death,  remained  unoccupied  for  the  space 
of  two  years,  then  Claude  Jean  Allouez  received  orders  to  proceed 
thither  from  the  Mission  of  St.  James,  at  the  town  of  Maskoutens,  on 
Fox  River,  Wisconsin.  Leaving  in  October,  1676,  on  account  of  an 
exceptionally  early  winter,  he  was  compelled  to  delay  his  journey  until 
the  following  February,  when  he  again  started ;  reaching  Lake  Mich- 
igan on  the  eve  of  St.  Joseph,  he  called  the  lake  after  this  saint. 
Embarking  on  the  lake  on  the  23d  of  March,  and  coasting  along  the 
western  shore,  after  numerous  delays  occasioned  by  ice  and  storm,  he 
arrived  at  Chicago  River.  lie  then  made  the  portage  and  entered  the 

72 


LA    SALLE    REACHES   THE    ST.   JOSEPH.  73 

Kaskaskia  village,  which  was  probably  near  Peoria  Lake,  on  the  8th  of 
April,  1677.  The  Indians  gave  him  a  very  cordial  reception,  and 
flocked  from  all  directions  to  the  town  to  hear  the  "Black  Gown" 
relate  the  truths  of  Christianity.  For  the  glorification  of  God  and  the 
Blessed  Virgin  Immaculate,  Allouez  "erected,  in  the  midst  of  the 
village,  a  cross  twenty-five  feet  high,  chanting  the  Vexilla  Regis  in  the 
presence  of  an  admiring  and  respectful  throng  of  Indians ;  he  covered 
it  with  garlands  of  beautiful  flowers."*  Father  Allouez  did  not  remain 
but  a  short  time  at  the  mission  ;  leaving  it  that  spring  he  returned  in 
1678,  and  continued  there  until  La  Salle's  arrival  in  the  winter  of 
1679-80.  The  next  succeeding  decade  Allouez  passed  either  at  this 
mission  or  at  the  one  on  St.  Joseph's  River,  on  the  eastern  side  of  Lake 
Michigan,  where  he  died  in  1690.  Bancroft  says:  v Allouez  has 
imperishably  connected  his  name  with  the  progress  of  discovery  in  the 
West ;  unhonored  among  us  now,  he  was  not  inferior  in  zeal  and  ability 
to  any  of  the  great  missionaries  of  his  time." 

We  resume  Hennepin's  narrative : 

"We  had  appointed  this  place  (the  mouth  of  the  St.  Joseph)  for  our 
rendezvous  before  leaving  the  outlet  of  Green  Bay,  and  expected  to 
meet  the  twenty  men  we  had  left  at  Mackinaw,  who,  being  ordered  to 
come  by  the  eastern  coast  of  the  lake,  had  a  much  shorter  cut  than  we, 
who  came  by  the  Western  side ;  besides  this,  their  canoes  were  not  so 
heavily  laden  as  ours.  Still,  we  found  no  one  here,  nor  any  signs  that 
they  had  been  here  before  us.f 

"  It  was  resolved  to  advise  M.  La  Salle  that  it  was  imprudent  to 
remain  here  any  longer  for  the  absent  men,  and  expose  ourselves  to 
the  hardships  of  winter,  when  it  would  be  doubtful  if  we  could  find 
the  Illinois  in  their  villages,  as  then  they  would  be  divided  into  fami- 
lies, and  scattered  over  the  country  to  subsist  more  conveniently.  We 
further  represented  that  the  game  might  fail  us,  in  which  event  we 
must  certainly  perish  with  hunger ;  whereas,  if  we  went  forward,  we 
would  find  enough  corn  among  the  Illinois,  who  would  rather  supply 

*  "Allouez'  Journal,"  published  in  Shea's  "Discovery  on  Exploration  of  the  Missis- 
sippi Valley." 

t  In  some  works,  the  Geological  Surveys  of  Indiana  for  1873,  p.  458,  among  others, 
it  is  erroneously  assumed  that  La  Salle  was  the  discoverer  of  the  St.  Joseph  River. 
While  Fathers  Hennepin  and  Zenobe  Membre,  who  were  with  La  Salle,  may  be  the  only 
accessible  authors  who  have  described  it,  the  stream  and  its  location  was  well  known 
to  La  Salle  and  to  them,  as  appears  from  their  own  account  of  it  before  they  had  ever 
seen  it.  Before  leaving  Mackinaw,  Tonti  was  ordered  to  hunt  up  the  deserters  from, 
and  to  bring  in  the  tardy  traders  belonging  to,  La  Salle's  party,  and  conduct  them  to 
the  mouth  of  the  St.  Joseph.  The  pilot  of  the  Griffin  was  under  instruction  to  bring 
her  there.  Indeed,  the  conduct  of  the  whole  expedition  leaves  no  room  to  doubt  that 
the  whole  route  to  the  Illinois  River,  by  way  of  the  St.  Joseph  and  the  Kankakee  port- 
age, was  well  known  at  Mackinaw,  and  definitely  fixed  upon  by  La  Salle,  at  least  be- 
fore leaving  the  latter  place. 


74  HISTORIC    NOTES   ON    THE    NORTHWEST. 

fourteen  men  than  thirty-two  with  provisions.  We  said  further  that 
it  would  be  quite  impossible,  if  we  delayed  longer,  to  continue  the 
voyage  until  the  winter  was  over,  because  the  rivers  would  be  frozen 
over  and  we  could  not  make  use  of  our  canoes.  Notwithstanding 
these  reasons,  M.  La  Salle  thought  it  necessary  to  remain  for  the  rest 
of  the  men,  as  we  would  be  in  no  condition  to  appear  before  the  Illi- 
nois and  treat  with  them  with  our  present  small  force,  whom  they 
would  meet  with  scorn.  That  it  would  be  better  to  delay  our  entry 
into  their  country,  and  in  the  meantime  try  to  meet  with  some  of  their 
nation,  learn  their  language,  and  gain  their  good  will  by  presents. 
La  Salle  concluded  his  discourse  with  the  declaration  that,  although  all 
of  his  men  might  run  away,  as  for  himself,  he  would  remain  alone  with 
his  Indian  hunter,  and  find  means  to  maintain  the  three  missionaries  — 
meaning  me  and  my  two  clerical  brethren.  Having  come  to  this  con- 
clusion, La  SaHe  called  his  men  together,  and  advised  them  that  he 
expected  each  one  to  do  his  duty ;  that  he  proposed  to  build  a  fort 
here  for  the  security  of  the  ship  and  the  safety  of  our  goods,  and  our- 
selves, too,  in  case  of  any  disaster.  None  of  us,  at  this  time,  knew 
that  our  ship  had  been  lost.  The  men  were  quite  dissatisfied  at  La- 
Salle's  course,  but  his  reasons  therefor  were  so  many  that  they  yielded, 
and  agreed  to  entirely  follow  his  directions. 

"  Just  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  was  an  eminence  with  a  kind  of 
plateau,  naturally  fortified.  It  was  quite  steep,  of  a  triangular  shape, 
defended  on  two  sides  by  the  river,  and  on  the  other  by  a  deep  ravine 
which  the  water  had  washed  out.  "We  felled  the  trees  that  grew  on 
this  hill,  and  cleared  from  it  the  bushes  for  the  distance  of  two  musket 
shot.  We  began  to  build  a  redoubt  about  forty  feet  long  by  eighty 
broad,  with  great  square  pieces  of  timber  laid  one  upon  the  other,  and 
then  cut  a  great  number  of  stakes,  some  twenty  feet  long,  to  drive  into 
the  ground  on  the  river  side,  to  make  the  fort  inaccessible  in  that  direc- 
tion. We  were  employed  the  whole  of  the  month  of  November  in 
this  work,  which  was  very  fatiguing. —  having  no  other  food  than  the 
bears  our  savage  killed.  These  animals  are  here  very  abundant,  be- 
cause of  the  great  quantity  of  grapes  they  find  in  this  vicinity.  Their 
flesh  was  so  fat  and  luscious  that  our  men  grew  weary  of  it,  and  desired 
to  go  themselves  and  hunt  for  wild  'goats.  La  Salle  denied  them  that 
liberty,  which  made  some  murmurs  among  the  men,  and  they  went 
unwillingly  to  their  work.  These  annoyances,  with  the  near  approach 
of  winter,  together  with  the  apprehension  that  his  ship  was  lost,  gave 
La  Salle  a  melancholy  which  he  resolutely  tried  to  but  could  not  con- 
ceal. 

"We  made  a  hut  wherein  we  performed  divine  service  every  Sun- 


FORT    MIAMIS.  75 

day ;  and  Father  Gabriel  and  myself,  who  preached  alternately,  care- 
fully selected  such  texts  as  were  suitable  to  our  situation,  and  fit  to 
inspire  us  with  courage,  concord,  and  brotherly  love.  Our  exhorta- 
tions produced  good  results,  and  deterred  our  men  from  tl^eir  meditated 
desertion.  We  sounded  the  mouth  of  the  river  and  found  a  sand-barr 
on  which  we  feared  our  expected  ship  might  strike ;  we  marked  out  a 
channel  through  which  the  vessel  might  safely  enter  by  attaching 
buoys,  made  of  inflated  bear-skins,  fastened  to  long  poles  driven  into 
the  bed  of  the  lake.  Two  men  were  also  sent  back  to  Mackinac  to 
await  there  the  return  of  the  ship,  and  serve  as  pilots.* 

"  M.  Tonti  arrived  on  the  20th  of  November  with  two  canoes,  laden 
with  stags  and  deer,  which  were  a  welcome  refreshment  to  our  men. 
He  did  not  bring  more  than  about  one-half  of  his  men,  having  left 
the  rest  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  lake,  within  three  days'  journey  of 
the  fort.  La  Salle  was  angry  with  him  on  this  account,  because  he 
was  afraid  the  men  would  run  away.  Tonti's  party  informed  us  that 
the  Griffin  had  not  put  into  Mackinaw,  according  to  orders,  and  that 
they  had  heard  nothing  of  her  since  our  departure,  although  they  had 
made  inquiries  of  the  savages  living  on  the  coast  of  the  lake.  This 
confirmed  the  suspicion,  or  rather  the  belief,  that  the  vessel  had  been 
cast  away.  However,  M.  La  Salle  continued  work  on  the  building  of 
the  fort,  which  was  at  last  completed  and  called  Fort  Miamis. 

"  The  winter  was  drawing  nigh,  and  La  Salle,  fearful  that  the  ice 
would  interrupt  his  voyage,  sent  M.  Tonti  back  to  hurry  forward  the 
men  he  had  left,  and  to  command  them  to  come  to  him  immediately ; 
but,  meeting  with  a  violent  storm,  their  canoes  were  driven  against 
the  beach  and  broken  to  pieces,  and  Tonti's  men  lost  their  guns  and 
equipage,  and  were  obliged  to  return  to  us  overland.  A  few  days, 
after  this  all  our  men  arrived  except  two,  who  had  deserted.  We  pre- 
pared at  once  to  resume  our  voyage ;  rains  having  fallen  that  melted 
the  ice  and  made  the  rivers  navigable. 

"  On  the  3d  of  December,  1679,  we  embarked,  being  in  all  thirty- 
three  men,  in  eight  canoes.  We  left  the  lake  of  the  Illinois  and 
went  up  the  river  of  the  Miamis,  in  which  we  had  previously  made 
soundings.  We  made  about  five-and-twenty  leagues  southward,  but 
failed  to  discover  the  place  where  we  were  to  land,  and  carry  our  canoe& 
and  effects  into  the  river  of  the  Illinois,  which  falls  into  that  of  the 
Meschasipi,  that  is,  in  the  language  of  the  Illinois,  the  great  river. 
We  had  already  gone  beyond  the  place  of  the  portage,  and,  not  know- 
ing where  we  were,  we  thought  proper  to  remain  there,  as  we  were 
expecting  M.  La  Salle,  who  had  taken  to  the  land  to  view  the  country^ 
*This  is  the  beginning,  at  what  is  now  known  as  Benton  Harbor,  Michigan. 


76  HISTORIC   NOTES   ON  THE   NORTHWEST. 

We  staid  here  quite  a  while,  and,  La  Salle  failing  to  appear,  I  went  a 
distance  into  the  woods  with  two  men,  who  fired  off  their  guns  to 
notify  him  of  the  place  where  we  were.  In  the  meantime  two  other 
men  went  higher  up  the  river,  in  canoes,  in  search  of  him.  We  all 
returned  toward  evening,  having  vainly  endeavored  to  find  him.  The 
next  day  I  went  up  the  river  myself,  but,  hearing  nothing  of  him,  I 
came  back,  and  found  our  men  very  much  perplexed,  fearing  he  was 
lost.  However,  about  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  M.  La  Salle  returned 
to  us,  having  his  face  and  hands  as  black  as  pitch.  He  carried  two 
beasts,  as  big  as  muskrats,  whose  skin  \vas  very  fine,  and  like  ermine. 
He  had  killed  them  with  a  stick,  as  they  hung  by  their  tails  to  the 
branches  of  the  trees. 

"  He  told  us  that  the  marshes  he  had  met  on  his  way  had  compelled 
him  to  bring  a  large  compass ;  and  that,  being  much  delayed  by  the 
snow,  which  fell  very  fast,  it  was  past  midnight  before  he  arrived  upon 
the  banks  of  the  river,  where  he  fired  his  gun  twice,  and,  hearing  no 
answer,  he  concluded  that  we  had  gone  higher  up  the  river,  and  had, 
therefore,  marched  that  way.  He  added  that,  after  three  hours'  march, 
he  saw  a  fire  upon  a  little  hill,  whither  he  went  directly  and  hailed  us 
several  times ;  but,  hearing  no  reply,  he  approached  and  found  no  per- 
son near  the  fire,  but  only  some  dry  grass,  upon  which  a  man  had  laid 
a  little  while  before,  as  he  conjectured,  because  the  bed  was  still  warm. 
He  supposed  that  a  savage  had  been  occupying  it,  who  fled  upon  his 
approach,  and  was  now  hid  in  ambuscade  near  by.  La  Salle  called  out 
loudly  to  him  in  two  or  three  languages,  saying  that  he  need  not  be  afraid 
of  him,  and  that  he  was  agoing  to  lie  in  his  bed.  La  Salle  received 
no  answer.  To  guard  against  surprise,  La  Salle  cut  bushes  and  placed 
them  to  obstruct  the  way,  and  sat  down  by  the  fire,  the  smoke  of 
which  blackened  his  hands  and  face,  as  I  have  already  observed.  Hav- 
ing warmed  and  rested  himself,  he  laid  down  under  the  tree  upon  the 
dry  grass  the  savage  had  gathered  and  slept  well,  notwithstanding  the 
frost  and  snow.  Father  Gabriel  and  I  desired -him  to  keep  with  his 
men,  and  not  to  expose  himself  in  the  future,  as  the  success  of  our 
enterprise  depended  solely  on  him,  and  he  promised  to  follow  our 
advice.  Our  savage,  who  remained  behind  to  hunt,  finding  none  of 
us  at  the  portage,  came  higher  up  the  river,  to  where  we  were,  and 
told  us  we  had  missed  the  place.  We  sent  all  the  canoes  back  under 
his  charge  except  one,  which  I  retained  for  M.  La  Salle,  who  was  so 
weary  that  he  was  obliged  to  remain  there  that  night.  I  made  a  little 
hut  with  mats,  constructed  with  marsh  rushes,  in  which  we  laid  down 
together  for  the  night.  By  an  unhappy  accident  our  cabin  took  fire, 
and  we  were  very  near  being  burned  alive  after  we  had  gone  to 
sleep." 


ABORIGINAL    NAME    OF   "KANKAKEE."  77 

Here  follows  Hennepin's  description  of  the  Kankakee  portage,  and 
of  the  marshy  grounds  about  the  headwaters  of  this  stream,  as  already 
quoted  on  page  24:. 

"  Having  passed  through  the  marshes,  we  came  to  a  vast  prairie,  in 
which  nothing  grows  but  grasses,  which  were  at  this  time  dry  and 
burnt,  because  the  Miamis  set  the  grasses  on  fire  every  year,  in  hunt- 
ing for  wild  oxen  (buffalo),  as  I  shall  mention  farther  on.  We  found 
no  game,  which  was  a  disappointment  to  us,  as  our  provisions  had 
begun  to  fail.  Our  men  traveled  about  sixty  miles  without  killing 
anything  other  than  a  lean  stag,  a  small  wild  goat,  a  few  swan  and 
two  bustards,  which  were  but  a  scanty  subsistence  for  two  and  thirty 
men.  Most  of  the  men  were  become  so  weary  of  this  laborious  life 
that,  were  it  practicable,  they  would  have  run  away  and  joined  the 
savages,  who,  as  we  inferred  by  the  great  fires  which  we  saw  on  the 
prairies,  were  not  very  far  from  us.  There  must  be  an  innumerable 
quantity  of  wild  cattle  in  this  country,  since  the  ground  here  is  every- 
where  covered  with  their  horns.  Ths  Miamis  hunt  them  toward  the 
latter  end  of  autumn."* 

That  part  of  the  Illinois  River  above  the  Desplaines  is  called  the 
Kankakee,  which  is  a  corruption  of  its  original  Indian  name.  St. 
Cosme,  the  narrative  of  whose  voyage  down  the  Illinois  River,  by 
way  of  Chicago,  in  1699,  and  found  in  Dr.  Shea's  work  of  "Early 
Voyages  Up  and  Down  the  Mississippi,"  refers  to  it  as  the  The-a-li-ke, 
"  which  is  the  real  river  of  the  Illinois,  and  (says)  that  which  we  de- 
scended (the  Desplaines)  was  only  a  branch."  Father  Marest,  in  his 
letter  of  November  9,  1712,  narrating  a  journey  he  had  previously 
made  from  Kaskaskia  up  to  the  Mission  of  St.  Joseph,  says  of  the  Illi- 
nois River :  "  We  transported  all  there  was  in  the  canoe  toward  the 
source  of  the  Illinois  (Indian),  which  they  call  Hau-ki-ki."  Father 
Charlevoix,  who  descended  the  Kankakee  from  the  portage,  in  his  let- 
ter, dated  at  the  source  of  the  river  Theakiki,  September  17,  1721, 
says :  "  This  morning  I  walked  a  league  farther  in  the  meadow,  having 
my  feet  almost  always  in  the  water ;  afterward  I  met  with  a  kind  of  a 
pool  or  marsh,  which  had  a  communication  with  several  others  of  dif- 
ferent sizes,  but  the  largest  was  about  a  hundred  paces  in  circuit ;  these 
are  the  sources  of  the  river  The-a-ki-ki,  which,  by  a  corrupted  pronun- 
ciation, our  Indians  call  Ki-a-ki-ki.  Theak  signifies  a  wolf,  in  what 
language  I  do  not  remember,  but  the  river  bears  that  name  because  the 
Mahingans  (Mohicans),  who  were  likewise  called  wolves,  had  formerly 

*  Hennepin  and  his  party  were  not  aware  of  the  migratory  habits  of  the  buffalo  ; 
and  that  their  scarcity  on  the  Kankakee  in  the  winter  months  was  because  the  herds 
had  gone  southward  to  warmer  latitude  and  better  pasturage. 


78  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

taken  refuge  on  its  banks."  *  The  Mohicans  were  of  the  Algonquin 
stock,  anciently  living  east  of  the  Hudson  River,  where  they  had  been 
so  persecuted  and  nearly  destroyed  by  the  implacable  Iroquois  that 
their  tribal  integrity  was  lost,  and  they  were  dispersed  in  small  fami- 
lies over  the  west,  seeking  protection  in  isolated  places,  or  living  at 
sufferance  among  their  Algonquin  kindred.  They  were  brave,  faithful 
to  the  extreme,  famous  scouts,  and  successful  hunters.  La  Salle,  ap- 
preciating these  valuable  traits,  usually  kept  a  few  of  them  in  his  em- 
ploy. The  "  savage,"  or  "  hunter,"  so  often  referred  to  by  Hennepin, 
in  the  extracts  we  have  taken  from  his  journal,  was  a  Mohican. 

In  a  report  made  to  the  late  Governor  Ninian  Edwards,  in  1812, 
by  John  Hays,  interpreter  and  Coureur  de  Bois  of  the  routes,  rivers 
and  Indian  villages  in  the  then  Illinois  Territory,  Mr.  Hays  calls  the 
Kankakee  the  Quin-que-que,  which  was  probably  its  French-Indian 
name.f  Col.  Guerdon  S.  Hubbard,  who  for  many  years,  datino-  back 
as  early  as  1819,  was  a  trader,  and  commanded  great  influence  with 
the  bands  of  Pottawatomies,  claiming  the  Kankakee  as  their  country, 
informs  the  writer  that  the  Pottawatomie  name  of  the  Kankakee  is 
Ky-an-ke-a-kee,  meaning  "the  river  of  the  wonderful  or  beautiful 
land,— as  it  really  is,  westward  of  the  marshes.  "A-kee,"  "Ah-ke  "  and 
"Aid,"  in  the  Algonquin  dialect,  signifies  earth  or  land. 

The  name  Desplaines,  like  that  of  the  Kankakee,  has  undergone 
changes  in  the  progress  of  time.  On  a  French  map  of  Louisiana,  in 
1717,  the  Desplaines  is  laid  down  as  the  Chicago  River.  Just  after 
Great  Britain  had  secured  the  possessions  of  the  French  east  of  the 
Mississippi,  by  conquest  and  treaty,  and  when  the  British  authorities 
were  keenly  alive  to  everything  pertaining  to  their  newly  acquired 
possessions,  an  elaborate  map,  collated  from  the  most  authentic  sources 
by  Eman  Bowen,  geographer  to  His  Majesty  King  George  the  Third, 
was  issued,  and  on  this  map  the  Desplaines  is  laid  down  as  the  Illinois' 
or  Chicago  River.  Many  early  French  writers  speak  of  it,  as  they 
do  of  the  Kankakee  above  the  confluence,  as  the  "  River  of  the  Illi- 
nois." Its  French  Canadian  name  is  Au  Plein,  now  changed  to  Des- 
plaines, or  Riviere  Au  Plein,  or  Despleines,  from  a  variety  of  hard 
maple,—  that  is  to  say,  sugar  tree.  The  Pottawatomies  called  it  She- 
shik-mao-shi-ke  Se-pe,  signifying  the  river  of  the  tree  from  which  a 
great  quantity  of  sap  flows  in  the  spring.;}:  It  has  also  been  sanctified 
by  Father  Zenobe  Membre  with  the  name  Divine  River,  and  by  authors 

1761  Charlevokf  "  Journal  of  a  V°yage  to  America,"  vol.  2,  P:  184.    London  edition, 

^  °f  I1Hn°iS  "^  ^  °f  Governor  Edwards,"   by  his  son  Ninian  W. 
\  Long's  Second  Expedition,  vol.  1,  p.  173. 


NAMES    OF   THE    ILLINOIS.  79 

of  early  western  gazetteers,  vulgarized  by  the  appellation  of  Kickapoo 
Creek. 

Below  the  confluence  of  the  Desplaines,  the  Illinois  River  was,  by 
La  Salle,  named  the  Seignelay,  as  a  mark  of  his  esteem  for  the  brilliant 
young  Colbert,  who  succeeded  his  father  as  Minister  of  the  Marine. 
On  the  great  map,  prepared  by  the  engineer  Franquelin  in  1684,  it 
is  called  River  Des  Illinois,  or  Macoupins.  The  name  Illinois,  which, 
fortunately,  it  will  always  bear,  was  derived  from  the  name  of  the  con- 
federated tribes  who  anciently  dwelt  upon  its  banks. 

"We  continued  our  course,"  says  Hennepin,  "upon  this  river  (the 
Kankakee  and  Illinois)  very  near  the  whole  month  of  December,  at 
the  latter  end  of  which  we  arrived  at  a  village  of  the  Illinois,  which 
lies  near  a  hundred  and  thirty  leagues  from  Fort  Miamis,  on  the  Lake 
of  the  Illinois.  We  suffered  greatly  on  the  passage,  for  the  savages 
having  set  fire  to  the  grass  on  the  prairie,  the  wild  cattle  had  fled,  and 
we  did  not  kill  one.  Some  wild  turkeys  were  the  only  game  we 
secured.  God's  providence  supported  us  all  the  while,  and  as  we 
meditated  upon  the  extremities  to  which  we  were  reduced,  regarding 
ourselves  without  hope  of  relief,  we  found  a  very  large  wild  ox  stick- 
ing fast  in  the  mud  of  the  river.  We  killed  him,  and  with  much  diffi- 
culty dragged  him  out  of  the  mud.  This  was  a  great  refreshment  to 
our  men ;  it  revived  their  courage, —  being  so  timely  and  unexpectedly 
relieved,  they  concluded  that  God  approved  our  undertaking. 

The  great  village  of  the  Illinois,  where  La  Salle's  party  had  now 
arrived,  has  been  located  with  such  certainty  by  Francis  Parkman,  the 
learned  historical  writer,  as  to  leave  no  doubt  of  its  identity.  It 
was  on  the  north  side  of  the  Illinois  River,  above  the  mouth  of  the 
Yermillion  and  below  Starved  Rock,  near  the  little  village  of  Utica, 
in  La  Salle  county,  Illinois.* 

"  We  found,"  continues  Father  Hennepin,  "  no  one  in  the  village, 
as  we  had  foreseen,  for  the  Illinois,  according  to  their  custom,  had  di- 
vided themselves  into  small  hunting  parties.  Their  absence  caused 
great  perplexity  amongst  us,  for  we  wanted  provisions,  and  yet  did 
not  dare  to  meddle  with  the  Indian  corn  the  savages  had  laid  under 
ground  for  their  subsistence  and  for  seed.  However,  our  necessity  be- 
ing very  great,  and  it  being  impossible  to  continue  our  voyage  without 
any  provisions,  M.  La  Salle  resolved  to  take  about  forty  bushels  of 
corn,  and  hoped  to  appease  the  savages  with  presents.  We  embarked 
again,  with  these  fresh  provisions,  and  continued  to  fall  down  the  river, 

*  Mr.  Parkman  gives  an  interesting  account  of  his  recent  visit  to,  and  the  identifi- 
cation of,  the  locality,  in  an  elaborate  note  in  his  "  Discovery  of  the  Great  West,"  pp. 
221,  222. 


80  HISTORIC    NOTES    OX   THE    NORTHWEST. 

which  runs  directly  toward  the  south.  On  the  1st  of  January  we  went 
through  a  lake  (Peoria  Lake)  formed  by  the  river,  about  seven  leagues 
long  and  one  broad.  The  savages  call  that  place  Pimeteoui,  that  is,  in 
their  tongue,  '  a  place  where  there  is  an  abundance  of  fat  animals.  '  * 
Resuming  Hennepin's  narrative :  "  The  current  brought  us,  in  the 
meantime,  to  the  Indian  camp,  and  M.  La  Salle  was  the  first  one 
to  land,  followed  closely  by  his  men,  which  increased  the  consterna- 
tion of  the  savages,  whom  we  easily  might  have  defeated.  As  it  was 
not  our  design,  we  made  a  halt  to  give  them  time  to  recover  them- 
selves and  to  see  that  we  were  not  enemies.  Most  of  the  savages  who 
had  run  away  upon  our  landing,  understanding  that  we  were  friends, 
returned ;  but  some  others  did  not  come  back  for  three  or  four  days, 
and  after  they  had  learned  that  we  had  smoked  the  calumet. 

"  I  must  observe  here,  that  the  hardest  winter  does  not  last  longer 
than  two  months  in  this  charming  country,  so  that  on  the  15th  of  Jan- 
uary there  came  a  sudden  thaw,  which  made  the  rivers  navigable,  and 
the  weather  as  mild  as  it  is  in  France  in  the  middle  of  the  spring. 
M.  La  Salle,  improving  this  fair  season,  desired  me  to  go  down  the 
river  with  him  to  choose  a  place  proper  to  build  a  fort.  We  selected 
an  eminence  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  defended  on  that  side  by  the 
river,  and  on  two  others  by  deep  ravines,  so  that  it  was  accessible  only 
on  one  side.  We  cast  a  trench  to  join  the  two  ravines,  and  made  the 
eminence  steep  on  that  side,  supporting  the  earth  with  great  pieces  of 
timber.  We  made  a  rough  palisade  to  defend  ourselves  in  case  the 
Indians  should  attack  us  while  we  were  engaged  in  building  the  fort ; 
but  no  one  offering  to  disturb  us,  we  went  on  diligently  with  our  work. 

*  Louis  Beck,  in  his  "  Gazetteer  of  Illinois  and  Missouri,"  p.  119,  says:  "The  Indi- 
ans call  the  lake  Pin-a-tah-wee,  on  account  of  its  being  frequently  covered  with  a 
scum  which  has  a  greasy  appearance."  Owing  to  the  rank  growth  of  aquatic  plants 
in  the  Illinois  River  before  they  were  disturbed  by  the  frequent  passage  of  boats,  and  to 
the  grasses  on  the  borders  of  the  stream  and  the  adjacent  marshes,  and  the  decay 
taking  place  in  both  under  the  scorching  rays  of  the  summer's  sun,  the  surface  of  the 
river  and  lake  were  frequently  coated  with  this  vegetable  decomposition.  Prof.  School- 
craft  ascended  the  Illinois  River,  and  was  at  Fort  Clark  on  the  19th  of  August,  1821. 
Under  this  date  is  the  following  extract  from  his  "Narrative  Journal":  "About  9 
o'clock  in  the  morning  we  came  to  a  part  of  the  river  which  was  covered  for  several 
hundred  yards  with  a  scum  or  froth  of  the  most  intense  green  color,  and  emitting  a 
nauseous  exhalation  that  was  almost  insupportable.  We  were  compelled  to  pass 
through  it.  The  fine  green  color  of  this  somewhat  compact  scum,  resembling  that  of 
verdegris,  led  us  at  the  moment  to  conjecture  that  it  might  derive  this  character  from 
some  mineral  spring  or  vein  in  the  bed  of  the  river,  but  we  had  reasons  afterward 
to  regret  this  opinion.  I  directed  one  of  the  canoe  men  to  collect  a  bottle  of  this 
mother  of  miasmata  for  preservation,  but  its  fermenting  nature  baffled  repeated  at- 
tempts to  keep  it  corked.  We  had  daily  seen  instances  of  the  powerful  tendency  of 
these  waters  to  facilitate  the  decomposition  of  floating  vegetation,  but  had  not  before 
observed  any  in  so  mature  and  complete  a  state  of  putrefaction.  It  might  certainly 
justify  an  observer  less  given  to  fiction  than  the  ancient  poets,  to  people  this  stream 
with  the  Hydra,  as  wriv  the  pestilential-breeding  marshes  of  Italy.  — Schoolcraft's 
"Central  Mississippi  Valley,"  p.  305. 


FORT   CKEVECOEUK    AND    ITS    LOCATJON.  81 

"When  the  fort  was  half  finished,  M.  La  Salle  lodged  himself,  with  M. 
Tonti,  in  the  middle  of  the  fortification,  and  every  one  took  his  post, 
We  placed  the  forge  on  the  curtain  on  the  side  of  the  wood,  and  laid 
in  a  great  quantity  of  coal  for  that  purpose.  But  our  greatest  diffi- 
culty was  to  build  a  boat, —  our  carpenters  having  deserted  us,  we  did 
not  know  what  to  do.  However,  as  timber  was  abundant  and  near  at 
hand,  we  told  our  men  that  if  any  of  them  would  undertake  to  saw 
boards  for  building  the  bark,  we  might  surmount  all  other  difficulties. 
Two  of  the  men  undertook  the  task,  and  succeeded  so  well  that  we 
began  to  build  a  bark,  the  keel  whereof  was  forty-two  feet  long.  Our 
men  went  on  so  briskly  with  the  work,  that  on  the  1st  of  March  our 
boat  was  half  built,  and  all  the  timber  ready  prepared  for  furnishing  it. 
Our  fort  was  also  very  near  finished,  and  we  named  it  '  Fort  Creve- 
cceur,'  because  the  desertion  of  our  men,  and  other  difficulties  we 
had  labored  under,  had  almost  '  broken  our  hearts. '  * 

"  M.  La  Salle,"  says  Hennepin,  "  no  longer  doubted  that  the  Griffin 
was  lost ;  but  neither  this  nor  other  difficulties  dejected  him.  His 
great  courage  buoyed  him  up,  and  he  resolved  to  return  to  Fort  Fron- 
tenac  by  land,  notwithstanding  the  snow,  and  the  great  dangers  attend- 
ing so  long  a  journey.  We  had  many  private  conferences,  wherein  it 
was  decided  that  he  should  return  to  Fort  Frontenac  with  three  men, 
to  bring  with  him  the  necessary  articles  to  proceed  with  the  discov- 
ery, while  I,  with  two  men,  should  go  in  a  canoe  to  the  River  Me- 
schasipi,  and  endeavor  to  obtain  the  friendship  of  the  nations  who 
inhabited  its  banks. 

"  M.  La  Salle  left  M.  Tonti  to  command  in  Fort  Crevecceur,  and 
ordered  our  carpenter  to  prepare  some  thick  boards  to  plank  the  deck 
of  our  ship,  in  the  nature  of  a  parapet,  to  cover  it  against  the  arrows 
of  the  savages  in  case  they  should  shoot  at  us  from  the  shore.  Then, 
calling  his  men  together,  La  Salle  requested  them  to  obey  M.  Tonti's 
orders  in  his  absence,  to  live  in  Christian  union  and  charity ;  to  be 
courageous  and  firm  in  their  designs ;  and  above  all  not  to  give  credit 
to  false  reports  the  savages  might  make,  either  of  him  or  of  their  com- 
rades who  accompanied  Father  Hennepin." 

Hennepin  and  his  two  companions,  with  a  supply  of  trinkets  suitable 

*  "Fort  Crevecceur,1'  or  the  Broken  Heart,  was  built  on  the  east  side  of  the  Illi- 
nois River,  a  short  distance  below  the  outlet  of  Peoria  Lake.  It  is  so  located  on  the 
great  map  of  Franquelin,  made  at  Quebec  in  1684.  There  are  many  indications  on 
this  map,  going1  to  show  that  it  was  constructed  largely  under  the  supervision  of  La- 
Salle.  The  fact  mentioned  by  Hennepin,  that  they  went  down  the  river,  and  that  coal 
was  gathered  for  the  supply  of  the  fort,  would  confirm  this  theory  as  to  its  location; 
for  the  outcrop  of  coal  is  abundant  in  the  bluffs  on  the  east  side  of  the  river  below 
Peoria.  There  is  also  a  spot  in  this  immediate  vicinity  that  answers  well  to  the  site 
of  the  fort  as  described  by  Fathers  Hennepin  and  Membre. 
6 


82  HISTORIC    XOTES    OX    TH  K    NORTHWEST. 

for  the  Indian  trade,  left  Fort  Crevecreur  for  the  Mississippi,  on  the 
29th  of  February,  1680,  and  were  captured  by  the  Sioux,  as  already 
stated.  From  this  time  to  the  ultimate  discovery  and  taking  possession 
of  the  Mississippi  and  the  valleys  by  La  Salle,  Father  Zenobe  Membre 
was  the  historian  of  the  expedition. 

La  Salle  started  across  the  country,  going  up  the  Illinois  and  Kan- 
kakee,  and  through  the  southern  part  of  the  present  State  of  Michigan. 
He  reached  the  Detroit  River,  ferrying  the  stream  with  a  raft ;  he  at 
length  stood  on  Canadian  soil.  Striking  a  direct  line  across  the  wilder- 
ness, he  arrived  at  Lake  Erie,  near  Point  Pelee.  By  this  time  only 
one  man  remained  in  health,  and  with  his  assistance  La  Salle  made  a 
canoe.  Embarking  in  it  the  party  came  to  Niagara  on  Easter  Monday. 
Leaving  his  comrades,  who  were  completely  exhausted,  La  Salle  on  the 
6th  of  May  reached  Fort  Frontenac,  making  a  journey  of  over  a  thou- 
sand miles  in  sixty-five  days,  "  the  greatest  feat  ever  performed  by  a 
Frenchman  in  America."1* 

La  Salle  found  his  affairs  in  great  confusion.  His  creditors  had 
seized  upon  his  estate,  including  Fort  Frontenac.  Undaunted  by  this 
new  misfortune,  he  confronted  his  creditors  and  enemies,  pacifying  the 
former  and  awing  the  latter  into  silence.  He  gathered  the  fragments 
of  his  scattered  property  and  in  a  short  time  started  west  with  a  com- 
pany of  twenty-five  men,  whom  he  had  recruited  to  assist  in  the  prose- 
cution of  his  discoveries.  He  reached  Lake  Huron  by  the  way  of  Lake 
Simcoe,  and  shortly  afterward  arrived  at  Mackinaw.  Here  he  found 
that  his  enemies  had  been  very  busy,  and  had  poisoned  the  minds  of 
the  Indians  against  his  designs. 

We  leave  La  Salle  at  Mackinaw  to  notice  some  of  the  occurrences 
that  took  place  on  the  Illinois  and  St.  Joseph  after  he  had  departed  for 
Fort  Frontenac.  On  this  journey,  as  La  Salle  passed  up  the  Illinois, 
he  was  favorably  impressed  with  Starved  Rock  as  a  place  presenting 
strong  defenses  naturally.  He  sent  word  back  to  Tonti,  below  Peoria 
Lake,  to  take  possession  of  "  The  Rock  "  and  erect  a  fortification  on  its 
summit.  Tonti  accordingly  came  up  the  river  with  a  part  of  his  avail- 
able force,  and  began  to  work  upon  the  new  fort.  While  engaged  in 
this  enterprise  the  principal  part  of  the  men  remaining  at  Fort  Creve- 
C03ur  mutinied.  They  destroyed  the  vessel  on  the  stocks'  plundered 
the  storehouse,  escaped  up  the  Illinois  River  and  appeared  before  Fort 
Miami.  These  deserters  demolished  Fort  Miami  and  robbed  it  of  goods 
and  furs  of  La  Salle,  on  deposit  there,  and  then  fled  out  of  the  country. 
These  misfortunes  were  soon  followed  by  an  incursion  of  the  Iroquois, 

*Parkman's  "Discovery  of  the  Great  West." 


DEATH    OF    FATHER    GABRIEL.  83 

who  attacked  the  Illinois  in  their  village  near  the  Starved  Rock.  Tonti, 
acting  as  mediator,  came  near  losing  his  life  at  the  hand  of  an  infuriated 
Iroquois  warrior,  who  drove  a  knife  into  his  ribs.  Constantly  an  object 
of  distrust  to  the  Illinois,  who  feared  he  was  a  spy  and  friend  of  the 
Iroquois,  in  turn  exposed  to  the  jealousy  of  the  Iroquois,  who  imag- 
ined he  and  his  French  friends  were  allies  of  the  Illinois,  Tonti 
remained  faithful  to  his  trust  until  he  saw  that  he  could  not  avert  the 
blow  meditated  by  the  Iroquois.  Then,  with  Fathers  Zenobe  Membre 
and  Gabriel  Rebourde,  and  a  few  Frenchmen  who  had  remained  faith- 
ful, he  escaped  from  the  enraged  Indians  and  made  his  way,  in  a  leaky 
canoe,  up  the  Illinois  River.  Father  Gabriel  one  fine  day  left  his  com- 
panions on  the  river  to  enjoy  a  walk  in  the  beautiful  groves  near  by, 
and  while  thus  engaged,  and  as  he  was  meditating  upon  his  holy  call- 
ing, fell  into  an  ambuscade  of  Kickapoo  Indians.  The  good  old  man, 
.unconscious  of  his  danger,  was  instantly  knocked  down,  the  scalp  torn 
from  his  venerable  head,  and  his  gray  hairs  afterward  exhibited  in  tri- 
umph by  his  young  murderers  as  a  trophy  taken  from  the  crown  of  an 
Iroquois  warrior.  Tonti,  with  those  in  his  company,  pursued  his  course, 
passing  by  Chicago,  and  thence  up  the  west  shore  of  Lake  Michigan. 
Subsisting  on  berries,  and  often  on  acorns  and  roots  which  they  dug 
from  the  ground,  they  finally  arrived  at  the  Pottawatomie  towns.  Pre- 
vious to  this  they  abandoned  their  canoe  and  started  on  foot  for  the 
Mission  of  Green  Bay,  where  they  wintered. 

La  Salle,  when  he  arrived  at  St.  Joseph,  found  Fort  Miamis  plun- 
dered and  demolished.  He  also  learned  that  the  Iroquois  had  attacked 
the  Illinois.  Fearing  for  the  safety  of  Tonti,  he  pushed  on  rapidly, 
only  to  find,  at  Starved  Rock,  the  unmistakable  signs  of  an  Indian 
.slaughter.  The  report  was  true.  The  Iroquois  had  defeated  the  Illi- 
nois and  driven  them  west  of  the  Mississippi.  La  Salle  viewed  the 
wreck  of  his  cherished  project,  the  demolition  of  the  fort,  the  loss  of 
his  peltries,  and  especially  the  destruction  of  his  vessel,  in  that  usual 
calm  way  peculiar  to  him ;  and,  although  he  must  have  suffered  the 
most  intense  anguish,  no  trace  of  sorrow  or  indecision  appeared  on  his 
inflexible  countenance.  Shortly  afterward  he  returned  to  Fort  Miamis. 
La  Salle  occupied  his  time,  until  spring,  in  rebuilding  Fort  Miamis, 
holding  conferences  with  the  surrounding  Indian  tribes,  and  confeder- 
ating them  against  future  attacks  of  the  Iroquois.  He  now  abandoned 
the  purpose  of  descending  the  Mississippi  in  a  sailing  vessel,  and  de- 
termined to  prosecute  his  voyage  in  the  ordinary  wooden  pirogues  or 
canoes. 

Tonti  was  sent  forward  to  Chicago  Creek,  where  he  constructed  a 
number  of  sledges.     After  other  preparations  had  been  made,  La  Salle 


84  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

and  his  party  left  St.  Joseph  and  came  around  the  southern  extremity 
of  the  lake.     The  goods  and  effects  were  placed  on  the  sledges  pre- 
pared by  Tonti.     La  Salle's  party  consisted  of  twenty-three  French- 
men and  eighteen  Indians.     The  savages  took  with  them  ten  squaws 
and  three  children,  so  that  the  party  numbered  in  all  fifty-four  persons. 
They  had  to  make  the  portage  of  the  Chicago  River.     After  dragging 
their  canoes,  sledges,  baggage  and   provisions   about   eighty  leagues 
over  the  ice,  on  the  Desplaines  and  Illinois  Rivers,  they  came  to  the 
great  Indian  town.     It  was  deserted,  the  savages  having  gone  down 
the  river  to  Lake  Peoria.     From  Peoria  Lake  the  navigation  was  open, 
and  embarking,  on  the  6th  of  February,  they  soon  arrived  at  the  Mis- 
sissippi.    Here,  owing  to  floating  ice,  they  were  delayed  till  the  13th 
of  the  same  month.     Membre  describes  the  Missouri  as  follows:  "It  is 
full  as  large  as  the  Mississippi,  into  which  it  empties,  troubling  it  so 
that,  from   the  mouth  of  the  Ozage  (Missouri),  the  water  is  hardly 
drinkable.     The  Indians  assured  us  that  this  river  is  formed  by  many 
others,  and  that  they  ascend  it  for  ten  or  twelve  days  to  a  mountain 
where  it  rises ;  that  beyond  this  mountain  is  the  sea,  where  tjiey  see 
great  ships;  that  on  the  river  are  a  great  number  of  large  villages. 
Although  this  river  is  very  large,  the  Mississippi  does  not  seem  aug- 
mented by  it,  but  it  pours  in  so  much  mud  that,  from  its  mouth,  the 
water  of  the  great  river,  whose  bed  is  also  slimy,  is  more  like  clear 
mud  than  river  water,  without  changing  at  all  till  it  reaches  the  sea,  a 
distance  of  more  than  three  hundred  leagues,  although  it  receives  seven 
large  rivers,  the  water  of  which  is  very  beautiful,  and  which  are  almost 
as  large  as  the  Mississippi."     From  this  time,  until  they  neared  the 
mouths  of  the  Mississippi,  nothing  especially  worthy  of  note  occurred. 
On  the  6th  of  April  they  came  to  the  place  where  the  river  divides 
itself  into  three  channels.     M.  La  Salle  took  the  western,  the  Sieur 
Dautray  the  southern,  and  Tonti,  accompanied  by  Membre,  followed 
the  middle  channel.     The  three  channels  were  beautiful  and   deep. 
The  water  became  brackish,  and  two  leagues  farther  it  became  perfectly 
salt,  and  advancing  on  they  at  last  beheld  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.     La 
Salle,  in  a  canoe,  coasted  the  borders  of  the  sea,  and  then  the  parties 
assembled  on  a  dry  spot  of  ground  not  far  from  the  mouth  of  the  river. 
On  the  9th  of  April,  with  all  the  pomp  and  ceremony  of  the  Holy 
Catholic  Church,  La  Salle,  in  the  name  of  the  French  King,  took  pos- 
session of  the  Mississippi  and  all  its  tributaries.     First  they  chanted 
the  "  Vexilla  Regis'"  and  "  Te  Deum,"  and  then,  while  the  assembled 
voyageurs  and  their  savage  attendants  fired  their  muskets  and  shouted 
"  Vive  le  Roi,"   La  Salle  planted  the  column,  at  the  same  time  pro- 
claiming, in  a  loud  voice,  "  In  the  name  of  the  Most  High,  Mighty, 


TAKING    POSSESSION   OF   LOUISIANA.  85 

Invincible,  and  Victorious  Prince,  Louis  the  Great,  by  the  Grace  of 
God  King  of  France  and  of  Navarre,  Fourteenth  of  that  name,  I,  this 
9th  day  of  April,  one  thousand  six  hundred  and  eighty-two,  in  virtue 
of  the  commission  of  His  Majesty,  which  I  hold  in  my  hand,  and 
which  may  be  seen  by  all  whom  it  may  concern,  have  taken,  and  do  now 
take,  in  the  name  of  His  Majesty  and  his  successors  to  the  crown,  posses- 
sion of  this  country  of  Louisiana,  the  seas,  harbors,  ports,  bays,  adjacent 
straits,  and  all  the  people,  nations,  provinces,  cities,  towns,  villages, 
mines,  minerals,  fisheries,  streams  and  rivers  within  the  extent  of  the 
said  Louisiana,  from  the  mouth  of  the  great  river  St.  Louis,  otherwise 
called  Ohio,  as  also  along  the  river  Colbert,  or  Mississippi,  and  the 
rivers  which  discharge  themselves  therein,  from  its  source  beyond  the 
country  of  the  Nadonessious  (Sioux),  as  far  as  its  mouth  at  the  sea, 
and  also  to  the  mouth  of  the  river  of  Palms,  upon  the  assurance  we 
have  had  from  the  natives  of  these  countries  that  we  were  the  first 
Europeans  who  have  descended  or  ascended  the  river  Colbert  (Missis- 
sippi) ;  hereby  protesting  against  all  who  may  hereafter  undertake  to 
invade  any  or  all  of  these  aforesaid  countries,  peoples  or  lands,  to  the 
prejudice  of  His  Majesty,  acquired  by  the  consent  of  the  nations 
dwelling  herein.  Of  which,  and  of  all  else  that  is  needful,  I  hereby 
take  to  witness  those  who  hear  me.  and  demand  an  act  of  the  notary 
here  present." 

At  the  foot  of  the  tree  to  which  the  cross  was  attached  La  Salle 
caused  to  be  buried  a  leaden  plate,  on  one  side  of  which  were  engraven 
the  arms  of  France,  and  on  the  opposite,  the  following  Latin  inscription: 

LVDOVICUS  MAGNUS  REGNAT. 

NONO  APRILIS  CIO  IOC  LXXXII. 

ROBERTVS  CAVALIER,  CVM  DOMINO  DETONTI  LEGATO,  R.  P.  ZENOBIO 
MEMBRE,  RECCOLLECTO,  ET  VIGINTI  GALLIS  PRIMVS  HOC  FLYMEN, 
INDE  AB  ILTNEORVM  PAGO  ENAVAGAVIT,  EZVQUE  OSTIVM  FECIT 
PERVIVM,  NONO  APRILIS  ANNI. 

CIO  IOC  LXXXI. 

NOTE. — The  following  is  a  translation  of  the  inscription  on  the  leaden  plate: 

"  Louis  the  Great  reigns. 

"Robert  Cavalier,  with  Lord  Tonti  as  Lieutenant,  R.  P.  Zenobe  Membre,  Recollect, 
and  twenty  Frenchmen,  first  navigated  this  stream  from  the  country  of  the  Illinois, 
and  also  passed  through  its  mouth,  on  the  9th  of  April,  1682." 

After  which,  La  Salle  remarked  that  His  Majesty,  who  was  the 
eldest  son  of  the  Holy  Catholic  Church,  would  not  annex  any  country 
to  his  dominion  without  giving  especial  attention  to  establish  the 


86  HISTOKIC    NOTES    ON    THE    NORTHWEST. 

Christian  religion  therein.  He  then  proceeded  at  once  to  erect  a  cross, 
before  which  the  "Vexilla"  and  "  Domine  Salvum  fac  Regern"  were 
sung.  The  ceremony  was  concluded  by  shouting  "Vive  le  Hoi !  " 

Thus  was  completed  the  discovery  and  taking  possession  of  the 
Mississippi  valley.  By  that  indisputable  title,  the  right  of  discovery, 
attested  by  all  those  formalities  recognized  as  essential  by  the  laws  of 
nations,  the  manuscript  evidence  of  which  was  duly  certified  by  a  no- 
tary public  brought  along  for  that  purpose,  and  witnessed  by  the  sig- 
natures of  La  Salle  and  a  number  of  other  persons  present  on  the  occa- 
sion, France  became  the  owner  of  all  that  vast  country  drained  by  the 
Mississippi  and  its  tributaries.  Bounded  by  the  Alleghanies  on  the 
east,  and  the  Rocky  Mountains  on  the  west,  and  extending  from  an 
undefined  limit  on  the  north  to  the  burning  sands  of  the  Gulf  on  the 
south.  Embracing  within  its  area  every  variety  of  climate,  watered 
with  a  thousand  beautiful  streams,  containing  vast  prairies  and  exten- 
sive forests,  with  a  rich  and  fertile  soil  that  only  awaited  the  husband- 
man's skill  to  yield  bountiful  harvests,  rich  in  vast  beds  of  bituminous 
coal  and  deposits  of  iron,  copper  and  other  ores,  this  magnificent 
domain  was  not  to  become  the  seat  of  a  religious  dogma,  enforced  by 
the  power  of  state,  but  was  designed  under  the  hand  of  God  to  become 
the  center  of  civilization, — the  heart  of  the  American  republic, — where 
the  right  of  conscience  was  to  be  free,  without  interference  of  law,  and 
where  universal  liberty  should  only  be  restrained  in  so  far  as  its  unre- 
strained exercise  might  conflict  with  its  equal  enjoyment  by  all. 

Had  France,  with  the  same  energy  she  displayed  in  discovering 
Louisiana,  retained  her  grasp  upon  this  territory,  the  dominant  race  in 
the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  would  have  been  Gallic  instead  of  Anglo- 
Saxon. 

The  manner  in  which  France  lost  this  possession  in  America  will 
be  referred  to  in  a  subsequent  chapter. 


CHAPTER  XL 

LA  SALLE'S  RETURN,  AND  HIS  DEATH  IN  ATTEMPTING  A 
SETTLEMENT  ON  THE  GULF. 

LA  SALLE  and  his  party  returned  up  the  Mississippi.  Before  they 
reached  Chickasaw  Bluffs,  La  Salle  was  taken  dangerously  ill. 

Dispatching  Tonti  ahead  to  Mackinaw,  he  remained  there  under 
the  care  of  Father  Membre.  About  the  end  of  July  he  was  enabled  to 
proceed,  and  joined  Tonti  at  Mackinaw,  in  September.  Owing  to  the 
threatened  invasion  of  the  Iroquois,  La  Salle  postponed  his  projected 
trip  to  France,  and  passed  the  winter  at  Fort  St.  Louis.  From  Fort 
St.  Louis,  it  would  seem,  La  Salle  directed  a  letter  to  Count  Frontenac, 
giving  an  account  of  his  voyage  to  the  Mississippi.  It  is  short  and  his- 
torically interesting,  and  was  first  published  in  that  rare  little  volume, 
Thevenot's  "  Collection  of  Voyages,"  published  at  Paris  in  1687.  This 
letter  contains,  perhaps,  the  first  description  of  Chicago  Creek  and  the 
harbor,  and  as  everything  pertaining  to  Chicago  of  a  historical  charac- 
ter is  a  matter  of  public  interest,  we  insert  La  Salle's  account.  It 
seems  that,  even  at  that  early  day,  almost  two  centuries  ago,  the  idea 
of  a  canal  connecting  Lake  Michigan  and  the  Illinois  was  a  subject  of 
consideration  : 

"  The  creek  (Chicago  Creek)  through  which  we  went,  from  the  lake 
of  the  Illinois  into  the  Divine  River  (the  Au  Plein,  or  Des  Plaines)  is 
so  shallow  and  so  greatly  exposed  to  storms  that  no  ship  can  venture 
in  except  in  a  great  calm.  Neither  is  the  country  between  the  creek 
and  the  Divine  River  suitable  for  a  canal ;  for  the  prairies  between 
them  are  submerged  after  heavy  rains,  and  a  canal  would  be  immedi- 
ately filled  up  with  sand.  Besides  this,  it  is  not  possible  to  dig  into 
the  ground  on  account  of  the  water,  that  country  being  nothing  but  a 
marsh.  Supposing  it  were  possible,  however,  to  cut  a  canal,  it  would 
be  useless,  as  the  Divine  River  is  not  navigable  for  forty  leagues 
together ;  that  is  to  say,  from  that  place  (the  portage)  to  the  village  of 
the  Illinois,  except  for  canoes,  and  these  have  scarcely  water  enough  in 
summer  time." 

The  identity  of  the  "  River  Chicago,"  of  early  explorers,  with  the 
modern  stream  of  the  same  name,  is  clearly  established  by  the  map  of 
Franquelin  of  1684,  as  well,  also,  as  by  the  Memoir  of  Sieur  de  Tonti. 

87 


88  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NOKTHWEST. 

The  latter  had  occasion  to  pass  through  the  Chicago  River  more  fre- 
quently than  any  other  person  of  his  time,  and  his  intimate  acquaint- 
ance with  the  Indians  in  the  vicinity  would  necessarily  place  his  decla- 
rations beyond  the  suspicion  of  a  mistake.  Referring  to  his  being  sent 
in  the  fall  of  1687,  by  La  Salle,  from  Fort  Miamis,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
St.  Joseph,  to  Chicago,  alread}r  alluded  to,  he  says :  "  We  went  in 
canoes  to  the '  River  Chicago,'  where  there  is  a  portage  which  joins  that 
of  the  Illinois."  * 

The  name  of  this  river  is  variously  spelled  by  early  writers,  "  Chi- 
cagon,"  f  "  Che-ka-kou,"  ^  "  Chikgoua."§  In  the  prevailing  Algonquin 
language  the  word  signifies  a  polecat  or  skunk.  The  Aborigines,  also, 
called  garlic  by  nearly  the  same  word,  from  which  many  authors  have 
inferred  that  Chicago  means  "wild  onion."  | 

While  La  Salle  was  in  the  west,  Count  Frontenac  was  removed, 
and  M.  La  Barre  appointed  Governor  of  Canada.  The  latter  was  the 
avowed  enemy  of  La  Salle.  He  injured  La  Salle  in  every  possible 

*  Tonti's  Memoir,  published  in  the  Historical  Collections  of  Louisiana,  vol.  1,  p.  59. 

t  Joutel's  Journal. 

j  LaHontan. 

§  Father  Grayier's  Narrative  Journal,  published  in  Dr.  Shea's  "Voyages  Up  and 
Down  the  Mississippi." 

||  A  writer  of  a  historical  sketch,  published  in  a  late  number  of  "Potter's  Monthly," 
on  the  isolated  statement  of  an  old  resident  of  western  Michigan,  says  that  the  Indi- 


3sting  a  mere  fancy  with  the  dignity  of  truth.  The  great  city 
its  name  from  the  stream  along  whose  margin  it  was  first  laid  out,  and  it  becomes  im- 
portant to  preserve  the  origin  of  its  name  with  whatever  certainty  a  research  of  all 
accessible  authorities  may  furnish.  In  the  first  place,  Chicago  was  not  a  place  "with- 
out wood,"  or  trees;  on  the  contrary,  it  is  the  only  locality  where  timber  was  anything 
like  abundant  for  the  distance  of  miles  around.  The  north  and  south  branches  west- 
ward, and  the  lake  on  the  east,  afforded  ample  protection  against  prairie  fires;  and  Dr. 
John  M.  Peck,  in  his  early  Gazetteer  of  the  state,  besides  other  authorities,  especially 
mention  the  fact  that  there  was  a  good  quality  of  timber  in  the  vicinity  of  Chicago, 
particularly  on  the  north  branch.  There  is  nowhere  to  be  found  in  the  several  Indian 
vocabularies  of  Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie.  Dr.  Edwin  James,  and  the  late  Albert  Gal- 
latin,  in  their  extensive  collections  of  Algonquin  words,  any  expressions  like  those  used 
by  the  writer  in  Potter's  Monthly,  bearing  the  signification  which  he  attaches  to  them. 
Tn  Mackenzie's  Vocabulary,  the  Algonquin  word  for  polecat  is  "Shi-kak."  In  Dr. 
James'  Vocabulary,  the  word  for  skunk  is  "She-gaby  (shegag):  and  Shiq-ffcni-ga-win- 
zheeg  is  the  plural  for  onion  or  garlic,  literally,  in  the  Indian  dialect,  "skunk-weeds." 
Dr.  James,  in  a  foot-note,  says  that  from  this  word  in  the  singular  number,  some  have 
derived  the  name  Chi-ka-f/o,  which  is  commonly  pronounced  among  the  Indians,  Shig- 
gau-go,  and  Shi-gau-go-oner  (meaning)  at  Chicago. 

An  association  of  English  traders,  styling  themselves  the  "Illinois  Land  Compa- 
ny," on  the  5th  of  July,  1773,  obtained  from  ten  chiefs  of  the  Kaskaskia.  Cahokia  and 
Peoria  tribes,  a  deed  for  two  large  tracts  of  land.  The  second  tract,  in  the  description 
of  its  boundaries,  contains  the  following  expression:  "and  thence  up  the  Illinois  River, 
by  the  several  courses  thereof,  to  Chicago,  or  Garlic  Creek;"  and  it  may  safely  be  as- 
sumed that  the  parties  to  the  deed  knew  the  names  given  to  identify  the  grant.  Were 
an  additional  reference  necessary.  "  Wau  Bun,"  the  valuable  work  of  Mrs.  John  H. 
Kinzie,  might  also  be  cited,  p.  190.  The  Iroquqis,  who  made  frequent  predatory 
excursions  from  their  homes  in  New  York  to  the  Illinois  country,  called  Chicago  Kitn- 
era-ghik;  vide  Cadwalder  Colden's  "  History  of  the  Five  Nations." 


MISFORTUNES    OF    LA    SALLE'S    COLONY.  89 

way,  and  finally  seized  upon  Fort  Frontenac.  To  obtain  redress,  La- 
Salle  went  to  France,  reaching  Rochelle  on  the  13th  of  December, 
1683.  Seignelay  (young  Colbert),  Secretary  of  State  and  Minister  of 
the  Marine,  was  appealed  to  by  La  Salle,  and  became  interested  and 
furnished  him  timely  aid  in  his  enterprise. 

Before  leaving  America  La  Salle  ordered  Tonti  to  proceed  and  finish 
"  Fort  St.  Louis,"  as  the  fortification  at  Starved  Rock,  on  the  Illinois 
River,  was  named.  "  He  charged  me,"  says  Tonti,  "  with  the  duty  to 
go  and  finish  Fort  St.  Louis,  of  which  he  gave  me  the  government, 
with  full  power  to  dispose  of  the  lands  in  the  neighborhood,  and  left 
all  his  people  under  my  command,  with  the  exception  of  six  French- 
men, whom  he  took  to  accompany  him  to  Quebec.  We  departed  from 
Mackinaw  on  the  same  day,  he  for  Canada  and  I  for  the  Illinois.*  On 
his  mission  to  France  La  Salle  was  received  with  honor  by  the  king 
and  his  officers,  and  the  accounts  which  he  gave  relative  to  Louisiana 
caused  them  to  further  his  plans  for  its  colonization.  A  squadron  of 
four  vessels  was  fitted  out.  the  largest  carrying  thirty-six  guns.  About 
two  hundred  persons  were  embarked  aboard  of  them  for  the  purpose 
long  projected,  as  we  have  foreseen,  of  establishing  a  settlement  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Mississippi.  The  fleet  was  under  the  command  of  M. 
de  Beaujeu,  a  naval  officer  of  some  distinction.  He  was  punctilious  in 
the  exercise  of  authority,  and  had  a  wiry,  nervous  organization,  as  the 
portrait  preserved  of  him  clearly  shows,  f  La  Salle  was  austere,  and 
lacked  that  faculty  of  getting  along  with  men,  for  the  want  of  which 
many  of  his  best-laid  plans  failed.  A  constant  bickering  and  collision 
of  cross  purposes  was  the  natural  result  of  such  repellant  natures  as 
he  and  Beaujeu  possessed. 

After  a  stormy  passage  of  the  Atlantic,  the  fleet  entered  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico.  Coasting  along  the  northern  shore  of  the  gulf,  they  failed 
to  discover  the  mouths  of  the  Mississippi.  Passing  them,  they  finally 
landed  in  what  is  now  known  as  Matagorda  Bay,  or  the  Bay  of  St. 
Barnard,  near  the  River  Colorado,  in  Texas,  more  than  a  hundred 
leagues  westward  of  the  Mississippi.  The  whole  number  of  persons 
left  on  the  beach  is  not  definitely  known.  M.  Joutel,  one  of  the  sur- 
vivors, and  the  chronicler  of  this  unfortunate  undertaking,  mentions 
one  hundred  and  eighty,  besides  the  crew  of  the  "  Belle,"  which  was 
lost  on  the  beach,  consisting  of  soldiers,  volunteers,  workmen,  women 
and  children.;};  The  colony  being  in  a  destitute  condition,  La  Salle, 

*Tonti's  Memoir. 

t  A  fine  steel  engraving  copy  of  Mons.  Beaujeu  is  contained  in  Dr.  Shea's  transla- 
tion of  Charlevoix's  "  History  of  New  France." 
^Spark's  "Life  of  La  Salle." 


90  HISTORIC    NOTES   OX    THE    NORTHWEST. 

accompanied  by  Father  Anastius  Douay  and  twenty  others,  set  out  to 
reach  the  Mississippi,  intending  to  ascend  to  Fort  St.  Louis,  and  there 
obtain  aid  from  Tonti.  They  set  out  on  the  7th  of  January,  and  after 
several  days'  journey,  reached  the  village  of  the  Cenis  Indians.  Here 
some  of  La  Salle's  men  became  dissatisfied  with  their  hardships,  and 
determined  to  slay  him  and  then  join  the  Indians.  The  tragic  tale  is 
thus  related  by  Father  Douay :  "  The  wisdom  of  Monsieur  de  La  Salle 
was  unable  to  foresee  the  plot  which  some  of  his  people  would  make 
to  slay  his  nephew,  as  they  suddenly  resolved  to  do,  and  actually 
did,  on  the  17th  of  March,  by  a  blow  of  an  ax,  dealt  by  one  Liotot. 
They  also  killed  the  valet  of  the  Sieur  La  Salle  and  his  Indian  ser- 
vant, Nika,  who,  at  the  risk  of  his  life,  had  supported  them  for  three 
years.  The  wretches  resolved  not  to  stop  here,  and  not  satisfied 
with  this  murder,  formed  a  design  of  attempting  their  commander's 
life,  as  they  had  reason  to  fear  his  resentment  and  chastisement.  As 
M.  La  Salle  and  myself  were  walking  toward  the  fatal  spot  where  his 
nephew  had  been  slain,  two  of  those  murderers,  who  were  hidden  in 
the  grass,  arose,  one  on  each  side,  with  guns  cocked.  One  missed  Mon- 
sieur La  Salle ;  the  other,  firing  at  the  same  time,  shot  him  in  the  head. 
He  died  an  hour  after,  on  the  19th  of  March,  1687. 

"  Thus,"  says  Father  Douay,  "  died  our  commander,  constant  in  ad- 
versity, intrepid,  generous,  engaging,  dexterous,  skillful,  capable  of 
everything.  He  who  for  twenty  years  had  softened  the  fierce  temper 
of  countless  savage  tribes  was  massacred  by  the  hands  of  his  own  domes- 
tics, whom  he  had  loaded  with  caresses.  He  died  in  the  prime  of  life, 
in  the  midst  of  his  course  and  labors,  without  having  seen  their  success."* 

The  colony  which  La  Salle  had  left  in  Texas  was  surprised  and 
destroyed  by  the  Indians.  Not  a  soul  was  left  to  give  an  account  of 
the  massacre.  Of  the  twenty  who  accompanied  him  in  his  attempt  to 
reach  the  Mississippi,  Joutel,  M.  Cavalier,  La  Salle's  brother,  and  four 
others  determined  to  make  a  last  attempt  to  find  the  Mississippi ;  the 
others,  including  La  Salle's  murderers,  became  the  associates  of  the  less 
brutal  Indians,  and  of  them  we  have  no  farther  account.  After  a  long 
and  toilsome  journey  Joutel  and  his  party  reached  the  Mississippi  near 
the  mouth  of  the  Arkansas.  Here  they  found  two  men  who  had  been 
sent  by  Tonti  to  relieve  La  Salle.  Embarking  in  canoes,  they  went  up 
the  Mississippi,  arrived  at  Fort  St.  Louis  in  safety,  and  finally  returned 
to  France  by  way  of  Quebec. 

From  this  period  until  1698  the  French  made  no  further  attempts 
to  colonize  the  Lower  Mississippi.  They  had  no  settlements  below  the 

*  Fa!  her  Douay's  Journal,  contained  in  Dr.  Shea's  "Discovery  and  Exploration  of  the 
Mississippi." 


BILOXI    AND    MOBILE    FOUNDED.  91 

Ohio,  and  above  that  river,  on  the  Illinois  and  the  upper  lakes,  were 
scattered  only  a  few  missions  and  trading  posts. 

Realizing  the  great  importance  of  retaining  possession  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi valley,  the  French  court  fitted  out  an  expedition  which  con- 
sisted of  four  vessels,  for  the  purpose  of  thoroughly  exploring  the  mouth 
of  the  Mississippi  and  adjacent  territory.  Le  Moyne  Iberville  was  put 
in  command  of  the  expedition.  He  was  the  third  of  the  eleven  sons 
of  Baron  Longueil.  They  all  held  commissions  from  the  king,  and  con- 
stituted one  of  the  most  illustrious  of  the  French  Canadian  families. 
The  fleet  sailed  from  Brest,  France,  on  the  24th  of  October,  1698. 
They  came  in  sight  of  Florida  on  the  27th  of  January,  1699.  They 
ran  near  the  coast,  and  discovered  that  they  were  in  the  vicinity  of 
Pensacola  Bay.  Here  they  found  a  colony  of  three  hundred  Spaniards. 
Sailing  westward,  they  entered  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  on  Quin- 
quagesima  Monday,  which  was  the  2d  of  March.  Iberville  ascended 
the  river  far  enough  to  assure  himself  of  its  being  the  Mississippi,  then, 
descending  the  river,  he  founded  a  colony  at  Biloxi  Bay.  Leaving  his 
brother,  M.  de  Sauvole,  in  command  of  the  newly  erected  fort,  he  sailed 
for  France.  Iberville  returned  to  Biloxi  on  the  8th  of  January,  and, 
hearing  that  the  English  were  exploring  the  Mississippi,  he  took  formal 
possession  of  the  Mississippi  valley  in  the  name  of  the  French  king. 
He,  also,  erected  a  small  four-gun  fort  on  Poverty  Point,  38  miles  below 
New  Orleans.  The  fort  was  constructed  very  rudely,  and  was  occupied 
for  only  one  year.  In  the  year  1701  Iberville  made  a  settlement  at 
Mobile,  and  this  soon  became  the  principal  French  town  on  the  gulf. 
The  unavailing  efforts  of  the  king  in  the  scheme  of  colonization  induced 
a  belief  that  a  greater  prosperity  would  follow  under  the  stimulus  of 
individual  enterprise,  and  he  determined  to  grant  Louisiana  to  Monsieur 
Crozat,  with  a  monopoly  of  its  mines,  supposed  to  be  valuable  in  gold 
and  silver,  together  with  the  exclusive  right  of  all  its  commerce  for  the 
period  of  fifteen  years.  The  patent  or  grant  of  Louis  to  M.  Crozat  is 
an  interesting  document,  not  only  because  it  passed  the  title  of  the 
Mississippi  valley  into  the  hands  of  one  man,  but  for  the  reason  that  it 
embraces  a  part  of  the  history  of  the  country  ceded.  We,  therefore, 
quote  the  most  valuable  part  of  it.  The  instrument  bears  date  Sep- 
tember 12th,  1712 : 

"  Louis  (the  fourteenth),  King  of  France  and  Navarre ;  To  all  who 
shall  see  these  presents,  greeting :  The  care  we  have  always  had  to 
procure  the  welfare  and  advantage  of  our  subjects,  having  induced  us, 
notwithstanding  the  almost  continual  wars  which  we  have  been  en- 
gaged to  support  from  the  beginning  of  our  reign,  to  seek  all  possible 
opportunities  of  enlarging  and  extending  the  trade  of  our  American 


92  HISTORIC    KOTES    OX   THE    NORTHWEST. 

colonies,  we  did,  in  the  year  1683,  give  our  orders  to  undertake  a  dis- 
covery of  the  countries  and  lands  which  are  situated  in  the  northern 
parts  of  America,  between  New  France  (Canada)  and  New  Mexico. 
And  the  Sieur  de  La  Salle,  to  whom  we  committed  that  enterprise, 
having  had  success  enough  to  confirm  the  belief  that  a  communication 
might  be  settled  from  New  France  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  by  means  of 
large  rivers ;  this  obliged  us,  immediately  after  the  peace  of  Ryewick 
(in  1697),  to  give  orders  for  the  establishment  of  a  colony  there  (under 
Iberville  in  1699),  and  maintaining  a  garrison,  which  has  kept  and 
preserved  the  possession  we  had  taken  in  the  year  1683,  of  the  lands, 
coasts  and  islands  which  are  situated  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  between 
Carolina  on  the  east,  and  old  and  New  Mexico  on  the  west.  But  a 
new  war  breaking  out  in  Europe  shortly  after,  there  was  no  possi- 
bility till  now  of  reaping  from  that  new  colony  the  advantages  that 
might  have  been  expected  from  thence ;  because  the  private  men  who 
are  concerned  in  the  sea  trade  were  all  under  engagements  with  the 
other  colonies,  which  they  have  been  obliged  to  follow.  And  where- 
as, upon  the  information  we  have  received  concerning  the  disposition 
and  situation  of  the  said  countries,  known  at  present  by  the  name  of 
the  province  of  Louisiana,  we  are  of  opinion  that  there  may  be  estab- 
lished therein  a  considerable  commerce,  so  much  the  more  advan- 
tageous to  our  kingdom  in  that  there  has  been  hitherto  a  necessity  of 
fetching  from  foreigners  the  greatest  part  of  the  commodities  that  may 
be  brought  from  thence ;  and  because  in  exchange  thereof  we  need 
carry  thither  nothing  but  the  commodities  of  the  growth  and  manu- 
facture of  our  own  kingdom ;  we  have  resolved  to  grant  the  com- 
merce of  the  country  of  Louisiana  to  the  Sieur  Anthony  Crozat, 
our  counsellor,  secretary  of  the  household,  crown  and  revenue,  to 
whom  we  intrust  the  execution  of  this  project.  "We  are  the  more 
readily  inclined  thereto  because  of  his  zeal  and  the  singular  knowledge 
he  has  acquired  of  maritime  commerce,  encourages  us  to  hope  for  as 
good  success  as  he  has  hitherto  had  in  the  divers  and  sundry  enter- 
prises he  has  gone  upon,  and  which  have  procured  to  our  kingdom  great 
quantities  of.  gold  and  silver  in  such  conjectures  as  have  rendered  them 
very  welcome  to  us.  For  these  reasons,  being  desirous  to  show  our 
favor  to  him,  and  to  regulate  the  conditions  upon  which  we  mean  to 
grant  him  the  said  commerce,  after  having  deliberated  the  affair  in  our 
council,  of  our  own  certain  knowledge,  full  power  and  royal  authority, 
we  by  these  presents,  signed  by  our  hand,  have  appointed  and  do  ap- 
point the  said  Sieur  Crozat  to  carry  on  a  trade  in  all  the  lands  pos- 
sessed by  us,  and  bounded  by  New  Mexico  and  by  the  English  of  Caroli- 
na, all  the  establishments,  ports,  havens,  rivers,  and  particularly  the  port 


LOUISIANA    GRANTED   TO    CROZAT.  93 

and  haven  of  Isle  Dauphin,  heretofore  called  Massacre ;  the  river  St. 
Louis,  heretofore  called  Mississippi,  from  the  edge  of  the  sea  as  far  as 
the  Illinois,*  together  with  the  river  St.  Philip,  heretofore  called  Mis- 
souris,  and  St.  Jerome,  heretofore  called  the  Ouabache  (the  Wabash),, 
with  all  the  countries,  territories,  lakes  within  land,  and  the  rivers  which 
fall  directly  or  indirectly  into  that  part  of  the  river  St.  Louft.  Our 
pleasure  is,  that  all  the  aforesaid  lands,  countries,  streams,  rivers  and 
islands,  be  and  remain  comprised  under  the  name  of  the  GOVERNMENT 
OF  LOUISIANA,  which  shall  be  dependent  upon  the  general  government 
of  New  France,  to  which  it  is  subordinate." 

Crozat  was  permitted  to  search  and  open  mines,  and  to  pay  the 
king  one-fifth  part  of  all  the  gold  and  silver  developed.  Work  in  de- 
veloping the  mines  \vas  to  be  begun  in  three  years,  under  penalty  of 
forfeiture.  Crozat  was  required  to  send  at  least  two  vessels  annually 
from  France  to  sustain  the  colonies  already  established,  and  for  the 
maintenance  of  trade. 

The  next  year,  1713,  there  were,  within  the  limits  of  Crozat's  vast 
grant,  not  more  than  four  hundred  persons  of  European  descent. 

Crozat  himself  did  little  to  increase  the  colony,  the  time  of  his 
subordinates  being  spent  in  roaming  over  the  country  in  search  of  the 
precious  metals.  He  became  wearied  at  the  end  of  three  years  spent 
in  profitless  adventures,  and,  in  1717,  surrendered  his  grant  back  to  the 
crown.  In  August  of  the  same  year  the  French  king  turned  Louis- 
iana over  to  the  "  Western  Company,"  or  the  "  Mississippi  Company," 
subsequently  called  "  The  Company  of  the  Indies,"  at  whose  head 
stood  the  famous  Scotch  banker,  John  Law.  The  rights  ceded  to  Law's 
company  were  as  broad  as  the  grant  to  Crozat.  Law  was  an  infla- 
tionist, believing  that  wealth  could  be  created  without  limit  by  the 
mere  issuing  of  paper  money,  and  his  wild  schemes  of  finance  were 
the  most  ruinous  that  ever  deluded  and  bankrupted  a  confiding  people. 
Louisiana,  with  its  real  and  undeveloped  wealth  a  hundred  times  mag- 

*  The  expression,  "  as  far  as  the  Illinois,"  did  not  refer  to  the  river  of  that  name, 
but  to  the  country  generally,  on  both  sides  of  the  Mississippi,  above  the  mouth  of  the 
Ohio,  which,  under  both  the  French  and  Spanish  governments  was  denominated  "the 
country  of  the  Illinois,"  and  this  designation  appeared  in  all  their  records  and  official 
letters.  For  example,  letters,  deeds,  and  other  official  documents  bore  date,  respect- 
ively, at  Kaskaskia,  of  the  Illinois;  St.  Louis,  of  the  Illinois;  St.  Charles,  of  the  Illi- 
nois; not  to  identify  the  village  where  such  instruments  were  executed  merely,  but  to- 
denote  the  country  in  which  these  villages  were  situated.  Therefore,  the  monopoly  of 
Crozat,  by  the  terms  of  his  patent,  extended  to  the  utmost  limit  of  Louisiana,  north- 
ward, which,  by  the  treaty  of  Utrecht  in  1713,  was  fixed  at  the  49th°  of  latitude;  vide 
Stoddard's  "  Sketches  of  Louisiana,"  Brackenridge's  "Views  of  Louisiana."  From 
the  year  1700  until  some  time  subsequent  to  the  conquest  of  the  country  by  the  British, 
in  1763,  a  letter  or  document  executed  anywhere  within  the  present  limits  of  the  states 
of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  or  Missouri,  would  have  borne  the  superscription  of  "Les 
Illinois,"  or  "the  Illinois." 


94  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON    THE    NORTHWEST. 

nified,  became  the  basis  of  a  fictitious  value,  on  which  an  enormous 
volume  of  stock,  convertible  into  paper  money,  was  issued.  The  stock 
rose  in  the  market  like  a  balloon,  and  chamber-maids,  alike  with 
wealthy  ladies,  barbers  and  bankers, —  indeed,  the  whole  French  peo- 
ple,—  gazing  at  the  ascending  phenomenon,  grew  mad  with  the  desire 
for  speedy  wealth.  The  French  debt  was  paid  off;  the  depleted  treasury 
filled ;  poor  men  and  women  were  made  rich  in  a  few  days  by  the  con- 
stantly advancing  value  of  the  stocks  of  the  "  Company  of  the  West." 
Confidence  in  the  ultimate  wealth  of  Louisiana  was  all  that  was  re- 
quired, and  this  was  given  to  a  degree  that  would  not  now  be  credited 
as  true,  were  not  the  facts  beyond  dispute. 

After  awhile  the  balloon  exploded  ;  people  began  to  doubt ;  they 
realized  that  mere  confidence  was  not  solid  value ;  stocks  declined ; 
they  awoke  to  a  sorrowful  contemplation  of  their  delusion  and  ruin. 
Law,  from  the  summit  of  his  glory  as  a  financier,  fell  into  ignominy, 
and  to  escape  bodily  harm  fled  the  country ;  and  Louisiana,  from  be- 
ing the  source  of  untold  wealth,  sunk  into  utter  ruin  and  contempt. 

It  should  be  said  to  the  credit  of  "  the  company  "  that  they  made 
some  efforts  toward  the  cultivation  of  the  soil.  The  growth  of  tobacco, 
sugar,  rice  and  indigo  was  encouraged.  Negroes  were  imported  to  till 
the  soil.  New  Orleans  was  laid  out  in  1718,  and  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment of  lower  Louisiana  subsequently  established  there.  A  settlement 
was  made  about  Natchez.  A  large  number  of  German  emigrants  were 
located  on  the  Mississippi,  from  whom  a  portion  of  the  Mississippi  has 
ever  since  been  known  as  the  "  German  coast."  The  French  settle- 
ments at  Kaskaskia  and  Cahokia,  begun,  as  appears  from  most  authen- 
tic accounts,  about  the  year  1700, —  certainly  not  later, —  were  largely 
increased  by  emigration  from  Canada  and  France.  In  the  year  1718 
the  "  Company  of  the  West "  erected  a  fortification  near  Kaskaskia,  and 
named  it  Fort  Chartes,  having  a  charter  from  the  crown  so  to  do.  It 
is  situated  in  the  northwest  corner  of  Randolph  county,  Illinois,  on  the 
American  bottom.  It  was  garrisoned  with  a  small  number  of  soldiers, 
and  was  made  the  seat  of  government  of  "  the  Illinois."  Under  the 
mild  government  of  the  "Company,"  the  Illinois  marked  a  steady 
prosperity,  and  Fort  Chartes  became  the  center  of  business,  fashion  and 
gaiety  of  all  "  the  Illinois  country."  In  1756  the  fort  was  reconstruct- 
ed, this  time  with  solid  stone.  Its  shape  was  an  irregular  quadrangle, 
the  exterior  sides  of  the  polygon  being  four  hundred  and  ninety  feet, 
and  the  walls  were  two  feet  two  inches  thick,  pierced  with  port-holes 
for  cannon.  The  walls  of  the  fort  were  eighteen  feet  high,  and  con- 
tained within,  guard  houses,  government  house,  barracks,  powder 
house,  bake  house,  prison  and  store  room.  A  very  minute  description 


FORT   CHARTES.  95 

is  given  of  the  whole  structure  within  and  without  in  the  minutes  of 
its  surrender,  October  10,  1765,  by  Louis  St.  Ange  de  Belrive,  captain 
of  infantry  and  commandant,  and  Joseph  Le  Febvre,  the  king's  store- 
keeper and  acting  commissary  of  the  fort,  to  Mr.  Sterling,  deputed  by 
Mr.  De  Gage  (Gage),  governor  of  New  York  and  commander  of  His 
Majesty's  troops  in  America,  to  receive  possession  of  the  fort  and  coun- 
try from  the  French,  according  to  the  seventeenth  article  of  the  treaty 
of  peace,  concluded  on  the  10th  of  February,  1763,  between  the  kings 
of  France  and  Great  Britain.*  Fort  Chartes  was  the  strongest  and 
most  elaborately  constructed  of  any  of  the  French  works  of  defense  in 
America.  Here  the  intendants  and  several  commandants  in  charge, 
whose  will  was  law,  governed  "  the  Illinois,"  administered  justice  to 
its  inhabitants,  and  settled  up  estates  of  deceased  persons,  for  nearly 
half  a  century.  From  this  place  the  English  commandants  governed 
"the  Illinois,"  some  of  them  with  great  injustice  and  severity,  from 
the  time  of  its  surrender,  in  1765,  to  1772,  when  a  great  flood  inun- 
dated the  American  Bottom,  and  the  Mississippi  cut  a  new  'channel  so 
near  the  fort  that  the  wall  and  two  bastions  on  the  west  side  were  un- 
dermined and  fell  into  the  river.  The  British  garrison  then  abandoned 
it,  and  their  headquarters  were  afterward  at  Kaskaskia. 

Dr.  Beck,  while  collecting  material  for  his  "  Gazetteer  of  Illinois 
and  Missouri,"  in  1820,  visited  the  ruins  of  old  Fort  Chartes.  At  that 
time  enough  remained  to  show  the  size  and  strength  of  this  remarkable 
fortification.  Trees  over  two  feet  in  diameter  were  growing  within  its 
walls.  The  ruin  is  in  a  dense  forest,  hidden  in  a  tangle  of  under- 
growth, furnishing  a  sad  memento  of  the  efforts  and  blasted  hopes  of 
La  Belle  France  to  colonize  "Les 


*  The  articles  of  surrender  are  given  at  length  in  the  Paris  Documents,  vol.  10, 
pp.  1161  to  1166. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

SURRENDER  OF  LOUISIANA  BY  THE  INDIES  COMPANY— EARLY  ROUTES. 

IN  1731  the  company  of  the  Indies  surrendered  to  France,  Louisiana, 
with  its  forts,  colonies  and  plantations,  and  from  this  period  forward  to 
the  time  of  the  conquest  by  Great  Britain  and  the  Anglo-American 
colonies,  Louisiana  was  governed  through  officers  appointed  by  the 
crown. 

We  have  shown  how,  when  and  where  colonies  were  permanently 
established  by  the  French  in  Canada,  about  Kaskaskia,  and  in  Lower 
Louisiana.  It  is  not  within  the  scope  of  our  inquiries  to  follow  these 
settlements  of  the  French  in  their  subsequent  development,  but  rather 
now  to  show  how  the  establishments  of  the  French  along  the  lakes 
and  near  the  gulf  communicated  with  each  other,  and  the  routes  of 
travel  by  which  they  were  connected. 

The  convenient  way  between  Quebec  and  the  several  villages  in  the 
vicinity  of  Kaskaskia  was  around  the  lakes  and  down  the  Illinois 
River,  either  by  way  of  the  St.  Joseph  River  and  the  Kankakee  port- 
age or  through  Chicago  Creek  and  the  Des  Plaines.  The  long  winters 
and  severe  climate  on  the  St.  Lawrence  made  it  desirable  for  many 
people  to  abandon  Canada  for  the  more  genial  latitudes  of  southern 
Illinois,  and  the  still  warmer  regions  of  Louisiana,  where  snows  were 
unknown  and  flowers  grew  the  year  round.  It  only  required  the  pro- 
tection of  a  fort  or  other  military  safeguards  to  induce  the  Canadians 
to  change  their  homes  from  Canada  to  more  favorable  localities 
southward. 

The  most  feasible  route  between  Canada  and  the  Lower  Mississippi 
settlements  was  by  the  Ohio  River.  This  communication,  however, 
Mras  effectually  barred  against  the  French.  The  Iroquois  Indians,  from 
the  time  of  Champlain,  were  allies,  first  of  the  Dutch  and  then  of  the 
English,  and  the  implacable  enemies  of  the  French.  The  upper  waters 
of  the  Ohio  were  within  the  acknowledged  territory  of  the  Iroquois, 
whose  possessions  extended  westward  of  K~ew  York  and  Pennsylvania 
well  toward  the  Scioto.  The  Ohio  below  Pittsburgh  was,  also,  in  the 
debatable  ground  of  the  Miamis  northward,  and  Chickasaws  south- 
ward. These  nations  were  warring  upon  each  other  continually,  and 

96 


THE    MAUMEE    AND    WABASH    ROUTE.  97 

the  country  for  many  miles   beyond  either  bank   of   the  Ohio  was 
infested  with  war  parties  of  the  contending  tribes.* 

There  were  no  Indian  villages  near  the  Ohio  River  at  the  period 
concerning  which  we  now  write.  Subsequent  to  this  the  Shawnees  and 
Delawares,  previously  subdued  by  the  Iroquois,  were  permitted  by  the 
latter  to  establish  their  towns  near  the  confluence  of  the  Scioto,  Mus- 
kingum  and  other  streams.  The  valley  of  the  Ohio  was  within  the 
confines  of  the  "  dark  and  bloody  ground."  Were  a  voyager  to  see 
smoke  ascending  above  the  forest  line  he  would  know  it  was  from  the 
camp  fire  of  an  enemy,  and  to  be  a  place  of  danger.  It  would  indi- 
cate the  presence  of  a  hunting  or  war  party.  If  they  had  been  suc- 
cessful they  would  celebrate  the  event  by  the  destruction  of  whoever 
would  commit  himself  to  their  hands,  and  if  unfortunate  in  the  chase 
or  on  the  war-path,  disappointment  would  give  a  sharper  edge  to  their 
cruel  ty.f 

The  next  and  more  reliable  route  was  that  afforded  by  the  Maumee 
and  "Wabash,  laying  within  the  territory  of  tribes  friendly  to  the 
French.  The  importance  of  this  route  was  noticed  by  La  Salle,  in  his 
letter  to  Count  Frontenac,  in  1683,  before  quoted.  La  Salle  says:  "There 
is  a  river  at  the  extremity  of  Lake  Erie,:}:  within  ten  leagues  of  the 
strait  (Detroit  River),  which  will  very  much  shorten  the  way  to  the 
Illinois,  it  being  navigable  for  canoes  to  within  two  leagues  of  their 
river."  §  As  early  as  1699,  Mons.  De  Iberville  conducted  a  colony  of 
Canadians  from  Quebec  to  Louisiana,  by  way  of  the  Maumee  and  Wa- 
bash. "  These  were  followed  by  other  families,  under  the  leadership 
of  M.  Du  Tessenet.  Emigrants  came  by  land,  first  ascending  the  St. 
Lawrence  to  Lake  Erie,  then  ascending  a  river  emptying  into  that  lake 
to  the  portage  of  Des  Miamis  /  their  effects  being  thence  transported 
to  the  river  Miamis,  where  pirogues,  constructed  out  of  a  single  tree, 
and  large  enough  to  contain  thirty  persons,  were  built,  with  which  the 
voyage  down  the  Mississippi  was  prosecuted."  ||  This  memoir  corre- 
sponds remarkably  well  with  the  claim  of  Little  Turtle,  in  his  speech 
to  Gen.  Wayne,  concerning  the  antiquity  of  the  title,  in  his  tribe,  to 
the  portage  of  the  Wabash  at  Fort  Wayne.  It  also  illustrates  the 
fact  that  among  the  first  French  settlers  in  lower  Louisiana  were 

*  A  Miami  chief  said  that  his  nation  had  no  tradition  of  "  a  time  when  they  were 
not  at  war  with  the  Chickasaws." 

f  General  William  H.  Harrison's  Address   before  the  Historical  Society  of  Cin- 
cinnati. 

J  The  Maumee. 

§  Meaning  the  Wabash. 

||  Extract  taken  from  a  memoir,  showing  that  the  first  establishments  in  Louisiana 
were  at  Mobile,  etc.,  the  original  manuscript  being  among  the  archives  in  the  depart- 
ment lt  De  la  Marine  et  Des  Colonies,"  in  Paris,  France. 
7 


98  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

those  who  found  their  way  thither  through  the  "  glorious  gate,"  be- 
longing to  the  Miamis,  connecting  the  Maumee  and  Wabash. 

Originally,  the  Maumee  was  known  to  the  French  as  the  "  Miami," 
"  Oumiarni,"  or  the  "  River  of  the  Miamis,"  from  the  fact  that  bands 
of  this  tribe  of  Indians  had  villages  upon  its  banks.  It  was  also  called 
"  Ottawa,"  or  "  Tawwa,"  which  is  a  contraction  of  the  word  Ottawa, 
as  families  of  this  tribe  "  resided  on  this  river  from  time  immemorial." 
The  Shawnee  Indian  name  is  "  Ottawa-sepe,"  that  is  "  Ottawa  River." 
By  the  Hurons,  or  Wyandots,  it  was  called  "  Cagh-a-ren-du-te,"  the 
"  River  of  the  Standing  Rock."  *  Lewis  Evans,  whose  map  was  pub- 
lished in  1755,  and  which  is,  perhaps,  the  first  English  map  issued  of 
the  territory  lying  north  and  west  of  the  Ohio  River,  lays  down  the 
Miami  as  "  Mine-a-mi,"  a  way  the  Pennsylvania  Indian  traders  had  of 
pronouncing  the  word  Miami.  In  1703,  Mons  Cadillac,  the  French 
commandant  at  Detroit,  in  his  application  for  a  grant  of  land  six 
leagues  in  breadth  on  either  side  of  the  Maumee,  upon  which  he  pro- 
posed to  propagate  silk-worms,  refers  to  the  river  as  "  Grand  River  "  f 
As  early  as  1718  it  is  mentioned  as  the  "  Miamis  River,"  J  and  it  bore 
this  name  more  generally  than  that  of  any  other  from  1718  to  a  pe- 
riod subsequent  to  the  War  of  1812.  Capt.  Robert  M'Afee,  who  was 
in  the  various  campaigns  up  and  down  the  Maumee  during  the  War 
of  1812,  and  whose  history  of  this  war,  published  at  Lexington,  Ky., 
in  1816,  gives  the  most  authentic  account  of  the  military  movements 
in  this  quarter,  makes  frequent  mention  of  the  river  by  the  name  of 
"  Miami,"  occasionally  designating  it  as  the  "  Miami  of  the  Lake." 

Gen.  Joseph  Harmar,  in  his  report  of  the  military  expedition  con- 
ducted by  him  to  Fort  Wayne,  in  October,  1790,  calls  the  Miami  the 
"Oinee."  He  says:  "As  there  are  three  Miamis  in  the  northwestern 
territory,  all  bearing  the  name  of  Miami,  I  shall  in  the  future,  for  dis- 
tinction's sake,  when  speaking  of  the  Miami  of  the  Lake,  call  it  the 
'  Omee,'  and  its  towns  the  Omee  Towns.  By  this  name  they  are  best 
known  on  the  frontier.  It  is  only,  however,  one  of  the  many  corrup- 
tions or  contractions  universally  used  among  the  French-Americans  in 
pronouncing  Indian  names.  'Au-Mi,'  for  instance,  is  the  contraction 
for  'An  Miami.'  "  § 

The  habit  of  the  "  Coureur  de  Bois"  and  others  using  the  mongrel 
language  of  the  border  Canadians,  as  well,  also,  the  custom  prevailing 

*  "Account  of  the  Present  State  of  Indian  Tribes,  etc.,  Inhabiting  Ohio."  By  John 
Johnson,  Indian  Agent,  June  17, 1819.  Published  in  vol.  1  of  Archseologia  Americana. 

t  Sheldon's  History  of  Michigan,  p.  108. 

j  Paris  Documents,  vol.  9,  p.  880  and  891. 

§  Gen.  Harmar's  official  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  under  date  of  November  23, 
1790,  published  in  the  American  State  Papers. 


ORIGIN    OF   THE    NAME    MAUMEE.  99 

among  this  class  of  persons  in  giving  nicknames  to  rivers  and  locali- 
ties, has  involved  other  observers  besides  Gen.  Harrnar  in  the  same 
perplexity.  Thomas  Hutchins,  the  American  geographer,  and  Capt. 
Harry  Gordon  visited  Kaskaskia  and  the  adjacent  territory  subsequent 
to  the  conquest  of  the  northwest  territory  from  the  French,  and  be- 
came hopelessly  entangled  in  the  contractions  and  epithets  applied  to 
the  surrounding  villages  on  both  sides  of  the  Mississippi.  Kaskaskia 
was  abbreviated  to  "Au-kas"  and  St.  Louis  nicknamed  " Pain  Court " 
—  Short  Bread'  Carondelet  was  called  "  Vide  Pouche"  —Empty 
Pocket'  Ste.  Genevieve  was  called  "Missier" — Misery.  The  Kas- 
kaskia, after  being  shortened  to  Au-kaus,  pronounced  "  Okau,"  has 
been  further  corrupted  to  Okaw,  and  at  this  day  we  have  the  singu- 
lar contradiction  of  the  ancient  Kaskaskia  being  called  Kaskaskia  near 
its  mouth  and  "  Okaw  "  at  its  source. 

The  Miamis,  or  bands  of  their  tribe,  had  villages  in  order  of  time ; 
first  on  the  St.  Joseph  of  Lake  Michigan,  then  upon  the  Maumee ;  after 
this,  1750,  they,  with  factions  of  other  tribes  who  had  become  disaffected 
toward  the  French,  established  a  mixed  village  upon  the  stream  now 
known  ais  the  Great  Miami,  which  empties  into  the  Ohio,  and  in  this  way 
the  name  of  Miami  has  been  transferred,  successively,  from  the  St.  Jo- 
seph to  the  Miami,  and  from  the  latter  to  the  present  Miami,  with 
which  it  has  become  permanently  identified.*  The  Miamis  were,  also, 
called  the  "Mau-mees," — this  manner  of  spelling  growing  out  of  one 
of  the  several  methods  of  pronouncing  the  word  Miami  —  and  it  is 
doubtless  from  this  source  that  the  name  of  Maumee  is  derived  f 

In  this  connection  we  may  note  the  fact  that  the  St.  Marys  and  the 
Au-glaize  were  named  by  the  Shawnee  Indians,  as  follows :  The  first 
was  called  by  this  tribe,  who  had  several  villages  upon  its  banks,  the 
"  Co-kothe-ke-sepe,"  Kettle  River;  and  the  Au-glaize  "Cow-then-e- 
ke-sepe,"  or  Fallen  Timber  River.  These  aboriginal  names  are  given 
by  Mr.  John  Johnson,  in  his  published  account  of  the  Indian  tribes 
before  referred  to4 

We  will  IIOWT  give  a  derivation  of  the  name  of  the  Wabash,  which 
has  been  the  result  of  an  examination  of  a  number  of  authorities. 
Early  French  writers  have  spelled  the  word  in  various  ways,  each  en- 
deavoring, with  more  or  less  success,  to  represent  the  name  as  the  sev- 

*The  aboriginal  name  of  the  Great  Miami  was  "Assin-erient,"  or  Rocky  River, 
from  the  word  Assin,  or  Ussin,  the  Algonquin  appellation  for  stone  or  stony.  Lewis 
Evan's  map  of  1755. 

t  In  an  official  letter  of  Gen.  Harrison  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  dated  March  22, 
1814,  the  name  "  Miamis  "  and  "Maumees  "  are  given  as  synonymous  terms,  referring 
to  the  same  tribe. 

JMr.  Johnson  had  charge  of  the  Indian  affairs  in  Ohio  for  many  years,  and  was 
especially  acquainted  with  the  Shawnees  and  their  language. 


100  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

eral  Algonquin  tribes  pronounced  it.  First,  we  have  Father  Marquette's 
orthography,  "  Oua-bous-kigou  ; "  and  by  later  French  authorities  it  i& 
spelled  "Abache,"  "Ouabache,"  <:  Oubashc,"  "  Oubache,"  "  Oubash," 
"  Oubask,"  "  Oubache,"  "  Wabascou,"  "  Wabache,"  and  "  Waubache." 
It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  French  alphabet  does  not  contain 
the  letter  W,  and  that  the  diphthong  "  ou  "  with  the  French  has  nearly 
the  same  sound  as  the  letter  W  of  the  English  alphabet.  The  Jesuits- 
sometimes  used  a  character  much  like  the  tigure  8,  which  is  a  Greek 
contraction  formulated  by  them,  to  represent  a  peculiar  guttural  sound 
among  the  Indians,  and  which  we  often,  though  imperfectly,  represent 
by  the  letter  W,  or  Wau.* 

That  Wabash  is  an  Indian  name,  and  was  early  applied  to  the  stream 
that  now  bears  this  name,  is  clearly  established  by  Father  Gravier. 
This  missionary  descended  the  Mississippi  in  the  year  1700,  and  speak- 
ing of  the  Ohio  and  its  tributaries,  says :  "  Three  branches  are  assigned 
to  it,  one  that  comes  from  the  northwest  (the  Wabash),  passing 
behind  the  country  of  the  Oumiamis,  called  the  St.  Joseph, f  which 
the  Indians  properly  call  the  Oudbachei;  the  second  comes  from  the 
Iroquois  (whose  country  included  the  head-waters  of  the  Ohio), 
and  is  called  the  Ohio ;  and  the  third,  which  comes  from  the  Chaou- 
anona^:  (Shawnees).  And  all  of  them  uniting  to  empty  into  the  Mis- 
sissippi, it  is  commonly  called  Ouabachi."  § 

In  the  variety  of  mariner  in  which  Wabash  is  spelled  in  the  exam- 
ples given  above,  we  clearly  trace  the  Waw-bish-kaw,  of  the  Ojibe- 
ways;  the  Wabisca  (pronounced  Wa-bis-sa)  of  the  modern  Algon- 
quin ;  Wau-bish  of  the  Menominees,  and  Wa-bi  of  the  ancient  Algon- 
quins,  words  which  with  all  these  kindred  tongues  mean  White.  \\ 

Therefore  the  aboriginal  of  Wabash  (Sepe)  should  be  rendered 
White  River.  This  theory  is  supported  by  Lewis  Evans,  who  for  many 
years  was  a  trader  among  the  Indians,  inhabiting  the  country  drained 
by  the  Wabash  and  its  tributary  waters.  The  extensive  knowledge 
which  he  acquired  in  his  travels  westward  of  the  Alleghanies  resulted 

*  Shea's  Discovery  and  Exploration  of  the  Mississippi,  p.  41,  foot-note.  For 
example,  we  find  in  the  Journal  of  Marquette,  8ab8kig8,  for  Wabash.  The  same  man- 
ner of  spelling  is  also  observed  in  names,  as  written  by  other  missionaries,  where  they 
design  to  represent  the  sound  of  the  French  "  ou,"  or  the  English  W. 

t  Probably  a  mistake  of  the  copyist,  and  which  should  be  the  St.  Jerome,  a  name 
given  by  the  French  to  the  Wabash,  as  we  have  seen  in  the  extracts  taken  from  Crozat's 
grant.  Dr.  Shea  has  pointed  out  numerous  mistakes  made  by  the  copyist  of  the  man- 
uscripts from  which  the  "  Voyages  Up  and  Down  the  Mississippi  "  are  composed. 

|  The  Tennessee. 

§  Father  Gravier 's  Journal  in  Dr.  Shea's  Voyages  Up  and  Down  the  Mississippi, 
pp.  120,  121. 

||  The  several  aboriginal  names  for  white,  which  we  have  given  above,  are  taken 
from  the  vocabularies  of  Mackenzie,  Dr.  Ewin  James  and  Albert  Gallatin,  which  are 
regarded  as  standard  authorities. 


ORIGIN    OF   THE   NAME    WABASH.  101 

in  his  publishing,  in  1755,  a  map,  accompanied  with  an  extended  de- 
scription of  the  territory  it  embraced.  In  describing  the  "Wabash,  Mr. 
Evans  calls  it  by  the  name  the  Iroquois  Indians  had  given  it,  viz  :  the 
"  Quia-agh-tena,"  and  says  "  it  is  called  by  the  French  Ouabach,  though 
that  is  truly  the  name  of  its  southeastern  branch."  Why  the  White 
River,  of  Indiana,  which  is  the  principal  southeastern  branch  of  the 
Wabash,  should  have  been  invested  with  the  English  meaning  of  the 
word,  and  the  aboriginal  name  should  have  been  retained  by  the  river 
to  which  it  has  always  properly  belonged,  is  easily  explained,  when  we 
consider  the  ignorance  and  carelessness  of  many  of  the  early  travelers, 
whose  writings,  coming  down  to  us,  have  tended  to  confuse  rather  than 
aid  the  investigations  of  the  modern  historian.  The  Ohio  River  below 
the  confluence  of  the  Wabash  is  designated  as  the  Wabash  by  a  majority 
of  the  early  French  writers,  and  so  laid  down  on  many  of  the  contem- 
poraneous maps.  This  was,  probably,  due  to  the  fact  that  the  Wabash 
was  known  and  used  before  the  Ohio  had  been  explored  to  its  mouth. 
So  fixed  has  become  the  habit  of  calling  the  united  waters  of  these  two 
streams  Wabash,  from  their  union  continuously  to  their  discharge  into 
the  Mississippi,  that  the  custom  prevailed  long  after  a  better  knowledge 
of  the  geography  of  the  country  suggested  the  propriety  of  its  aban- 
donment. Even  after  the  French  of  Canada  accepted  the  change,  and 
treated  the  Ohio  as  the  main  river  and  the  Wabash  as  the  tributary,  the 
French  of  Louisiana  adhered  to  the  old  name. 

We  quote  from  M.  Le  Page  Du  Fratz'  History  of  Louisiana :  * 
"  Let  us  now  repass  the  Mississippi  in  order  to  resume  a  description  of 
the  lands  to  the  east,  which  we  quit. at  the  river  Wabash.  This  river 
is  distant  from  the  sea  four  hundred  and  sixty  leagues ;  it  is  reckoned 
to  have  four  hundred  leagues  in  length  from  its  source  to  its  conflu- 
ence with  the  Mississippi.  It  is  called  Wabash,  though,  according  to 
the  usual  method,  it  ought  to  be  called  the  Ohio,  or  Beautiful  River,  f 
seeing  the  Ohio  was  known  under  that  name  before  its  confluence 
was  known;  and  as  the  Ohio  takes  its  rise  at  a  greater  distance  off 
than  the  three  others  which  mix  together  before  they  empty  them- 
selves into  the  Mississippi,  this  should  make  the  others  lose  their 

*The  author  was  for  sixteen  years  a  planter  of  Louisiana,  having  gone  thither  from 
France  soon  after  the  Company  of  the  West  or  Indes  restored  the  country  to  the  crown. 
He  was  a  gentleman  of  superior  attainments,  and  soon  acquired  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  the  French  possessions  in  America.  He  returned  to  France,  and  in  1758  published 
his  "  History  of  Louisiana,"  with  maps,  which,  in  1763,  was  translated  into  English. 
Those  volumes  are  largely  devoted  to  the  experience  of  the  author  in  the  cultivation  of 
rice,  indigo,  sugar  and  other  products  congenial  to  the  climate  and  soil  of  Louisiana, 
and  to  quite  an  extended  topographical  description  of  the  whole  Mississippi  Valley. 

fThe  Iroquois'  name  for  the  Ohio  was  "  O-t'o,"  meaning  beautiful,  and  the  French 
retained  the  signification  in  the  name  of  "La  Belle  Riviere,"  by  which  the  Ohio  was 
known  to  them. 


102  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

names;  but  custom  has  prevailed  in  this  respect.  The  first  known 
to  us  which  falls  into  the  Ohio  is  that  of  the  Miamis  (Wabash),  which 
takes  its  rise  toward  Lake  Erie.  It  is  by  this  river  of  the  Miamis  that 
the  Canadians  come  to  Louisiana.  For  this  purpose  they  embark  on 
the  River  St.  Lawrence,  go  up  this  river,  pass  the  cataracts  quite  to 
the  bottom  of  Lake  Erie,  where  they  find  a  small  river,  on  which  they 
also  go  up  to  a  place  called  the  carriage  of  the  Miamis,  because  that 
people  come  and  take  their  effects  and  carry  them  on  their  backs  for 
two  leagues  from  thence  to  the  banks  of  the  river  of  their  name  which 

O 

I  just  said  empties  itself  into  the  Ohio.  From  thence  the  Canadians 
go  down  that  river,  enter  the  Wabash,  and  at  last  the  Mississippi, 
which  brings  them  to  New  Orleans,  the  capital  of  Louisiana.  They 
reckon  eighteen  hundred  leagues  from  the  capital  of  Canada  to  that 
of  Louisiana,  on  account  of  the  great  turns  and  windings  they  are 
obliged  to  take.  The  river  of  the  Miamis  is  thus  the  first  to  the  north 
which  falls  into  the  Ohio,  then  that  of  the  Chaouanons  to  the  south, 
and  lastly,  that  of  the  Cherokee,  all  which  together  empty  themselves 
into  the  Mississippi.  This  is  what  we  (in  Louisiana)  call  the  Wabash, 
and  what  in  Canada  and  New  England  is  called  the  Ohio." ' 

A  failure  to  recognize  the  fact  that  the  Ohio  below  the  mouth  of  the 
Wabash  was,  for  a  period  of  over  half  a  century,  known  to  the  French 
as  the  Wabash,  has  led  not  a  few  later  writers  to  erroneously  locate 
ancient  French  forts  and  missionary  stations  upon  the  banks  of  the 
Wabash,  which  were  in  reality  situated  many  miles  below,  on  the  Ohio.f 

*  On  the  map  prefixed  to  Du  Pratz'  history,  the  Ohio  from  the  Mississippi  up  to 
the  confluence  of  the  Wabash  is  called  the  "  Wabash  ";  above  this  the  Ohio  is  called 
Ohio,  and  the  Wabash  is  called  "The  River  of  the  Miamis,"  with  villages  of  that 
tribe  noted  near  its  source.  The  Maumee  is  called  the  "  River  of  the  Carrying  Place." 
The  Upper  Mississippi,  the  Illinois  River  and  the  lakes  are  also  laid  down,  and,  alto- 
gether, the  map  is  quite  accurate. 

t  A  noticeable  instance  of  such  a  mistake  will  be  found  relative  to  the  city  of  Vin- 
cennes.  On  the  authority  of  LaHarpe,  and  the  later  historian  Charlevoix,  the  French 
in  the  year  1700,  established  a  trading  post  near  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio,  on  the  site  of 
the  more  modern  Fort  Massac,  in  Massac  county,  111.,  for  the  purpose  of  securing 
buffalo  hides.  The  neighboring  Mascotins,  as  was  customary  with  the  Indians,  soon 
gathered  about  for  the  purpose  of  barter.  Their  numbers,  as  well  as  the  expressed 
wish  of  the  French  traders,  induced  Father  Merment  to  visit  the  place  and  engage  in 
mission  work.  At  the  end  of  four  or  five  years,  in  1705,  the  establishment  was  broken 
up  on  account  of  a  quarrel  of  the  Indians  among  themselves,  and  which  so  threatened 
the  lives  of  the  Frenchmen  that  the  latter  fled,  leaving  behind  their  effects  and  13.000 
buffalo  hides  which  they  had  collected.  Some  years  later  Father  Marest,  writing  from 
Kaskaskia,  in  his  letter  before  referred  to,  relates  the  failure  of  Father  Merment  to 
convert  the  Indians  at  this  "  post  on  the  Wabash  ";  and  on  the  authority  of  this  letter 
alone,  and  although  Father  Marest  only  followed  the  prevailing  style  in  calling  the 
lower  Ohio  the  Wabash,  some  writers,  the  late  Judge  John  Law  being  the  first,  have 
contended  that  this  post  was  on  the  Wabash  and  at  Vincennes.  Charlevoix  says  "it 
was  at  the  mouth  of  the  Wabash  which  discharges  itself  into  the  Mississippi."  La 
Harpe,  and  also  Le  Suere,  whose  personal  knowledge  of  the  post  was  contemporaneous 
with  its  existence,  definitely  fix  its  position  near  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio.  The  latter 
gives  the  date  of  its  beginning,  and  the  former  narrates  an  account  of  its  trade  and 
final  abandonment.  In  this  way  an  antiquity  has  been  claimed  for  Vincennes  to  which 
it  is  not  historically  entitled. 


EARLY    ACCOUNT   OF   THE    MAUMEE.  103 

We  now  give  a  description  of  the  Maumee  and  Wabash,  the  location 
of  the  several  Indian  villages,  and  the  manners  of  their  inhabitants, 
taken  from  a  memoir  prepared  in  1718  by  a  French  officer  in  Canada, 
and  sent  to  the  minister  at  Paris.* 

u  I  return  to  the  Miamis  River.  Its  entrance  from  Lake  Erie  is 
very  wide,  and  its  banks  on  both  sides,  for  a  distance  of  ten  leagues 
up,  are  nothing  but  continued  swamps,  abounding  at  all  times,  espe- 
cially in  the  spring,  with  game  without  end,  swans,  geese,  ducks,  cranes, 
etc.,  which  drive  sleep  away  by  the  noise  of  their  cries.  This  river  is 
sixty  leagues  in  length,  very  embarrassing  in  summer  in  consequence 
of  the  lowness  of  the  water.  Thirty  leagues  up  the  river  is  a  place 
called  La,  Glaise,^  where  buffalo  are  always  to  be  found;  they  eat  the 
clay  and  wallow  in  it.  The  Miamis  are  sixty  leagues  from  Lake  Erie, 
and  number  four  hundred,  all  well  formed  men,  arid  well  tattooed  ;^ 
the  women  are  numerous.  They  are  hard  working,  and  raise  a  species 
of  maize  unlike  that  of  our  Indians  at  Detroit.  It  is  white,  of  the 
same  size  as  the  other,  the  skin  much  finer,  and  the  meal  much  whiter. 
This  nation  is  clad  in  deer  skin,  and  when  a  woman  goes  with  another 
man  her  husband  cuts  off  her  nose  and  does  not  see  her  any  more. 
They  have  plays  and  dances,  wherefore  they  have  more  occupation. 
The  women  are  well  clothed ;  but  the  men  use  scarcely  any  covering, 
and  are  tattooed  all  over  the  body. 

"From  this  Miami  village  there  is  a  portage  of  three  leagues  to  a 
little  and  very  narrow  stream,§  that  falls,  after  a  course  of  twenty 
leagues,  into  the  Ohio  or  Beautiful  River,  which  discharges  into  the 
Ouabache,  a  fine  river  that  falls  into  the  Mississippi  forty  leagues  from 
the  Cascachias.  Into  the  Ouabache  falls  also  the  Casquinampo,  ||  which 
communicates  with  Carolina ;  but  this  is  far  off,  and  is  always  up 
stream. 

"  The  River  Ouabache  is  the  one  on  which  the  Ouyatanons  ^[  are 
settled. 

"  They  consist  of  five  villages,  which  are  contiguous  the  one  to  the 
other.  One  is  called  Oujatanon,  the  other  Peariguichias,**  and  another 

*  The  document  is  quite  lengthy,  covering  all  the  principal  places  and  Indian  tribes 
east  of  the  Mississippi,  and  showing  the  compiler  possessed  a  very  thorough  acquaint- 
ance with  the  whole  subject.  It  is  given  entire  in  the  Paris  Documents,  vol.  9;  that 
relating  to  the  Maumee  and  Wabash  on  pages  886  to  891. 

t  Defiance,  Ohio. 

\  These  villages  were  near  the  confluence  of  the  St.  Mary's  and  St.  Joseph,  and 
this  is  the  first  account  we  have  of  the  present  site  of  Fort  Wayne. 

§  Little  River,  that  empties  into  the  Wabash  just  below  Huntington. 

I  The  Tennessee  River. 

•ft  The  "  Weas,"  whose  principal  villages  were  near  the  mouth  of  Eel  River,  near 
Logansport,  and  on  the  Wea  prairie,  between  Attica  and  La  Fayette. 

**  The  ancient  Piankashaw  town  was  on  the  Vermilion  of  the  Wabash,  and  the 
Miami  name  of  the  Vermilion  was  Piankashaw. 


104  HISTORIC    NOTES   ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

Petitscotias,  and  a  fourth  Le  Gros.  The  name  of  the  last  I  do  not 
recollect,  but  they  are  all  Oujatanons,  having  the  same  language  as  the 
Miamis,  whose  brothers  they  are,  and  properly  all  Miamis,  having  the 
same  customs  and  dress.*  The  men  are  very  numerous ;  fully  a 
thousand  or  twelve  hundred. 

"  They  have  a  custom  different  from  all  other  nations,  which  is  to 
keep  their  fort  extremely  clean,  not  allowing  a  blade  of  grass  to  remain 
within  it.  The  whole  of  the  fort  is  sanded  like  the  Tuilleries.  The 
village  is  situated  on  a  high  hill,  and  they  have  over  two  leagues  of 
improvement  where  they  raise  their  Indian  corn,  pumpkins  and 
melons.  From  the  summit  of  this  elevation  nothing  is  visible  to  the 
eye  but  prairies  full  of  buifaloes.  Their  play  and  dancing  are  inces- 
sant.f 

"All  of  these  tribes  use  a  vast  quantity  of  vermilion.  The  women 
wear  clothing,  the  men  very  little.  The  River  Ohio,  or  Beautiful  river, 
is  the  route  which  the  Iroquois  take.  It  would  be  of  importance  that 
they  should  not  have  such  intercourse,  as  it  is  very  dangerous.  Atten- 
tion has  been  called  to  this  matter  long  since,  but  no  notice  has  been 
taken  of  it." 

*The  "Le  Gros,"  that  is,  The  Great  (village),  was  probably  "Chip-pe-co-ke,"  or 
the  town  of  "Brush- wood,"  the  name  of  the  old  village  at  Vincennes,  which  was  the 
principal  city  of  the  Piankashaws. 

fThe  village  here  described  is  Ouatanon,  which  was  situated  a  few  miles  below 
La  Fayette,  near  which,  though  on  the  opposite  or  north  bank  of  the  Wabash,  the 
Stockade  Fort  of  "Ouatanon"  was  established  by  the  French. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

ABORIGINAL  INHABITANTS— THE  SEVERAL  ILLINOIS  TRIBES. 

THE  Indians  who  lived  in  and  claimed  the  territory  to  which  our 
attention  is  directed  were  the  several  tribes  of  the  Illinois  and  Miami 
confederacies, —  the  Pottawatomies,  the  Kickapoos  and  scattered  bands 
of  Shawnees  and  Delawares.  Their  title  to  the  soil  had  to  be  extin- 
guished by  conquest  or  treatise  of  purchase  before  the  country  could 
be  settled  by  a  higher  civilization ;  for  the  habits  of  the  two  races,  red 
and  white,  were  so  radically  different  that  there  could  be  no  fusion,  and 
they  could  not,  or  rather  did  not,  live  either  happily  or  at  peace 
together. 

We  proceed  to  treat  of  these  several  tribes,  observing  the  order  in 
which  their  names  have  been  mentioned ;  and  we  do  so  in  this  con- 
nection for  the  reason  that  it  will  aid  toward  a  more  ready  under- 
standing of  the  subjects  which  are  to  follow. 

The  Illinois  were  a  subdivision  of  the  great  Algonquin  family. 
Their  language  and  manners  differed  somewhat  from  other  surround- 
ing tribes,  and  resembled  most  the  Miamis,  with  whom  they  originally 
bore  a  very  close  affinity.  Before  Joliet  and  Marquette's  voyage  to  the 
Mississippi,  all  of  the  Indians  who  came  from  the  south  to  the  mission 
at  La  Pointe,  on  Lake  Superior,  for  the  purposes  of  barter,  were  by  the 
French  called  Illinois,  for  the  reason  that  the  first  Indians  who  came 
to  La  Pointe  from  the  south  " called  themselves  Illinois"  * 

In  the  Jesuit  Relations  the  name  Illinois  appears  as  "  Illi-mouek," 
"Illinoues,"  "  Ill-i-ne-wek,"  "  Allin-i-wek  "  and  "  Lin-i-wek."  By 
Father  Marquette  it  is  "Ilinois,"  and  Hennepin  has  it  the  same  as  it 
is  at  the  present  day.  The  ois  was  pronounced  like  our  way,  so  that 
ouai,  ois,  wek  and  ouek  were  almost  identical  in  pronunciation.f 
"Willinis"  is  Lewis  Evans'  orthography.  Major  Thomas  Forsyth, 
who  for  many  years  was  a  trader  and  Indian  agent  in  the  territory,  and 
subsequently  the  state,  of  Illinois,  says  the  Confederation  of  Illinois 

*  As  we  have  given  the  name  of  Ottawas  to  all  the  savages  of  these  countries,  al- 
though of  different  nations,  because  the  first  who  have  appeared  among  the  French 
have  been  Ottawas;  so  also  it  is  with  the  name  of  the  Illinois,  very  numerous,  and 
dwelling  toward  the  south,  because  the  first  who  have  come  to  the  "  point  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  for  commerce  called  themselves  Illinois." — Father  Claude  Dablon,  in  the  Jesuit 
Relations  for  1670,  1671. 

t  Note  by  Dr.  Shea  in  the  article  entitled  "  The  Indian  Tribes  of  Wisconsin,"  fur- 
nished by  him  for  the  Historical  Society  of  Wisconsin,  and  published  in  Vol.  Ill  of 
their  collections,  p.  128. 


106  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    XORTHWEST. 

"  called  themselves  Linneway"-^-  which  is  almost  identical  with  the 
Lin-i-wek  of  the  Jesuits,  having  a  regard  for  its  proper  pronuncia- 
tion,— "  and  that  by  others  they  were  called  Minneway,  signifying  men," 
and  that  their  confederacy  embraced  the  combined  Illinois  and  Miami 
tribes ;  "  that  all  these  different  bands  of  the  Minneway  nation  spoke 
the  language  of  the  present  Miamis,  and  the  whole  considered  them- 
selves as  one  and  the  same  people,  yet  from  their  local  situation,  and 
having  no  standard  to  go  by,  their  language  became  broken  up  into 
different  dialects."  *  They  were  by  the  Iroquois  called  "  Chick-tagh- 
icks" 

Many  theories  have  been  advanced  and  much  fine  speculation  in- 
dulged in  concerning  the  origin  and  meaning  of  the  word  Illinois. 
We  have  seen  that  the  Illinois  first  made  themselves  known  to  the 
French  by  that  name,  and  we  have  never  had  a  better  signification  of 
the  name  than  that  which  the  Illinois  themselves  gave  to  Fathers  Mar- 
quette  and  Hennepin.  The  former,  in  his  narrative  journal,  observes : 
"  To  say  Illinois  is,  in  their  language,  to  say  '  the  men,'  as  if  other 
Indians,  compared  to  them,  were  mere  beasts."  f  "  The  word  Illinois 
signifies  a  man  of  full  age  in  the  vigor  of  his  strength.  This  word  Illi- 
nois comes,  as  it  has  already  been  observed,  from  lllini,  which  in  the 
language  of  that  nation  signifies  a  perfect  and  accomplished  man."  % 

Subsequently  the  name  Illini,  Linneway,  Willinis  or  Illinois,  with 
more  propriety  became  limited  to  a  confederacy,  at  first  composed  of 
four  subdivisions,  known  as  the  Kaskaskias,  Cahokias,  Tamaroas  and 
Peorias.  Not  many  years  before  the  discovery  of  the  Mississippi  by 
the  French,  a  foreign  tribe,  the  Metchigamis,  nearly  destroyed  by  wars 
with  the  Sacs  to  the  north  and  the  Ohickasaws  to  the  south,  to  save 
themselves  from  annihilation  appealed  to  the  Kaskaskias  for  admission 
into  their  confederacy.!  The  request  was  granted,  and  the  Metchiga- 
mis left  their  homes  on  the  Osage  river  and  established  their  villages 
on  the  St.  Francis,  within  the  limits  of  the  present  State  of  Missouri 
and  below  the  mouth  of  the  Kaskaskia. 

The  subdivision  of  the  Illinois  proper  into  cantons,  as  the  French 
writers  denominate  the  families  or  villages  of  a  nation,  like  that  of 
other  tribes  was  never  very  distinct.  There  were  no  villages  exclu- 
sively for  a  separate  branch  of  the  tribe.  Owing  to  intermarriage, 
adoption  and  other  processes  familiar  to  modern  civilization,  the  sub- 

*  Life  of  Black-Hawk,  by  Benjamin  Drake,  seventh  edition,  pp.  16  and  17. 
t  Shea's  Discovery  and  Exploration  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  p.  25. 
\  Hennepin's  Discovery  of  America,  pp.  35  and  119,  London  edition,  1698. 
§  Charlevoix's  "  Narrative  Journal,'   Vol.  II,  p.  228.     Also  note  of  B.  F.  French,  p. 
61  of  Vol.  Ill,  First  Series  of  Historical  Collections  of  Louisiana. 


LOCATION    OF    VILLAGES.  107 

tribal  distinctions  were  not  well  preserved ;  and  when  Charlevoix,  that 
acute  observer,  in  1721  visited  these  several  Illinois  villages  near  Kas- 
kaskia,  their  inhabitants  were  so  mixed  together  and  confounded  that 
it  was  almost  impossible  to  distinguish  the  different  branches  of  the 
tribe  from  each  other.* 

The  first  accounts  we  have  of  the  Illinois  are  given  by  the  Jesuit 
missionaries.  In  the  "  Relations  "  for  the  year  1655  we  find  that  the 
Lin-i-ouek  are  neighbors  of  the  Winnebagoes ;  again  in  the  "  Rela- 
tions" for  the  next  year,  "that  the  Illinois  nation  dwell  more  than 
sixty  leagues  from  here,  f  and  beyond  a  great  river,  ^  which  as  near 
as  can  be  conjectured  flows  into  the  sea  toward  Virginia.  These 
people  are  warlike.  They  use  the  bow,  rarely  the  gun,  and  never  the 
canoe. 

When  Joliet  and  Marquette  were  descending  the  Mississippi,  they 
found  villages  of  the  Illinois  on  the  Des  Moines  river,  and  on  their 
return  they  passed  through  larger  villages  of  the  same  nation  situated 
on  the  Illinois  river,  near  Peoria  and  higher  up  the  stream. 

While  the  Illinois  were  nomads,  though  not  to  the  extent  of  many 
other  tribes,  they  had  villages  of  a  somewhat  permanent  character,  and 
when  they  moved  after  game  they  went  in  a  body.  It  would  seem 
from  the  most  authentic  accounts  that  their  favorite  abiding  places 
were  on  the  Illinois  river,  from  the  Des  Plaines  down  to  its  confluence 
with  the  Mississippi,  and  on  the  Mississippi  from  the  Kaskaskia  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Ohio.  This  beautiful  region  abounded  in  game ;  its  riv- 
ers were  well  stocked  with  fish,  and  were  frequented  by  myriads  of 
wild  fowls.  The  climate  was  mild.  The  soil  was  fertile.  By  the 
mere  turning  of  the  sod,  the  lands  in  the  rich  river  bottoms  yielded 
bountiful  crops  of  Indian  corn,  melons  and  squashes. 

In  disposition  and  morals  the  Illinois  were  not  to  be  very  highly 
commended.  Father  Charlevoix,  speaking  of  them  as  they  were  in 
1700,  says:  "Missionaries  have  for  some  years  directed  quite  a  flour- 
ishing church  among  the  Illinois,  and  they  have  ever  since  continued 
to  instruct  that  nation,  in  whom  Christianity  had  already  produced  a 
cnange  such  as  she  alone  can  produce  in  morals  and  disposition.  Before 
the  arrival  of  the  missionaries,  there  were  perhaps  no  Indians  in  any 
part  of  Canada  with  fewer  good  qualities  and  more  vices.  They  have 

*  "  These  tribes  are  at  present  very  much  confounded,  and  are  become  very  inconsid- 
erable. There  remains  only  a  very  small  number  of  Kaskaskias,  and  the  two  villages 
of  that  name  are  almost  entirely  composed  of  Tamaroas  and  Metchigamis,  a  foreign 
nation  adopted  by  the  Kaskaskias,  and  originally  settled  on  a  small  river  you  meet 
with  going  down  the  Mississippi." — Charlevoix'  "  Narrative  Journal,"  Letter  XXVI11. 
dated  Kaskaskia,  October  20,  1721;  p.  228.  Vol.  II. 

t  The  letter  is  sent  from  the  Mission  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  at  La  Pointe. 

J The  Mississippi. 


108  HISTORIC    NOTES   ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

always  been  mild  and  docile  enough,  but  they  were  cowardly,  treach- 
erous, fickle,  deceitful,  thievish,  brutal,  destitute  of  faith  or  honor, 
selfish,  addicted  to  gluttony  and  the  most  monstrous  lusts,  almost  un- 
known to  the  Canada  tribes,  who  accordingly  despised  them  heartily, 
but  the  Illinois  were  not  a  whit  less  haughty  or  self-complacent  on 
that  account. 

"  Such  allies  could  bring  no  great  honor  or  assistance  to  the  French  ; 
yet  we  never  had  any  more  faithful,  and,  if  we  except  the  Abenaqui 
tribes,  they  are  the  only  tribe  who  never  sought  peace  with  their  ene- 
mies to  our  prejudice.  They  did,  indeed,  see  the  necessity  of  our  aid 
to  defend  themselves  against  several  nations  who  seemed  to  have  sworn 
their  ruin,  and  especially  against  the  Iroquois  and  Foxes,  who,  by  con- 
stant harrassing,  have  somewhat  trained  them  to  war,  the  former  taking 
home  from  their  expeditions  the  vices  of  that  corrupt  nation."  * 

Father  Charlevoix'  comments  upon  the  Illinois  confirm  the  state- 
ments of  Hennepin,  who  says :  "  They  are  lazy  vagabonds,  timorous, 
pettish  thieves,  and  so  fond  of  their  liberty  that  they  have  no  great 
respect  for  their  chiefs."f 

Their  cabins  were  constructed  of  mats,  made  out  of  flags,  spread 
over  a  frame  of  poles  driven  into  the  ground  in  a  circular  form  and 
drawn  together  at  the  top. 

"  Their  villages,"  says  Father  Hennepin,:}:  "  are  open,  not  enclosed 
with  palisades  because  they  had  no  courage  to  defend  them ;  they  would 
flee  as  they  heard  their  enemies  approaching."  Before  their  acquaint- 
ance with  the  French  they  had  no  knowledge  of  iron  and  fire-arms. 
Their  two  principal  weapons  were  the  bow  and  arrow  and  the  club. 
Their  arrows  were  pointed  with  stone,  and  their  tomahawks  were  made 
out  of  stag's  horns,  cut  in  the  shape  of  a  cutlass  and  terminating  in  a 
large  ball.  In  the  use  of  the  bow  and  arrow,  all  writers  agree,  that 
the  Illinois  excelled  all  neighboring  tribes.  For  protection  against  the 
missies  of  an  enemy  they  used  bucklers  composed  of  buffalo  hides 
stretched  over  a  wrooden  frame. 

In  form  they  were  tall  and  lithe.  They  were  noted  for  their  swift- 
ness of  foot.  They  wore  moccasins  prepared  from  buffalo  hides ;  and, 
in  summer,  this  generally  completed  their  dress.  Sometimes  they  wore 
a  small  covering,  extending  from  the  waist  to  the  knees.  The  rest  of 
the  body  was  entirely  nude. 

The  women,  beside  cultivating  the  soil,  did  all  of  the  household 
drudgery,  carried  the  game  and  made  the  clothes.  The  garments 

*  Charlevoix's  "  History  of  New  France,"  vol.  5,  page  130. 
t  Hennepin,  page  132,  London  edition,  1698. 
J  Puse  132. 


MANNERS    AND    CUSTOMS.  109 

were  prepared  from  buffalo  hides,  and  from  the  soft  wool  that  grew 
upon  these  animals.  Both  the  wool  and  hides  were  dyed  with  bril- 
liant colors,  black,  yellow  or  vermilion.  In  this  kind  of  work  the 
Illinois  women  were  greatly  in  advance  of  other  tribes.  Articles  of 
dress  were  sewed  together  with  thread  made  from  the  nerves  and  ten- 
dons of  deer,  prepared  by  exposure  to  the  sun  twice  in  every  twenty- 
four  hours.  After  which  the  nerves  and  tendons  were  beaten  so  that 
their  fibers  would  separate  into  a  fine  white  thread.  The  clothing  of 
the  women  was  something  like  the  loose  wrappers  worn  by  ladies  of 
the  present  day.  Beneath  the  wrapper  were  petticoats,  for  warmth  in 
winter.  With  a  fondness  for  finery  that  characterizes  the  feminine  sex 
the  world  over,  the  Illinois  women  wore  head-dresses,  contrived  more 
for  ornament  than  for  use.  The  feet  were  covered  with  moccasins,  and 
leggings  decorated  with  quills  of  the  porcupine  stained  in  colors  of 
brilliant  contrasts.  Ornaments,  fashioned  out  of  clam  shells  and  other 
hard  substances,  were  worn  about  the  neck,  wrists  and  ankles ;  these,  with 
the  face,  hands  and  neck  daubed  with  pigments,  completed  the  toilet  of 
the  highly  fashionable  Illinois  belle. 

Their  food  consisted  of  the  scanty  products  of  their  fields,  and  prin- 
cipally of  game  and  fish,  of  which,  as  previously  stated,  there  was  in 
their  country  a  great  abundance.  Father  Allouez,  who  visited  them  in 
1673,  stated  that  they  had  fourteen  varieties  of  herbs  and  forty-two- 
varieties  of  fruits  which  they  use  for  food.  Their  plates  and  other 
dishes  were  made  of  wood,  and  their  spoons  were  constructed  out  of 
buffalo  bones.  The  dishes  for  boiling  food  were  earthen,  sometimes 
glazed.  * 

From  all  accounts,  it  seems  that  the  Illinois  claimed  an  extensive 
tract  of  country,  bounded  on  the  east  by  the  ridge  that  divides  the 
waters  flowing  into  the  Illinois  from  the  streams  that  drain  into  the 
"Wabash  above  the  head  waters  of  Saline  creek,  and  as  high  up  the  Illi- 
nois as  the  Des  Plaines,  extending  westward  of  the  Mississippi,  and 
reaching  northward  to  the  debatable  ground  between  the  Illinois, 
Chippeways.  Winnebagoes,  Sacs  and  Foxes.  Their  favorite  and  most 
populous  cities  were  on  the  Illinois  river,  near  Starved  Kock,  and 

*The  account  we  have  given  of  the  manners,  habits  and  customs  of  the  Illinois  is 
compiled  from  the  following  authorities  :  La  Hontan,  (Jharlevoix,  Hennepin,  Tonti, 
Marquette,  Joutel,  the  missionaries  Marest,  Rasles  and  Allouez.  Besides,  the  historic 
letter  of  Marest,  found  in  Kip's  Jesuit  Missions,  is  another  Irom  this  distinguished 
priest,  written  from  Kaskaskia  to  M.  Bienville,  and  incorporated  in  Penicaut's  Annals 
of  Louisiana,  a  translation  of  which  is  contained  in  the  Historical  Col  lections  of  Louisi- 
ana and  Florida,  by  B.  F.  French.  In  this  letter  of  Father  Marest,  dated  in  1711,  is  a 
very  fine  description  of  the  customs  of  the  Illinois  Indians,  and  their  prosperous  condi- 
tion at  Kaskaskia  and  adjacent  villages. 


110  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    XORTHVVKST. 

below  as  far  as  Peoria.  The  missionary  station  founded  by  Father 
Marquette  was,  in  all  probability,  near  the  latter  place. 

Prior  to  the  year  1700,  Father  Marest  had  charge  of  a  mission  at 
the  neck,  strait  or  narrows  of  Peoria  lake.  In  Peoria  lake,  above 
Peoria,  is  a  contracted  channel,  and  this  is  evidently  referred  to  by 
Father  Gravier  in  his  "Narrative  Journal"  where  he  states:  "  I  ar- 
rived too  late  at  the  Illinois  du  Detroit,  of  whom  Father  Marest  has 
charge,  to  prevent  the  transmigration  of  the  village  of  the  Kaskaskias, 
which  was  too  precipitately  made  on  vague  news  of  the  establishment 
on  the  Mississippi.  I  do  not  believe  that  the  Kaskaskias  would  have 
thus  separated  from  the  Peouaroua  and  other  Illinois  du  Detroit.  At 
all  events,  I  came  soon  enough  to  unite  minds  a  little,  and  to  prevent 
the  insult  which  the  Peouaroua  and  the  Mouin-gouena  were  bent  on 
offering  to  the  Kaskaskias  and  French  as  they  embarked.  I  spoke  to 
all  the  chiefs  in  full  council,  and  as  they  continued  to  preserve  some 
respect  and  good  will  for  me,  we  separated  very  peaceably.  But  I 
argue  no  good  from  this  separation,  which  I  have  always  hindered, 
seeing  too  clearly  the  evil  results.  God  grant  that  the  road  from 
Chikagoua  to  this  strait"  (au  Detroit)  "be  not  closed,  and  the  whole 
Illinois  mission  suffer  greatly.  I  avow  to  you,  Reverend  Father,  that 
it  rends  my  heart  to  see  my  old  flock  thus  divided  and  dispersed,  and 
I  shall  never  see  it,  after  leaving  it,  without  having  some  new  cause  of 
affliction.  The  Peouaroua,  whom  I  left  without  a  missionary  (since 
Father  Marest  has  followed  the  Kaskaskias),  have  promised  me  that 
they  would  preserve  the  church,  and  that  they  would  await  my  return 
from  the  Mississippi,  where  I  told  them  I  went  only  to  assure  myself 
of  the  truth  of  all  that  was  said  about  it."  * 

The  area  of  the  original  country  of  the  Illinois  was  reduced  by 
continuous  wars  with  their  neighbors.  The  Sioux  forced  them  east- 
ward ;  the  Sac  and  Fox,  and  other  enemies,  encroached  upon  them 
from  the  north,  while  war  parties  of  the  foreign  Iroquois,  from  the  east, 
rapidly  decimated  their  numbers.  These  unhappy  influences  were  doing 

*  Father  Gravier's  Journal  in  Shea's  Early  Voyages  Up  and  Down  the  Mississippi, 
pp.  116  and  117.  Dr.  Shea,  in  a  foot  note,  p.  116,  says:  "This  designation  (Illinois 
Du  Detroit)  does  not  appear  elsewhere,  and  I  cannot  discover  what  strait  is  referred  to. 
It  evidently  includes  the  Peorias." 

Dr.  Shea-'s  conjecture  is  very  nearly  correct.  The  narrows  in  Peoria  lake  retained 
the  appellation  of  Little  Detroit,  a  name  handed  down  from  the  French-Canadians. 
Dr.  Lewis  Beck,  in  his  "Gazetteer  of  Illinois  and  Missouri,"  p.  124,  speaks  of  "Little 
Detroit,  an  Indian  village  situated  on  the  east  bank  of  lake  Peoria,  six  miles  above 
Ft.  Clark."  On  the  map  prefixed  to  the  Gazetteer  prepared  in  1820  the  contraction  of 
the  lake  is  shown  and  designated  as  "  Little  Detroit." 

We  have  seen  from  extracts  from  Father  Marquette's  Journal,  quoted  on  a  preced- 
ing page,  that  it  was  the  Kaskaskias  at  whose  village  this  distinguished  missionary 
promised  to  return  and  to  establish  a  mission,  and  that  with  the  ebbing  out  of  his  life 
he  fulfilled  his  engagement.  From  Father  Gravier's  Journal,  just  quoted,  it  is  appar- 


ATTACK    OF   THE    IROQl'OIS.  Ill 

their  fatal  work,  and  the  Illinois  confederacy  was  in  a  stage  of  decline 
when  they  first  came  in  contact  with  the  French.  Their  afflictions  made 
them  accessible  to  the  voice  of  the  missionary,  and  in  their  weakness 
they  hailed  with  delight  the  coming  of  the  Frenchman  with  his  prom- 
ises of  protection,  which  were  assured  by  guns  and  powder.  The  mis- 
fortunes of  the  Illinois  drew  them  so  kindly  to  the  priests,  the  coureurs 
des  Bois  and  soldiers,  that  the  friendship  between  the  two  races  never 
abated ;  and  when  in  the  order  of  events  the  sons  of  France  had  de- 
parted from  the  Illinois,  their  love  for  the  departed  Gaul  was  inculcated 
into  the  minds  of  their  children. 

The  erection  of  Fort  St.  Louis  on  the  Illinois,  St.  Joseph  on  the 
stream  of  that  name,  and  the  establishment  at  Detroit,  for  a  while 
stayed  the  calamity  that  was  to  befall  the  Illinois.  Frequent  allusion 
has  been  made  to  the  part  the  Iroquois  took  in  the  destruction  of  this 
powerful  confederacy.  For  the  gratification  of  the  reader  we  give  a 
condensed  account  of  some  of  these  Iroquois  campaigns  in  the  Illinois 
country.  The  extracts  we  take  are  from  a  memoir  on  the  western 
Indians,  by  M.  Du  Chesneau,*  dated  at  Quebec,  September  13,  1681 : 
"  To  convey  a  correct  idea  of  the  present  state  of  all  those  Indian  na- 
tions it  is  necessary  to  explain  the  cause  of  the  cruel  war  waged  by  the 
Iroquois  for  these  three  years  past  against  the  Illinois.  The  former 
were  great  warriors,  cannot  remain  idle,  and  pretend  to  subject  all  other 
nations  to  themselves,  and  never  want  a  pretext  for  commencing  hos- 
tilities. The  following  was  their  assumed  excuse  for  the  present  war: 
Going,  about  twenty  years  ago,  to  attack  the  Outagamis  (Foxes), 
they  met  the  Illinois  and  killed  a  considerable  number  of  them.  This 
continued  during  the  succeeding  years,  and  finally,  having  destroyed  a 
great  many,  they  forced  them  to  abandon  their  country  and  seek  refuge 
in  very  distant  parts.  The  Iroquois  having  got  quit  of  the  Illinois, 
took  no  more  trouble  with  them,  and  went  to  war  against  another 
nation  called  the  Andostagues.f  Pending  this  war  the  Illinois  re- 
turned to  their  country,  and  the  Iroquois  complained  that  they  had 

ent  that  the  mission  had  for  some  years  been  in  successful  operation  at  the  combined 
village  of  the  Kaskaskias,  Peorias  and  Mouin-gouena,  situated  at  the  Du  Detroit  of  the 
Illinois;  and  also  that  the  Kaskaskias,  hearing  that  the  French  were  about  to  form  es- 
tablishments on  the  lower  Mississippi,  in  company  with  the  French  inhabitants  of  their 
ancient  village,  were  in  the  act  of  going  down  the  Mississippi  at  the  time  of  Gravier's 
arrival,  in  September,  1700.  All  these  facts  taken  together  would  seem  to  definitely 
locate  the  Mission  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary  at  the 
narrows,  six  miles  above  the  present  city  of  Peoria,  which  is  upon  the  site  of  old  Fort 
Clark,  and  probably,  from  the  topography  of  the  locality,  upon  the  east  bank  of  the 
strait.  In  conclusion,  we  may  add  that  the  Kaskaskias  were  induced  to  halt  in  their 
journey  southward  upon  the  river,  which  has  ever  since  borne  their  name  ;  and  the 
mission,  transferred  from  the  old  Kaskaskias,  above  Peoria,  retained  the  name  of  "  The 
Immaculate  Conception,"  etc. 

*  Paris  Documents,  vol.  9,  pp.  161  to  166. 

f  The  Eries?,  or  Cats,  were  entirely  destroyed  by  the  Iroquois. 


112  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

killed  forty  of  their  people  who  were  on  their  way  to  hunt  beaver  in 
the  Illinois  country.  To  obtain  satisfaction,  the  Iroquois  resolved  to 
make  war  upon  them.  Their  true  motive,  however,  was  to  gratify  the 
English  at  Manatte  *  and  Orange,f  of  whom  they  are  too  near  neigh- 
bors, and  who,  by  means  of  presents,  engaged  the  Iroquois  in  this  ex- 
pedition, the  object  of  which  was  to  force  the  Illinois  to  b  •'  ^  their 
beaver  to  them,  so  that  they  may  go  and  trade  it  afterward  to  the 
English ;  also,  to  intimidate  the  other  Indians,  and  constrain  them  to 
to  do  the  same  thing. 

"  The  improper  conduct  of  Sieur  de  la  Salle,  $  governor  of  Fort 
Frontenac,  has  contributed  considerably  to  cause  the  latter  to  adopt 
this  proceeding ;  for  after  he  had  obtained  permission  to  discover  the 
Great  River  Mississippi,  and  had,  as  he  alleged,  the  grant  of  the 
Illinois,  he  no  longer  observed  any  terms  with  the  Iroquois.  He  ill- 
treated  them,  and  avowed  that  he  would  convey  arms  and  ammunition 
to  the  Illinois,  and  would  die  assisting  them. 

"The  Iroquois  dispatched  in  the  month  of  April  of  last  year,  1680, 
an  army,  consisting  of  between  five  and  six  hundred  men,  who  ap- 
proached an  Illinois  village  where  Sieur  Tonty,  one  of  Sieur  de  la 
Salle's  men  happened  to  be  with  some  Frenchmen  and  two  Recollect 
fathers,  whom  the  Iroquois  left  unharmed.  One  of  these,  a  most  holy 
man,  §  has  since  been  killed  by  the  Indians.  But  they  would  listen 
to  no  terms  of  peace  proposed  to  them  by  Sieur  de  Tonty,  who  was 
slightly  wounded  at  the  beginning  of  the  attack ;  the  Illinois  having 
fled  a  hundred  leagues  thence,  were  pursued  by  the  Iroquois,  who 
killed  and  captured  as  many  as  twelve  hundred  of  them,  including 
women  and  children,  having  lost  only  thirty  men. 

"  The  victory  achieved  by  the  Iroquois  rendered  them  so  insolent  that 
they  have  continued  ever  since  that  time  to  send  out  divers  war  parties. 
The  success  of  these  is  not  yet  known,  but  it  is  not  doubted  that  they 
have  been  successful,  because  those  tribes  are  very  warlike  and  the  Illi- 
nois are  but  indifferently  so.  Indeed,  there  is  no  doubt,  and  it  is  the 
universal  opinion,  that  if  the  Iroquois  are  allowed  to  proceed  they  will 
subdue  the  Illinois,  and  in  a  short  time  render  themselves  masters  of 
all  the  Ontawa  tribes  and  divert  the  trade  to  the  English,  so  that  it  is 
absolutely  essential  to  make  them  our  friends  or  to  destroy  them." 

*  New  York. 

t  Albany,  New  York. 

|  It  must  be  remembered  that  La  Salle  was  not  exempt  from  the  jealousy  and  envy 
which  is  inspired  in  souls  of  little  men  toward  those  engaged  in  great  undertakings  ; 
and  we  see  this  spirit  manifested  here.  La  Salle  could  not  have  done  otherwise  than 
supply  fire-arms  to  the  Illinois,  who  were  his  friends  and  the  owners  of  the  country,  the 
trade  of  which  he  had  opened  up  at  great  hardship  and  expense  to  himself. 

§  Gabriel  Ribourde. 


DEFEAT  OF  THE  IROQUOIS.  113 

The  Iroquois  were  not  always  successful  in  their  western  forays. 
Tradition  records  two  instances  in  which  they  were  sadly  discomfited. 
The  first  was  an  encounter  with  the  Sioux,  on  an  island  in  the  Missis- 
sippi, at  the  mouth  of  the  Des  Moines.  The  tradition  of  this  engage- 
ment is  preserved  in  the  curious  volumes  of  La  Hontan,  and  is  as  fol- 
lows :  "  March  2nd,  1689, 1  arrived  in  the  Mississippi.  To  save  the  labor 
of  rowing  we  left  our  boats  to  the  current,  and  arrived  on  the  tenth  in 
the  island  of  Rencontres,  which  took  its  name  from  the  defeat  of  four 
hundred  Iroquois  accomplished  there  by  three  hundred  Nadouessis 
(Sioux).  The  story  of  the  encounter  is  briefly  this :  A  party  of 
four  hundred  Iroquois  having  a  mind  to  surprise  a  certain  people  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  Otentas  (of  whom  more  anon),  marched  to 
the  country  of  the  Illinois,  where  they  built  canoes  and  were  furnished 
with  provisions.  After  that  they  embarked  upon  the  river  Mississippi, 
and  were  discovered  by  another  little  fleet  that  was  sailing  down  the 
other  side  of  the  same  river.  The  Iroquois  crossed  over  immediately 
to  that  island  which  is  since  called  Aux  Rencontres.  The  Nadouessis, 
i.  <?.,  the  other  little  fleet,  being  suspicious  of  some  ill  design,  without 
knowing  what  people  they  were  (for  they  had  no  knowledge  of  the 
Iroquois  but  by  hear-say)  —  upon  this  suspicion,  I  say,  they  tugged  hard 
to  come  up  with  them.  The  two  armies  posted  themselves  upon  the 
point  of  the  island,  where  the  two  crosses  are  put  down  in  the  map,* 
and  as  soon  as  the  Nadouessis  came  in  sight,  the  Iroquois  cried  out  in 
the  Illinese  language:  'Who  are  yef  To  which  the  Nadouessis 
answered,  '  Somebody '/  and  putting  the  same  question  to  the  Iroquois, 
received  the  same  answer.  Then  the  Iroquois  put  this  question  to 
'em:  ' Where  are  you  going  f  'To  hunt  buffalo,'  answered  the  Na- 
douessis ;  '  but,  pray,'  says  the  Nadouessis, '  what  is  your  business  '1 ' '  To 
hunt  men,'  reply'd  the  Iroquois.  "Tis  well,'  says  the  Nadouessis; 
'  we  are  men,  and  so  you  need  go  no  farther.'  Upon  this  challenge, 
the  two  parties  disembarked,  and  the  leader  of  the  Nadouessis  cut  his 
canoes  to  pieces,  and,  after  representing  to  his  warriors  that  they  be- 
hoved either  to  conquer  or  die,  marched  up  to  the  Iroquois,  who 
received  them  at  first  onset  with  a  cloud  of  arrows.  But  the  Nadou- 
essis having  stood  their  first  discharge,  which  killed  eighty  of  themr 
fell  in  upon  them  with  their  clubs  in  their  hands  before  the  others 
could  charge  again,  and  so  routed  them  entirely.  This  engagement 
lasted  for  two  hours,  and  was  so  hot  that  two  hundred  and  sixty  Iro- 
quois fell  upon  the  spot,  and  the  rest  were  all  taken  prisoners.  Some 
of  the  Iroquois,  indeed,  attempted  to  make  their  escape  after  the  action 

*  On  La  Hontan 's  map  the  place  marked  is  designated  by  an  island  in  the  Missis- 
sippi, immediately  at  the  mouth  of  the  Des  Moines. 
8 


114  HISTORIC    NOTES   ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

was  over ;  but  the  victorious  general  sent  ten  or  twelve  of  his  men  to 
pursue  them  in  one  of  the  canoes  that  he  had  taken,  and  accordingly 
they  were  all  overtaken  and  drowned.  The  Nadouessis  having  ob- 
tained this  victory,  cut  off  the  noses  and  ears  of  two  of  the  cleverest 
prisoners,  and  supplying  them  with  fusees,  powder  and  ball,  gave  them 
the  liberty  of  returning  to  their  own  country,  in  order  to  tell  their 
countrymen  that  they  ought  not  to  employ  women  to  hunt  after  men 
any  longer."* 

The  second  tradition  is  that  of  a  defeat  of  a  war  party  of  Iroquois 
upon  the  banks  of  the  stream  that  now  bears  the  name  of  "  Iroquois 
River."  Father  Charlevoix.  in  his  Narrative  Journal,  referring  to  his 
passage  down  the  Kankakee,  in  September,  1721,  alludes  to  this  defeat 
of  the  Iroquois  in  the  following  language :  "  I  was  not  a  little  sur- 
prised at  seeing  so  little  water  in  the  The-a-ki-ki,  notwithstanding  it 
receives  a  good  many  pretty  large  rivers,  one  of  which  is  more  than  a 
hundred  and  twenty  feet  in  breadth  at  its  mouth,  and  has  been  called 
the  River  of  the  Iroquois,  because  some  of  that  nation  were  surprised 
on  its. banks  by  the  Illinois  who  killed  a  great  many  of  them.  This 
check  mortified  them  so  much  the  more,  as  they  held  the  Illinois  in 
great  contempt,  who,  indeed,  for  the  most  part  are  not  able  to  stand, 
before  them."  f 

The  tradition  has  been  given  with  fuller  particulars  to  the  author, 
by  Colonel  Guerdon  S.  Hubbard,  as  it  was  related  by  the  Indians  to 
him.  It  has  not  as  yet  appeared  in  print,  and  is  valuable  as  well  as 
interesting,  inasmuch  as  it  explains  why  the  Iroquois  River  has  been 
so  called  for  a  period  of  nearly  two  centuries,  and  also  because  it  gives 
the  origin  of  the  name  Watseka. 

The  tradition  is  substantially  as  follows:  Many  years  ago  the  Iro- 
quois attacked  an  Indian  village  situated  on  the  banks  of  the  river  a 
few  miles  below  the  old  county  seat, —  Middleport, —  and  drove  out 
the  occupants  with  great  slaughter.  The  fugitives  were  collected  in 
the  night  time  some  distance  away,  lamenting  their  disaster.  A  wo- 
man, possessing  great  courage,  urged  the  men  to  return  and  attack  the 
Iroquois,  saying  the  latter  were  then  rioting  in  the  spoils  of  the  village 
and  exulting  over  their  victory ;  that  they  would  not  expect  danger 
from  their  defeated  enemy,  and  that  the  darkness  of  the  night  would 
prevent  their  knowing  the  advance  upon  them.  The  warriors  refused 
to  go.  The  woman  then  said  that  she  would  raise  a  party  of  squaws 
and  return  to  the  village  and  fight  the  Iroquois ;  adding  that  death  or 
captivity  would  be  the  fate  of  the  women  and  children  on  the  morrow, 

*La  Hontan's  New  Voyages  to  America,  vol.  1,  pp.  128.  129. 
t  Charlevoix'  Narrative  Journal,  vol.  2,  p.  199. 


INDIAN    LEGEND.  115 

and  that  they  might  as  well  die  in  an  effort  to  regain  their  village  and 
property  as  to  submit  to  a  more  dreadful  fate.  She  called  for  volun- 
teers and  the  women  came  forward  in  large  numbers.  Seeing  the 
bravery  of  their  wives  and  daughters  the  men  were  ashamed  of  their 
cowardice  and  became  inspired  with  a  desperate  courage.  A  plan  of 
attack  was  speedily  formed  and  successfully  executed.  The  Iroquois, 
taken  entirely  unawares,  were  surprised  and  utterly  defeated. 

The  name  of  the  heroine  who  suggested  and  took  an  active  part  in 
this  act  of  bold  retaliation,  bore  the  name  of  Watch-e-kee.  In  honor 
of  her  bravery  and  to  perpetuate  the  story  of  the  engagement,  a  coun- 
cil of  the  tribe  was  convened  which  ordained  that  when  Watch-e-kee 
died  her  name  should  be  bestowed  upon  the  most  accomplished  maiden 
of  the  tribe,  and  in  this  way  be  handed  down  from  one  generation  to 
another.  By  such  means  have  the  name  and  the  tradition  been  pre- 
served. 

The  last  person  who  bore  this  name  was  the  daughter  of  a  Potta- 
watomie  chief,  with  whose  band  Col.  Hubbard  was  intimately  associ- 
ated as  a  trader  for  many  years.  She  was  well  known  to  many  of  the 
old  settlers  in  Danville  and  upon  the  Kankakee.  She  was  a  person  of 
great  beauty,  becoming  modesty,  and  possessed  of  superior  intelligence. 
She  had  great  influence  among  her  own  people  and  was  highly  re- 
spected by  the  whites.  She  accompanied  her  tribe  to  the  westward  of 
the  Mississippi,  on  their  removal  from  the  state.  The  present  county 
seat  of  Iroquois  county  is  named  after  her,  and  Col.  Hubbard  advises 
the  author  that  Watseka,  as  the  name  is  generally  spelled,  is  incorrect, 
and  that  the  orthography  for  its  true  pronunciation  should  be  "Watch-e- 
kee.* 

AVe  resume  the  narration  of  the  decline  of  the  Illinois :  La  Salle's 
fortification  at  Starved  Rock  gathered  about  it  populous  villages  of 
Illinois,  Shawnees,  Weas,  Piankeshaws  and  other  kindred  tribes,  shown 
on  Franquelin's  map  as  the  Colonie  Du  Sr.  de  la  Salle.f  The  Iroquois 
were  barred  out  of  the  country  of  the  Illinois  tribes,  and  the  latter 
enjoyed  security  from  their  old  enemies.  La  Salle  himself,  speaking 
of  his  success  in  establishing  a  colony  at  the  Rock,  says  :  "  There  would 
be  nothing  to  fear  from  the  Iroquois  when  the  iiations  of  the  south, 

*  The  Iroquois  also  bore  the  name  of  Can-o-wa-ga,  doubtless  an  Indian  name.  It 
had  another  aboriginal  name,  MocaMla  (which  was,  probably,  a  French-Canadian  cor- 
ruption of  the  Kickapoo  word  Mo-qua),  signifying  a  bear.  Beck's  Illinois  and  Mis- 
souri Gazetteer,  p.  90.  The  joint  commission  appointed  by  the  legislatures  of  Indiana 
and  Illinois  to  run  the  boundary  line  between  the  two  states,  in  their  report  in  1821. 
and  upon  their  map  deposited  in  the  archives  at  Indianapolis,  designate  the  Iroquois 
by  the  name  of  Pick-a-mink  River.  They  also  named  Sugar  Creek  after  Mr.  McDon- 
ald, of  Vincennes,  Indiana,  who  conducted  the  surveys  for  the  commission. 

fThis  part  of  Franquelin's  map  appears  in  the  well  executed  frontispiece  of  Park- 
insons Discovery  of  the  Great  West. 


116  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

strengthened  through  their  intercourse  with  the  French,  shall  stop 
their  conquest,  and  prevent  their  being  powerful  by  carrying  off  a  great 
number  of  their  women  and  children,  which  they  can  easily  do  from 
the  inferiority  of  the  weapons  of  their  enemies.  As  respects  com- 
merce, that  post  will  probably  increase  our  traffic  still  more  than  has 
been  done  by  the  establishment  of  Fort  Frontenac,  which  was  built 
with  success  for  that  purpose ;  for  if  the  Illinois  and  their  allies  were 
to  catch  the  beavers  which  the  Iroquois  now  kill  in  the  neighborhood 
in  order  to  carry  them  to  the  English,  the  latter  not  being  any  longer 
able  to  get  them  from  their  own  colonies  would  be  obliged  to  buy  from 
us,  to  the  great  benefit  of  those  who  have  the  privilege  of  this  traffic. 
These  were  the  views  which  the  Sieur  de  la  Salle  had  in  placing  the 
settlement  where  it  is.  The  colony  has  already  felt  its  effects,  as  all 
our  allies,  who  had  fled  after  the  departure  of  M.  de  Frontenac,  have 
returned  to  their  ancient  dwellings,  in  consequence  of  the  confidence 
caused  by  the  fort,  near  which  they  have  defeated  a  party  of  Iroquois, 
and  have  built  four  forts  to  protect  themselves  from  hostile  incursions. 
The  Governor,  M.  de  la  Barre,  and  the  intendant,  M.  de  Muelles,  have 
told  Sieur  de  la  Salle  that  they  would  write  to  Monseigneur  to  inform 
him  of  the  importance  of  that  fort  in  order  to  keep  the  Iroquois  in 
check,  and  that  M.  de  Sagny  had  proposed  its  establishment  in  1678, 
Monsiegneur  Colbert  permitted  Sieur  de  la  Salle  to  build  it,  and 
granted  it  to  him  as  a  property."  * 

The  fort  at  Le  Roclier  (the  rock)  was  constructed  on  its  summit  in 
1682,  and  enclosed  with  a  palisade.  It  was  subsequently  granted  to 
Tonti  and  Forest,  f  It  was  abandoned  as  a  military  post  in  the  year 
1702 ;  and  when  Charlevoix  went  down  the  Illinois  in  1721  he  passed 
the  Rock,  and  said  of  it:  "This  is  the  point  of  a  very  high  terrace 
stretching  the  space  of  two  hundred  paces,  and  bending  or  winding 
with  the  course  of  the  river.  This  rock  is  steep  on  all  sides,  and  at  a 
distance  one  would  take  it  for  a  fortress.  Some  remains  of  a  palisado 
are  still  to  be  seen  on  it,  the  Illinois  having  formerly  cast  up  an  en- 
trenchment here,  which  might  be  easily  repaired  in  case  of  any  inter- 
ruption of  the  enemy.":}: 

The  abandonment  of  Fort  St.  Louis  in  1702  was  followed  soon  after 
by  a  dispersion  of  the  tribes  and  remnants  of  tribes  that  La  Salle  and 
Tonti  had  gathered  about  it,  except  the  straggling  village  of  the 
Illinois. 

*  Memoir  of  the  Sieur  de  la  Salle,  reporting  to  Monseigneur  de  Seingelay  the  dis- 
coveries made  by  him  under  the  order  of  His  Majesty.  Historical  Collections  of 
Louisiana,  Part  I,  p.  42. 

t  Paris  Documents,  vol.  9,  p.  494. 

j  Charlevoix'  Narrative  Journal,  vol.  2,  p.  200. 


DECLINE    OF   THE    ILLINOIS.  117 

The  Iroquois  came  no  more  subsequent  to  1721,  having  war  enough 
on  their  hands  nearer  home ;  but  the  Illinois  were  constantly  harassed 
by  other  enemies ;  the  Sacs,  Foxes,  Kickapoos  and  Pottawatomies. 
In  1722  their  villages  at  the  Rock  and  on  Peoria  Lake  were  besieged 
by  the  Foxes,  and  a  detachment  of  a  hundred  men  under  Chevalier  de 
Artaguette  and  Sieur  de  Tisne  were  sent  to  their  assistance.  Forty  of 
these  French  soldiers,  with  four  hundred  Indians,  marched  by  land  to 
Peoria  Lake.  However,  before  the  reinforcements  reached  their  des- 
tination they  learned. that  the  Foxes  had  retreated  with  a  loss  of  more 
than  a  hundred  and  twenty  of  their  men.  "  This  success  did  not, 
however,  prevent  the  Illinois,  although  they  had  only  lost  twenty  men, 
with  some  women  and  children,  from  leaving  the  Rock  and  Pimiteony, 
where  they  were  kept  in  constant  alarm,  and  proceeding  to  unite  with 
those  of  their  brethren  who  had  settled  on  the  Mississippi ;  this  was  a 
stroke  of  grace  for  most  of  them,  the  small  number  of  missionaries 
preventing  their  supplying  so  many  towns  scattered  far  apart ;  but  on 
the  other  side,  as  there  was  nothing  to  check  the  raids  of  the  Foxes 
along  the  Illinois  River,  communication  between  Louisiana  and  New 
France  became  much  less  practicable."* 

The  fatal  dissolution  of  the  Illinois  still  proceeded,  and  their 
ancient  homes  and  hunting  grounds  were  appropriated  by  the  more 
vigorous  Sacs,  Foxes,  Pottawatomies  and  Kickapoos.  The  killing  of 
Pontiac  at  Cahokia,  whither  he  had  retired  after  the  failure  of  his 
-effort  to  rescue  the  country  from  the  English,  was  laid  upon  the 
Illinois,  a  charge  which,  whether  true  or  false,  hastened  the  climax  of 
their  destruction. 

General  Harrison  stated  that  "  the  Illinois  confederacy  was  com- 
posed of  five  tribes :  the  Kaskaskias,  Cahokias,  Peorians,  Michiganians 
and  the  Temarois,  speaking  the  Miami  language,  and  no  doubt 
branches  of  that  nation.  "When  I  was  first  appointed  Governor  of  the 
Indiana  Territory  (May,  1800),  these  once  powerful  tribes  were  re- 
duced to  about  thirty  warriors,  of  whom  twenty-five  were  Kaskaskias, 
four  Peorians,  and  a  single  Michiganian.  There  was  an  individual 
lately  alive  at  St.  Louis  who  saw  the  enumeration  made  of  them  by 
the  Jesuits  in  17-45,  making  the  number  of  their  warriors  four  thou- 
sand. A  furious  war  between  them  and  the  Sacs  and  Kickapoos 
reduced  them  to  that  miserable  remnant  which  had  taken  refuse 

o 

amongst  the  white  people  in  the  towns  of  Kaskaskia  and  St.  Genieve."f 

*  History  of  New  France,  vol.  6,  p.  71. 

t  Official  letter  of  Gen.  Harrison  to  Hon.  John  Armstrong,  Secretary  of  War, 
dated  at  Cincinnati,  March  22,  1814:  contained  in  Captain  M'Afee's  "  History  of  the 
Late  War  in  the  Western  Country." 


118  HISTORIC    NOTES    OX   THE    NORTHWEST. 

By  successive  treaties  their  lands  in  Illinois  were  ceded  to  the 
United  States,  and  they  were  removed  west  of  the  Missouri.  In  1872 
they  had  dwindled  to  forty  souls  —  men,  women  and  children  all  told. 

Thus  have  wasted  away  the  original  occupants  of  the  larger  part  of 
Illinois  and  portions  of  Iowa  and  Missouri.  In  1684  their  single  vil- 
lage at  La  Salle's  colony,  could  muster  twelve  hundred  warriors.  In  the 
days  of  their  strength  they  nearly  exterminated  the  Winnebagoes,  and 
their  war  parties  penetrated  the  towns  of  the  Iroquois  in  the  valleys  of 
the  Mohawk  and  Genesee.  They  took  the  Metchigamis  under  their 
protection,  giving  them  security  against  enemies  with  whom  the  latter 
could  not  contend.  This  people  who  had  dominated  over  the  surround- 
ing tribes,  claiming  for  themselves  the  name  Illini  or  Linneway,  to  rep- 
resent their  superior  manhood,  have  disappeared  from  the  earth  ;  another 
race,  representing  a  higher  civilization,  occupy  their  ancient  domains, 
and  already,  even  the  origin  of  their  name  and  the  location  of  their 
cities  have  become  the  subjects  of  speculation. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

THE  MIAMIS  — THE  MIAMI,   P1ANKESHAW,  AND  WEA   BANDS/ 

THE  people  known  to  us  as  the  Miamis  formerly  dwelt  beyond  the 
Mississippi,  and,  according  to  their 'own  traditions,  came  originally 
from  the  Pacific.  "  If  what  I  have  heard  asserted  in  several  places  be 
true,  the  Illinois  and  Miamis  came  from  the  banks  of  a  very  distant  sea 
to  the  westward.  It  would  seem  that  their  first  stand,  after  they  made 
their  first  descent  into  this  country,  was  at  Moingona*  At  least  it  is 
certain  that  one  of  their  tribes  bears  that  name.  The  rest  are  known 
under  the  name  of  Peorias,  Tarnaroas,  Caoquias  and  Kaskaskias." 

The  migration  of  the  Miamis  from  the  west  of  the  Mississippi, 
eastward  through  Wisconsin  and  northern  Illinois,  around  the  south- 
ern end  of  Lake  Michigan  to  Detroit,  and  thence  up  the  Maumee  and 
down  the  Wabash.  and  eastward  through  Indiana  into  Ohio  as  far  as 
the  Great  Miami,  can  be  followed  through  the  mass  of  records  handed 
down  to  us  from  the  missionaries,  travelers  and  officers  connected  with 
the  French.  Speaking  of  the  mixed  village  of  Maskoutens,  situated  on 
Fox  River,  Wisconsin,  at  the  time  of  his  visit  there  in  1670,  Father 
Claude  Dablon  says  the  village  of  the  Fire-nation  "  is  joined  in  the 
circle  of  the  same  barriers  to  another  people,  named  Oumiami,  which 
is  one  of  the  Illinois  nations,  which  is,  as  it  were,  dismembered  from 
the  others,  in  order  to  dwell  in  these  quarters,  f  It  is  beyond  this 
great  river  ^  that  are  placed  the  Illinois  of  whom  we  speak,  and  from 
whom  are  detached  those  who  dwell  here  with  the  Fire-nation  to  form 
here  a  transplanted  icolony." 

From  the  quotations  made  there  remains  little  doubt  that  the  Mi- 
amis  were  originally  a  branch  of  the  great  Illinois  nation.  This  theory 
is  confirmed  by  writers  of  our  own  time,  among  whom  we  may  men- 
tion General  William  H.  Harrison,  whose  long  acquaintance  and  official 
connection  with  the  several  bands  of  the  Miamis  and  Illinois  gave  him 

*  Charlevoix'  Narrative  Journal,  vol.  2,  p.  227.  Moingona,  from  undoubted 
authorities,  was  a  name  given  to  the  Des  Moines  River;  and  we  find  on  the  original 
map,  drawn  by  Marquette.  the  village  of  the  Moingona  placed  on  the  Des  Moines 
above  a  village  of  the  Peorias  on  the  same  stream. 

t  Father  Dablon  is  here  describing  the  same  village  referred  to  by  Father  Mar- 
quette in  that  part  of  his  Journal  which  we  have  copied  on  page  44. 

\  The  Mississippi,  of  which  the  missionary  had  been  speaking  in  the  paragraph 
preceding  that  which  we  quote. 

119 


120  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

the  opportunities,  of  which  he  availed  himself,  to  acquire  an  intimate 
knowledge  concerning  them.  "Although  the  language,  manners 
and  customs  of  the  Ivaskaskias  make  it  sufficiently  certain  that  they 
derived  their  origin  from  the  same  source  with  the  Miamis,  the 
connection  had  been  dissolved  before  the  French  had  penetrated 
from  Canada  to  the  Mississippi."*  The  assertion  of  General  Har- 
rison that  the  tribal  relation  between  the  Illinois  and  Miamis  had 
been  broken  at  the  time  of  the  discovery  of  the  Upper  Mississippi 
valley  by  the  French  is  sustained  with  great  unanimity  by  all  other 
authorities.  In  the  long  and  disastrous  wars  waged  upon  the  Illinois 
by  the  Iroquois,  Sacs  and  Foxes,  Kickapoos  and  other  enemies,  we 
have  no  instance  given  where  the  Miamis  ever  offered  assistance  to 
their  ancient  kinsmen.  After  the  separation,  on  the  contrary,  they 
often  lifted  the  bloody  hatchet  against  them. 

Father  Dablon,  in  the  narrative  from  which  we  have  quoted,  + 
gives  a  detailed  account  of  the  civility  of  the  Miamis  at  Mascouten, 
and  the  formality  and  court  routine  with  which  their  great  chief  was 
surrounded.  "The  chief  of  the  Miamis,  whose  name  was  Tetin- 
choua,  was  surrounded  by  the  most  notable  people  of  the  village, 
who,  assuming  the  role  of  courtiers,  with  civil  posture  full  of  defer- 
ence, and  keeping  always  a  respectful  silence,  magnified  the  great- 
ness of  their  king.  The  chief  and  his  routine  gave  Father  Dablon 
every  mark  of  their  most  distinguished  esteem.  The  physiognomy 
of  the  chief  was  as  mild  and  as  attractive  as  any  one  could  wish  to 
see ;  and  while  his  reputation  as  a  warrior  was  great,  his  features 
bore  a  softness  which  charmed  all  those  who  beheld  him." 

Nicholas  Perrot,  with  Sieur  de  St.  Lussin,  dispatched  by  Talon, 
the  intendant,  to  visit  the  westward  nations,  with  whom  the  French 
had  intercourse,  and  invite  them  to  a  council  to  be  held  the  follow- 
ing spring  at  the  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  was  at  this  Miami  village  shortly 
after  the  visit  of  Dablon.  Perrot  was  treated  with  great  consider- 
ation by  the  Miamis.  Tatinchoua  "  sent  out  a  detachment  to  meet 
the  French  agent  and  receive  him  in  military  style.  The  detach- 
ment advanced  in  battle  array,  all  the  braves  adorned  with  feathers, 
armed  at  all  points,  were  uttering  war  cries  from  time  to  time.  The 
Pottawatomies  who  escorted  Perrot,  seeing  them  come  in  this  guise, 
prepared  to  receive  them  in  the  same  manner,  and  Perrot  put  him- 
self at  their  head.  When  the  two  troops  were  in  face  of  each  other, 
they  stopped  as  if  to  take  breath,  then  all  at  once  Perrot  took  the 
right,  the  Miamis  the  left,  all  running  in  Indian  file,  as  though  they 
wished  to  gain  an  advantage  to  charge. 

*  Memoirs  of  General  Harrison,  by  Moses  Dawson,  p.  62. 
t  Relations,  1670.  1671. 


OF   THE    NAME    MIAMI.  121 

"  But  the  Miamis  wheeling  in  the  form  of  an  arc,  the  Pottawat- 
omies  were  invested  on  all  sides.  Then  both  uttered  loud  yells, 
which  were  the  signals  for  a  kind  of  combat.  The  Miamis  fired  a 
volley  from  their  guns,  which  were  only  loaded  with  powder,  and 
the  Pottawatomies  returned  it  in  the  same  way ;  after  this  they 
closed,  tomahawk  in  hand,  all  the  blows  being  received  on  the  tom- 
ahawks. Peace  was  then  made  ;  the  Miamis  presented  the  calumet 
to  Perrot,  and  led  him  with  all  his  chief  escort  into  the  town,  where 
the  great  chief  assigned  him  a  guard  of  fifty  men,  regaled  him  mag- 
nificently after  the  custom  of  the  country,  and  gave  him  the  diver- 
sion of  a  game  of  ball."  The  Miami  chief  never  spoke  to  his 
subjects,  but  imparted  his  orders  through  some  of  his  officers.  On 
account  of  his  advanced  age  he  was  dissuaded  from  attending  the 
council  to  be  held  at  Ste.  Marie,  between  the  French  and  the  Indians ; 
however,  he  deputized  the  Pottawatomies  to  act  in  his  name. 

This  confederacy  called  themselves  "Miamis,"  and  by  this  name 
were  known  to  the  surrounding  tribes.  The  name  was  not  bestowed 
upon  them  by  the  French,  as  some  have  assumed  from  its  resem- 
blance to  Mon-am.i,  because  they  were  the  friends  of  the  latter. 
When  Ilennepin  was  captured  on  the  Mississippi  by  a  war  party  of 
the  Sioux,  these  savages,  with  their  painted  faces  rendered  more 
hideous  by  the  devilish  contortions  of  their  features,  cried  out  in 
angry  voices,  "  lMia-hama!  Mia-hama  !  '  and  we  made  signs  with 
our  oars  upon  the  sand,  that  the  Miamis,  their  enemies,  of  whom 
they  were  in  search,  had  passed  the  river  upon  their  flight  to  join 
the  Illinois,  "f 

"The  confederacy  which  obtained  the  general  appellation  of 
Miamis,  from  the  superior  numbers  of  the  individual  tribe  to  whom 
that  name  more  properly  belonged,"  were  subdivided  into  three 
principal  tribes  or  bands,  namely,  the  Miamis  proper,  Weas  and 
Piankeshaws.  French  writers  have  given  names  to  two  or  three 
other  subdivisions  or  families  of  the  three  principal  bands,  whose 
identity  has  never  been  clearly  traced,  and  who  figure  so  little  in 
the  accounts  which  we  have  of  the  Miamis,  that  it  is  not  necessary 
here  to  specify  their  obsolete  names.  The  different  ways  of  writing 

*  History  of  New  France,  vol.  3,  pp.  166,  167.  Father  Charlevoix  improperly 
locates  this  village,  where  Perrot  was  received,  at  "  Chicago,  at  the  lower  end  of  Lake 
Michigan,  where  the  Miamis  then  were,"  page  166,  above  quoted.  The  Miamis  were 
not  then  at  Chicago.  The  reception  of  Perrot  was  at  the  mixed  village  on  Fox  River, 
Wisconsin,  as  stated  in  the  text.  The  error  of  Charlevoix,  as  to  the  location  of  this 
village,  has  been  pointed  out  by  Dr.  Shea,  in  a  note  on  page  166,  in  the  "History  of 
New  France,"  and  also  by  Francis  Parkman,  in  a  note  on  page  40  of  his  "  Discovery 
of  the  Great  West." 

fHennepin,  p.  187. 


122  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

Miamis    are:     Oumiamwek,*    Oumamis,  +    Maumees, :{:  Au-Miami  § 
(contracted  to  Au-Mi  and  Omee)  and  Mine-ami.  |j 

The  French  called  the  Weas  Ouiatenons,  Syatanons,  Ouyatanons 
and  Ouias ;  the  English  and  Colonial  traders  spelled  the  word, 
Ouicatanon,^[  Way-ough-ta  nies,**  Wawiachtens,ft  and  Wehahs.^ 

For  the  Piankeshaws,  or  Pou-an-ke-ki-as,  as  they  were  called  in 
the  earliest  accounts,  we  have  Peanguichias,  Pian-gui-shaws,  Pyan- 
ke-shas  and  Pianquishas. 

The  Miami  tribes  were  known  to  the  Iroquois,  or  Five  Nations 
of  New  York,  as  the  Twight-wees,  a  name  generally  adopted  by  the 
British,  as  well  as  by  the  American  colonists.  Of  this  name  there 
are  various  corruptions  in  pronunciation  and  spelling,  examples  of 
which  we  have  in  "  Twich-twichs, "  "  Twick-twicks, "  "  Twis-twicks, " 
"  Twigh-twees, "  and  "  Twick-tovies. "  The  insertion  of  these  many 
names,  applied  to  one  people,  would  seem  a  tedious  superfluity,  were 
it  otherwise  possible  to  retain  the  identity  of  the  tribes  to  which 
these  different  appellations  have  been  given  by  the  French,  British 
and  American  officers,  traders  and  writers.  It  will  save  the  reader 
much  perplexity  in  pursuing  a  history  of  the  Miamis  if  it  is  borne  in 
mind  that  all  these  several  names  refer  to  the  Miami  nation  or  to 
one  or  the  other  of  its  respective  bands. 

Besides  the  colony  mentioned  by  Dablon  and  Charlevoix,  on  the 
Fox  River  of  Wisconsin,  Hennepin  informs  us  of  a  village  of 
Miamis  south  and  west  of  Peoria  Lake  at  the  time  he  was  at  the 
latter  place  in  1679,  and  it  was  probably  this  village  whose  inhabit- 
ants the  Sioux  were  seeking.  St.  Cosmie,  in  1699,  mentions  the 
' '  village  of  the  '  Peanzichias-Miamis,  who  formerly  dwelt  on  the 

-  of  the  Mississippi,  and  who  had  come  some  years  previous 
and  settled  '  on  the  Illinois  River,  a  few  miles  below  the  confluence 
of  the  DesPlaines.'1  $<£ 

The  Miamis  were  within  the  territory  of  La  Salle's  colony,  of 
which  Starved  Rock  was  the  center,  and  counted  thirteen  hundred 
warriors.  The  Weas  and  Piankeshaws  were  also  there,  the  former 
having  five  hundred  warriors  and  the  Piankeshaw  band  one  hundred 
and  fifty.  This  was  prior  to  1687.  If  At  a  later  day  the  Weas  "were 
at  Chicago,  but  being  afraid  of  the  canoe  people,  left  it.  ""*[  Sieur 
de  Courtmanche,  sent  westward  in  1701  to  negotiate  with  the  tribes 
in  that  part  of  New  France,  was  at  "  Chicago,  where  he  found  some 

Marquette.  fLaHontan.  \  Gen.  Harrison.  §Gen.  Harmar.  (Lewis  Evans. 
^1"  George  Croghan's  Narrative  Journal.  **  Croghan's  List  of  Indian  Tribes, 
ft  John  Heckwelder,  a  Moravian  Missionary.  \\  Catlin's  Indian  Tribes. 

§§    St.  Cosmie's  Journal  in  "  Early  Voyages  Up  and  Down  the  Mississippi,"  p.  58. 
ill     Parkman's  Discovery  of  the  Great  West,  note  on  p.  290. 
*T*[  Memoir  on  the  Indian  tribes,  prepared  in  1718:  Paris  Documents,  vol.  9,  p.  890. 


AT   WAR    WITH    THE    SIOUX.  123 

Weas  (Ouiatanons),  a  Miami  tribe,  who  had  sung  the  war-song 
against  the  Sioux  and  the  Iroquois.  He  obliged  them  to  lay  down 
their  arms  and  extorted  from  them  a  promise  to  send  deputies  to 
Montreal."  * 

In  a  letter  dated  in  1721,  published  in  his  "Narrative  Journal," 
Father  Charlevoix,  speaking  of  the  Miamis  about  the  head  of  Lake 
Michigan,  says:  "  Fifty  years  ago  the  Miamis  were  settled  on  the 
southern  extremity  of  Lake  Michigan,  in  a  place  called  Chicagou, 
from  the  name  of  a  small  river  which  runs  into  the  lake,  the  source 
of  which  is  not  far  distant  from  that  of  the  river  of  the  Illinois ; 
they  are  at  present  divided  into  three  villages,  one  of  which  stands 
on  the  river  St.  Joseph,  the  second  on  another  river  which  bears 
their  name  and  runs  into  Lake  Erie,  and  the  third  upon  the  river 
Ouabache,  which  empties  its  waters  into  the  Mississippi.  These  last 
are  better  known  by  the  appellation  of  Ouyatanons."  f 

In  1694,  Count  Frontenac,  in  a  conference  with  the  Western  In- 
dians, requested  the  Miamis  of  the  Pepikokia  band  who  resided  on 
the  Maramek,^:  to  remove,  and  join  the  tribe  which  was  located  on 
the  Saint  Joseph,  of  Lake  Michigan.  The  reason  for  this  request, 
as  stated  by  Frontenac  himself,  was,  that  he  wished  the  different 
bands  of  the  Miami  confederacy  to  unite,  "so  as  to  be  able  to  exe- 
cute with  greater  facility  the  commands  which  he  might  issue. ' '  At 
that  time  the  Iroquois  were  at  war  with  Canada,  and  the  French 
were  endeavoring  to  persuade  the  western  tribes  to  take  up  the  tom- 
ahawk in  their  behalf.  The  Miamis  promised  to  observe  the  Gov- 
ernor's wishes  and  began  to  make  preparations  for  the  removal. § 

"Late  in  August,  1696,  they  started  to  join  their  brethren  settled 
on  the  St.  Joseph.  On  their  way  they  were  attacked  by  the  Sioux, 
who  killed  several.  The  Miamis  of  the  St.  Joseph,  learning  this 
hostility,  resolved  to  avenge  their  slaughter.  They  pursued  the 
Sioux  to  their  own  country,  and  found  them  entrenched  in  their  fort 
with  some  Frenchmen  of  the  class  known  as  coureurs  des  bois  (bush- 
lopers).  They  nevertheless  attacked  them  repeatedly  with  great  res- 
olution, but  were  repulsed,  and  at  last  compelled  to  retire,  after 
losing  several  of  their  braves.  On  their  way  home,  meeting  other 
Frenchmen  carrying  arms  and  ammunition  to  the  Sioux,  they  seized 
all  they  had,  but  did  them  no  harm."  |j 

The  Miamis  were  very  much  enraged  at  the  French  for  supplying 

*  History  of  New  France,  vol.  5,  p.  142. 

t  Charlevoix'  Narrative  Journal,  vol.  1,  p.  287. 

JThe  Kalamazoo,  of  Michigan. 

§  Paris  Documents,  vol.  9,  pp.  624,  625. 

5  Charlevoix'  History  of  New  France,  vol.  5,  p.  65. 


124  HISTORIC    NOTES   ON  THE    NORTHWEST. 

their  enemies,  the  Sioux,  with  guns  and  ammunition.  It  took  all 
the  address  of  Count  Frontenac  to  prevent  them  from  joining  the 
Iroquois ;  indeed,  they  seized  upon  the  French  agent  and  trader, 
Nicholas  Perrot,  who  had  been  commissioned  to  lead  the  Maramek 
band  to  the  St.  Josephs,  and  would  have  burnt  him  alive  had  it  not 
been  for  the  Foxes,  who  interposed  in  his  behalf.*  This  was  the 
commencement  of  the  bitter  feeling  of  hostility  with  which,  from 
that  time,  a  part  of  the  Miamis  always  regarded  the  French.  From 
this  period  the  movements  of  the  tribe  were  observed  by  the  French 
with  jealous  suspicion. 

We  have  already  shown  that  in  1699  the  Miamis  were  at  Fort 
Wayne,  engaged  in  transferring  across  their  portage  emigrants  from 
Canada  to  Louisiana,  and  that,  within  a  few  years  after,  the  Weas 
are  described  as  having  their  fort  and  several  miles  of  cultivated 
fields  on  the  Wea  pla'ins  below  La  Fayette.f  From  the  extent  and 
character  of  these  improvements,  it  may  be  safely  assumed  that  the 
Weas  had  been  established  here  some  years  prior  to  1718,  the  date 
of  the  Memoir. 

When  the  French  first  discovered  the  Wabash,  the  Piankeshaws 
were  found  in  possession  of  the  land  on  either  side  of  that  stream, 
from  its  mouth  to  the  Vermilion  River,  and  no  claim  had  ever 
been  made  to  it  by  any  other  tribe  until  1804,  the  period  of  a  ces- 
sion of  a  part  of  it  to  the  United  States  by  the  Delawares,  who  had 
obtained  their  title  from  the  Piankeshaws  themselves.^: 

We  have  already  seen  that  at  the  time  of  the  first  account  we 
have  relating  to  the  Maumee  and  the  Wabash,  the  Miamis  had  vil- 
lages and  extensive  improvements  near  Fort  Wayne,  on  the  Wea 
prairie  below  La  Fayette,  on  the  Vermilion  of  the  Wabash,  and  at 
Vincennes.  At  a  later  day  they  established  villages  at  other  places, 
viz,  near  the  forks  of  the  Wabash  at  Iluntington,  on  the  Mississin- 
ewa,§  on  Eel  River  near  Logansport,  while  near  the  source  of  this 
river,  and  westward  of  Fort  Wayne,  was  the  village  of  the  "Little 
Turtle."  Near  the  mouth  of  the  Tippecanoe  was  a  sixth  village. 

*  Paris  Documents,  vol.  9,  p.  672. 

fF/rfe,  p.  104. 

j  Memoirs  of  General  Harrison,  pp.  61,  63. 

§This  stream  empties  into  the  Wabash  near  Peru,  and  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
river  from  that  city.  The  word  is  a  compound  of  missi,  great,  and  assin,  stone,  signify- 
ing the  river  of  the  great  or  much  stone.  "The  Mississinewa,  with  its  pillared  rocks, 
is  full  of  geological  as  well  as  romantic  interest.  Some  throe  miles  from  Peru  the 
channel  is  cut  through  a  solid  wall  of  cherty  silico-magnesian  limestone.  The  action 
of  the  river  and  unequal  disintegration  of  the  rocks  has  carved  the  precipitous  wall, 
which  converts  the  river's  course  into  a  system  of  pillars,  rounded  buttresses,  alcoves, 
chambers  and  overhanging  sides."  Prof.  Collett's  Report  on  the  Geology  of  Miami 
county,  Indiana. 


A    WARLIKE    PEOPLE.  125 

Passing  below  the  Vermilion,  the  Miarnis  had  other  villages,  one 
on  Sugar  creek*  and  another  near  Terre  Haute,  f 

The  country  of  the  Miamis  extended  west  to  the  watershed  be- 
tween the  Illinois  and  Wabash  rivers,  which  separated  their  posses- 
sions from  those  of  their  brethren,  the  Illinois.  On  the  north  were 
the  Pottawatornies,  who  were  slowly  but  steadily  pushing  their  lines 
southward  into  the  territory  of  the  Miamis.  The  superior  numbers 
of  the  Miamis  and  their  great  valor  enabled  them  to  extend  the 
limit  of  their  hunting  grounds  eastward  into  Ohio,  and  far  within 
the  territory  claimed  by  the  Iroquois.  "They  were  the  undoubted 
proprietors  of  all  that  beautiful  country  watered  by  the  Wabash  and 
its  tributaries,  and  there  remains  as  little  doubt  that  their  claim  ex- 
tended as  far  east  as  the  Scioto."^: 

Unlike  the  Illinois,  the  Miamis  held  their  own  until  they  were 
placed  upon  an  equal  footing  with  the  tribes  eastward  by  obtaining 
possession  of  fire-arms.  With  these  implements  of  civilized  warfare 
they  were  able  to  maintain  their  tribal  integrity  and  the  independ- 
ence they  cherished.  They  were  not  to  be  controlled  by  the  French, 
nor  did  they  suffer  enemies  from  any  quarter  to  impose  upon  them 
without  prompt  retaliation.  They  traded  and  fought  with  the 
French,  English  and  Americans  as  their  interests  or  passions  in- 
clined. They  made  peace  or  declared  war  against  other  nations  of 
their  own  race  as  policy  or  caprice  dictated.  More  than  once  they 
compelled  even  the  arrogant  Iroquois  to  beg  from  the  governors  of 
the  American  colonies  that  protection  which  they  themselves  had 
failed  to  secure  by  their  own  prowess.  Bold,  independent  arid 
flushed  with  success,  the  Miamis  afforded  a  poor  field  for  missionary 
work,  and  the  Jesuit  Relations  and  pastoral  letters  of  the  French 
priesthood  have  less  to  say  of  the  Miami  confederacy  than  any  of  the 
other  western  tribes,  the  Kickapoos  alone  excepted. 

The  country  of  the  Miamis  was  accessible,  by  way  of  the  lakesr 
to  the  fur  trader  of  Canada,  and  from  the  eastward,  to  the  adven- 
turers engaged  in  the  Indian  trade  from  Pennsylvania,  New  York 
and  Virginia,  either  by  way  of  the  Ohio  River  or  a  commerce  car- 
ried on  overland  by  means  of  pack-horses.  The  English  and  the 
French  alike  coveted  their  peltries  and  sought  their  powerful  alli- 

*This  stream  was  at  one  time  called  Rocky  River,  vide  Brown's  Western  Gazet- 
teer. By  the  Wea  Miamis  it  was  called  Pim-go-se-con-e,  "Sugar  tree  "  (creek),  vide 
statement  of  Mary  Ann  Baptiste  to  the  author. 

t  The  villages  below  the  Vermilion  and  above  Vincennes  figure  on  some  of  the  early 
English  maps  and  in  accounts  given  by  traders  as  the  lower  or  little  Wea  towns.  Be- 
sides these,  which  were  the  principal  ones,  the  Miamis  had  a  village  at  Thorntownr 
and  many  others  of  lesser  note  on  the  Wabash  and  its  tributaries. 

|  Official  Letter  of  General  Harrison  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  before  quoted. 


126  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

ance,  therefore  the  Miamis  were  harassed  with  the  jealousies  and 
diplomacy  of  both,  and  if  they  or  a  part  of  their  several  tribes  be- 
came inveigled  into  an  alliance  with  the  one,  it  involved  the  hostility 
of  the  other.  The  French  government  sought  to  use  them  to  check 
the  westward  advance  of  the  British  colonial  influence,  while  the 
latter  desired  their  assistance  to  curb  the  French,  whose  ambitious 
schemes  involved  nothing  less  than  the  exclusive  subjugation  of 
the  entire  continent  westward  of  the  Alleghanies.  In  these  wars 
between  the  English  and  the  French  the  Miamis  were  constantly 
reduced  in  numbers,  and  whatever  might  have  been  the  result  to 
either  of  the  former,  it  only  ended  in  disaster  to  themselves.  Some- 
times they  divided  ;  again  they  were  entirely  devoted  to  the  interest 
of  the  English  and  Iroquois.  Then  they  joined  the  French  against 
the  British  and  Iroquois,  and  when  the  British  ultimately  obtained 
the  mastery  and  secured  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi, — the  long 
sought  for  prize, —  the  Miamis  entered  the  confederacy  of  Pontiac 
to  drive  them  out  of  the  country.  They  fought  with  the  British, 
—  except  the  Piankeshaw  band, — against  the  colonies  during  the 
revolutionary  war.  After  its  close  their  young  men  were  largely 
occupied  in  the  predatory  warfare  waged  by  the  several  Maumee 
and  Wabash  tribes  upon  the  frontier  settlements  of  Ohio,  Pennsyl- 
vania, Virginia  and  Kentucky.  They  likewise  entered  the  con- 
federacy of  Tecumseh,  and,  either  openly  or  in  secret  sympathy, 
they  were  the  allies  of  the  British  in  the  war  of  1812.  Their  history 
occupies  a  conspicuous  place  in  the  military  annals  of  the  west, 
extending  over  a  period  of  a  century,  during  which  time  they  main- 
tained a  manly  struggle  to  retain  possession  of  their  homes  in  the 
valleys  of  the  Wabash  and  Maumee. 

The  disadvantage  under  which  the  Miamis  labored,  in  encounters 
with  their  enemies,  before  they  obtained  fire-arms,  was  often  over- 
come by  the  exercise  of  their  cunning  and  bravery.  "In  the  year 
1680  the  Miamis  and  Illinois  were  hunting  on  the  St.  Joseph  River. 
A  party  of  four  hundred  Iroquois  surprised  them  and  killed  thirty 
or  forty  of  their  hunters  and  captured  three  hundred  of  their  women 
and  children.  After  the  victors  had  rested  awhile  they  prepared  to 
return  to  their  homes  by  easy  journeys,  as  they  had  reason  to  believe 
that  they  could  reach  their  own  villages  before  the  defeated  enemy 
would  have  time  to  rally  and  give  notice  of  their  disaster  to  those  of 
their  nation  who  were  hunting  in  remoter  places.  But  they  were 
deceived ;  for  the  Illinois  and  Miamis  rallied  to  the  number  of  two 
hundred,  and  resolved  to  die  fighting  rather  than  suffer  their  women 
and  children  to  be  carried  away.  In  the  meantime,  because  they 


DEFEAT    OF   THE    IROQUOIS.  127 

were  not  equal  to  their  enemies  in  equipment  of  arms  or  numbers, 
they  contrived  a  notable  stratagem. 

After  the  Miamis  had  duly  considered  in  what  way  they  would  at- 
tack the  Iroquois,  they  decided  to  follow  them,  keeping  a  small  dis- 
tance in  the  rear,  until  it  should  rain.  The  heavens  seemed  to  favor 
their  plan,  for,  after  awhile  it  began  to  rain,  and  rained  continually 
the  whole  day  from  morning  until  night.  When  the  rain  began  to 
fall  the  Miamis  quickened  their  march  and  passed  by  the  Iroquois, 
and  took  a  position  two  leagues  in  advance,  where  they  lay  in  an  am- 
buscade, hidden  by  the  tall  grass,  in  the  middle  of  a  prairie,  which 
the  Iroquois  had  to  cross  in  order  to  reach  the  woods  beyond,  where 
they  designed  to  kindle  fires  and  encamp  for  the  night.  The  Illi- 
nois and  Miamis,  lying  at  full  length  in  the  grass  on  either  side  of 
the  trail,  waited  until  the  Iroquois  were  in  their  midst,  when  they 
shot  off  their  arrows,  and  then  attacked  vigorously  with  their  clubs. 
The  Iroquois  endeavored  to  use  their  fire-arms,  but  finding  them  of 
no  service  because  the  rain  had  dampened  and  spoiled  the  priming, 
threw  them  upon  the  ground,  and  undertook  to  defend  themselves 
with  their  clubs.  In  the  use  of  the  latter  weapon  the  Iroquois  were 
no  match  for  their  more  dexterous  and  nimble  enemies.  They  were 
forced  to  yield  the  contest,  and  retreated,  fighting  until  night  came 
on.  They  lost  one  hundred  and  eighty  of  their  warriors. 

The  fight  lasted  about  an  hour,  and  would  have  continued  through 
the  night,  were  it  not  that  the  Miamis  and  Illinois  feared  that  their 
women  and  children  (left  in  the  rear  and  bound)  would  be  exposed 
to  some  surprise  in  the  dark.  The  victors  rejoined  their  women  and 
children,  and  possessed  themselves  of  the  fire-arms  of  their  enemies. 
The  Miamis  and  Illinois  then  returned  to  their  own  country,  without 
taking  one  Iroquois  for  fear  of  weakening  themselves.* 

Failing  in  their  first  efforts  to  withdraw  the  Miamis  from  the 
French,  and  secure  their  fur  trade  to  the  merchants  at  Albany  and 
New  York,  the  English  sent  their  allies,  the  Iroquois,  against  them. 
A  series  of  encounters  between  the  two  tribes  was  the  result,  in 

*This  account  is  taken  from  La  Hontan,  vol.  2,  pp.  63,  64  and  65.  The  facts  con- 
cerning the  engagement,  as  given  by  La  Hontan,  may  be  relied  upon  as  substantially 
correct,  for  they  were  written  only  a  few  years  after  the  event.  La  Hontan,  as  appears 
from  the  date  of  his  letters  which  comprise  the  principal  part  of  his  volumes,  was  in 
this  country  from  November,  1683,  to  1689,  and  it  was  during  this  time  that  he  was 
collecting  the  information  contained  in  his  works.  The  place  where  this  engagement 
between  the  Miamis  and  Illinois  against  the  Iroquois  occurred,  is  a  matter  of  doubt. 
Some  late  commentators  claim  that  it  was  upon  the  Maumee.  La  Hontan  says  that 
the  engagement  was  "near  the  river  Oumamis."  When  he  wrote,  the  St.  Joseph  of 
Lake  Michigan  was  called  the  river  Oumamis,  and  on  the  map  accompanying  La  Hon- 
tan's  volume  it  is  so-called,  while  the  Maumee,  though  laid  down  on  the  map,  is 
designated  by  no  name  whatever.  It  would,  therefore,  appear  that  when  La  Hontan 
mentioned  the  Miami  River  he  referred  to  the  St.  Joseph. 


128  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON    THE    NORTHWEST. 

which  the  blood  of  both  was  profusely  shed,  to  further  the  purposes 
of  a  purely  commercial  transaction. 

In  these  engagements  the  Senecas  —  a  tribe  of  the  Iroquois,  or 
Five  Nations,  residing  to  the  west  of  the  other  tribes  of  the  confed- 
eracy, and,  in  consequence,  being  nearest  to  the  Miamis,  and  more 
directly  exposed  to  their  fury  —  were  nearly  destroyed  at  the  out- 
set. The  Miamis  followed  up  their  success  and  drove  the  Senecas 
behind  the  palisades  that  inclosed  their  villages.  For  three  years 
the  war  was  carried  on  with  a  bitterness  only  known  to  exasperated 
savages. 

When  at  last  the  Iroquois  saw  they  could  no  longer  defend  them- 
selves against  the  Miamis,  they  appeared  in  council  before  the  Gov- 
ernor of  New  York,  and,  pittyingly,  claimed  protection  from  him, 
who,  to  say  the  least,  had  remained  silent  and  permitted  his  own 
people  to  precipitate  this  calamity  upon  them. 

''You  say  you  will  support  us  against  all  your  kings  and  our 
enemies ;  we  will  then  forbear  keeping  any  more  correspondence 
with  the  French  of  Canada  if  the  great  King  of  England  will  de- 
fend our  people  from  the  Twichtwicks  and  other  nations  over  whom 
the  French  have  an  influence  and  have  encouraged  to  destroy  an 
abundance  of  our  people,  even  since  the  peace  between  the  two  crowns" 
etc.  * 

The  governor  declined  sending  troops  to  protect  the  Iroquois 
against  their  enemies,  but  informed  them :  ' '  You  must  be  sensible 
that  the  Dowaganhaes,  Twichtwicks,  etc.,  and  other  remote  Indians, 
are  vastly  more  numerous  than  you  Five  Nations,  and  that,  by  their 
continued  warring  upon  you,  they  will,  in  a  few  years,  totally  de- 
stroy you.  I  should,  therefore,  think  it  prudence  and  good  policy  in 
you  to  try  all  possible  means  to  fix  a  trade  and  correspondence  with 
all  those  nations,  by  which  means  you  would  reconcile  them  to  your- 
selves, and  with  my  assistance,  I  am  in  hopes  that,  in  a  short  time, 
they  might  be  united  with  us  in  the  covenant  chain,  and  then  you 
might,  at  all  times,  without  hazard,  go  hunting  into  their  country, 
which,  I  understand,  is  much  the  best  for  beaver.  I  wish  you  would 
try  to  bring  some  of  them  to  speak  to  me,  and  perhaps  I  might  pre- 
vail upon  them  to  come  and  live  amongst  you.  I  should  think  my- 
self obliged  to  reward  you  for  such  a  piece  of  service  as  I  tender 
your  good  advantage,  and  will  always  use  my  best  endeavor  to  pre- 
serve you  from  all  your  enemies." 

*  Speech  of  an  Iroquois  chief  at  a  conference  held  at  Albany,  August  26,  1700,  be- 
tween Richard,  Earl  of  Belmont,  Captain-General  and  Governor-in-Chief  of  His  Maj- 
esty's provinces  of  New  York,  etc.,  and  the  sachems  of  the  Five  Nations.  New  York 
Colonial  Documents,  vol.  4,  p.  729. 


TRADE    WITH    THE    ENGLISH.  129 

The  conference  continued  several  days,  during  which  the  Iroquois 
stated  their  grievances  in  numerous  speeches,  to  which  the  governor 
graciously  replied,  using  vague  terms  and  making  no  promises, 
after  the  manner  of  the  extract  from  his  speech  above  quoted,  but 
placed  great  stress  on  the  value  of  the  fur  trade  to  the  English,  and 
enjoining  his  brothers,  the  Iroquois,  to  bring  all  their  peltries  to 
Albany ;  to  maintain  their  old  alliance  with  the  English,  offensive 
and  defensive,  and  have  no  intercourse  whatever,  of  a  friendly  na- 
ture, with  the  rascally  French  of  Canada. 

The  Iroquois  declined  to  follow  the  advice  of  the  governor, 
deeming  it  of  little  credit  to  their  courage  to  sue  for  peace.  In  the 
meantime  the  governor  sent  emissaries  out  among  the  Miamis,  with 
an  invitation  to  open  a  trade  with  the  English.  The  messengers  were 
captured  by  the  commandant  at  Detroit,  and  sent,  as  prisoners,  to 
Canada.  However,  the  Miamis,  in  July,  1702,  sent,  through  the 
sachems  of  the  Five  Nations,  a  message  to  the  governor  at  Albany, 
advising  him  that  many  of  the  Miamis,  with  another  nation,  had 
removed  to,  and  were  then  living  at,  Tjughsaghrondie,*  near  by  the^ 
fort  which  the  French  had  built  the  previous  summer ;  that  they  had 
been  informed  that  one  of  their  chiefs,  who  had  visited  Albany  two 
years  before,  had  been  kindly  treated,  and  that  they  had  now  come 
forward  to  inquire  into  the  trade  of  Albany,  and  see  if  goods  could 
not  be  purchased  there  cheaper  than  elsewhere,  and  that  they  had 
intended  to  go  to  Canada  with  their  beaver  and  peltries,  but  that 
they  ventured  to  Albany  to  inquire  if  goods  could  not  be  secured  on 
better  terms.  The  governor  replied  that  he  was  extremely  pleased 
to  speak  with  the  Miamis  about  the  establishment  of  a  lasting  friend- 
ship and  trade,  and  in  token  of  his  sincere  intentions  presented  his 
guests  with  guns,  powder,  hats,  strouds,  tobacco  and  pipes,  arid  sent 
to  their  brethren  at  Detroit,  wauinpum,  pipes,  shells,  nose  and  ear 
jewels,  looking-glasses,  fans,  children's  toys,  and  such  other  light 
articles  as  his  guests  could  conveniently  carry ;  and,  finally,  assured 
them  that  the  Miamis  might  come  freely  to  Albany,  where  they 
would  be  treated  kindly,  and  receive,  in  exchange  for  their  peltries, 
everything  as  cheap  as  any  other  Indians  in  covenant  of  friendship 
with  the  English,  f 

During  the  same  year  (1702)  the  Miamis  and  Senecas  settled  their 
quarrels,  exchanged  prisoners,  and  established  a  peace  between 
themselves.  ^ 

*  The  Iroquois  name  for  the  Straits  of  Detroit. 

t  Proceedings  of  a  conference  between  the  parties  mentioned  above.  New  York 
Colonial  Documents,  vol.  4,  pp.  979  to  981. 

J  New  York  Colonial  Documents,  vol.  4,  p.  989. 
9 


130  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON    THE    NORTHWEST. 

The  French  were  not  disposed  to  allow  a  portion  of  the  fur  trade 
to  be  diverted  to  Albany.  Peaceable  means  were  first  used  to  dis- 
suade the  Miarnis  from  trading  with  the  English ;  failing  in  this, 
forcible  means  were  resorted  to.  Captain  Antoine  De  La  Mothe 
Cadillac  marched  against  the  Miamis  and  reduced  them  to  terms.* 

The  Miamis  were  not  unanimous  in  the  choice  of  their  friends. 
Some  adhered  to  the  French,  while  others  were  strongly  inclined  to 
trade  with  the  English,  of  whom  they  could  obtain  a  better  quality 
of  goods  at  cheaper  rates,  while  at  the  same  time  they  were  allowed 
a  greater  price  for  their  furs.  Cadillac  had  hardly  effected  a  coercive 
peace  with  the  Miamis  before  the  latter  were  again  at  Albany.  "  I 
have,"  writes  Lord  Cournbury  to  the  Board  of  Trade,  in  a  letter 
dated  August  20,  1708,f  "been  there  five  years  endeavoring  to  get 
these  nations  [referring  to  the  Miamis  and  another  nation]  to  trade 
with  our  people,  but  the  French  have  always  dissuaded  them  from 
coming  until  this  year,  when,  goods  being  very  scarce,  they  came  to 
Albany,  whjere  our  people  have  supplied  them  with  goods  much 
cheaper  than  ever  the  French  did,  and  they  promise  to  return  in  the 
spring  with  a  much  greater  number  of  their  nations,  which  would  be 
a  very  great  advantage  to  this  province.  I  did,  in  a  letter  of  the 
25th  day  of  June  last,  inform  your  Lordships  that  three  French 
soldiers,  having  deserted  from  the  French  at  a  place  they  call  Le 
Destroit,  came  to  Albany.  Another  deserter  came  from  the  same 
place,  whom  I  examined  myself,  and  I  inclose  a  copy  of  his  exam- 
ination, by  which  your  Lordships  will  perceive  how  easily  the  French 
may  be  beaten  out  of  Canada.  The  better  I  am  acquainted  with  this 
country,  and  the  more  I  inquire  into  matters,  so  much  the  more  I 
am  confirmed  in  my  opinion  of  the  facility  of  effecting  that  conquest, 
and  by  the  method  I  then  proposed." 

Turning  to  French  documents  we  find  that  Sieur  de  Callier  de- 
sired the  Miamis  to  withdraw  from  their  several  widely  separated 
villages  and  settle  in  a  body  upon  the  St.  Joseph.  At  a  great  council 
of  the  westward  tribes,  held  in  Montreal  in  1694,  the  French  In- 
tendant,  in  a  speech  to  the  Miamis,  declares  that  "he  will  not  believe 
that  the  Miamis  wish  to  obey  him  until  they  make  altogether  one 
and  the  same  fire,  either  at  the  River  St.  Joseph  or  at  some  other 
place  adjoining  it.  He  tells  them  that  he  has  got  near  the  Iroquois, 
and  has  soldiers  at  Katarakoui, ;{:  in  the  fort  that  had  been  abandoned ; 
that  the  Miamis  must  get  near  the  enemy,  in  order  to  imitate  him 

*  Paris  Documents,  vol.  9,  p.  671:  note  of  the  editor. 
t  New  York  Colonial  Documents,  vol.  5,  p.  65. 
j  At  Fort  Frontenac. 


URGED   TO    UNITE    AT    ONE    PLACE.  131 

(the  Intendarit),  and  be  able  to  strike  the  Iroquois  the  more  readily. 
My  children,"  continued  the  Intendant,  "tell  me  that  the  Miamis 
are  numerous,  and  able  of  themselves  to  destroy  the  Iroquois.  Like 
them,  all  are  afraid.  What !  do  you  wish  to  abandon  your  country 
to  your  enemy  ?  .  .  .  Have  you  forgotten  that  I  waged  war  against 
him,  principally  on  your  account,  alone  ?  Your  dead  are  no  longer 
visible  in  his  country ;  their  bodies  are  covered  by  those  of  the 
French  who  have  perished  to  avenge  them.  I  furnished  you  the 
means  to  avenge  them,  likewise.  It  depends  only  on  me  to  receive 
the  Iroquois  as  a  friend,  which  I  will  not  do  on  account  of  you,  who 
would  be  destroyed  were  I  to  make  peace  without  including  you  in 
its  terms."  * 

"I  have  heard,"  writes  Governor  Vaudreuil,  in  a  letter  dated 
the  28th  of  October,  1719,  to  the  Council  of  Marine  at  Paris,  "that 
the  Miamis  had  resolved  to  remain  where  they  were,  and  not  go 
to  the  St.  Joseph  River,  and  that  this  resolution  of  theirs  was  dan- 
gerous, on  account  of  the  facility  they  would  have  of  communicating 
with  the  English,  who  were  incessantly  distributing  belts  secretly 
among  the  nations,  to  attract  them  to  themselves,  and  that  Sieur 
Dubinson  had  been  designed  to  command  the  post  of  Ouaytanons, 
where  he  should  use  his  influence  among  the  Miamis  to  induce  them 
to  go  to  the  River  St.  Joseph,  and  in  case  they  were  not  willing, 
that  he  should  remain  with  them,  to  counteract  the  effect  of  those 
belts,  which  had  already  caused  eight  or  ten  Miami  canoes  to  go  that 
year  to  trade  at  Albany,  and  which  might  finally  induce  all  of  the 
Miami  nation  to  follow  the  example,  "t  Finally,  some  twenty-five 
years  later,  as  we  learn  from  the  letter  of  M  de  Beauharnois,  that 
this  French  officer,  having  learned  that  the  English  had  established 
trading  magazines  on  the  Ohio,  issued  his  orders  to  the  command- 
ants among  the  Weas  and  Miamis,  to  drive  the  British  off  by  force 
of  arms  and  plunder  their  stores.^; 

Other  extracts  might  be  drawn  from  the  voluminous  reports  of 
the  military  and  civil  officers  of  the  French  and  British  colonial 
governments  respectively,  to  the  same  purport  as  those  already 
quoted ;  but  enough  has  been  given  to  illustrate  the  unfortunate 
position  of  the  Miamis.  For  a  period  of  half  a  century  they  were 
placed  between  the  cutting  edges  of  English  and  French  pur- 
poses, during  which  there  was  no  time  when  they  were  not  threat- 
ened with  clanger  of,  or  engaged  in,  actual  war  either  with  the 
French  or  the  English,  or  with  some  of  their  several  Indian  allies. 

*  Paris  Documents,  vol.  9,  p.  635.  f  Ibid,  p.  894.  \  Ibid,  p.  1105. 


132  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

By  tliis  continual  abrasion,  the  peace  and  happiness  which  should 
have  been  theirs  was  wholly  lost,  and  their  numbers  constantly 
reduced.  They  had  no  relief  from  the  strife,  in  which  only  injury 
could  result  to  themselves,  let  the  issue  have  been  what  it  might 
between  the  English  and  the  French,  until  the  power  of  the  latter 
was  finally  destroyed  in  1763  ;  and  even  then,  after  the  French  had 
given  up  the  country,  the  Miamis  were  compelled  to  defend  their 
own  title  to  it  against  the  arrogant  claims  of  the  English.  In  the 
eifort  of  the  combined  westward  tribes  to  wrest  their  country  from 
the  English,  subsequent  to  the  close  of  the  colonial  war,  the  Miamis- 
took  a  conspicuous  part.  This  will  be  noticed  in  a  subsequent  chap- 
ter. After  the  conclusion  of  the  revolutionary  war,  the  several 
Miami  villages  from  the  Yermilion  River  to  Fort  Wayne  suffered 
severely  from  the  attacks  of  the  federal  government  under  General 
Harmer,  and  the  military  expeditions  recruited  in  Kentucky,  and 
commanded  by  Colonels  Scott  and  Wilkinson.  Besides  these  dis- 
asters, whole  villages  were  nearly  depopulated  by  the  ravages  of 
small-pox.  The  uncontrollable  thirst  for  whisky,  acquired,  through 
a  long  course  of  years,  by  contact  with  unscrupulous  traders,  reduced 
their  numbers  still  more,  while  it  degraded  them  to  the  last  degree. 
This  was  their  condition  in  1814,  when  General  Harrison  said  of 
them:  "The  Miamis  will  not  be  in  our  way.  They  are  a  poor, 
miserable,  drunken  set,  diminishing  every  year.  Becoming  too  lazy 
to  hunt,  they  feel  the  advantage  of  their  annuities.  The  fear  of  the 
other  Indians  has  alone  prevented  them  from  selling  their  whole 
claim  to  the  United  States ;  and  as  soon  as  there  is  peace,  or  when 
the  British  can  no  longer  intrigue,  they  will  sell."  The  same 
authority,  in  his  historical  address  at  Cincinnati  in  1838,  on  the 
aborigines  of  the  Valley  of  the  Ohio,  says:  "At  any  time  before 
the  treaty  of  Greenville  in  1795  the  Miamis  alone  could  have  fur- 
nished more  than  three  thousand  warriors.  Constant  war  with  our 
frontier  had  deprived  them  of  many  of  their  braves,  but  the  ravages 
of  small-pox  was  the  principal  cause  of  the  great  decrease  in  their 
numbers.  They  composed,  however,  a  body  of  the  finest  Light 
troops  in  the  world.  And  had  they  been  under  an  efficient  system  of 
discipline,  or  possessed  enterprise  equal  to  their  valor,  the  settle- 
ment of  the  country  would  have  been  attended  with  much  greater 
difficulty  than  was  encountered  in  accomplishing  it,  and  their  final 
subjugation  would  have  been  delayed  for  some  years.'1  + 

Yet  their  decline,  from  causes  assigned,  was  so  rapid,  that  when 

*  Official  letter  of  General  Harrison  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  of  date  March  24,  1814. 
fP.  39  of  General  Harrison's  address,  original  pamphlet  edition. 


CESSION    OF   THEIR    LANDS.  133 

the  Baptist  missionary,  Isaac  McCoy,  was  among  them  from  1817 
until  1822,  and  drawing  conclusions  from  personal  contact,  declared 
that  the  Miamis  were  not  a  warlike  people.  There  is,  perhaps,  in 
the  history  of  the  North  American  Indians,  no  instance  parallel  to 
the  utter  demoralization  of  the  Miamis,  nor  an  example  of  a  tribe 
which  stood  so  high  and  had  tallen  so  low  through  the  practice  of 
all  the  vices  which  degrade  human  beings.  Mr.  McCoy,  within  the 
period  named,  traveled  up  and  down  the  W abash,  from  Terre  Haute 
to  Fort  Wayne  ;  and  at  the  villages  near  Montezuma,  on  Eel  River, 
at  the  Mississinewa  and  Fort  Wayne,  there  were  continuous  rounds 
of  drunken  debauchery  whenever  whisky  could  be  obtained,  of  which 
men,  women  arid  children  all  partook,  and  life  was  often  sacrificed 
in  personal  broils  or  by  exposure  of  the  debauchees  to  the  inclemency 
-of  the  weather.* 

By  treaties,  entered  into  at  various  times,  from  1795  to  1845,  in- 
clusive, the  Miamis  ceded  their  lands  in  Illinois,  Indiana  and  Ohio, 
.and  removed  west  of  the  Mississippi,  going  in  villages  or  by  detach- 
ments, from  time  to  time.  At  a  single  cession  in  1838  they  sold 
the  government  177,000  acres  of  land  in  Indiana,  which  was  only  a 
fragment  of  their  former  possessions,  still  retaining  a  large  tract. 
Thus  they  alienated  their  heritage,  and  gradually  disappeared  from 
the  valleys  of  the  Maumee  and  Wabash.  A  few  remained  on  their 
reservations  and  adapted  themselves  to  the  ways  of  the  white  peo- 
ple, and  their  descendants  may  be  occasionally  met  with  about  Peru, 
Wabash  and  Fort  Wayne.  The  money  received  from  sales  of  their 
lands  proved  to  them  a  calamity,  rather  than  a  blessing,  as  it  intro- 
duced the  most  demoralizing  habits.  It  is  estimated  that  within  a 
period  of  eighteen  years  subsequent  to  the  close  of  the  war  of  1812 
more  than  five  hundred  of  them  perished  in  drunken  broils  and  fights,  f 

The  last  of  the  Miamis  to  go  westward  were  the  Mississinewa 
band.  This  remnant,  comprising  in  all  three  hundred  and  fifty  per- 
sons, under  charge  of  Christmas  Dagney,^:  left  their  old  home  in  the 

*  Mr.  McCoy  has  contributed  a  valuable  fund  of  original  information  in  his  History 
of  Baptist  Indian  Missions,  published  in  1840.  The  volume  contains  six  hundred  and 
eleven  pages.  He  mentions  many  instances  of  drunken  orgies  which  he  witnessed  in 
the  several  Miami  towns.  We  quote  one  of  them:  "An  intoxicated  Indian  at  Fort 
Wayne  dismounted  from  his  horse  and  ran  up  to  a  young  Indian  woman  who  was  his 
-sister-in-law,  with  a  knife  in  his  hand.  She  first  ran  around  one  of  the  company  pres- 
ent, and  then  another,  to  avoid  the  murderer,  but  in  vain.  He  stabbed  her  with  his 
knife.  She  then  fled  from  the  company.  He  stood  looking  after  her,  and  seeing  she 
did  not  fall,  pursued  her,  threw  her  to  the  earth  and  drove  his  knife  into  her  heart,  in 
the  presence  of  the  whole  company,  none  of  whom  ventured  to  save  the  girl's  life." 
P.  85. 

t  Vide  American  Cyclopaedia,  vol.  11,  p.  490. 

\  His  name  was,  also,  spelled  Dazney  and  Dagnett.  He  was  born  on  the  25th  of 
December,  1799,  at  the  Wea  village  of  Old  Orchard  Town,  or  We-au-ta-no,  "The 
Risen  Sun,"  situated  two  miles  below  Fort  Harrison.  His  father,  Ambroise  Dagney, 


134  HISTORIC    XOTKS    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

fall  of  184:6,  and  reached  Cincinnati  on  canal-boats  in  October  of 
that  year.  Here  they  were  placed  upon  a  steamboat  and  taken  down 
the  Ohio,  up  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri,  and  landed  late  in  the 
season  at  Westport,  near  Kansas  City.  Ragged  men  and  nearly 
naked  women  and  children,  forming  a  motley  group,  were  huddled 
upon  the  shore,  alone,  with  no  friends  to  relieve  their  wants,  and 
exposed  to  the  bitter  December  winds  that  blew  from  the  chilly 
plains  of  Kansas.  In  1C  70  the  Jesuit  Father  Dablon  introduces  the 
Miamis  to  our  notice  at  the  village  of  Maskoutench,  where  we  see 
the  chief  surrounded  by  his  officers  of  state  in  all  the  routine  of  bar- 
baric display,  and  the  natives  of  other  tribes  paying  his  subjects  the 
greatest  deference.  The  Miamis,  advancing  eastward,  in  the  rear  of 
the  line  of  their  valorous  warriors,  pushed  their  villages  into  Michi- 
gan, Indiana,  and  as  far  as  the  river  still  bearing  their  name  in  Ohio. 
Coming  in  collision  with  the  French,  English  and  Americans,  re- 
duced by  constant  wars,  and  decimated,  more  than  all,  with  vices 
contracted  by  intercourse  witli  the  whites,  whose  virtues  they  failed 
to  emulate,  they  make  a  westward  turn,  and  having,  in  the  progress 
of  time,  described  the  round  of  a  most  singular  journey,  we  at  last 
behold  the  miserable  and  friendless  remnant  on  the  same  side  of  the 

was  a  Frenchman,  a  native  of  Kaskaskia,  and  served  during  Harrison's  campaign 
against  the  Indians,  in  1811,  in  Captain  Scott's  company,  raised  at  Vincennes.  He 
took  part  in  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe.  His  mother,  Me-chin-quam-e-sha,  the  Beauti- 
ful Shade  Tree,  was  the  sister  of  Jocco,  or  Tack-ke-ke-kah,  "The  Tall  Oak,"  who 
was  chief  of  the  Wea  band  living  at  the  village  named,  and  whose  people  claimed 
the  country  east  of  the  Wabash.  from  the  mouth  of  Sugar  Creek  to  a  point  some  dis- 
tance below  Terre  Haute.  "Me-chin-quam-e-sha"  died  in  1822,  and  was  buried  at 
Fort  Harrison.  Christmas  Pagney  received  a  good  education  under  the  instruction  of 
the  Catholics.  He  spoke  French  and  English  with  great  fluency,  and  was  master  of 
the  dialects  of  the  several  Wabash  tribes.  For  many  years  he  was  government  inter- 
preter at  Fort  Harrison,  and  subsequently  Indian  agent,  having  the  superin tendency" 
of  the  Wabash  Miamis,  whom  he  conducted  westward.  On  the  16th  of  February, 
1819,  he  was  married  to  "Mary  Ann  Isaacs,"  of  the  Brothertown  Indians,  who  had 
been  spending  a  few  weeks  at  the  mission  house  of  Isaac  McCoy,  situated  on  Raccoon 
Creek, —  or  Pishewa,  as  it  was  called  by  the  Indians, —  a  few  miles  above  Armysburg. 
The  marriage  was  performed  by  Mr.  McCoy  ''  in  the  presence  of  our  Indian  neighbors, 
who  were  invited  to  attend  the  ceremony.  And  we  had  the  happiness  to  have  twenty- 
three  of  the  natives  partake  of  a  meal  prepared  on  the  occasion."  Vide  page  64  in  his 
book,  before  quoted.  This  was,  doubtless,  the  first  marriage  that  was  celebrated  after 
the  formality  of  our  laws  within  the  present  limits  of  Parke  country.  By  the  terms  of 
the  treaty  at  St.  Mary's,  concluded  on  the  2d  of  October.  1818,  one  section  of  land  was 
reserved  for  the  exclusive  use  of  Mr.  Dagney,  and  he  went  to  Washington  and  selected 
a  section  that  included  the  village  of  Armysburg,  which  at  that  time  was  the  county 
seat,  and  consisted  of  a  row  of  log  houses  formed  out  of  sugar-tree  logs  and  built 
continuously  together,  from  which  circumstance  it  derived  the  name  of  "  String- 
town."  As  a  speculation  the  venture  was  not  successful,  for  the  seat  of  justice  was 
removed  to  Rockville,  and  town  lots  at  Stringtown  ceased  to  have  even  a  prospective 
value.  Mr.  Dagney's  family  occupied  the  reservation  as  a  farm  until  about  1846.  Mr. 
Dagney  died  in  1848,  at  Coldwater  Grove,  Kansas.  Her  second  husband  was  Babtise 
Peoria.  Mrs.  Babtise  Peoria  had  superior  opportunities  to  acquire  an  extensive  knowl- 
edge of  the  Wabash  tribes  between  Vincennes  and  Fort  Wayne,  as  she  lived  on  the 
Wabash  from  1817  until  1846.  She  is  now  living  at  Paola,  Kansas,  where  the  author 
met  her  in  November,  1878. 


REMOVAL    WESTWARD.  135 

Mississippi  from  whence  their  warlike  progenitors  had  come  nearly 
two  centuries  before. 

From  Westport  the  Mississinewas  were  conducted  to  a  place 
near  the  present  village  of  Lowisburg,  Kansas,  in  the  county  named 
(Miami)  after  the  tribe.  Here  they  suffered  greatly.  Nearly  one 
third  of  their  number  died  the  first  year.  They  were  homesick  and 
disconsolate  to  the  last  degree.  "  Strong  men  would  actually  weep, 
as  their  thoughts  recurred  to  their  dear  old  homes  in  Indiana, 
whither  many  of  them  would  make  journeys,  barefooted,  begging 
their  way,  and  submitting  to  the  imprecations  hurled  from  the  door 
of  the  white  man  upon  them  as  they  asked  for  a  crust  of  bread. 
They  wanted  to  die  to  forget  their  miseries."  "I  have  seen,"  says 
Mrs.  Mary  Baptiste  to  the  author,  "mothers  and  fathers  give  their 
little  children  away  to  others  of  the  tribe  for  adoption,  and  after 
singing  their  funeral  songs,  and  joining  in  the  solemn  dance  of 
death,  go  calmly  away  from  the  assemblage,  to  be  seen  no  more 
alive.  The  Miamis  could  not  be  reconciled  to  the  prairie  winds  of 
Kansas;  they  longed  for  the  woods  and  groves  that  gave  a  partial 
shade  to  the  flashing  waters  of  the  Wah-pe-sha"* 

The  Wea  and  Piankeshaw  bands  preceded  the  Mississinewas  to 
the  westward.  They  had  become  reduced  to  a  wretched  community 
of  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  souls,  and  they  suffered  severely 
during  the  civil  war,  in  Kansas.  The  Miamis,  Weas,  Piankeshaws, 
and  the  remaining  fragments  of  the  Kaskaskias,  containing  under 
that  name  what  yet  remained  of  the  several  subdivisions  of  the  old 
Illini  confederacy,  were  gathered  together  by  Baptiste  Peoria,  and 
consolidated  under  the  title  of  The  Confederated  Tribes. f  This 

*  The  peculiar  sound  with  which  Mrs.  Baptiste  gave  the  Miami  pronunciation  of 
Wabash  is  difficult  to  express  in  mere  letters.  The  principal  accent  is  on  the  first  syl- 
lable, the  minor  accent  on  the  last,  while  the  second  syllable  is  but  slightly  sounded. 
The  word  means  "white"  in  both  the  Miami  and  Peoria  dialects.  In  treating  upon 
the  derivation  of  the  word  Wabash  (p.  100),  the  manuscript  containing  the  statements 
of  Mrs.  Baptiste  was  overlooked. 

fThis  remarkable,  man  was  the  son  of  a  daughter  of  a  sub-chief  of  the  Peoria 
tribe.  He  was  born,  according  to  the  best  information,  in  1793,  near  the  confluence  of 
the  Kankakee  and  Maple,  as  the  Des  Plaines  River  was  called  by  the  Illinois  Indians 
and  the  French  respectively.  His  reputed  father  was  a  French  Canadian  trader  liv- 
ing with  this  tribe,  and  whose  name  was  Baptiste.  Young  Peoria  was  called  Batticy 
by  his  mother.  Later  in  life  he  was  known  as  Baptist e  the  Peoria,  and  finally  as  Bap- 
tiste Peoria.  The  people  of  his  tribe  gave  the  name  a  liquid  sound,  and  pronounced 
it  as  if  it  were  spelled  Paola.  The  county  seat  of  Miami  county,  Kansas,  is  named 
after  him.  He  was  a  man  of  large  frame,  active,  and  possessed  of  great  strength  and 
courage.  Like  Keokuk,  the  great  chief  of  the  Sacs  and  Fox  Indians,  Paola  was  fond 
of  athletic  sports,  and  was  an  expert  horseman.  He  had  a  ready  command  both  of 
the  French  Canadian  and  the  English  languages.  He  was  familiar  with  the  dialects  of 
the  Ppttawatomies,  Shawnees,  Delawares,  Miamis  and  Kickapoos.  These  qualifications 
as  a  linguist  soon  brought  him  into  prominence  among  the  Indians,  while  his  known 
integrity  commended  his  services  to  the  United  States  government.  From  the  year 
1821  to  the  year  1838  he  assisted  in  the  removal  of  the  above-named  tribes  from  Indi- 


136  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

little  confederation  disposed  of  their  reservation  in  Miami  county, 
Kansas,  and  adjacent  vicinity,  and  retired  to  a  tract  of  reduced 
dimensions  within  the  Indian  Territory.  Since  their  last  change  of 
location  in  1867  they  have  made  but  little  progress  in  their  efforts 
toward  a  higher  civilization.  The  numbers  of  what  remains  of  the 
once  numerous  .Illinois  and  Miami  confederacies  are  reduced  to  less 
than  two  hundred  persons.  The  Miamis,  like  the  unfortunate  man 
who  has  carried  his  dissipations  beyond  the  limit  from  which  there 
can  be  no  healthy  reaction,  seem  not  to  have  recovered  from  the 
vices  contracted  before  leaving  the  states,  and  with  some  notable 
exceptions,  they  are  a  listless,  idle  people,  little  worthy  of  the  spirit 
that  inspired  the  breasts  of  their  ancestors. 

ana  and  Illinois  to  their  reservations  beyond  the  Mississippi.  His  duties  as  Indian 
agent  brought  him  in  contact  with  many  of  the  early  settlers  on  the  Illinois  and  the 
W  abash,  from  Vincennes  to  Fort  Wayne.  In  1818,  when  about  twenty-five  years  of 
age,  Batticy  represented  his  tribe  at  the  treaty  at  Edwardsville.  By  this  treaty,  which  is 
signed  by  representatives  from  all  the  five  tribes  comprising  the  Illinois  or  Illini  nation 
of  Indians,  viz,  the  Peorias.  Kaskaskias,  Mitchigamias,  Cahokias  and  Tamaoris,  it 
appears  that  for  a  period  of  years  anterior  to  that  time  the  Peorias  had  lived,  and  were 
then  living,  separate  and  apart  from  the  other  tribes  named.  Treaties  with  the  Indian 
Tribes,  etc.,  p.  247,  government  edition,  1837.  By  this  treaty  the  several  tribes  named 
ceded  to  the  United  States  the  residue  of  their  lands  in  Illinois.  For  nearly  thirty  years 
was  Baptiste  Peoria  in  the  service  of  the  United  States.  In  1867  Peoria  became  the 
chief  of  the  consolidated  tribes  of  the  Miamis  and  Illinois,  and  went  with  them  to 
their  new  reservation  in  the  northeast  corner  of  the  Indian  Territory,  where  he  died 
on  the  13th  of  September,  1873,  aged  eighty  years.*  Some  years  before  his  death  he 
married  Mary  Baptiste,  the  widow  of  Christmas  Dagney,  who,  as  before  stated,  still 
survives.  I  am  indebted  to  this  lady  for  copies  of  the  "  Western  Spirit,"  a  newspaper 
published  at  Paola,  and  the  "Fort  Scott  iVIonitor,"  containing  obituary  notices  and 
biographical  sketches  of  her  late  husband,  from  which  this  notice  of  Baptiste  Peoria 
has  been  summarized.  Baptiste  may  be  said  to  be  "the  last  of  the  Peorias."  He 
made  a  manly  and  persistent  effort  to  save  the  fragment  of  the  Illinois  and  Miamis, 
and  by  precepts  and  example  tried  to  encourage  them  to  adopt  the  ways  of  civilized 
life. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE  POTTAW ATOMIES. 

WHEN  the  Jesuits  were  extending  their  missions  westward  of 
Quebec  they  found  a  tribe  of  Indians,  called  Ottawas,  living  upon 
a  river  of  Canada,  to  which  the  name  of  Ottawa  was  given.  After 
the  dispersion  of  the  Hurons  by  the  Iroquois,  in  1649,  the  Ottawas, 
to  the  number  of  one  thousand,  joined  five  hundred  of  the  discom- 
fited Hurons,  and  with  them  retired  to  the  southwestern  shore  of 
Lake  Superior.*  The  fugitives  were  followed  by  the  missionaries, 
who  established  among  them  the  Mission  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  at  La 
Pointe,  already  mentioned.  Shortly  after  the  establishment  of  the 
mission  the  Jesuits  made  an  enumeration  of  the  western  Algonquin 
tribes,  in  which  all  are  mentioned  except  the  Ojibbeways  and  Pian- 
keshaws.  The  nation  which  dwelt  south  of  the  mission,  classified  as 
speaking  the  pure  Algonquin,  is  uniformly  called  Ottawas,  and  the 
Ojibbeways,  by  whom  they  were  surrounded,  were  never  once  noticed 
by  that  name.  Hence  it  is  certain  that  at  that  early  day  the  Jesuits 
considered  the  Ottawas  and  Ojibbeways  as  one  people. f 

In  close  consanguinity  with  the  Ottawas  and  Ojibbeways  were 
the  Pottawatoinies,  between  whom  there  was  only  a  slight  dialectical 
difference  in  language,  while  the  manners  and  customs  prevailing  in 
the  three  tribes  were  almost  identical.:}:  This  view  was  again  re- 
asserted by  Mr.  Gallatin :  '  Although  it  must  be  admitted  that  the 
Algonquins,  the  Ojibbeways,  the  Ottawas  and  the  Pottawatomies 
speak  different  dialects,  these  are  so  nearly  allied  that  they  may  be 
considered  rather  as  dialects  of  the  same,  than  as  distinct  languages."! 

This  conclusion  of  Mr.  Gallatin  was  arrived  at  after  a  scientific 
and  analytical  comparison  of  the  languages  of  the  tribes  mentioned. 

Jn  confirmation  of  the  above  statement  we  have  the  speeches  of 
three  Indian  chiefs  at  Chicago  in  the  month  of  August,  1821.  Dur- 
ing the  progress  of  the  treaty,  Keewaygooshkum,  a  chief  of  the  first 
authority  among  the  Ottawas,  stated  that  ' '  the  Chippewas,  the  Pot- 

*  Jesuit  Relations  for  1666. 

t  Albert  Gallatin's  Synopsis  of  the  Indian  Tribes,  p.  27. 
t  Jesuit  Relations. 

§  Synopsis  of  the  Indian  Tribes,  p.  29. 
137 


138  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

tawatomies  and  the  Ottawas  were  originally  one  nation.  We  sepa- 
rated from  each  other  near  Michilimackinac.  We  were  related  by 
the  ties  of  blood,  language  and  interest,  but  in  the  course  of  a  long 
time  these  things  have  been  forgotten,"  etc. 

At  the  conclusion  of  this  speech,  Mich-el,  an  aged  chief  of  the 
Chippewas,  said:  "My  Brethren, — I  am  about  to  speak  a  few  words. 
I  know  you  expect  it.  Be  silent,  therefore,  that  the  words  of  an  old 
man  may  be  heard. 

"My  Brethren, — You  have  heard  the  man  who  has  just  spoken. 
We  are  all  descended  from  the  same  stock,  —  the  Pottawatomies,  the 
Chippeways  and  the  Ottawas.  We  consider  ourselves  as  one.  Why 
should  we  not  always  act  in  concert? " 

Metea,  the  most  powerful  of  the  Pottawatomie  chieftains,  in  his 
speech  made  this  statement: 

"Brothers,  Chippeways  and  Ottawas, — we  consider  ourselves  as 
one  people,  which  you  know,  as  also  our  father*  here,  who  has  trav- 
eled over  our  country." 

Mr.  Schoolcraft,  in  commenting  on  the  above  statements,  re- 
marks:  "This  testimony  of  a  common  origin  derives  additional 
weight  from  the  general  resemblance  of  these  tribes  in  person,  man- 
ners, customs  and  dress,  but  above  all  by  their  having  one  council- 
fire  and  speaking  one  language.  Still  there  are  obvious  characteris- 
tics which  will  induce  an  observer,  after  a  general  acquaintance,  to 
pronounce  the  Pottawatomies  tall,  fierce,  haughty ;  the  Ottawas 
short,  thick-set,  good-natured,  industrious ;  the  Chippeways  warlike, 
daring,  etc.  But  the  general  lineaments,  or,  to  borrow  a  phrase 
from  natural  history,  the  suite  features,  are  identical,  f 

The  first  mention  that  we  have  of  the  Pottawatomies  is  in  the 
Jesuit  Relations  for  the  years  1639-40.  They  are  then  mentioned  as 
dwelling  beyond  the  River  St.  Lawrence,  and  to  the  north  of  the 
great  lake  of  the  Hurons.  At  this  period  it  is  very  likely  that  the 
Pottawatomies  had  theii»  homes  both  north  of  Lake  Huron  and 
south  of  it,  in  the  northern  part  of  the  present  State  of  Michigan. 
Twenty-six  or  seven  years  after  this  date  the  country  of  the  Potta- 
watomies is  described  as  being  "about  the  Lake  of  the  Ilimouek."^: 
They  were  mentioned  as  being  "a  warlike  people,  hunters  and  fish- 
ers. Their  country  is  very  good  for  Indian  corn,  of  which  they 
plant  fields,  and  to  which  they  willingly  retire  to  avoid  the  famine 
that  is  too  common  in  these  quarters.  They  are  in  the  highest  de- 
gree idolaters,  attached  to  ridiculous  fables  and  devoted  to  polygamy. 

*  Lewis  Cass.          t  Schoolcraft's  Central  Mississippi  Valley,  pp.  357.  360,  368. 
\  Lake  Michigan. 


THE    POTTAVV ATOMIES.  139 

We  have  seen  them  here*  to  the  number  of  three  hundred  men,  all 
capable  of  bearing  arms.  Of  all  the  people  that  I  have  associated  with 
in  these  countries,  they  are  the  most  docile  and  the  most  affectionate 
toward  the  French.  Their  wives  and  daughters  are  more  reserved 
than  those  of  other  nations.  They  have  a  species  of  civility  among 
them,  and  make  it  apparent  to  strangers,  which  is  very  rare  among 
our  barbarians,  "f 

In  1670  the  Pottawatomies  had  collected  at  the  islands  at  the 
mouth  of  Green  Bay  which  have  taken  their  name  from  this  tribe. 
Father  Claude  Dablon,  in  a  letter  concerning  the  mission  of  St. 
Francis  Xavier,  which  was  located  on  Green  Bay,  in  speaking  of 
this  tribe,  remarks  that  "the  Pouteouatami,  the  Ousaki,  and  those 
of  the  Forks,  .also  dwell  here,  but  as  strangers^  the  fear  of  the  Iro- 
quois  having  driven  them  from  their  lands,  which  are  between  the 
Lake  of  the  Hurons  and  that  of  the  Illinois.":}: 

In  1721,  says  Charlevoix,  "the  Poutewatamies  possessed  only 
one  of  the  small  islands  at  the  mouth  of  Green  Bay,  but  had  two 
other  villages,  one  on  the  St.  Joseph  and  the  other  at  the  Nar- 


rows. "§ 


Driven  out  of  the  peninsula  between  lakes  Huron  and  Michigan, 
the  Pottawatomies  took  up  their  abode  on  the  Bay  de  Noquet,  and 
other  islands  near  the  entrance  of  Green  Bay.  From  these  islands 
they  advanced  southward  along  the  west  shore  of  Lake  Michigan. 
Extracts  taken  from  Hennepin's  Narrative  of  LaSalle's  Voyage 
mention  the  fact  that  the  year  previous  to  La  Salle's  coming  west- 
ward (1678),  he  had  sent  out  a  party  of  traders  in  advance,  who  had 
bartered  successfully  with  the  Pottawatomies  upon  the  islands 
named,  and  who  were  anxiously  waiting  for  La  Salle  at  the  time  of 
his  arrival  in  the  Griffin.  Hennepin  further  states  that  La  Salle's 
party  bartered  with  the  Pottawatomies  at  the  villages  they  passed 
op  the  voyage  southward. 

From  this  time  forward  the  Pottawatomies  steadily  moved  south- 
ward. When  La  Salle  reached  the  St.  Joseph  of  Lake  Michigan 
there  were  no  Pottawatomies  in  that  vicinity.  Shortly  after  this 
date,  however,  they  had  a'  village  on  the  south  bank  of  this  stream, 
near  the  present  city  of  Niles,  Michigan.  On  the  northern  bank 
was  a  village  of  Miamis.  The  Mission  of  St.  Joseph  was  here 
established  and  in  successful  operation  prior  to  1711,  from  which 
fact,  with  other  incidental  circumstances,  it  has  been  inferred  that 

*  La  Pointe.  t  Jesuit  Relations,  1670-71. 

t  Jesuit  Relations,  1666-7.  §  Detroit. 


140  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON"   THE    NORTHWEST. 

the  Pottawatomies,  as  well  as  the  mission,  were  on  the  St.  Joseph  as 
early  as  the  year  1700.* 

Father  Charlevoix  fixes  the  location  of  both  the  mission  and  the 
military  post  as  being  at  the  same  place  beyond  a  doubt.  "It  was 
eight  days  yesterday  since  I  arrived  at  this  post,  where  we  have  a 
mission,  and  where  there  is  a  commandant  with  a  small  garrison. 
The  commandant's  house,  which  is  a  very  sorry  one,  is  called  the 
fort,  from  its  being  surrounded  by  an  indifferent  palisado,  which  is 
pretty  near  the  case  in  all  the  rest,  except  Forts  Chambly  and  Cata- 
rocony,  which  are  real  fortresses.  We  have  here  two  villages  of 
Indians,  one  of  Miamis  and  the  other  of  Pottawatomies,  both  of 
them  mostly  Christians  ;  but  as  they  have  been  for  a  long  time  with- 
out any  pastors,  the  missionary  who  has  lately  been  sent  them  will 
have  no  small  difficulty  in  bringing  them  back  to  the  exercise  of 
their  religion. ' '  f 

The  authorities  for  locating  the  old  mission  and  fort  of  St.  Joseph 
near  Niles  are  Charlevoix,  Prof.  Keating  and  the  Rev.  Isaac  Mc- 
Ooy.  Commenting  on  the  remains  of  the  old  villages  upon  the  St. 
Joseph  River  at  the  time  Long's  expedition  passed  that  way,  in  1823, 
the  compiler  states  that  "the  prairies,  woodland  and  river  were 
rendered  more  picturesque  by  the  ruins  of  Strawberry,  Rum  and 
St.  Joseph's  villages,  formerly  the  residence  of  the  Indians  or  of 
the  first  French  settlers.  It  was  curious  to  trace  the  difference  in 
the  remains  of  the  habitations  of  the  red  and  white  man  in  the 
midst  of  this  distant  solitude.  While  the  untenanted  cabin  of  the 

*  Some  confusion  has  arisen  from  a  confounding  of  the  Mission  of  St.  Joseph  and 
Fort  St.  Joseph  with  the  Fort  Miamis.  The  two  were  distinct,  some  miles  apart,  and 
erected  at  different  dates.  It  is  plain,  from  the  accounts  given  by  Hennepin,  Membre 
and  La  Hontan,  that  Fort  Miamis  was  located  on  Lake  Michigan,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
St.  Joseph.  It  is  equally  clear  that  the  Mission  of  St.  Joseph  and  Fort  St.  Joseph 
were  some  miles  up  the  St.  Joseph  River,  and  a  few  miles  below  the  "portage  of  the 
Kankakee  "  at  South  Bend.  Father  Charlevoix,  in  his  letter  of  the  16th  of  August, 
1721, —  after  having  in  a  previous  letter  referred  to  his  reaching  the  St.  Joseph  and 
going  up  it  toward  the  fort, —  says:  "We  afterward  sailed  up  twenty  leagues  before 
•vve  reached  the  fort."  Vol.  2,  p.  94.  Again,  in  a  subsequent  letter  (p.  184):  "  I  de- 
parted yesterday  from  the  Fort  of  the  River  St.  Joseph  and  sailed  up  that  river  about 
six  leagues.  I  went  ashore  on  the  right  and  walked  a  league  and  a  quarter,  first  along 
the  water  side  and  afterward  across  a  field  in  an  immense  meadow,  entirely  covered 
with  copses  of  wood."  And  in  the  next  paragraph,  on  the  same  page,  follows  his 
description  of  the  sources  of  the  Kankakee,  quoted  in  this  work  on  page  77.  Here, 
then,  we  have  the  position  of  Fort  St.  Joseph  and  the  mission  of  that  name  and  the 
two  villages  of  the  Pottawatomips  and  the  Miamis.  on  the  St.  Joseph  River,  six  leagues 
below '  South  Bend.  In  Dr.  Shea's  Catholic  Missions,  page  423,  it  is  stated  that  "  La  Salle, 
on  his  way  to  the  Mississippi,  had  built  a  temporary  fort  on  the  St.  Joseph,  not  far 
from  the  portage  leading  to  the  The-a-ki-ke";  and  Mr.  Charles  R.  Brown,  in"  his 
Missions,  Forts  and  Trading  Posts  of  the  Northwest,  p.  14,  says  that  "Fort  Miamis, 
built  at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Joseph's  River  by  La  Salle,  was  afterward  called  St. 
Joseph,  to  distinguish  it  from  (Fort)  Miamis,  on  the  Maumee."  In  this  instance 
neither  of  these  writer^  follow  the  text  of  established  authorities, 
t  Charlevoix'  Narrative  Journal,  pp.  93,  94. 


ST.    JOSEPH.  141 

Indian  presented  in  its  neighborhood  but  the  remains  of  an  old 
cornfield  overgrown  with  weeds,  the  rude  hut  of  the  Frenchman  was 
surrounded  with  vines,  and  with  the  remains  of  his  former  garden- 
ing exertions.  The  asparagus,  the  pea  vine  and  the  woodbine  still 
grow  about  it,  as  though  in  defiance  of  the  revolutions  which  have 
dispersed  those  who  planted  them  here.  The  very  names  of  the 
villages  mark  the  difference  between  their  former  tenants.  Those 
of  the  Indians  were  designated  by  the  name  of  the  fruit  which  grew 
abundantly  on  the  spot  or  of  the  object  which  they  coveted  most, 
while  the  French  missionary  has  placed  his  village  under  the  patron- 
age of  the  tutelar  saint  in  whom  he  reposed  his  utmost  confidence."* 

The  asparagus,  the  pea-vine  and  the  woodbine  preserved  the 
identity  of  the  spot  against  the  encroachments  of  the  returning  for- 
ests until  1822,  when  Isaac  McCoy  established  among  the  Pottawat- 
omies  the  Baptist  mission  called  Carey,  out  of  respect  for  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Carey,  a  missionary  of  the  same  church  in  Hindostan.  "It  is- 
said  that  the  Pottawatomies  themselves  selected  this  spot  for  Carey's, 
mission,  it  being  the  site  of  their  old  village.  This  must  have  been 
very  populous,  as  the  remains  of  corn-hills  are  very  visible  at  this, 
time,  and  are  said  to  extend  over  a  thousand  acres.  The  village 
was  finally  abandoned  about  fifty  years  ago  (1773),  but  there  are  a 
few  of  the  oldest  of  the  nation  who  still  recollect  the  sites  of  their 
respective  huts.  They  are  said  to  frequently  visit  the  establishment 
and  to  trace  with  deep  feeling  a  spot  which  is  endeared  to  them."  f 

On  a  cold  winter  night  in  1833  a  traveler  was  ferried  over  the 
St.  Joseph  at  the  then  straggling  village  of  Niles.  "Ascending  the 
bank,  a  beautiful  plain  with  a  clump  of  trees  here  and  there  upon  its 
surface  opened  to  his  view.  The  establishment  of  Carey's  mission, 
a  long,  low,  white  building,  could  be  distinguished  afar  off  faintly 
in  the  moonlight,  while  several  winter  lodges  of  the  Pottawatomies 
were  plainly  visible  over  the  plain."  * 

Concerning  the  Pottawatomie  village  near  Detroit,  and  also  some 
of  the  customs  peculiar  to  the  tribe,  we  have  the  following  account. 
It  was  written  in  1718  :  § 

"The  fort  of  Detroit  is  south  of  the  river.  The  village  of  the 
Pottawatomies  adjoins  the  fort ;  they  lodge  partly  under  Apaquois,  | 

*  Long's  Second  Expedition,  vol.  1,  pp.  147,  148. 

t  Long's  Second  Expedition,  vol.  1,  p.  153,  McCoy's  History  of  Baptist  Indian  Mis- 
sions. 

\  Hoffman's  Winter  in  the  West,  vol.  1,  p.  225. 

§  Memoir  on  the  Indians  between  Lake  Erie  and  the  Mississippi.  Paris  Documents, 
vol.  1).  p.  887. 

|  Apaquois,  matting1  made  of  flag's  or  rushes;  from  apee,  a  leaf,  and  wig^ww'am,  a 
hut.  They  cover  their  huts  with  mats  made  of  rushes  platted.  Carver's  Travels. 


142  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

which  are  made  of  mat-grass.  The  women  do  all  the  work.  The 
men  belonging  to  that  nation  are  well  clothed,  like  our  domiciliated 
Indians  at  Montreal.  Their  entire  occupation  is  hunting  arid  dress ; 
they  make  use  of  a  great  deal  of  vermilion,  and  in  winter  wear 
buffalo  robes  richly  painted,  and  in  summer  either  blue  or  red  cloth. 
They  play  a  good  deal  at  La  Crosse  in  summer,  twenty  or  more  on 
each  side.  Their  bat  is  a  sort  of  a  little  racket,  and  the  ball  with 
which  they  play  is  made  of  very  heavy  wood,  somewhat  larger  than 
the  balls  used  at  tennis.  When  playing  they  are  entirely  naked, 
except  a  breech  cloth  and  moccasins  on  their  feet.  Their  body  is 
completely  painted  with  all  sorts  of  colors.  Some,  with  white  clay, 
trace  white  lace  on  their  bodies,  as  if  on  all  the  seams  of  a  coat,  and 
at  a  distance  it  would  be  apt  to  be  taken  for  silver  lace.  They  play 
very  deep  and  often.  The  bets  sometimes  amount  to  more  than 
eight  hundred  livres.  They  set  up  two  poles,  and  commence  the 
game  from  the  center;  one  party  propels  the  ball  from  one  side  and 
the  others  from  the  opposite,  and  whichever  reaches  the  goal  wins. 
This  is  fine  recreation  and  worth  seeing.  They  often  play  village 
against  village,  the  Poux*  against  the  Ottawas  or  Hurons,  and 
lay  heavy  stakes.  Sometimes  Frenchmen  join  in  the  game  with 
them.  The  women  cultivate  Indian  corn,  beans,  peas,  squashes  and 
melons,  which  come  up  very  fine.  The  women  and  girls  dance  at 
night ;  adorn  themselves  considerably,  grease  their  hair,  put  on  a 
white  shift,  paint  their  cheeks  with  vermilion,  and  wear  whatever 
wampum  they  possess,  and  are  very  tidy  in  their  way.  They  dance 
to  the  sound  of  the  drum  and  sisiquoi,  which  is  a  sort  of  gourd  con- 
taining some  grains  of  shot.  Four  or  five  young  men  sing  and  beat 
time  with  the  drum  and  sisiquoi,  and  the  women  keep  time  and  do 
not  lose  a  step.  It  is  very  entertaining,  and  lasts  almost  the  entire 
night.  The  old  men  often  dance  the  Medicine,  f  They  resemble  a 
set  of  demons ;  and  all  this  takes  place  during  the  night.  The 
young  men  often  dance  in  a  circle  and  strike  posts.  It  is  then  they 
recount  their  achievements  and  dance,  at  the  same  time,  the  war 
dance  ;  and  whenever  they  act  thus  they  are  highly  ornamented.  It 
is  altogether  very  curious.  They  often  perform  these  things,  for 
1  tobacco.  "When  they  go  hunting,  which  is  every  fall,  they  carry 
their  apaquois  with  th^em,  to  hut  under  at  night.  Everybody  follows, 

*  The  Pottawatomies  were  sometimes  known  by  the  contraction  Poux.  La  Hontan 
uses  this  name,  and  erroneously  confounds  them  with  the  Puans  or  Winnebagoes.  In 
giving  the  coat-of-arms  of  the  Pottawatomies,  representing  a  dog  crouched  in  the 
grass,  he  says:  "They  were  called  Puants."  Vol.  2,  p.  84. 

t  Medicine  dance. 


ORIGIN    OF    POTT  AW  ATOM  IE.  143 

men,  women  and  children.  They  winter  in  the  forest  and  return  in 
the  spring."" 

The  Pottawatomies  swarmed  from  their  prolific  hives  about  the 
islands  of  Mackinaw,  and  spread  themselves  over  portions  of  Wis- 
consin, and  eastward  to  their  ancient  homes  in  Michigan.  At  a 
later  day  they  extended  themselves  upon  the  territory  of  the  ancient 
Illinois,  covering  a  large  portion  of  the  state.  From  the  St.  Joseph 
River  and  Detroit  their  bands  moved  southward  over  that  part  of 
Indiana  north  and  west  of  the  Wabash,  and  thence  down  that 
stream.  They  were  a  populous  horde  of  hardy  children  of  the 
forests,  of  great  stamina,  and  their  constitutions  were  hardened  by 
the  rigorous  climate  of  the  northern  lakes. 

Among  the  old  French  writers  the  orthography  of  the  word 
Pottawatomies  varied  to  suit  the  taste  of  the  writer.  We  give  some 
of  the  forms  :  Poutouatirni,  *  Pouteotatamis,f  Poutouatamies,^;  Pou- 
tewatamis,^  Pautawattamies,  Puttewatamies,  Pottowottamies  and 
Pottawattamies.  |  The  tribe  was  divided  into  four  clans,  the  Golden 
Carp,  the  Frog,  the  Crab,  and  the  Tortoise.  *^  The  nation  was  not 
like  the  Illinois  and  Miamis,  divided  into  separate  tribes,  but  the 
different  bands  would  separate  or  unite  according  to  the  scarcity  or 
abundance  of  game. 

The  word  Pottawatomie  signifies,  in  their  own  language,  we  are 
malting  a  fire,  for  the  origin  of  which  they  have  the  following  tradi- 
tion :  "  It  is  said  that  a  Miami,  having  wandered  out  from  his  cabin, 
met  three  Indians  whose  language  was  unintelligible  to  him;  by  signs 
and  motions  he  invited  them  to  follow  him  to  his  cabin,  where  they 
were  hospitably  entertained,  and  where  they  remained  until  after 
dark.  During  the  night  two  of  the  strange  Indians  stole  from  the 
hut,  while  their  comrade  and  host  were  asleep  ;  they  took  a  few 
embers  from  the  cabin,  and,  placing  these  near  the  door  of  the  hut, 
they  made  a  fire,  which,  being  afterward  seen  by  the  Miami  and 
remaining  guest,  was  understood  to  imply  a  council  fire  in  token  of 
peace  between  the  two  nations.  From  this  circumstance  the  Miami 
called  them  in  his  language  Wa-ho-na-ha,  or  the  fire-makers,  which, 
being  translated  into  the  language  of  the  three  guests,  produced  the 
term  by  which  their  nation  has  ever  since  been  distinguished." 

After  this  the  Miamis  termed  the  Pottawatomies  their  younger 
brothers ;  but  afterward,  in  a  council,  this  was  changed,  from  the 

*  Jesuit  Relations.  §Charlevoix. 

f  Father  Membre.  ||  Paris  Documents. 

jJoutel's  Journal. 

IT  Enumeration  of  the  Indian  tribes,  the  Warriors  and  Armorial  Bearings  of  each 
Nation,  made  in  1736.  Published  in  Documentary  History  of  New  York. 


144  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

circumstance  that  they  resided  farther  to  the  west ;  "  as  those  nations- 
which  reside  to  the  west  of  others  are  deemed  more  ancient."* 

The  Pottawatomies  were  unswerving  in  their  adherence  to  the 
French,  when  the  latter  had  possession  of  the  boundless  Northwest. 
In  1712,  when  a  large  force  of  Mascoutins  and  Foxes  besieged  De- 
troit, they  were  conspicuous  for  their  fidelity.  They  rallied  the 
other  tribes  to  the  assistance  of  the  French,  and  notified  the  besieged 
garrison  to  hold  out  against  their  enemies  until  their  arrival.  Mak- 
is-abie,  the  war  chief  of  the  Pottawatomies,  sent  word  through  Mr. 
de  Vincennes,  "just  arrived  from  the  Miami  country,  that  he  would 
soon  be  at  Detroit  with  six  hundred  of  his  warriors  to  aid  the  French 
and  eat  those  miserable  nations  who  had  troubled  all  the  country." 
The  commandant,  M.  du  Buisson,  was  gratified  when  he  ascended 
a  bastion,  and  looking  toward  the  forest  saw  the  army  of  the  nations, 
issuing  from  it ;  the  Pottawatomies,  the  Illinois,  the  Missouris,  the 
Ottawas,  the  Sacs  and  the  Menominees  were  there,  armed  and  painted 
in  all  the  glory  of  war.  Detroit  never  saw  such  a  collection.  "  My 
Father,"  says  the  chief  to  the  commandant,  "I  speak  to  you  on 
the  part  of  all  the  nations,  your  children  who  are  before  you.  What 
you  did  last  year  in  drawing  their  flesh  from  the  fire,  which  the  Ou- 
tagamies  (Foxes)  were  about  to  roast  and  eat,  demands  we  should 
bring  you  our  bodies  to  make  you  the  master  of  them.  We  do  not 
fear  death,  whenever  it  is  necessary  to  die  for  you.  We  have  only 
to  request  that  you  pray  the  father  of  all  nations  to  have  pity  on  our 
women  and  our  children,  in  case  we  lose  our  lives  for  you.  We  beg 
you  throw  a  blade  of  grass  upon  our  bones  to  protect  them  from  the 
flies.  You  see,  my  father,  that  we  have  left  our  villages,  our  women 
and  children  to  hasten  to  join  you.  Have  pity  on  us ;  give  us  some- 
thing to  eat  and  a  little  tobacco  to  smoke.  We  have  come  a  long 
ways  and  are  destitute  of  everything.  Give  us  powder  and  balls  to 
fight  with  you." 

Makisabie,  the  Pottawatomie,  said  to  the  Foxes  and  Mascoutines: 
"Wicked  nations  that  you  are,  you  hope  to  frighten  us  by  all  the 
red  color  which  you  exhibit  in  your  village.  Learn  that  if  the  earth 
is  covered  with  blood,  it  will  be  with  yours.  You  talk  to  us  of  the 
English,  they  are  the  cause  of  your  destruction,  because  you  have 
listened  to  their  bad  council.  .  .  .  The  English,  who  are  cowards, 
only  defend  themselves  by  killing  men  by  that  wicked  strong  drink, 
which  has  caused  so  many  men  to  die  after  drinking  it.  Thus  we 
shall  see  what  will  happen  to  you  for  listening  to  them."f 

*  Long's  Expedition  to  the  Sources  of  the  St.  Peter's  River,  vol.  1,  pp.  91,  92,  93. 
t  The  extracts  we  have  quoted  are  taken  from  the  official  report  of  Du  Buisson „ 


WAKS    AGAINST   THE    WHITES.  145 

The  Pottawatomies  sustained  their  alliance  with  the  French  con- 
tinuously to  the  time  of  the  overthrow  of  their  power  in  the  north- 
west. They  then  aided  their  kinsman,  Pontiac,  in  his  attempt  to- 
recover  the  same  territory  from  the  British.  They  fought  on  the 
side  of  the  British  against  the  Americans  throughout  the  war  of  the 
revolution,  and  their  war  parties  made  destructive  and  frequent  raids 
upon  the  line  of  pioneer  settlements  in  Pennsylvania,  Kentucky, 
Ohio  and  Indiana.  In  the  war  of  1812  they  were  again  ranged  on 
the  side  of  the  British,  with  their  bloody  hands  lifted  alike  against 
the  men,  women  and  children  of  "the  States." 

In  the  programme  of  Pontiac' s  war  the  capture  of  Post  St. 
Joseph,  on  the  St.  Joseph's  river  of  Lake  Michigan,  was  assigned  to 
the  Pottawatomies,  which  was  effected  as  will  be  hereafter  narrated. 

It  was  also  the  Pottawatomies  who  perpetrated  the  massacre  at 
Chicago  on  the  15th  day  of  August,  1812.  Bands  of  this  tribe,  from, 
their  villages  on  the  St.  Joseph,  the  Kankakee  and  the  Illinois  rivers, 
whose  numbers  were  augmented  by  the  appearance  of  Metea  with 
his  warriors,  from  their  village  westward  of  Fort  Wayne,  fell  upon 
the  forces  of  Captain  Heald,  and  the  defenseless  women  and  chil- 
dren retreating  with  him  after  the  surrender  of  Fort  Dearborn,  and 
murdered  or  made  prisoners  of  them  all.  Metea  was  a  conspicuous 
leader  in  this  horrible  affair.* 

Robert  Dixon,  the  British  trader  sent  out  among  the  Indians- 
during  the  war  of  1812  to  raise  recruits  for  Proctor  and  Tecumseh, 
gathered  in  the  neighborhood  of  Chicago,  which  after  the  massacre 
was  his  place  of  general  rendezvous,  nearly  one  thousand  warriors 
of  as  wild  and  cruel  savages  as  ever  disgraced  the  human  race.  They 
were  the  most  worthless  and  abandoned  desperadoes  whom  Dixon 
had  been  enabled  to  collect  from  among  all  the  tribes  he  had  visited. 
These  accomplices  of  the  British  were  to  be  let  loose  upon  the  re- 
mote settlements  under  the  leadership  of  the  Pottawatomie  chief, 
Mai-pock,  or  Mai-po,  a  monster  in  human  form,  who  distinguished 
himself  with  a  girdle  sewed  full  of  human  scalps,  which  he  wore 
around  his  waist,  and  strings  of  bear's  claws  and  bills  of  owls  and 
hawks  around  his  ankles,  worn  as  trophies  of  his  power  in  arms  and 
as  a  terror  to  his  enemies,  f 

relating  to  the  siege  of  Detroit.  The  manuscript  copy  of  it  was  obtained  from  the 
archives  at  Paris,  by  Gen.  Cass,  when  minister  to  France,  and  is  published  at  length 
in  volume  III  of  the  History  of  Wisconsin,  compiled  by  the  direction  of  the  legislature 
of  that  state  by  William  R.  Smith,  President  of  the  State  Historical  Society  ;  a  work 
of  very  great  value,  not  only  to  the  State  of  Wisconsin  but  to  the  entire  Northwest,  for 
the  amount  of  reliable  historical  information  it  contains. 

*  Hall  and  McKenney's  History  of  the  Indian  Tribes  of  North  America,  vol.  2, 
pp.  59,  60. 

t  McAfee's  History  of  the  Late  War,  pp.  297,  298. 


146  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

Their  manners,  like  their  dialect,  were  rough  and  barbarous  as 
compared  with  other  Algonquin  tribes.  They  were  not  the  civil, 
modest  people,  an  exceptional  and  christianized  band  of  whom  the 
Jesuits  before  quoted  drew  a  flattering  description. 

"It  is  a  fact  that  for  many  years  the  current  of  emigration  as  to 
the  tribes  east  of  the  Mississippi  has  been  from  the  north  to  the  south. 
This  was  owing  to  two  causes :  the  diminution  of  those  animals  from 
which  the  Indians  derive  their  support,  and  the  pressure  of  the  two 
great  tribes, —  the  Ojibbeways  and  the  Sioux, —  to  the  north  and 
west.  So  long  ago  as  1795,  at  the  treaty  of  Greenville,  the  Potta- 
watomies  notified  the  Miamis  that  they  intended  to  settle  upon  the 
Wabash.  They  made  no  pretensions  to  the  country,  and  the  only 
excuse  for  the  intended  aggression  was  that  they  were  tired  of  eating 
fish  and  wanted  meat"*  And  come  they  did.  They  bore  down 
upon  their  less  populous  neighbors,  the  Miamis,  and  occupied  a  large 
portion  of  their  territory,  impudently  and  by  sheer  force  of  numbers, 
rather  than  by  force  of  arms.  They  established  numerous  villages 
upon  the  north  and  west  bank  of  the  Wabash  and  its  tributaries 
flowing  in  from  that  side  of  the  stream  above  the  Vermilion.  They, 
with  the  Sacs,  Foxes  and  Kickapoos,  drove  the  Illinois  into  the  vil- 
lages about  Kaskaskia,  and  portioned  the  conquested  territory  among 
themselves.  By  other  tribes  they  were  called  squatters,  who  justly 
claimed  that  the  Pottawatomies  never  had  any  land  of  their  own, 
and  were  mere  intruders  upon  the  prior  rights  of  others.  They  were 
foremost  at  all  treaties  where  lands  were  to  be  ceded,  and  were  clam- 
orous for  a  lion's  share  of  presents  and  annuities,  particularly  where 
these  last  were  the  price  given  for  the  sale  of  others'  lands  rather 
than  their  own.f  Between  the  years  1789  and  1837  the  Pottawato- 
mies, by  themselves,  or  in  connection  with  other  tribes,  made  no 
less  than  thirty-eight  treaties  with  the  United  States,  all  of  which,— 
excepting  two  or  three  which  were  treaties  of  peace  only, — were  for 
cessions  of  lands  claimed  wholly  by  the  Pottawatomies,  or  in  com- 
mon with  other  tribes.  These  cessions  embraced  territory  extending 
from  the  Mississippi  eastward  to  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  reaching  over 
the  entire  valleys  of  the  Illinois,  the  Wabash,  the  Maumee  and  their 
tributaries.^: 

They  also  had  villages  upon  the  Kankakee  and  Illinois  rivers. 
Among  them  we   name  Minemaung,  or  Yellow  Head,  situated  a 

*  Official  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  dated  March  22,  1814. 
t  Schoolcraft's  Central  Mississippi  Valley,  p.  358. 

t  Treaties  between  the  United  States  and  the  several  Indian  tribes,  from  1778  to 
1837:  Washington,  D.C.,  1837. 


THEIR    VILLAGES.  147 

few  miles  north  of  Momence,  at  a  point  of  timber  still  known  as 
Yellow  Head  Point;  She-mar-gar,  or  the  Soldier's  Village,  at  the 
mouth  of  Soldier  Creek,  that  runs  through  Kankakee  City,  and  the 
village  of  "Little  Rock  "  or  Shaw-waw-nas-see,  at  the  mouth  of  Rock 
Creek,  a  few  miles  below  Kankakee  City.*  Besides  these,  the  Pot- 
tawatomies  had  villages  farther  down  the  Illinois,  particularly  the 
great  town  of  Como,  Gumo,  or  Gumbo  as  the  pioneers  called  it,  at  the 
upper  end  of  Peoria  Lake.  They  had  other  towns  on  the  Milwaukee 
River,  Wisconsin.  On  the  St.  Joseph,  near  Niles,  was  the  village  of 
To-pen-ne-bee,  the  great  hereditary  chief  of  the  Pottawatomie  nation  ; 
higher  up,  near  the  present  village  of  White  Pigeon,  was  situated 
Wap-pe-me-mds,  or  White  Pigeon's  town.  Westward  of  Fort  Wayne, 
Indiana,  nine  miles,  was  Mus-lcvja-wa-sepe-otan,  ' ;  the  town  of  old 
Red  Wood  creek,"  where  resided  the  band  of  the  distinguished  war- 
rior and  orator  of  the  Pottawatomies,  Metea,  whose  name  in  their 
language  signifies  kiss  me. 

Finally,  the  renowned  Kesis,  or  the  sun,  the  old  friend  of  Gen- 
eral Hamtrauck  and  the  Americans,  in  a  speech  to  General  Wayne 
at  the  treaty  of  Greenville  in  1795,  said  that  his  milage  "was  a  day's 
walk  below  the  Wea  towns  on  the  Wabash,"  referring,  doubtless,  to 
the  mixed  Pottawatomie  and  Kickapoo  town  which  stood  011  the  site 
of  the  old  Shelby  farm,  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Vermilion,  a  short 
distance  above  its  mouth.  \ 

The  positions  of  several  of  the  principal  Pottawatomie  villages 
have  been  given  for  the  purpose  of  showing  the  area  of  country 
over  which  this  people  extended  themselves.  As  late  as  1823  their 
hunting  grounds  appeared  to  have  been  "bounded  on  the  north  by 
the  St.  Joseph  (which  on  the  east  side  of  Lake  Michigan  separated 
them  from  the  Ottawas)  and  the  Milwacke,^:  which,  on  the  west  side 
of  the  lake,  divided  them  from  the  Meiiornonees.  They  spread  to  the 
south  along  the  Illinois  River  about  two  hundred  miles ;  to  the  west 

*  The  location  of  these  three  villages  of  Pottawatomies  is  fixed  by  the  surveys  of 
reservations  to  Mine-maung,  Shemargar  and  Shaw-waw-nas-see  respectively,  secured 
to  them  by  the  second  article  of  a  treaty  concluded  at  Camp  Tippecanoe,  near  Logans- 
port,  Indiana,  on  the  20th  of  October,  1832,  between  the  United  States  and  the  chiefs 
and  head  men  of  the  Pottawatomie  tribe  of  Indians  of  the  prairie  and  of  the  Kanka- 
kee. The  reservations  were  surveyed  in  the  presence  of  the  Indians  concerned  and 
General  Tipton,  agent  on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  in  the  month  of  May,  1834, 
by  Major  Dan  W.  Beckwith,  surveyor.  The  reservations  were  so  surveyed  as  to  include 
the  several  villages  we  have  named,  as  appears  from  the  manuscript  volumes  of  the 
surveys  in  possession  of  the  author. 

t  Journal  of  the  Proceedings  at  the  Treaty  of  Greenville:  American  State  Papers 
on  Indian  Affairs,  vol.  1,  p.  580.  The  author  has  authorities  and  manuscripts  from 
which  the  location  of  Kesis1  band  at  the  mouth  of  the  Vermilion  may  be  quite  confi- 
dently affirmed. 

\  Milwaukee. 


148  HISTORIC    NOTES   ON   THE   NORTHWEST. 

their  grounds  extended  as  far  as  Rock  River,  and  the  Mequin  or 
Spoon  River  of  the  Illinois  ;  to  the  east  they  probably  seldom  passed 
beyond  the  Wabash."*  After  the  Kickapoos  and  Pottawatomies 
had  established  themselves  in  the  valley  of  the  Wabash,.  it  was 
mutually  agreed  between  them  and  the  Miamis  that  the  river  should 
be  the  dividing  line, —  the  Pottawatomies  and  Kickapoos  to  occupy 
the  west,  and  the  Miamis  to  remain  undisturbed  on  the  east  or  south 
side  of  the  stream.  It  was  a  hard  bargain  for  the  Miamis,  who  were 
unable  to  maintain  their  rights,  f 

The  Pottawatomies  were  among  the  last  to  leave  their  possessions. 
in  Illinois  and  Indiana,  and  it  was  the  people  of  this  tribe  with 
whom  the  first  settlers  came  principally  in  contact.  Their  hostility 
ceased  at  the  close  of  the  war  of  1812.  After  this  their  intercourse 
with  the  whites  was  uniformly  friendly,  and  they  bore  the  many  im- 
positions and  petty  grievances  which  were  put  upon  them  by  not  a 
few  of  their  unprincipled  and  unfeeling  white  neighbors  with  a  for- 
bearance that  should  have  excited  public  sympathy. 

The  Pottawatomies  owned  extensive  tracts  of  land  on  the  Wabash, 
between  the  mouth  of  Pine  Creek,  in  Warren  county,  and  the  Fort 
Wayne  portage,  which  had  been  reserved  to  them  by  the  terms  of 
their  several  treaties  with  the  United  States.  They  held  like  claims 
upon  the  Tippecanoe  and  other  westward  tributaries  of  the  Wabash, 
and  elsewhere  in  northwestern  Indiana,  eastern  Illinois  and  southern 
Michigan.  These  reservations  are  now  covered  by  some  of  the 
finest  farms  in  the  states  named.  The  treaties  by  which  such  reser- 
vations were  granted  generally  contained  a  clause  that  debarred  the 
owner  from  alienating  them  without  having  first  secured  the  sanction 
of  the  President  of  the  United  States.  This  restriction  was  de- 
signed to  prevent  unprincipled  persons  from  overreaching  the  Indian, 
who,  at  best,  had  only  a  vague  idea  of  the  fee  simple  title  to,  and 
value  of,  real  estate.  It  afforded  little  security,  however,  against  the 
wiles  of  the  unscrupulous,  and  whenever  the  Indian  could  be  in- 
duced by  the  arts  of  his  ' '  White  Brother ' '  to  put  his  name  to  an 
instrument,  the  purport  of  which,  in  many  instances,  he  did  not  at 
all  understand  as  forever  conveying  away  his  possessions,  the  ratify- 
ing signature  of  the  President  followed  as  a  matter  of  department 
routine.  The  greater  part  of  the  Pottawatomie  reservations  was 
retroceded  to  the  United  States  in  exchange  either  for  annuities  or 
for  lands  west  of  the  Mississippi,  and  the  title  disposed  of  in  this 
way. 

*  Long's  Second  Expedition,  vol.  1,  p.  171. 

f  The  writer  was  informed  of  this  agreement  by  Mary  Baptiste. 


THE    EXODUS.  149 

The  final  emigration  of  the  Pottawatomies  from  the  Wabash, 
under  charge  of  Col.  Pepper  and  Gen.  Tipton,  of  Indiana,  took  place 
in  the  summer  of  1838.  Many  are  yet  living  who  witnessed  the 
sad  exodus.  The  late  Sanford  Cox  has  recorded  his  impressions  of 
this  event  in  the  valuable  little  book  which  he  published.*  ';  Hearing 
that  this  large  emigration,  numbering  nearly  a  thousand  of  all  ages 
and  sexes,  would  pass  within  eight  or  nine  miles  west  of  La  Fayette, 
a  few  of  us  procured  horses  and  rode  over  to  see  the  retiring  band, 
as  they  reluctantly  wended  their  way  toward  the  setting  sun.  It 
was,  indeed,  a  mournful  spectacle  to  see  these  children  of  the  forest 
slowly  retiring  from  the  homes  of  their  childhood,  where  were  not 
only  the  graves  of  their  loved  ancestors  but  many  endearing  scenes 
to  which  their  memories  would  ever  recur  as  sunny  spots  along  their 
pathway  through  the  wilderness.  They  felt  that  they  were  bidding 
a  last  farewell  to  the  hills,  the  valleys  and  the  streams  of  their 
infancy :  the  more  exciting  hunting  grounds  of  their  advanced 
youth ;  the  stern  and  bloody  battle-fields  on  which,  in  riper  man- 
hood, they  had  received  wounds,  and  where  many  of  their  friends 
and  loved  relatives  had  fallen,  covered  with  gore  and  with  glory.  All 
these  they  were  leaving  behind,  to  be  desecrated  by  the  plowshare 
of  the  white  man.  As  they  cast  mournful  glances  back  toward  these 
loving  scenes  that  were  rapidly  fading  in  the  distance,  tears  fell  from 
the  cheek  of  the  downcast  warrior, — old  men  trembled,  matrons  wept, 
the  swarthy  maiden's  cheek  turned  pale,  and  sighs  and  half-suppressed 
sobs  escaped  from  the  motley  groups,  as  they  passed  along,  some  on 
foot,  some  on  horseback,  and  others  in  wagons,  sad  as  a  funeral  pro- 
cession. I  saw  several  of  the  aged  warriors  glancing  upward  to  the  sky 
as  if  invoking  aid  from  the  spirits  of  their  departed  sires,  who  were 
looking  down  upon  them  with  pity  from  the  clouds,  or  as  if  they  were 
calling  upon  the  great  spirit  to  redress  the  wrongs  of  the  red  man, 
whose  broken  bow  had  fallen  from  his  hand.  Ever  and  anon  one 
of  the  throng  would  strike  off  from  the  procession  into  the  woods 
and  retrace  his  steps  back  to  the  old  encampments  on  the  Wabash, 
Ell  River,  or  the  Tippecanoe,  declaring  that  he  would  die  there 
rather  than  be  banished  from  his  country.  Thus  would  scores  leave 
the  main  party  at  different  points  on  the  journey  and  return  to  their 
former  homes ;  and  it  was  several  years  before  they  could  be  induced 
to  join  their  countrymen  west  of  the  Mississippi." 

This  body,  on  their  westward  journey,  passed  through  Danville, 
Illinois,  where  they  halted  several  days,  being  in  want  of  food.  The 

*  Recollections  of  the  Early  Settlement  of  the  Wabash  Valley,  La  Fayette,  Ind., 
1860,  pp.  154,  155. 


150  "HISTORIC  XOTES  ox  THE  NORTHWEST. 

commissary  department  was  wretchedly  supplied.  The  Indians 
begged  for  food  at  the  houses  of  the  citizens.  Others,  in  their 
extremity,  killed  rats  at  the  old  mill  on  the  North  Fork  and  ate 
them  to  appease  their  hunger.  Without  tents  or  other  shelter, 
many  of  them,  with  young  babes  in  their  arms,  walked  on  foot,  as 
there  was  no  adequate  means  of  conveyance  for  the  weak,  the  aged 
or  infirm.  Thus  the  mournful  procession  passed  across  the  state  of 
Illinois. 

The  St.  Joseph  band  were  removed  westward  the  same  year.  So 
strong  was  their  attachment  to  southern  Michigan  and  northern 
Indiana,  that  the  Federal  government  invoked  the  aid  of  troops  to 
coerce  their  removal.  The  soldiers  surrounded  them,  and,  as  prison- 
ers of  war,  compelled  them  to  leave.  At  South  Bend,  Indiana,  was 
the  village  of  Chichipe  Outipe.  The  town  was  on  a  rising  ground 
near  four  small  lakes,  and  contained  ten  or  twelve  hundred  christian- 
ized Pottawatomies.  Benjamin  M.  Petit,  the  Catholic  missionary  in 
charge  at  Po-ke-ganns  village  on  the  St.  Joseph,  asked  Bishop  Brute 
for  leave  to  accompany  the  Indians,  but  the  prelate  withheld  his 
consent,  not  deeming  it  proper  to  give  even  an  implied  indorsement 
of  the  cruel  act  of  the  government.  But  being  himself  on  their 
route,  he  afterward  consented.  The  power  of  religion  then  appeared. 
Amid  their  sad  march  he  confirmed  several,  while  hymns  and  prayers, 
chanted  in  Ottawa,  echoed  for  the  last  time  around  their  lakes.  Sick 
and  well  were  carried  off  alike.  After  giving  all  his  Episcopal  bless- 
ing, Bishop  Brute  proceeded  with  Petit  to  the  tents  of  the  sick, 
where  they  baptized  one  and  confirmed  another,  both  of  whom  ex- 
pired soon  after.  The  march  was  resumed.  The  men,  women  and 
elder  children,  urged  on  by  the  soldiers  in  their  rear,  were  followed 
with  the  wagons  bearing  the  sick  and  dying,  the  mothers,  little  chil- 
dren and  property.  Thus  they  proceeded  through  the  country,  tur- 
bulent at  that  time  on  account  of  the  Mormon  war,  to  the  Osage 
River,  Missouri,  where  Mr.  Petit  confided  the  wretched  exiles  to  the 
care  of  the  Jesuit  Father  J.  Hoecken."x" 

In  the  year  1846  the  different  bands  of  Pottawatomies  united  on 
the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi.  A  general  treaty  was  made,  in 
which  the  following  clause  occurs:  "Whereas,  the  various  bands  of 
the  Pottawatornie  Indians,  knowrn  as  the  Chippeways,  Ottawas  and 
Pottawatomies,  the  Pottawatomies  of  the  Prairie,  the  Pottawatomies 
of  the  Wabash,  and  the  Pottawatomies  of  Indiana,  have,  subsequent 
to  the  year  1820,  entered  into  separate  and  distinct  treaties  with  the 

*  Extract  from  Shea's  Catholic  Missions,  p.  397. 


THE    POTTAWATOMIE   NATION".  151 

United  States,  by  which  they  have  been  separated  and  located 
in  different  countries,  and  difficulties  have  arisen  as  to  the  proper 
distributions  of  the  stipulations  under  various  treaties,  and  being 
the  same  people  by  kindred,  by  feeling  and  by  language,  and 
having  in  former  periods  lived  on  and  owned  their  lands  in  com- 
mon, and  being  desirous  to  unite  in  one  common  country  and 
again  become  one  people  and  receive  their  annuities  and  other 
benefits  in  common,  and  to  abolish  all  minor  distinctions  of  bands 
by  which  they  have  heretofore  been  divided,  and  are  anxious  to 
be  known  as  the  POTTAWATOMIE  NATION,  thereby  reinstating  the 
national  character ;  and  whereas,  the  United  States  are  also  anxious 
to  restore  and  concentrate  said  tribes  to  a  state  so  desirable  and 
necessary  for  the  happiness  of  their  people,  as  well  as  to  enable 
the  government  to  arrange  and  manage  its  intercourse  with  them ; 
now,  therefore,  the  United  States  and  said  Indians  do  hereby  agree 
that  said  people  shall  hereafter  be  known  as  a  nation,  to  be  called 
the  POTTAWATOMIE  NATION." 

Pursuant  to  the  terms  of  this  treaty,  the  Pottawatomies  received 
$850,000,  in  consideration  of  which  they  released  all  lands  owned 
by  them  within  the  limits  of  the  territory  of  Iowa  and  on  the  Osage 
River  in  Missouri,  or  in  any  state  or  place  whatsoever.  Eighty- 
seven  thousand  dollars  of  the  purchase  money  coming  to  them  was 
paid,  by  cession  from  the  United  States,  of  576,000  acres  of  land 
lying  on  both  sides  of  the  Kansas  River.  The  tract  embraces  the 
finest  body  of  land  within  the  present  state  of  Kansas,  and  Topeka, 
the  state  capital,  has  since  been  located  nearly  in  the  center  of  the 
reservation.  While  the  territory  was  going  through  the  process  of 
organization,  adventurers  trespassed  upon  the  lands  of  the  Potta- 
watomies, sold  them  whisky,  and  spread  demoralization  among 
them.  The  squatters  who  intruded  upon  the  farmer-Indians  killed 
their  stock  and  burned  some  of  their  habitations,  all  of  which  was 
borne  without  retaliation.  Notwithstanding  the  old  habendum  clause 
inserted  in  Indian  treaties  (as  a  mere  matter  of  form,  as  may  be  in- 
ferred from  the  little  regard  paid  to  it)  that  these  lands  should  inure 
to  Pottawatomies,  "their  heirs  and  assigns  forever,"  the  squatter 
sovereigns  wanted  them,  and  resorted  to  all  the  well-known  methods. 
in  vogue  on  the  border  to  make  it  unpleasant  for  the  Indians,  who 
were  progressing  with  assured  success  from  barbarism  to  the  ways 
of  civilized  society.  The  usual  result  of  dismemberment  of  the  re- 
serve followed.  The  farmer-Indians,  who  so  desired,  had  their  por- 
tions of  the  reserve  set  off  in  severalty ;  the  uncivilized  members  of 
the  tribe  had  their  proportion  set  off  in  common.  These  last,  which 


152  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

were  exchanged  for  money,  or  lands  farther  southward,  fell  into  the 
possession  of  a  needy  railroad  corporation. 

We  gather  from  the  several  reports  of  the  commissioners  on  In- 
dian affairs  that,  in  1863,  the  tribe  numbered  2,274,  inclusive  of  men, 
women  and  children,  which  was  an  alarming  decrease  since  the  cen- 
sus of  1854.  The  diminution  was  caused,  probably,  aside  from  the 
casualties  of  death,  by  some  having  returned  to  their  former  homes 
east  of  the  Missouri,  while  many  of  the  young  and  wild  men  of  the 
tribe  went  to  the  buffalo  grounds  to  enjoy  the  exciting  and  unre- 
strained freedom  of  the  chase.  The  farmers  raised  3,720  bushels  of 
wheat,  45,000  of  corn,  1,200  of  oats  and  1,000  tons  of  hay,  and  had 
1,200  horses,  1,000  cattle  and  2,000  hogs,  as  appears  from  the  offi- 
cial report  for  1863. 

The  Catholic  school  at  St.  Mary's  enumerated  an  average  of 
ninety-five  boys  and  seventy-five  girls  in  1863,  and  in  1866  the  total 
number  was  two  hundred  and  forty  scholars.  Of  his  pupils  the 
superintendent  says:  "They  not  only  spell,  read,  write  and  cipher, 
but  successfully  master  the  various  branches  of  geography,  history, 
hook-keeping,  grammar,  philosophy,  logic,  geometry  and  astronomy. 
Besides  this,  they  are  so  docile,  so  willing  to  improve,  that  between 
school-hours  they  employ  their  time,  with  pleasure,  in  learning 
whatever  handiwork  may  be  assigned  to  them ;  and  they  particu- 
larly desire  to  become  good  farmers."  The  girls,  in  addition  to 
their  studies,  are  "trained  to  whatever  is  deemed  useful  to  good 
housekeepers  and  accomplished  mothers." 

The  Pottawatomies  attested  their  fidelity  to  the  government  by 
the  volunteering  of  seventy-five  of  their  young  men  in  the  "army 
of  the  Union." 

In  1867,  out  of  a  population  of  2,400,  1,400  elected  to  become 
citizens  of  the  United  States,  under  an  enabling  act  passed  by  con- 
gress. Of  those  who  became  citizens,  some  did  well,  others  soon 
.squandered  their  lands  and  joined  the  wild  band.  There  are  still 
.a  few  left  in  Michigan,  while  about  one  hundred  and  eighty  remain 
in  Wisconsin. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


THE  KICKAPOOS  AND  MASCOUTINS. 

THE  Kickapoos  and  Mascoutins,  if  there  was  more  than  a  nominal 
difference  between  the  two  tribes,  are  here  treated  of  together,  for 
reasons  explained  farther  on  in  the  chapter.  The  name  of  the  Kick- 
apoos has  been  written  by  the  French,  "Kicapoux,"  "Kickapous," 
"Kikapoux,"  "  Quickapous,"  "  Eickapoos,"  "Kikabu."  This 
tribe  has  long  been  connected  with  the  northwest,  and  have  acquired 
a  notoriety  for  the  wars  in  which  they  were  engaged  with  other  tribes, 
as  well  for  their  persistent  hostility  to  the  white  race,  which  con- 
tinued uninterrupted  for  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  years. 
They  were  first  noticed  by  Samuel  Champlain,  who,  in  1612,  dis- 
covered the  "Mascoutins  residing  near  the  place  called  Sakinam," 
meaning  the  country  of  the  Sacs,  comprising  that  part  of  the  state 
of  Michigan  bordering  on  Lake  Huron,  in  the -vicinity  of  Saginaw 
Bay.* 

Father  Claude  Allouez  visited  the  mixed  village  of  Miamis,  Kick- 
apoos and  Mascoutins  on  Fox  River,  Wisconsin,  in  the  winter  of 
1669-70.  Leaving  his  canoe  at  the  water's  edge  he  walked  a  league 
over  beantiful  prairies  and  perceived  the  fort.  The  savages,  having 
discovered  him,  raised  the  cry  of  alarm  in  their  villages,  and  then 
ran  out  to  receive  the  missionary  with  honor,  arid  conducted  him  to 
the  lodge  of  the  chief,  where  they  regaled  him  with  refreshments, 
and  further  honored  him  by  greasing  his  feet  and  legs.  Every  one 
took  their  places,  a  dish  was  filled  with  powdered  tobacco ;  an  old 
man  arose  to  his  feet,  and,  filling  his  two  hands  with  tobacco  from 
the  dish,  addressed  the  missionary  thus  : 

"  This  is  well,  Black-robe,  that  thou  hast  come  to  visit  us  ;  have 
pity  on  us.  Thou  art  a  Manitou.f  We  give  thee  wherewith  to 

*  Memoir  of  Louis  XIV,  and  Cobert,  Minister  of  France,  on  the  French  Limits  in 
North  America:  Paris  Documents,  vol.  9,  p.  378,  and  note  by  E.  B.  O'Callaghan,  the 
•editor,  on  p.  293. 

t  Manitou,  with  very  few  changes  in  form  of  spelling  or  manner  of  pronunciation, 
is  the  word  used  almost  universally  by  the  Algonquin  tribes  to  express  a  spirit  or  God 
having  control  of  their  destinies.  Their  Manitous  were  numerous.  It  was  also  an 
expression  sometimes  applied  to  the  white  people, —  particularly  the  missionaries.  At 
first  they  regarded  the  Europeans  as  spirits,  or  persons  possessing  superior  intelligence 
to  themselves. 

153 


154  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

smoke.  The  Nadoiiessious  and  the  Iroquois  eat  us  up ;  have  pity 
on  us.  We  often  are  sick,  our  children  die,  we  are  hungry.  Listen, 
my  Manitou,  I  give  thee  wherewith  to  smoke,  that  the  earth  may 
yield  us  corn,  that  the  rivers  may  furnish  us  with  fish,  that  sickness 
no  more  shall  kill  us,  that  famine  no  longer  shall  so  harshly  treat 
us."  At  each  wish,  the  old  men  who  were  present  answered  by  a 
great  "  O-oh  !  "  * 

The  good  father  was  shocked  at  this  ceremony,  and  replied  that 
they  should  not  address  such  requests  to  him.  Protesting  that  he 
could  afford  them  110  relief  other  than  offering  prayers  to  Him  who 
was  the  only  and  true  God,  of  whom  he  was  only  the  servant  and 
messenger,  f 

Father  Allouez  says  in  the  same  letter  that  four  leagues  from  this 
village  ' '  are  the  Kikabou  and  Kitchigamick,  who  speak  the  same 
language  with  the  Machkouteng. " 

The  Kickapoos  were  not  inclined  to  receive  religious  impressions 
from  the  early  missionaries.  In  fact,  they  appear  to  have  acquired 
their  first  notoriety  in  history  by  seizing  Father  Gabriel  Ribourde, 
whom  they  ' '  carried  away  and  broke  his  head, ' '  as  Tonti  quaintly 
expresses  it  in  referring  to  this  ruthless  murder.  Again,  in  1728, 
as  Father  Ignatius  Guignas,  compelled  to  abandon  his  mission  among 
the  Sioux,  on  account  of  the  victory  of  the  Foxes  over  the  French, 
was  attempting  to  reach  the  Illinois,  he,  too,  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  Kickapoos  and  Mascoutins,  and  for  five  months  was  held  a  cap- 
tive and  constantly  exposed  to  death.  During  this  time  he  was  con- 
demned to  be  burnt,  and  was  only  saved  through  the  friendly  inter- 
vention of  an  old  man  in  the  tribe,  who  adopted  him  as  a  son. 
While  held  a  prisoner,  the  missionaries  from  the  Illinois  relieved 
his  necessities  by  sending  timely  supplies,  which  Father  Guignas 
used  to  gain  over  the  Indians.  Having  induced  them  to  make 
peace,  he  was  taken  to  the  Illinois  missions,  and  suffered  to  remain 
there  on  parole  until  Xovember,  1729,  when  his  old  captors  returned 
and  took  him  back  to  their  own  country  ;:£  after  which  nothing 
seems  to  have  been  known  concerning  the  fate  of  this  worthy  mis- 
sionary. 

The  Kickapoos  early  incurred  the  displeasure  of  the  French  by 

*The  o-oh  of  the  Algonquin  and  the  yo-hah  of  the  Iroquois  (Colden's  History  of 
the  Five  Nations)  is  an  expression  of  assent  given  by  the  hearers  to  the  remarks  of  the 
speaker  who  is  addressing  them,  and  is  equivalent  to  good  or  bravo!  The  Indians 
indulged  in  this  kind  of  encouragement  to  their  orators  with  great  liberality,  drawing 
out  their  o-ohs  in  unison  and  with  a  prolonged  cry,  especially  when  the  speaker's 
utterances  harmonized  with  their  own  sentiments. 

t  Jesuit  Relations,  1669-70. 

j  Shea's  Catholic  Missions,  p.  379. 


MIGRATIONS    OF   THE    KICKAPOOS.  15-> 

committing  depredations  south  of  Detroit.  A  band  living  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Maumee  River  in  1T12,  with  thirty  Mascoutins,  were 
about  to  make  war  upon  the  French.  They  took  prisoner  one 
Langlois,  a  messenger,  on  his  return  from  the  Miami  country, 
whither  he  was  bringing  many  letters  from  the  Jesuit  Fathers  of  the 
Illinois  villages,  and  also  dispatches  from  Louisiana.  The  letters  and 
dispatches  were  destroyed,  which  gave  much  uneasiness  to  M.  Du 
Boisson,  the  commandant  at  Detroit.  A  canoe  laden  with  Kicka- 
poos,  on  their  way  to  the  villages  near  Detroit,  was  captured  by  the 
Hurons  and  Ottawas  residing  at  these  villages,  and  who  were  the 
allies  of  the  French.  Among  the  slain  was  the  principal  Kickapoo 
chief,  whose  head,  with  those  of  three  others  of  the  same  tribe, 
were  brought  to  De  Boisson,  who  alleges  that  the  Hurons  and 
Ottawas  committed  this  act  out  of  resentment,  because  the  previous 
winter  the  Kickapoos  had  taken  some  of  the  Hurons  and  Iroquois 
prisoners,  and  also  because  they  considered  the  Kickapoo  chief  to- 
be  a  '•'-true  Outtagamie " /  that  is,  they  regarded  him  as  one  of  the 
Fox  nation.* 

From  the  village  of  Machkoutench,  where  first  Father  Claude 
Allouez,  and  afterward  Father  Marquette,  found  the  Kickapoos  inhab- 
iting the  same  village  with  the  Muscotins  and  Miamis,  the  Kickapoos 
and  the  Muscotins  appear  to  have  passed  to  the  south,  extending 
their  flanks  to  the  right  in  the  direction  of  Rockf  River,  and  their 
left  to  the  southern  trend  of  Lake  Michigan.  Referring  to  the 
country  on  Fox  River  about  Winnebago  Lake,  Father  Charlevoix 
says:^:  "All  this  country  is  extremely  beautiful,  and  that  which 
stretches  to  the  southward  as  far  as  the  river  of  the  Illinois  is  still 
more  so.  It  is,  however,  inhabited  by  two  small  nations  only,  who 
are  the  Kickapoos  and  the  Mascoutins."  Father  Charlevoix, § 
speaking  of  Fox  River,  says:  "The  largest  of  these,"  referring  to 
the  streams  that  empty  into  the  Illinois,  "is  called  Pisticoui,  and 
proceeds  from  the  fine  country  of  the  Mascoutins.  "|| 

*  Extract  from  M.  Du  Boisson's  official  report  to  the  Marquis  De  Vaudreuil,  gov- 
ernor-general of  New  France,  of  the  siege  of  Detroit,  dated  June  15,  1712.  This  val- 
uable paper  is  published  entire  in  vol.  3  of  Wm.  R.  Smith's  History  of  Wisconsin, 
a  work  that  contains  many  important  documents  not  otherwise  accessible  to  the  gen- 
eral public.  Indeed,  the  publications  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Wisconsin,  of  which 
Judge  Smith's  two  volumes  are  the  beginning,  are  the  repository  of  a  fund  of  infor- 
mation of  great  utility,  not  only  to  the  people  of  that  state,  but  to  the  entire  North- 
west. 

fRock  River — Assin-Sepe — was  also  called  Kickapoo  River,  and  so  laid  down  on  a 
map  of  La  Salle's  discoveries. 

\ Narrative  Journal,  vol.  1,  p.  287. 

§Vol.  2,  p.  199. 

I  "The  Fox  River  of  the  Illinois  is  called  by  the  Indians  Pish-ta-ko.  It  is  the 
same  mentioned  by  Charlevoix  under  the  name  of  Pisticoui,  and  which  flows  as  he, 


156  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

Prior  to  1718  the  Mascoutins  and  Kickapoos  had  villages  upon 
the  banks  of  Rock  River,  Illinois.  "Both  these  tribes  together  do 
not  amount  to  two  hundred  men.  They  are  a  clever  people  and 
brave  warriors.  Their  language  and  manners  strongly  resemble 
those  of  the  Foxes.  They  are  the  same  stock.  They  catch  deer  by 
chasing  them,  and  even  at  this  day  make  considerable  use  of  bows 
and  arrows."*  On  a  French  map,  issued  in  1712,  a  village  of  Mas- 
coutins is  located  near  the  forks  of  the  north  and  south  branches  of 
Chicago  River. 

From  references  given,  it  is  apparent  that  this  people,  like  the 
Miamis  and  Pottawatomies,  were  progressing  south  and  eastward. 
This  movement  was  probably  on  account  of  the  fierce  Sioux,  whose 
encroaching  wars  from  the  northwest  were  pressing  them  in  this 
direction.  Even  before  this  date  the  Foxes,  with  Mascoutins  and 
Kickapoos,  were  meditating  a  migration  to  the  Wabash  as  a  place  of 
security  from  the  Sioux.  This  threatened  exodus  alarmed  the  French, 
who  feared  that  the  migrating  tribes  would  be  in  a  position  on  the 
Wabash  to  eifect  a  junction  with  the  Iroquois  and  English,  which 
would  be  exceedingly  detrimental  to  the  French  interests  in  the 
northwest.  From  an  official  document  relative  to  the  "occurrences 
in  Canada,  sent  from  Quebec  to  France  in  1695,  the  Department  at 
Paris  is  informed  that  the  Sioux,  who  have  mustered  some  two  or 
three  thousand  warriors  for  the  purpose,  would  come  in  large  num- 
bers to  seize  their  village.  This  has  caused  the  outagamies  to  quit 
their  country  and  disperse  themselves  for  a  season,  and  afterward 
return  and  save  their  harvest.  They  are  then  to  retire  toward  the 
river  Wabash  to  form  a  settlement,  so  much  the  more  permanent,  as 
they  will  be  removed  from  the  incursions  of  the  Sioux,  and  in  a 
position  to  eifect  a  junction  easily  with  the  Iroquois  and  the  English 
without  the  French  being  able  to  prevent  it.  Should  this  project  be 
realized,  it  is  very  apparent  that  the  Mascoutins  and  Kickapoos  will 
be  of  the  party,  and  that  the  three  tribes,  forming  a  new  village  of 
fourteen  or  fifteen  hundred  men,  would  experience  no  difficulty  in 
considerably  increasing  it  by  attracting  other  nations  thither,  which 
would  be  of  most  pernicious  consequence,  "f  That  the  Mascoutins, 
at  least,  did  go  soon  after  this  date  toward  the  lower  Wabash  is  con- 
says,  through  the  country  of  the  Mascoutins."  Long's  Second  Expedition,  vol.  1,  p. 
176.  The  Algonquin  word  Pish-tah-te-koosh,  according  to  Edwin  James'  vocabulary, 
means  an  antelope.  The  Pottawatomies,  from  whom  Major  Long's  party  obtained  the 
word  Pish-ta-ko,  may  have  used  it  to  designate  the  same  animal,  judging  from  the 
similarity  of  the  two  words. 

*  Memoir  prepared  in  1718  on  the  Indians  between  Lake  Erie  and  the  Missis- 
sippi: Paris  Documents,  vol.  9,  p.  889. 

t  Paris  Documents,  vol.  9,  p.  019. 


OF   THE    NAME    MASCOUTINS.  157 

clusively  shown  by  the  fact  of  their  presence  about  Juchereau's 
trading  post,  which  was  erected  near  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio  in  the 
year  1700. 

It  is  doubtful  if  either  the  Foxes  or  the  Kickapoos  followed  the 
Mascoutins  to  the  Wabash  country,  and  it  is  evident  that  the  Mas- 
coutins  who  survived  the  epidemic  that  broke  out  among  them  at 
Juchereau's  post  on  the  Ohio  soon  returned  to  the  north.  The 
French  effected  a  conciliation  with  the  Sioux,  and  for  a  number  of 
years  subsequent  to  1705  we  find  the  Mascoutins  back  again  among 
the  Foxes  and  Kickapoos  upon  their  old  hunting  grounds  in  northern. 
Illinois  and  southern  Wisconsin. 

The  Kickapoos  entered  the  plot  of  the  Mascoutins  to  capture  the 
post  of  Detroit  in  1712,  and  the  latter  had  repaired  to  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Detroit,  and  were  awaiting  the  arrival  of  the  Kickapoos  to 
execute  their  purposes,  when  they  were  attacked  by  the  confedera- 
tion of  Indians  who  were  friendly  toward  the  French  and  had  hast- 
ened to  the  relief  of  the  garrison.  * 

The  Mascoutins  were  called  uMachkoutench,"f  "Machkouteng," 
"  Maskouteins  "  and  "Masquitens,"  by  French  writers.  The  Eng- 
lish called  them  "Masquattimes,":}:  "  Musquitons,"  §  "Mascou- 
tins," and  "  Musquitos,"  a  corruption  used  by  the  American  colo- 
nial traders,  and  ' '  Meadows, ' '  the  English  synonym  for  the  French 
word  "  prairie.  "^[ 

The  derivation  of  the  name  has  been  a  subject  of  discussion. 
Father  Marquette,  with  some  others,  following  the  example  of  the 
Hurons,  rendered  it  "fire-nation,"  while  Fathers  Allouez  and  Char- 
levoix,  with  recent  American  authors,  claim  that  the  word  signifies 
a  prairie,  or  "  a  land  bare  of  trees,"  such  as  that  which  this  people 
inhabit.**  The  name  is  doubtless  derived  from  mus-kor-tence^\  or 
mus-ko-tia,  a  prairie,  a  derivative  from  skoutay  or  scote,  the  word  for 
fire.^  "  The  Mascos  or  Mascoutins  were,  by  the  French  traders  of  a 
more  recent  day,  called  gens  des  prairies,  and  lived  and  hunted  on 
the  great  prairies  between  the  Wabash  and  Illinois  Rivers.  "§£  That 

*   History  of  New  France,  vol.  5,  p.  257. 

t  Fathers  Claude  Allouez  and  Marquette. 

\   George  Croghan's  Narrative  Journal. 

§  Minutes  of  the  treaty  at  Greenville  in  1795. 

||    Samuel  R.  Brown's  Western  Gazetteer. 

11  It  was  some  years  after  the  conquest  of  the  northwest  from  the  French  before 
the  name  "prairie"  became  naturalized,  as  it  were,  into  the  English  language. 

**  Charlevoix'  Narrative  Journal,  vol.  1,  p.  287.  Father  Allouez,  in  the  Jesuit  Re- 
lations between  the  years  1670  and  1671. 

ft  Note  of  Callaghan:  Paris  Documents,  vol.  10. 

it  Tanner,  Gallatin,  Mackenzie  and  Johnson's  vocabularies  of  Algonquin  words. 

§§  Manuscript  account  of  this  and  other  tribes,  by  Major  Forsyth,  quoted  by  Drake, 
in  his  Life  of  Black  Hawk. 


158  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

the  word  Muskotia  is  synonymous  with,  and  has  the  same  meaning 
as,  the  word  prairie,  is  further  confirmed  by  the  fact  that  the  Indians 
prefixed  it  to  the  names  of  those  animals  and  plants  found  exclu- 
sively on  the  prairies.* 

Were  the  Kickapoos  and  Mascoutins  separate  tribes,  or  were  they 
one  and  the  same  ?  These  queries  have  elicited  the  attention  of 
scholars  well  versed  in  the  history  of  the  ISTorth  American  Indians, 
among  whom  might  be  named  Schoolcraft,  Gallatin  and  Shea. 
Sufficient  references  have  been  given  in  this  chapter  to  show  that, 
by  the  French,  the  Kickapoos  and  Mascoutins  were  regarded  as  dis- 
tinct tribes.  If  necessary,  additional  extracts  to  the  same  purport 
could  be  produced  from  numerous  French  documents  down  to  the 
close  of  the  French  colonial  war,  in  1763,  all  bearing  uniform  testi- 
mony upon  this  point. 

The  theory  has  been  advanced  that  the  Mascoutins  and  Kickapoos 
were  bands  of  one  tribe,  first  known  to  the  French  by  the  former 
name,  and  subsequently  to  the  English  by  the  latter,  under  which 
name  alone  they  figure  in  our  later  annals,  f  This  supposition  is  at 
variance  with  English  and  American  authorities.  It  was  a  war  party 
of  Kickapoos  and  Mascoutins,  from  their  contiguous  villages  near 
Fort  Ouitanon,  on  the  Wabash,  who  captured  George  Croghan,  the 
English  plenipotentiary,  below  the  mouth  of  that  river  in  1765.  \  Sir 
William  Johnson,  the  English  colonial  agent  on  Indian  affairs,  in 
the  classified  list  of  Indians  within  his  department,  prepared  in  1763, 
enumerates  loth  the  Kickapoos  and  Mascoutins,  locating  them  "in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  fort  at  Wawiaghta,  and  about  the  Wabash 
River."§  Captain  Imlay,  "commissioner  for  laying  out  lands  in  the 
back  settlements,"-  — as  the  territory  west  of  the  Alleghanies  was 
termed  at  that  period, — in  his  list  of  westward  Indians,  classifies  the 
Kickapoos  (under  the  name  of  Vermilions)  and  the  Muscatiiies,  lo- 
cating these  two  tribes  between  the  Wabash  and  Illinois  Rivers.  This 
was  in  1792.  |  The  distinction  between  these  two  tribes  was  main- 
tained still  later,  and  down  to  a  period  subsequent  to  the  year  1816. 
At  that  time  the  Mascoutins  were  residing  on  the  west  bank  of  the 
Wabash,  between  Yincennes  and  the  Tippecanoe  River,  while  their 
old  neighbors,  the  Kickapoos,  were  living  a  short  distance  above 

*For  example,  mus-ko-tia-chit-ta-mo,  prairie  squirrel;  mus-ko-ti-pe-neeg,  prairie 
potatoes.  Edwin  James'  Catalogue  of  Plants  and  Animals  found  in  the  country  of 
the  Ojibbeways.  See  further  references  on  page  35. 

fThe  Indian  Tribes  of  Wisconsin:  Historical  Collections  of  that  State,  vol.  3,  p. 
130. 

i  Vide  his  Narrative  Journal. 

§  Colonial  History  of  New  York,  vol.  7:  London  Documents,  p.  583. 

I  Imlay's  America,  third  edtion,  London,  1797,  p.  290. 


KICKAPOOS    AND    MASCOUTINS    ONE    PEOPLE.  159 

them  in  several  large  villages.  At  this  date  the  Kickapoos  could 
raise  four  hundred  warriors.*  From  the  authors  cited, —  and  other 
references  to  the  same  eifect  would  be  produced  but  for  want  of  space, 
—it  is  evident  that  the  English  and  the  Americans,  equally  with  the 
French,  regarded  the  Kickapoos  and  Mascoutins  as  separate  bands 
or  subdivisions  of  a  tribe. 

While  this  was  so,  the  language,  manners  and  customs  of  the  two 
tribes  were  not  only  similar,  but  the  two  tribes  were  almost  invaria- 
bly found  occupying  continguous  villages,  and  hunting  in  company 
with  each  other  over  the  same  country.  "The  Kickapoos  are  neigh- 
bors of  the  Mascoutins,  and  it  seems  that  these  two  tribes  have 
always  been  united  in  interests,  "f  There  is  no  instance  recorded 
where  they  were  ever  arrayed  against  each  other,  nor  of  a  time  when 
they  took  opposite  sides  in  any  alliance  with  other  tribes.  Another 
noticeable  fact  is  that,  with  but  one  exception,  the  Mascoutins  were 
never  known  as  such  in  any  treaty  with  the  United  States,  while  the 
Kickapoos  were  parties  to  many.  We  have  seen  that  the  former 
were  occupying  the  Wabash  country  in  common  with  the  latter  as 
far  back,  at  least,  as  1765,  when  they  captured  Croghan,  until  1816 ; 
and  in  all  of  the  treaties  for  the  extinguishment  of  the  title  of  the 
several  Indian  tribes  bordering  on  the  Wabash  and  its  tributaries, 
the  Mascoutins  are  nowhere  alluded  to,  while  the  Kickapoos  are 
prominent  parties  to  many  treaties  at  which  extensive  tracts  of  coun- 
try were  ceded.  'No  man  living,  in  his  time,  was  better  informed 
than  Gen.  Harrison, — who  conducted  these  several  treaties  on  behalf 
of  the  United  States, —  of  the  relations  and  distinctions,  however 
trifling,  that  may  have  existed  among  the  numerous  Indian  tribes 
with  whom,  in  a  long  course  of  official  capacity,  he  came  in  contact, 
either  with  the  pen,  around  the  friendly  council-fire,  or  with  the  up- 
lifted sword  upon  the  field  of  hostile  encounter.  In  all  his  volumi- 
nous correspondence  during  the  years  when  the  northwest  was  com- 
mitted to  his  charge  the  General  makes  no  mention  of  the  Mascoutins 

*  Western  Gazetteer,  by  Samuel  R.  Brown,  p.  71.  This  work  of  Mr.  Brown's  is 
exceedingly  valuable  for  the  amount  of  reliable  information  it  affords  not  obtainable 
from  any  other  source.  He  was  with  Gen.  Harrison  in  the  campaigns  of  the  war  of 
1812.  In  the  preface  to  his  Gazetteer  he  says:  "Business  and  curiosity  have  made  the 
writer  acquainted  with  a  large  portion  of  the  western  country  never  before  described. 
Where  personal  knowledge  was  wanting  I  have  availed  myself  of  the  correspondence  of 
many  of  the  most  intelligent  gentlemen  in  the  west. ' '  At  the  time  Mr. Brown  was  compil- 
ing material  for  his  Gazetteer,  "the  Harrison  Purchase  was  being  run  out  into  townships 
and  sections,"  and  Mr.  Brown  came  in  contact  with  the  surveyors  doing  the  work,  and 
derived  much  information  from  them.  The  book  is  carefully  prepared,  covering  a 
topographical  description  of  the  country  embraced,  its  towns,  rivers,  counties,  popula- 
tion, Indian  tribes,  etc.,  and  altogether  is  one  of  the  most  authentic  and  useful  books 
relative  to  "  the  west,"  which  was  attracting  the  attention  of  emigrants  at  the  time  of 
its  publication. 

t  Charlevoix'  History  of  New  France. 


160  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON  THE    NOETHWEST. 

by  that  name,  but  often  refers  to  "the  Kickapoos  of  the  prairies,'* 
to  distinguish  them  from  other  bands  of  the  same  tribe  who  occupied 
villages  in  the  timbered  portions  of  the  Wabash  and  its  tributaries.* 

At  a  subsequent  treaty  of  peace  and  friendship,  concluded  on  the 
27th  of  September,  1815,  between  Governor  Ninian  Edwards,  of 
Illinois  Territory,  and  the  chiefs,  warriors,  etc.,  of  the  Kickapoo 
nation,  Wash-e-own,  who  at  the  treaty  of  Vincennes  signed  as  a  Mas- 
coutin,  was  a  party  to  it,  and  in  this  instance  signed  as  a  Kickapoo. 
No  Mascoutins  by  that  name  appear  in  the  record  of  the  treaty,  f 

The  preceding  facts,  negative  and  direct,  admit  of  the  following 
inferences :  that  there  were  two  subdivisions  of  the  same  nation, 
known  first  to  the  French,  then  to  the  English,  and  more  recently 
to  the  Americans,  the  one  under  the  name  of  Kickapoos  and  the 
other  as  Mascoutines ;  that  they  spoke  the  same  language  and  ob- 
served the  same  customs ;  that  they  were  living  near  each  other, 
and  always  had  a  community  of  interest  in  their  wars,  alliances  and 
migrations ;  and  that  since  the  United  States  have  held  dominion 
over  the  territory  of  the  northwest  the  Kickapoos  and  Mascoutines 
have  considered  themselves  as  one  and  the  same  people,  whose  tri- 
bal relations  were  so  nearly  identical  that,  in  all  official  transactions 
with  the  federal  government,  they  were  recognized  only  as  Kicka- 
poos. And  is  it  not  apparent,  after  all,  that  there  was  only  a  nom- 
inal distinction  between  these  two  tribes,  or,  rather,  families  of  the 
same  tribe  ?  Were  not  the  Mascoutins  bands  of  the  Kickapoos  who 
dwelt  exclusively  on  the  prairies  ?  It  seems,  from  authorities  cited, 
that  this  question  admits  of  but  one  answer. 

The  destruction  that  followed  the  attempt  of  the  Mascoutins  to 
capture  Detroit  was,  perhaps,  one  of  the  most  remorseless  in  which 
white  men  took  a  part  of  which  we  have  an  account  in  the  annals  of 
Indian  warfare.  As  before  stated,  the  Muscotins  in  1712  laid  siege 
to  the  Fort,  hearing  of  which  the  Pottawatomies,  with  other  tribes 
friendly  to  the  French,  collected  in  a  large  force  for  their  assistance. 

*The  only  treaty  which  the  Mascoutins,  as  such,  were  parties  to  was  the  one 
concluded  at  Vincennes  on  the  27th  of  September,  1792,  between  the  several  Wabash 
tribes  and  Gen.  Rufus  Putnam,  on  behalf  of  the  United  States.  Two  Mascoutins 
signed  this  treaty,  viz,  Waush-eown  and  At-schat-schaw.  Three  Kickapoo  chiefs  also 
signed  the  parchment,  viz,  Me-an-ach-kah,  Ma-en-a-pah  and  Mash-a-ras-a,  the  Black 
Elk,  and,  what  is  singular,  this  last  person,  although  a  Kickapoo,  signs  himself  to  the 
treaty  as  "The  Chief  of  The  Meadows.'"  This  treaty  was  only  one  of  peace  and  friend- 
ship. The  text  of  the  treaty  is  found  in  the  American  State  Papers,  Indian  Affairs, 
vol.  1,  p.  388;  in  Judge  Dillon's  History  of  Indiana,  edition  of  1859,  pp.  293,  294,  and 
in  the  Western  Annals,  Pittsburg  edition,  pp.  605,  606.  The  names  of  the  tribes  and 
of  the  individual  chiefs  who  participated  in  it  are  not  given  in  any  of  the  works  cited. 
They  only  appear  in  the  copy  on  file  at  the  War  Department  and  in  the  original  manu- 
script journal  of  Gen.  Putnam.  The  author  is  indebted  to  Dr.  Israel  W.  Andrews, 
president  of  Marietta  College,  for  transcripts  from  Gen.  Putnam's  journal. 

t  Treaties  with  the  Indian  Tribes,  Washington  edition,  p.  172. 


IDENTITY    OF    KICKAPOOS    WITH    THE    HASCOUTIXS.  161 

The  Muscotines,  after  protracted  efforts,  abandoned  the  position  in 
which  they  were  attacked,  and  fled,  closely  pursued,  to  an  intrenched 
position  on  Presque  Isle,  opposite  Hog  Island,  near  Lake  St.  Clair, 
some  distance  above  the  fort.  Here  they  held  out  for  four  days 
against  the  combined  French  and  Indian  forces.  Their  women  and 
children  were  actually  starving,  numbers  dying  from  hunger  every 
day.  They  sent  messengers  to  the  French  officer,  begging  for  quar- 
ter, offering  to  surrender  at  discretion,  only  craving  that  their  re- 
maining women  and  children  and  themselves  might  be  spared  the 
horror  of  a  general  massacre.  The  Indian  allies  of  the  French 
would  submit  to  no  such  terms.  "At  the  end  of  the  fourth  day, 
after  fighting  with  much  courage,"  says  the  French  commander, 
"and  not  being  able  to  resist  further,  the  Muscotins  surrendered  at 
discretion  to  our  people,  who  gave  them  no  quarter.  Our  Indians 
lost  sixty  men,  killed  and  wounded.  The  enemy  lost  a  thousand 
souls  —  men,  women  and  children.  All  our  allies  returned  to  our 
fort  with  their  slaves  (meaning  the  captives),  and  their  amusement 
was  to  shoot  four  or  five  of  them  every  day.  The  Hurons  did  not 
spare  a  single  one  of  theirs."* 

We  find  no  instance  in  which  the  Kickapoos  or  Muscotins  assisted 
either  the  French  or  the  English  in  any  of  the  intrigues  or  wars  for 
the  control  of  the  fur  trade,  or  the  acquisition  of  disputed  territory 
in  the  northwest.  At  the  close  of  Pontiac's  conspiracy,  the  Kicka- 
poos, whose  temporary  lodges  were  pitched  on  the  prairie  near  Fort 
Wayne,  notified  Captain  Morris,  the  English  ambassador,  on  his 
way  from  Detroit  to  Fort  Chartes,  to  take  possession  of  "  the  coun- 
try of  the  Illinois"  ;  that  if  the  Miamis  did  not  put  him  to  death, 
they  themselves  would  do  so,  should  he  attempt  to  pass  their  camp.'f- 

Still  later,  on  the  8th  of  June,  1Y65,  as  George  Croghan,  likewise 
an  English  ambassador,  on  his  route  by  the  Ohio  River  to  Fort 
Chartes,  was  attacked  at  daybreak,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Wabash,  by 
a  party  of  eighty  Kickapoo  and  Mascoutin  warriors,  who  had  set  out 
from  Fort  Ouiatanon  to  intercept  his  passage,  and  killed  two  of  hi& 
men  and  three  Indians,  and  wounded  Croghan  himself,  and  all  the 
rest  of  his  party  except  two  white  men  and  one  Indian.  They  then 
made  all  of  them  prisoners,  and  plundered  them  of  everything  they 


*  Official  Report  of  M.  Du  Boisson  on  the  Siege  of  Detroit. 

t  Parkman's  History  of  the  Conspiracy  of  Pontiac,  3d  single  volume  edition,  p.  474. 

j  The  narrative,  Journal  of  Col.  George  Croghan,  ''who  was  sent,  at  the  peace 
of  1768,  etc.,  to  explore  the  country  adjacent  to  the  Ohio  River,  and  to  conciliate  the 
Indian  nations  who  had  hitherto  acted  with  the  French."     [Reprinted]  from  Feather- 
stonhaugh  Am.  Monthly  Journal  of  Geology,  Dec.  1831.     Pamphlet,  p.  17. 
11 


162  HISTORIC    NOTES    OX    THE    NORTHWEST. 

Having  thrown  such  obstacles  as  were  within  their  power  against 
the  French  and  English,  the  Kickapoos  were  ready  to  offer  the 
same  treatment  to  the  Americans  ;  and,  when  Col.  Rogers  Clark 
was  at  Kaskaskia,  in  1778,  negotiating  peace  treaties  with  the  west- 
ward Indians,  his  enemies  found  a  party  of  young  Kickapoos  the 
willing  instruments  to  undertake,  for  a  reward  promised,  to  kill  him. 

As  a  military  people,  the  Kickapoos  were  inferior  to  the  Miamis, 
Delawares  and  Shawnees  in  movements  requiring  large  bodies  of 
men,  but  they  were  preeminent  in  predatory  warfare.  Parties  con- 
sisting of  from  five  to  twenty  persons  were  the  usual  number  corn- 
prising  their  war  parties.  These  small  forces  would  push  out  hun- 
dreds of  miles  from  their  villages,  and  swoop  down  upon  a  feeble 
settlement,  or  an  isolated  pioneer  cabin,  and  burn  the  property,  kill 
the  cattle,  steal  the  horses,  capture  the  women  and  children,  and  be 
off  again  before  an  alarm  could  be  given  of  their  approach.  From 
such  incursions  of  the  Kickapoos  the  people  of  Kentucky  suffered 
severely.  * 

A  small  war  party  of  these  Indians  hovered  upon  the  skirts  of 
Gen.  Harmer's  army  when  he  was  conducting  the  campaign  against 
the  upper  Wabash  tribes,  in  1790.  They  cut  out  a  squad  of  ten 
regular  soldiers  of  Gen.  Harmer  by  decoying  them  into  an  ambuscade. 
Jackson  Johonnot,  the  orderly  sergeant  in  command  of  the  regulars, 
gave  an  interesting  account  of  their  capture  and  the  killing  of  his 
companions,  after  they  were  subjected  to  the  severest  hunger  and 
fatigue  on  the  march,  and  the  running  of  the  gauntlet  on  reaching 
the  Indian  villages,  f 

The  Kickapoos  were  noted  for  their  fondness  of  horses  and  their 
skill  and  daring  in  stealing  them.  They  were  so  addicted  to  this 
practice  that  Joseph  Brant,  having  been  sent  westward  to  the  Maumee 
River  in  1788,  in  the  interest  of  the  United  States,  to  bring  about  a 
reconciliation  with  the  several  tribes  inhabiting  the  Maumee  and 
Wabash,  wrote  back  that,  in  his  opinion,  ' '  the  Kickapoos,  with  the 
Shawnees  and  Miamis,  were  so  much  addicted  to  horse  stealing  that 
it  would  be  difficult  to  break  them  of  it,  and  as  that  kind  of  business 
was  their  best  harvest,  they  would,  of  course,  declare  for  war  and 
decline  giving  up  any  of  their  country.":}; 

*0ne  of  the  reasons  urged  to  induce  the  building  of  a  town  at  the  falls  of  the 
Ohio  was  that  it  would  afford  a  means  of  strength  against,  and  be  an  object  of  terror 
to,  "our  savage  enemies,  the  Kickapoo  Indians."  Letter  of  Col.  Williams,  January 
3,  1776,  from  Boonsborough,  to  the  proprietors  of  the  grant,  found  in  Sketches  of  the 
West,  by  James  Hall. 

t  Sketches  of  Western  Adventure,  by  M'Lung,  contains  a  summarized  account, 
taken  from  Johonnot's  original  narrative,  published  at  Keene,  New  Hampshire,  1816. 

i  Stone's  Life  of  Joseph  Brant,  vol.  2,  p.  278. 


KICKAPOOS    DESTROY    THE    ILLINOIS.  163 

Between  the  years  1786  and  1796,  the  Kickapoo  war  parties,  from 
their  villages  on  the  Wabash  and  Vermilion  Rivers,  kept  the  settle- 
ments in  the  vicinity  of  Kaskaskia  in  a  state  of  continual  alarm. 
Within  the  period  named  they  killed  and  captured  a  number  of 
men,  women  and  children  in  that  part  of  Illinois.  Among  their 
notable  captures  was  that  of  William  Biggs,  whom  they  took  across 
the  prairies  to  their  village  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Wabash,  above 
Attica,  Indiana.* 

Subsequent  to  the  close  of  the  Pontiac  war,  the  Kickapoos,  as- 
sisted by  the- Pottawatomies,  almost  annihilated  the  Kaskaskias  at  a 
place  since  called  Battle  Ground  Creek,  on  the  road  leading  from 
Kaskaskia  to  Shawneetown,  and  about  twenty-five  miles  from  the 
former  place. f  The  Kaskaskias  were  shut  up  in  the  villages  of 
Kaskaskia  and  Cahokia,  and  the  Kickapoos  became  the  recognized 
proprietors  of  a  large  portion  of  the  territory  of  the  Kaskaskias  on 
the  west,  and  the  hunting  grounds  of  the  Piankeshaw-Miamis  on 
the  east,  of  the  dividing  ridge  between  the  Illinois  and  Wabash 
Rivers.  The  principal  Kickapoo  towns  were  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
Illinois,  near  Peoria,  and  on  the  Yermilion,  of  the  Wabash,  and  at 
several  places  on  the  west  bank  of  the  latter  stream.  + 

The  Kickapoos  of  the  prairie  had  villages  west  of  Charleston, 
Illinois,  about  the  head-waters  of  the  Kaskaskia  and  in  many  of  the 
groves  scattered  over  the  prairies  between  the  Illinois  and  the  Wa- 
bash and  south  of  the  Kankakee,  notable  among  which  were  their 
towns  at  Elkhart  Grove,  on  the  Mackinaw,  twelve  miles  north  o£ 
Bloomington,  and  at  Oliver's  Grove,  in  Livingston  county,  Illinois. 

These  people  were  much  attached  to  the  country  along  the  Yer- 
milion River,  and  Gen.  Harrison  had  great  trouble  in  gaining  their 
consent  to  cede  it  away.  The  Kickapoos  valued  it  highly  as  a 
desirable  home,  and  because  of  the  minerals  it  was  supposed  to 
contain.  In  a  letter,  dated  December  10,  1809,  addressed  to  the 

*  Biggs  was  a  tall  and  handsome  man.  He  had  been  one  of  Col.  Clark's  soldiers, 
and  had  settled  near  Bellefountaine.  He  was  well  versed  in  the  Indians'  ways  and 
their  language.  The  Kickapoos  took  a  great  fancy  to  him.  They  adopted  him  into  their 
tribe,  put  him  through  a  ridiculous  ceremony  which  transformed  him  into  a  genuine 
Kickapoo,  after  which  he  was  offered  a  handsome  daughter  of  a  Kickapoo  brave  for  a 
wife.  He  declined  all  these  flattering  temptations,  however,  purchased  his  freedom 
through  the  agency  of  a  Spanish  trader  at  the  Kickapoo  village,  and  returned  home  to 
his  family,  going  down  the  Wabash  and  Ohio  and  up  the  Mississippi  in  a  canoe.  His- 
torical Sketch  of  the  Early  Settlements  in  Illinois,  etc.,  by  John  M.  Peck,  read  before 
the  Illinois  State  Lyceum,  August  16,  1832.  In  1826,  shortly  before  his  death,  Mr. 
Biggs  published  a  narrative  of  his  experience  "while  he  was  a  prisoner  with  the  Kick- 
apoo Indians."  It  was  published  in  pamphlet  form,  with  poor  type,  and  on  very  com- 
mon paper,  and  contains  twenty-three  pages. 

t  J.  M.  Peck's  Historical  Address. 

\  Reynolds'  Pioneer  History  of  Illinois,  J.  M.  Peck's  Address,  and  Gen.  Harrison's 
Memoirs. 


164  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON"   THE    NORTHWEST. 

Secretary  of  War,  by  Gen.  Harrison,  the  latter, —  referring  to  the 
treaty  at  Fort  Wayne  in  connection  with  his  efforts  at  that  treaty  to- 
induce  the  Kickapoos  to  release  their  title  to  the  tract  of  country 
bounded  on  the  east  by  the  Wabash,  on  the  south  by  the  northern 
line  of  the  so-called  Harrison  Purchase,  extending  from  opposite  the 
mouth  of  Raccoon  Creek,  northwest  fifteen  miles ;  thence  to  a  point 
on  the  Vermilion  River,  twenty-five  miles  in  a  direct  line  from  its 
mouth;  thence  down  the  latter  stream  to  its  confluence, —  says  "he 
was  extremely  anxious  that  the  extinguishment  of  title  should  extend 
as  high  up  as  the  Vermilion  River.  This  small  tract  [of  about 
twenty  miles  square]  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  that  can  be  con- 
ceived, and  is,  moreover,  believed  to  contain  a  very  rich  copper 
mine.  The  Indians  were  so  extremely  jealous  of  any  search  being 
made  for  this  mine  that  the  traders  were  always  cautioned  not  to> 
approach  the  hills  which  were  supposed  to  contain  it."* 

In  the  desperate  plans  of  Tecumseh  and  his  brother,  the  Prophet, 
to  unite  all  of  the  Indian  tribes  in  a  war  of  extermination  against 
the  whites,  the  Kickapoos  took  an  active  part.  Gen.  Harrison  made 
extraordinary  efforts  to  avert  the  troubles  that  culminated  in  the  bat- 
tle of  Tippecanoe.  The  Kickapoos  were  particularly  uneasy ;  and 
in  1806  Gen.  Harrison  dispatched  Capt.  Win.  Prince  to  the  Vermil- 
ion towns  with  a  speech  addressed  to  all  the  chiefs  and  warriors  of 
the  Kickapoo  tribe,  giving  Capt.  Prince  further  instructions  to  pro- 
ceed to  the  villages  in  the  prairies,  if,  after  having  delivered  the 
speech  at  the  Vermilion  towns,  he  discovered  that  there  would  be  no 
danger  in  proceeding  beyond.  The  speech,  which  was  full  of  good 
words,  had  little  effect,  and  "shortly  after  the  mission  of  Capt.* 

*  General  Harrison's  Official  Letter:  American  State  Papers  of  Indian  Affairs,  vol. 
1,  p.  726.  It  was  not  copper,  but  a  mineral  having  something  like  the  appearance  of 
silver,  that  the  Indians  so  jealously  guarded.  Recent  explorations  among  the  bluffs  on 
the  Little  Vermilion  have  resulted  in  the  discovery  of  a  number  of  ancient  smelting 
furnaces,  with  the  charred  coals  and  slag  remaining  in  and  about  them.  The  furnaces 
are  crude,  consisting  of  shallow  excavations  of  irregular  shape  in  the  hillsides.  These 
basins,  averaging  a  few  feet  across  the  top,  were  lined  with  fire-clay.  The  bottoms  of 
the  pits  were  connected  by  ducts  or  troughs,  also  made  of  fire-clay,  leading  into  reser- 
voirs a  little  distance  lower  down  the  hillside,  into  which  the  metal  could  flow,  when 
reduced  to  a  liquid  state,  in  the  furnaces  above.  The  pits  were  carefully  filled  with 
earth,  and  every  precaution  was  taken  to  prevent  their  discovery,  a  slight  depression  in 
the  surface  of  the  ground  being  the  only  indication  of  their  presence.  The  mines  are 
from  every  appearance  entitled  to  a  claim  of  considerable  antiquity,  and  are  probably 
"the  silver  mines  on  the  Wabash  "  that  figure  in  the  works  of  Hutchins,  Imlay,  and 
other  early  writers,  as  the  geological  formation  of  the  country  precludes  there  being 
any  of  the  metals  as  high  up  or  above  "Ouiatanon,"  in  the  vicinity  of  which  those 
authors,  as  well  as  other  writers,  have  located  these  mines.  The  most  plausible  ex- 
planation of  the  use  to  which  the  metal  was  put  is  given  by  a  half-breed  Indian, 
whose  ancestors  lived  in  the  vicinity  and  were  in  the  secret  that,  after  being  smelted, 
the  metal  was  sent  to  Montreal,  where  it  was  used  as  an  alloy  with  silver,  and  con- 
verted into  brooches,  wristbands,  and  other  like  jewelry,  and  brought  back  by  the 
traders  and  disposed  of  to  the  Indians. 


PA-KOI-SHEE-CAN.  165 

Prince,  the  Prophet  found  means  to  bring  the  whole  of  the  Kicka- 
poos  entirely  under  his  influence.  He  prevailed  on  the  warriors  to 
reduce  their  old  chief,  Joseph  Renard"*  s  son,  to  a  private  man.  He 
would  have  been  put  to  death  but  for  the  insignificance  of  his  char- 
acter. "* 

The  Kickapoos  fought  in  great  numbers,  and  with  frenzied  cour- 
age, at  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe.  They  early  sided  with  the  British 
in  the  war  that  was  declared  between  the  United  States  and  Great 
Britain  the  following  June,  and  sent  out  numerous  war  parties  that 
kept  the  settlements  in  Illinois  and  Indiana  territories  in  constant 
peril,  while  other  warriors  represented  their  tribe  in  almost  every 
battle  fought  on  the  western  frontier  during  this  war. 

As  the  Pottawatomies  and  other  tribes  friendly  to  the  English 
laid  siege  to  Fort  Wayne,  the  Kickapoos,  assisted  by  the  "Winneba- 
goes,  undertook  the  capture  of  Fort  Harrison.  They  nearly  sruc- 
ceeded,  and  would  have  taken  the  fort  but  for  one  of  the  most  he- 
roic and  determined  defenses  under  Capt.  (afterward  Gen.)  Zachary 
Taylor. 

Capt.  Taylor's  official  letter  to  Gen.  Harrison,  dated  September 
10,  1812,  contains  a  graphic  account  of  the  affair  at  Fort  Harrison. 
The  writer  will  here  give  the  version  of  Pa-koi-shee-can,  whom  the 
French  called  La  Farine  and  the  Americans  The  Flour,  the  Kicka- 
poo  chief  who  planned  the  attack  and  personally  executed  the  most 
difficult  part  of  the  programme. f 

First,  the  Indians  loitered  about  the  fort,  having  a  few  of  their 
women  and  children  about  them,  to  induce  a  belief  that  their  pres- 
ence was  of  a  friendly  character,  while  the  main  body  of  warriors 
were  secreted  at  some  distance  off,  waiting  for  favorable  develop- 
ments. Under  the  pretense  of  a  want  of  provisions,  the  men  and 

*  Memoirs  of  Gen.  Harrison,  p.  85.  A  foot-note  on  the  same  page  is  as  follows: 
' '  Old  Joseph  Renard  was  a  very  different  character,  a  great  warrior  and  perfectly  sav- 
age—  delighting  in  blood.  He  once  told  some  of  the  inhabitants  of  Vincennes  that 
he  used  to  be  much  diverted  at  the  different  exclamations  of  the  Americans  and  the 
French  while  the  Indians  were  scalping  them,  the  one  exclaiming  Oh  Lord!  oh  Lord! 
oh  Lord!  —  the  other  Mon  Dieu!  mon  Dieu!  mon  Dieu!  " 

fThe  account  here  given  was  narrated  to  the  author  by  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Baptiste, 
substantially  as  it  was  told  to  her  by  "  Pa-koi-shee-can."  This  lady,  with  her  hus- 
band, Christmas  Dagney,  was  at  Fort  Harrison  in  1821,  where  the  latter  was  assisting 
in  disbursing  annuities  to  the  assembled  Indians.  The  business,  and  general  spree 
which  followed  it,  occupied  two  or  three  days.  La  Farine  was  present  with  his  people 
to  receive  their  share  of  annuities,  and  the  old  chief,  having  leisure,  edified  Mr.  Dag- 
ney and  his  wife  with  a  minute  description  of  his  attempt  to  capture  the  fort,  pointing 
out  the  position  of  the  attacking  party  and  all  the  movements  on  the  part  of  the 
Indians,  La  Farine  was  a  large,  fleshy  man,  well  advanced  in  years  and  a  thorough 
savage.  As  he  related  the  story  he  warmed  up  and  indulged  in  a  great  deal  of  pan- 
tomime, which  gave  force  to,  while  it  heightened  the  effect  of,  his  narration.  The 
particulars  are  given  substantially  as  they  were  repeated  to  the  author.  The  lady  of 
whom  he  received  it  had  never  read  an  account  of  the  engagement. 


166  HISTORIC   NOTES   ON  THE   NORTHWEST. 

women  were  permitted  to  approach  the  fort,  and  had  a  chance  to 
inspect  the  fort  and  its  defenses,  an  opportunity  of  which  the  men 
fully  availed  themselves.  A  dark  night,  giving  the  appearance  of 
rain,  favored  a  plan  which  was  at  once  put  into  execution.  The 
warriors  were  called  to  the  front,  and  the  women  and  children 
retired  to  a  place  of  safety.  La  Farine,  with  a  large  butcher  knife 
in  each  hand,  extended  himself  at  full  length  upon  the  ground.  He 
drove  one  knife  into  the  ground  and  drew  his  body  up  against  it, 
then  he  reached  forward,  with  the  knife  in  the  other  hand,  and  driv- 
ing that  into  the  ground  drew  himself  along.  In  this  way  he  ap- 
proached the  lower  block-house,  stealthily  through  the  grass.  He 
could  hear  the  sentinels  on  their  rounds  within  the  fortified  enclo- 
sure. As  they  advanced  toward  that  part  of  the  works  where  the 
lower  block-house  was  situated,  La  Farine  would  lie  still  upon  the 
ground,  and  when  the  sentinels  made  the  turn  and  were  moving  in 
the  opposite  direction,  he  would  again  crawl  nearer.*  In  this  manner 
La  Farine  reached  the  very  walls  of  the  block-house.  There  was  a 
crack  between  the  logs  of  the  block-house,  and  through  this  opening 
the  Kickapoo  placed  a  quantity  of  dry  grass,  bits  of  wood,  and 
other  combustible  material,  brought  in  a  blanket  tied  about  his  back, 
so  as  to  form  a  sack.  As  the  preparation  for  this  incendiarism  was 
in  progress,  the  sentinels  passed  within  a  very  few  feet  of  the  place, 
as  they  paced  by  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  block-house.  Everything 
being  in  readiness,  and  the  sentinels  at  the  farther  end  of  the  works, 
La  Farine  struck  a  fire  with  his  flint  and  thrust  it  between  the  logs, 
and  threw  his  blanket  quickly  over  the  opening,  to  prevent  the  light 
from  flashing  outside,  and  giving  the  alarm  before  the  building 
should  be  well  ablaze.  When  assured  that  the  fire  was  well  under 
way,  he  fell  back  and  gave  the  signal,  when  the  attack  was  immedi- 
ately begun  by  the  Indians  at  the  other  extremity  of  the  fort.  The 
lower  block-house  burned  up  in  spite  of  all  the  efforts  of  the  gar- 
rison to  put  out  the  fire,  and  for  awhile  the  Indians  were  exultant  in 
the  belief  of  an  assured  and  complete  victory.  Gen.  Taylor  con- 
structed a  barricade  out  of  material  taken  from  another  building, 
and  by  the  time  the  block-house  burned  the  Indians  discovered  a. 
new  line  of  defenses,  closing  up  the  breach  by  which  they  expected 
to  effect  an  entrance,  f 

*  Capt.  Taylor,  being  suspicious  of  mischief,  took  the  precaution  to  order  sentinels 
to  make  the  rounds  within  the  inclosure,  as  appears  from  his  official  report. 

fThe  Indians,  exasperated  by  the  failure  of  their  attempt  upon  Fort  Harrison, 
made  an  incursion  to  the  Pigeon  Roost  Fork  of  White  River,  where  they  massacred 
twenty-one  of  the  inhabitants,  many  of  them  women  and  children.  The  details  of 
some  of  the  barbarities  committed  on  this  incursion  are  too  shocking  to  narrate.  They 


TERRITORY   OF  THE    KICKAPOOS.  167 

in  1819,  at  a  treaty  concluded  at  Edwardsville,  Illinois,  they 
ceded  to  the  United  States  all  of  their  lands.  Their  claim  included 
the  following  territory:  "Beginning  on  the  Wabash  River,  at  the 
upper  point  of  their  cession,  made  by  the  second  article  of  their 
treaty  at  Vincennes  on  the  9th  of  December,  1809  ;*  thence  running 
northwestwardlyf  to  the  dividing  line  between  the  states  of  Illinois 
and  Indiana ;:};  thence  along  said  line  to  the  Kankakee  River ;  thence 
with  said  river  to  the  Illinois  River ;  thence  down  the  latter  to  its 
mouth ;  thence  in  a  direct  line  to  the  northwest  corner  of  the  Vin- 
cennes tract, §  and  thence  (north  by  a  little  east)  with  the  western 
and  northern  boundaries  of  the  cessions  heretofore  made  by  the 
Kickapoo  tribe  of  Indians,  to  the  beginning.  Of  which  tract  of  land 
the  said  Kickapoo  tribe  claim  a  large  portion  by  descent  from  their 
ancestors,  and  the  balance  by  conquest  from  the  Illinois  Nation  and 
uninterrupted  possession  for  more  than  half  a  century '."  An  exam- 
ination, extended  through  many  volumes,  leaves  no  doubt  of  the  just 
claims  of  the  Kickapoos  to  the  territory  described,  or  the  length  of 
time  it  had  been  in  their  possession. 

With  the  close  of  the  war  of  1812,  the  Kickapoos  ceased  their 
active  hostilities  upon  the  whites,  and  within  a  few  years  afterward 
disposed  of  their  lands  in  Illinois  and  Indiana,  and,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  a  few  bands,  went  westward  of  the  Mississippi.  "The 
Kickapoos,"  says  ex-Go v.  Reynolds,  "disliked  the  United  States  so 
much  that  they  decided,  when  they  left  Illinois  that  they  would  not 
reside  within  the  limits  of  our  government,"  but  would  settle  in 
Texas.  ||  A  large  body  of  them  did  go  to  Texas,  and  when  the 

are  given  by  Capt.  M'Affe  in  his  History  of  the  Late  War  in  the  Western  Country, 
p.  155.  The  garrison  at  Fort  Harrison  was  cut  off  from  communication  with  Vincennes 
for  several  days,  and  reduced  to  great  extremity  for  want  of  provisions.  They  were 
relieved  by  Col.  Russell.  After  this  officer  had  left  the  fort,  on  his  return  to  Vincennes, 
he  passed  several  wagons  with  provisions  on  their  way  up  to  the  fort  under  an  escort  of 
thirteen  men,  commanded  by  Lieut.  Fairbanks,  of  the  regular  army.  This  body  of 
men  were  surprised  and  cut  to  pieces  by  the  Indians,  two  or  three  only  escaping,  while 
the  provisions  and  wagons  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  savages.  Vide  M'Affe,  p.  155. 

*  At  the  mouth  of  Raccoon  Creek,  opposite  Montezuma. 

t  Following  the  northwestern  line  of  the  so-called  Harrison  Purchase. 

\  The  state  line  had  not  been  run  at  this  time,  and  when  it  was  surveyed  in  1821 
it  was  discovered  to  be  several  miles  west  of  where  it  was  generally  supposed  it  would 
be.  The  territory  of  the  Kickapoos  extended  nearly  as  far  east  as  La  Fayette,  as  is 
evident  from  the  location  of  some  of  their  villages. 

§  By  the  terms  of  the  fourth  article  of  the  treaty  of  Greenville  the  United  States 
reserved  a  tract  of  land  on  both  sides  of  the  Wabash,  above  and  below  Vincennes,  to 
cover  the  rights  of  the  inhabitants  of  that  village  who  had  received  grants  from  the 
French  and  British  governments.  In  1803,  for  the  purpose  of  settling  the  limits  of 
this  tract,  General  Harrison,  on  the  7th  of  June,  1803,  at  Fort  Wayne,  concluded  a 
treaty  with  the  Miamis,  Kickapoos,  Shawnees,  Pottawatqmies  and  Delawares.  This 
cession  of  land  became  known  as  the  Vincennes  tract,  and  its  northwest  corner  extends 
twelve  miles  into  Illinois,  crossing  the  Wabash  at  Palestine. 

1  Pioneer  History  of  Illinois,  p.  8. 


168  HISTOKIC    NOTES    ON    THE    NORTHWEST. 

Lone  Star  Republic  became  one  of  the  United  States  the  Kickapoos 
retired  to  New  Mexico,  and  subsequently  some  of  them  went  to  Old 
Mexico.  Here  on  these  isolated  borders  the  wild  bands  of  Kicka- 
poos have  for  years  maintained  the  reputation  of  their  sires  as  a  busy 
and  turbulent  people.* 

A  mixed  band  of  Kickapoos  and  Pottawatomies,  who  resided  on 
the  Yermilion  River  and  its  tributaries,  became  christianized  under 
the  instructions  of  Ka-en-ne-kuck.  This  remarkable  man,  once  a 
drunkard  himself,  reformed  and  became  an  exemplary  Christian, 
and  commanded  such  influence  over  his  band  that  they,  too,  became 
Christians,  abstained  entirely  from  whisky,  which  had  brought  them 
to  the  verge  of  destruction,  and  gave  up  many  of  the  other  vices  to 
which  they  were  previously  addicted.  Ka-en-ne-kuck  had  religious 
services  every  Sunday,  and  so  conscientious  were  his  people  that 
they  abstained  from  labor  and  all  frivolous  pastimes  on  that  day.f 

Ka-en-ne-kuck' s  discourses  were  replete  with  religious  thought, 
and  advice  given  in  accordance  with  the  precepts  of  the  Bible,  and 
are  more  interesting  because  they  were  the  utterances  of  an  unedu- 
cated Indian,  who  is  believed  to  have  done  more,  in  his  sphere  of 
action,  in  the  cause  of  temperance  and  other  moral  reforms,  than 
any  other  person  has  been  able  to  accomplish  among  the  Indians, 
although  armed  with  all  the  power  that  education  and  talent  could 
confer. 

Ka-en-ne-kuck' s  band,  numbering  about  two  hundred  persons, 
migrated  to  Kansas,  and  settled  upon  a  reservation  within  the  pres- 
ent limits  of  Jackson  and  Brown  counties,  where  the  survivors,  and 
the  immediate  descendants  of  those  who  have  since  died,  are  now 
residing  upon  their  farms.  Their  well-cultivated  fields  and  their 
uniform  good  conduct  attest  the  lasting  effect  of  Ka-en-ne-kuck's 
teachings. 

The  wild  bands  have  always  been  troublesome  upon  the  south- 
western borders,  plundering  upon  all  sides,  making  inroads  into  the 
settlements,  killing  stock  and  stealing  horses.  Every  now  and  then 

*  In  1854  a  band  of  them  were  found  by  Col.  Marcy,  living  near  Fort  Arbuckle. 
He  says  of  them:  "They  are  intelligent,  active  and  brave;  they  frequently  visit  and 
traffic  with  the  prairie  Indians,  and  have  no  fear  of  meeting  these  people  in  battle, 
provided  the  odds  are  not  more  than  six  to  one  against  them."  Marcy 's  Thirty  Years 
of  Army  Life  on  the  Border,  p.  95. 

fOne  of  Ka-en-ne-kuck's  sermons  was  delivered  at  Danville,  Illinois,  on  the  17th 
of  July,  1831,  to  his  own  tribe,  and  a  large  concourse  of  citizens  who  asked  permission 
to  be  present.  The  sermon  was  delivered  in  the  Kickapoo  dialect,  interpreted  into 
English,  sentence  at  a  time  as  spoken  by  the  orator,  by  Gurdeon  S.  Hubbard,  who  spoke 
the  Kickapoo  as  well  as  the  Pottawatomie  dialect  with  great  fluency.  The  sermon  was 
taken  down  in  writing  by  Solomon  Banta,  a  lawyer  then  living  in  Danville,  and  for- 
warded by  him  and  Col.  Hubbard  to  Judge  James  Hall,  at  Vandalia,  Illinois,  and  pub- 
lished in  the  October  number  (1831)  of  his  "  Illinois  Monthly  Magazine." 


CHARACTERISTICS.  169 

their  depredations  form  the  subject  of  items  for  the  current  news- 
papers of  the  day.  For  years  the  government  has  failed  in  efforts 
to  induce  the  wild  band  to  remove  to  some  point  within  the  Indian 
Territory,  where  they  might  be  restrained  from  annoying  the  border 
settlements  of  Texas  and  New  Mexico.  Some  years  ago  a  part  of 
the  semi-civilized  Kickapoos  in  Kansas,  preferring  their  old  wild 
life  to  the  ways  of  civilized  society,  left  Kansas  and  joined  the  bands 
to  the  southwest.  These  last,  after  twelve  years'  roving  in  quest  of 
plunder,  were  induced  to  return,  and  in  1875  they  were  settled  in 
the  Indian  Territory  and  supplied  with  the  necessary  implements 
and  provisions  to  enable  them  to  go  to  work  and  earn  an  honest  liv- 
ing. In  this  commendable  effort  at  reform  they  are  now  making 
very  satisfactory  progress.*  In  1875  the  number  of  civilized  Kick- 
apoos within  the  Kansas  agency  was  three  hundred  and  eight-five, 
while  the  wild  or  Mexican  band  numbered  four  hundred  and  twenty, 
as  appears  from  the  official  report  on  Indian  affairs  for  that  year. 

As  compared  with  other  Indians,  the  Kickapoos  were  industrious, 
intelligent,  and  cleanly  in  their  habits,  and  were  better  armed  and 
clothed  than  the  other  tribes,  f  The  men,  as  a  rule,  were  tall,  sin- 
ewy and  active ;  the  women  were  lithe,  and  many  of  them  by  no 
means  lacking  in  beauty.  Their  dialect  was  soft  and  liquid,  as  com- 
pared with  the  rough  and  guttural  language  of  the  Pottawatomies.:}; 
They  kept  aloof  from  the  white  people,  as  a  rule,  and  in  this  way 
preserved  their  characteristics,  and  contracted  fewer  of  the  vices  of 
the  white  man  than  other  tribes.  Their  numbers  were  never  great, 
as  compared  with  the  Miamis  or  Pottawatomies ;  however,  they 
made  up  for  the  deficiency  in  this  respect  by  the  energy  of  their 
movements. 

In  language,  manners  and  customs  the  Kickapoos  bore  a  very 
close  resemblance  to  the  Sac  and  Fox  Indians,  whose  allies  they 
generally  were,  and  with  whom  they  have  by  some  writers  been 
confounded. 

*  Report  of  C9mmissiqner  on  Indian  Affairs  for  the  year  1875. 
t  Reynolds'  Pioneer  History  of  Illinois. 
\  Statement  of  Col.  Hubbard  to  the  writer. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE  SHAWNEES  AND  DELA WARES. 

THE  SHAWNEES  were  a  branch  of  the  Algonquin  family,  and  in 
manners  and  customs  bore  a  strong  resemblance  to  the  Delawares. 
They  were  the  Bedouins  of  the  wilderness,  and  their  wanderings 
form  a  notable  instance  in  the  history  of  the  nomadic  races  of  JSTorth 
America.  Before  the  arrival  of  the  Europeans  th&-  Shawnees  lived 
on  the  shores  of  the  great  lakes  eastward  of  Cleveland.  At  that 
time  the  principal  Iroquois  villages  were  on  the  northern  side  of  the 
lakes,  above  Montreal,  and  this  tribe  was  under  a  species  of  subjec- 
tion to  the  Adirondacks,  the  original  tribe  from  whence  the  several 
Algonquin  tribes  are  alleged  to  have  sprung,  *  and  made  ' '  the  plant- 
ing of  corn  their  business." 

"The  Adirondacks,  however,  valued  themselves  as  delighting  in 
a  more  manly  employment,  and  despised  the  Iroquois  in  following 
a  business  which  they  thought  only  fit  for  women.  But  it  once  hap- 
pened that  game  failed  the  Adirondacks,  which  made  them  desire 
some  of  the  young  men  of  the  Iroquois  to  assist  them  in  hunting. 
These  young  men  soon  became  much  more  expert  in  hunting,  and 
able  to  endure  fatigues,  than  the  Adirondacks  expected  or  desired ; 
in  short,  they  became  jealous  of  them,  and  one  night  murdered  all 
the  young  men  they  had  with  them."  The  chiefs  of  the  Iroquois 
complained,  but  the  Adirondacks  treated  their  remonstrances  with 
contempt,  without  being  apprehensive  of  the  resentment  of  the  Iro- 
quois, "for  they  looked  upon  them  as  women." 

The  Iroquois  determined  on  revenge,  and  the  Adirondacks,  hear- 
ing of  it,  declared  war.  The  Iroquois  made  but  feeble  resistance, 
and  were  forced  to  leave  their  country  and  fly  to  the  south  shores  of 
the  lakes,  where  they  ever  afterward  lived.  "  Their  chiefs,  in  order 
to  raise  their  people's  spirits,  turned  them  against  the  Satarias,  a  less 
warlike  nation,  who  then  lived  on  the  shores  of  the  lakes."  The 
Iroquois  soon  subdued  the  Satanas,  and  drove  them  from  their 
country,  f 

*  Adirondack  is  the  Iroquois  name  for  Algonquin. 

t  Colden's  History  of  the  Five  Nations,  pp.  22,  23,  The  Shawnees  were  known  to 
the  Iroquois  by  the  name  of  Satanas.  Same  authority. 

170 


WANDEKINGS    OF   THE    SHAWNEES.  171 

In  1632  the  Shawnees  were  on  the  south  side  of  the  Delaware.* 
From  this  time  the  Iroquois  pursued  them,  each  year  driving  them 
farther  southward.  Forty  years  later  they  were  on  the  Tennessee, 
and  Father  Marquette,  in  speaking  of  them,  calls  them  Chaouanons, 
which  was  the  Illinois  word  for  southerners,  or  people  from  the 
south, so  termed  because  they  lived  to  the  south  of  the  Illinois  cantons. 
The  Iroquois  still  waged  war  upon  the  Shawnees,  driving  them  to  the 
extremities  mentioned  in  the  extracts  quoted  from  Father  Marquette' s 
journal,  f  To  escape  further  molestation  from  the  Iroquois,  the  Shaw- 
nees continued  a  more  southern  course,  and  some  of  their  bands 
penetrated  the  extreme  southern  states.  The  Suwanee  River,  in 
Florida,  derived  its  name  from  the  fact  that  the  Shawnees  once  lived 
upon  its  banks.  Black  Hoof,  the  renowned  chief  of  this  tribe,  was 
born  in  Florida,  and  informed  Gen.  Harrison,  with  whom  for  many 
years  he  was  upon  terms  of  intimacy,  that  he  had  often  bathed  in 
the  sea. 

"It  is  well  known  that  they  were  at  a  place  which  still  bears 
their  name;}:  on  the  Ohio,  a  few  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  Wabash, 
some  time  before  the  commencement  of  the  revolutionary  war,  where 
they  remained  before  their  removal  to  the  Sciota,  where  they  were 
found  in  the  year  1774  by  Gov.  Dunmore.  Their  removal  from 
Florida  was  a  necessity,  and  their  progress  from  thence  a  flight 
rather  than  a  deliberate  march.  This  is  evident  from  their  appear- 
ance when  they  presented  themselves  upon  the  Ohio  and  claimed 
protection  of  the  Miamis.  They  are  represented  by  the  chiefs  of  the 
Miamis  and  Delawares  as  supplicants  for  protection,  not  against  the 
Iroquois,  but  against  the  Creeks  and  Seminoles,  or  some  other  south- 
ern tribe,  who  had  driven  them  from  Florida,  and  they  are  said  to 
have  been  literally  sans provant  et  sans  culottes  [hungry  and  naked]. § 

After  their  dispersion  by  the  Iroquois,  remnants  of  the  tribe  were 
found  in  Illinois,  Indiana,  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania,  but  after  the 
return  of  the  main  body  from  the  south,  they  became  once  more 
united,  the  Pennsylvania  band  leaving  that  colony  about  the  same 
time  that  the  Delawares  did.  During  the  forty  years  following  that 
period,  the  whole  tribe  was  in  a  state  of  perpetual  war  with  America, 
either  as  British  colonies  or  as  independent  states.  By  the  treaty  of 

*  De  Laet. 

t  Vide  p.  49  of  this  work. 

\  Shawneetown,  Illinois. 

§Gen.  Harrison's  Historical  Address,  pp.  30,  31.  This  history  of  the  Shawnees, 
says  Gen.  Harrison,  was  brought  forward  at  a  council  at  Vincennes  in  1810,  to  resist 
the  pretensions  of  Tecumseh  to  an  interference  with  the  Miamis  in  the  disposal  of  their 
lands,  and  however  prallinpr  the  reference  to  these  facts  must  have  been  to  Tecumseh, 
he  was  unable  to  deny  them. 


172  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

Greenville,  they  lost  nearly  all  the  territory  they  had  been  permitted 
to  occupy  north  of  the  Ohio."" 

In  1819  they  were  divided  into  four  tribes, —  the  Pequa,f  the  Me- 
quachake,  the  Chillicothe,  and  the  Kiskapocoke.  The  latter  tribe 
was  the  one  to  which  Tecumseh  belonged.  They  were  always  hos- 
tile to  the  United  States,  and  joined  every  coalition  against  the  gov- 
ernment. In  1806  they  separated  from  the  rest  of  the  tribe,  and 
took  up  their  residence  at  Greenville.  Soon  afterward  they  removed 
to  their  former  place  of  residence  on  Tippecanoe  Creek,  Indiana.:}: 

At  the  close  of  Gen.  Wayne's  campaign,  a  large  body  of  the 
Shawnees  settled  near  Cape  Girardeau,  Missouri,  upon  a  tract  of 
land  granted  to  them  and  the  Delawares  in  1793,  by  Baron  de  Ca- 
rondelet,  governor  of  the  Spanish  provinces  west  of  the  Mississippi.  § 

From  their  towns  in  eastern  Ohio,  the  Shawnees  spread  north  and 
westward  to  the  headwaters  of  the  Big  and  Little  Miamis,  the  St. 
Mary's,  and  the  Au  Glaize,  and  for  quite  a  distance  down  the  Mau- 
mee.  They  had  extensive  cultivated  fields  upon  these  streams, 
which,  with  their  villages,  were  destroyed  by  Gen.  Wayne  on  his 
return  from  the  victorious  engagement  with  the  confederated  tribes 
on  the  field  of  "fallen  timbers."  Gen.  Harmer,  in  his  letter  to 
the  Secretary  of  War,  communicating  the  details  of  his  campaign 
on  the  Maumee,  in  October,  1T90,  gives  a  fine  description  of  the 
country,  and  the  location  of  the  Shawnee,  Delaware  and  Miami  vil- 
lages, in  the  neighborhood  of  Fort  Wayne,  as  they  appeared  at  that 
early  day.  We  quote:  "The  savages  and  traders  (who  were,  perhaps, 
the  worst  savages  of  the  two)  had  evacuated  their  towns,  and  burnt 
the  principal  village  called  the  Omee,*\\  together  with  all  the  traders' 
houses.  This  village  lay  on  a  pleasant  point,  formed  by  the  junc- 
tion of  the  rivers  Omee  and  St.  Joseph.  It  was  situate  on  the  east 

*Gallatin. 

f  "  In  ancient  times  they  had  a  large  fire,  which,  being  burned  down,  a  great  puffing 
and  blowing  was  heard  among  the  ashes;  they  looked,  and  behold  a  man  stood  up 
from  the  ashes!  hence  the  name  Piqua — a  man  coming  out  of  the  ashes,  or  made  of 
ashes." 

|  Account  of  the  Present  State  of  the  Indian  Tribes  Inhabiting  Ohio  :  Archaeologia 
Americana,  vol.  1,  pp.  274,  275.  Mr.  Johnson  is  in  error  in  locating  this  band  upon 
the  Tippecanoe.  The  prophets'  town  was  upon  the  west  bank  of  the  Wabash,  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Tippecanoe. 

§  Treaties  with  the  Several  Indian  Tribes,  etc.:  Government  edition,  1837.  The 
Shawnees  and  Delawares  relinquished  their  title  to  their  Spanish  grant  by  a  treaty 
concluded  between  them  and  the  United  States  on  the  26th  of  October,  1832. 

1  "The  army  returned  to  this  place  [Fort  Defiance]  on  the  27th,  by  easy  inarches, 
laying  waste  to  the  villages  and  corn-fields  for  about  fifty  miles  on  each  side  of  the 
Miami  [Maumee].  There  remains  yet  a  great  number  of  villages  and  a  great  quantity 
of  corn  to  be  consumed  or  destroyed  upon  the  Au  Glaize  and  Miami  above  this  place, 
which  will  be  effected  in  a  few  days."  Gen.  Wayne  to  the  Secretary  of  War:  Ameri- 
can State  Papers  on  Indian  Affairs,  vol.  1,  p.  491. 

^[  The  Miami  village. 


COUNTRY    OF   THE    SHAWNEES.  173 

bank  of  the  latter,  opposite  the  mouth  of  St.  Mary,  and  had  for  a 
long  time  past  been  the  rendezvous  of  a  set  of  Indian  desperadoes, 
who  infested  the  settlements,  and  stained  the  Ohio  and  parts  adjacent 
with  the  blood  of  defenseless  inhabitants.  This  day  we  advanced 
nearly  the  same  distance,  and  kept  nearly  the  same  course  as  yester- 
day ;  we  encamped  within  six  miles  of  the  object,  and  on  Sunday, 
the  17th,  entered  the  ruins  of  the  Omee  town,  or  French  village,  as 
part  of  it  is  called.  Appearances  confirmed  accounts  I  had  received  ' 
of  the  consternation  into  which  the  savages  and  their  trading  allies 
had  been  thrown  by  the  approach  of  the  army.  Many  valuables  of 
the  traders  were  destroyed  in  the  confusion,  and  vast  quantities  of 
corn  and  other  grain  and  vegetables  were  secreted  in  holes  dug  in 
the  earth,  and  other  hiding  places.  Colonel  Hardin  rejoined  the 
army." 

' ' Besides  the  town  of  Omee,  there  were  several  other  villages  situ- 
ate upon  the  banks  of  three  rivers.  One  of  them,  belonging  to 
the  Omee  Indians,  called  Kegaiogue,*  was  standing  and  contained 
thirty  houses  on  the  bank  opposite  the  principal  village.  Two  others, 
consisting  together  of  about  forty-five  houses,  lay  a  few  miles  up 
the  St.  Mary's,  and  were  inhabited  by  Delawares.  Thirty-six  houses 
occupied  by  other  savages  of  this  tribe  formed  another  but  scattered 
town,  on  the  east  bank  of  the  St.  Joseph,  two  or  three  miles  north 
from  the  French  village.  About  the  same  distance  down  the  Omee 
River,  lay  the  Shawnee  town  of  Chillicothe,  consisting  of  fifty-eight 
houses,  opposite  which,  on  the  other  bank  of  the  river,  were  sixteen 
more  habitations,  belonging  to  savages  of  the  same  nation.  All 
these  I  ordered  to  be  burnt  during  my  stay  there,  together  with 
great  quantities  of  corn  and  vegetables  hidden  as  at  the  principal 
village,  in  the  earth  and  other  places  by  the  savages,  who  had  aban- 
doned them.  It  is  computed  that  there  were  no  less  than  twenty 
thousand  bushels  of  corn,  in  the  ear,  which  the  army  either  con- 
sumed or  destroy ed.-'f 

The  Shawnees  also  had  a  populous  village  within  the  present 
limits  of  Fountain  county,  Indiana,  a  few  miles  east  of  Attica. 
They  gave  their  name  to  Shawnee  Prairie  and  to  a  stream  that  dis- 
charges into  the  "Wabash  from  the  east,  a  short  distance  below  "Will- 
iamsport. 

* Ke-ki-ong-a. — "The  name  in  English  is  said  to  signify  a  blackberry  patch  [more 
probably  a  blackberry  bush]  which,  in  its  turn,  passed  among  the  Mianiis  as  a  symbol 
of  antiquity."  Brice's  History  of  Fort  Wayne,  p.  23. 

fGen.  Banner's  Official  Letter.  It  will  be  observed  that  Gen.  Harmer  treats  the 
French  Omee  or  Miami  village  as  a  separate  town  from  that  of  Ke-ki-ong-a.  His  de- 
scription is  so  minute,  and  his  opportunities  so  favorable  to  know  the  facts,  that  there 
is  scarcely  a  probability  of  his  having  been  mistaken. 


174  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

In  1854  the  Shawnees  in  Kansas  numbered  nine  hundred  persons, 
occupying  a  reservation  of  one  million  six  hundred  thousand  acres. 
Their  lands  were  divided  into  severalty.  They  have  banished 
whisky,  and  many  of  them  have  fine  farms  under  cultivation.  Be- 
ing on  the  border  of  Missouri,  they  suffered  from  the  rebel  raids, 
and  particularly  that  of  Gen.  Price  in  1864.  In  1865  they  numbered 
eight  hundred  and  forty-five  persons.  They  furnished  for  the  Union 
army  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  men.  The  Shawnees  have  illus- 
trated by  their  own  conduct  the  capability  of  an  Indian  tribe  to 
become  civilized.* 

THE  DELAWARES  called  themselves  Lenno  Lenape,  which  signifies 
"original"  or  "unmixed"  men.  They  were  divided  into  three 
clans :  the  Turtle,  the  Wolf  and  the  Turkey.  When  first  met  with 
by  the  Europeans,  they  occupied  a  district  of  country  bounded 
eastwardly  by  the  Hudson  River  and  the  Atlantic ;  on  the  west 
their  territories  extended  to  the  ridge  separating  the  flow  of  the 
Delaware  from  the  other  streams  emptying  into  the  Susquehanna 
River  and  Chesapeake  Bay.f 

They,  according  to  their  own  traditions,  "many  hundred  years 
ago  resided  in  the  western  part  of  the  continent ;  thence  by  slow 
emigration,  they  at  length  reached  the  Alleghany  River,  so  called 
from  a  nation  of  giants,  the  Allegewi,  against  whom  the  Delawares 
and  Iroquois  (the  latter  also  emigrants  from  the  west)  carried  on 
successful  war ;  and  still  proceeding  eastward,  settled  on  the  Dela- 
ware, Hudson,  Susquehanna  and  Potomac  rivers,  making  the  Dela- 
ware the  center  of  their  possessions.:}: 

By  the  other  Algonquin  tribes  the  Delawares  were  regarded  with 
the  utmost  respect  and  veneration.  They  were  called  "fathers," 
"grandfathers,"  etc. 

"  When  William  Penn  landed  in  Pennsylvania  the  Delawares  had 
been  subjugated  and  made  women  by  the  Iroquois."  They  were 
prohibited  from  making  war,  placed  under  the  sovereignty  of  the 
Iroquois,  and  even  lost  the  right  of  dominion  to  the  lands  which 
they  had  occupied  for  so  many  generations.  Gov.  Penn,  in  his  treaty 
with  the  Delawares,  purchased  from  them  the  right  of  possession 
merely,  and  afterward  obtained  the  relinquishment  of  the  sovereignty 
from  the  Iroquois.  §  The  Delawares  accounted  for  their  humiliating 
relation  to  the  Iroquois  by  claiming  that  their  assumption  of  the 
role  of  women,  or  mediators,  was  entirely  voluntary  on  their  part. 

*  Gale's  Upper  Mississippi.  J  Taylor's  History  of  Ohio,  p.  33, 

fGallatin's  Synopsis  of  the  Indian  Tribes,  p.  44.      gGallatin's  Synopsis,  etc. 


DELAWARES    BECOME    AVOMEN.  175 

They  said  they  became  "peacemakers,"  not  through  compulsion, 
but  in  compliance  with  the  intercession  of  different  belligerent  tribes, 
and  that  this  position  enabled  their  tribe  to  command  the  respect  of 
all  the  Indians  east  of  the  Mississippi.  While  it  is  true  that  the 
Delawares  were  very  generally  recognized  as  mediators,  they  never 
in  any  war  or  treaty  exerted  an  influence  through  the  possession  of 
this  title.  It  was  an  empty  honor,  and  no  additional  power  or  ben- 
efit ever  accrued  from  it.  That  the  degrading  position  of  the  Dela- 
wares was  not  voluntary  is  proven  in  a  variety  of  ways.  "  We  possess 
none  of  the  details  of  the  war  waged  against  the  Lenapes,  but  we 
know  that  it  resulted  in  the  entire  submission  of  the  latter,  and  that 
the  Iroquois,  to  prevent  any  further  interruption  from  the  Delawares, 
adopted  a  plan  to  humble  and  degrade  them,  as  novel  as  it  was  ef- 
fectual. Singular  as  it  may  seem,  it  is  nevertheless  true  that  the 
Lenapes,  upon  the  dictation  of  the  Iroquois,  agreed  to  lay  aside  the 
character  of  warriors  and  assume  that  of  women."*  The  Iroquois, 
while  they  were  not  present  at  the  treaty  of  Greenville,  took  care  to 
inform  Gen.  Wayne  that  the  Delawares  were  their  subjects — "  that 
they  had  conquered  them  and  put  petticoats  upon  them."  At  a 
council  held  July  12,  1742,  at  the  house  of  the  lieutenant-governor 
of  Pennsylvania,  where  the  subject  of  previous  grants  of  land  was 
under  discussion,  an  Iroquois  orator  turned  to  the  Delawares  who 
were  present  at  the  council,  and  holding  a  belt  of  waumpum,  ad- 
dressed them  thus:  "Cousins,  let  this  belt  of  waumpum  serve  to 
chastise  you.  You  ought  to  be  taken  by  the  hair  of  your  head  and 
shaked  severely,  till  you  recover  your  senses  and  become  sober.  .  .  . 
But  how  came  you  to  take  upon  yourself  to  sell  land  at  all  ?  "  refer- 
ring to  lands  on  the  Delaware  River,  which  the  Delawares  had  sold 
some  fifty  years  before.  "We  conquered  you  ;  we  made  women  of 
you.  You  know  you  are  women,  and  can  no  more  sell  land  than 
women ;  nor  is  it  fit  you  should  have  the  power  of  selling  lands, 
since  you  would  abuse  it."  The  Iroquois  orator  continues  his  chas- 
tisement of  the  Delawares,  indulging  in  the  most  opprobrious  lan- 
guage, and  closed  his  speech  by  telling  the  Delawares  to  remove 
immediately.  "We  don't  give  you  the  liberty  to  think  about  it. 
You  may  return  to  the  other  side  of  the  Delaware,  where  you  came 
from  ;  but  we  don't  know,  considering  how  you  had  demeaned  your- 
selves, whether  you  will  be  permitted  to  live  there,  "f 

The  Quakers  who  settled  Pennsylvania  treated  the  Delawares  in 

*  Discourse  of  Gen.  Harrison. 

t  Minutes  of   the  Conference  at  Philadelphia,  in  Golden 's  History  of  the  Five 
Nations. 


176  HISTORIC    NOTES   ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

accordance  with  the  rules  of  justice  and  equity.  The  result  was  that 
during  a  period  of  sixty  years  peace  and  the  utmost  harmony  pre- 
vailed. This  is  the  only  instance  in  the  settling  of  America  by  the 
English  where  uninterrupted  friendship  and  good  will  existed  be- 
tween the  colonists  and  the  aboriginal  inhabitants.  Gradually  and 
by  peaceable  means  the  Quakers  obtained  possession  of  the  greater 
portion  of  their  territory,  and  the  Delawares  were  in  the  same  situa- 
tion as  other  tribes, — without  lands,  without  means  of  subsistence. 
They  were  threatened  with  starvation.  Induced  by  these  motives, 
some  of  them,  between  the  years  1740  and  1750,  obtained  from  their 
uncles,  the  Wyandots,  and  with  the  assent  of  the  Iroquois,  a  grant  of 
land  on  the  Muskingum,  in  Ohio.  The  greater  part  of  the  tribe  re- 
mained in  Pennsylvania,  and  becoming  more  and  more  dissatisfied 
with  their  lot,  shook  off  the  yoke  of  the  Iroquois,  joined  the  French 
and  ravaged  the  frontiers  of  Pennsylvania.  Peace  was  concluded  at 
Easton  in  1758,  and  ten  years  after  the  last  remaining  bands  of  the 
Delawares  crossed  the  Alleghanies.  Here,  being  removed  from  the 
influence  of  their  dreaded  masters,  the  Iroquois,  the  Delawares  soon 
assumed  their  ancient  independence.  During  the  next  four  or  five 
decades  they  were  the  most  formidable  of  the  western  tribes.  While 
the  revolutionary  war  was  in  progress,  as  allies  of  the  British,  after 
its  close,  at  the  head  of  the  northwestern  confederacy  of  Indians, 
they  fully  regained  their  lost  reputation.  By  their  geographical 
position  placed  in  the  front  of  battle,  they  were,  during  those  two 
wars,  the  most  active  and  dangerous  enemies  of  America.* 

The  territory  claimed  by  the  Delawares  subsequent  to  their  being 
driven  westward  from  their  former  possessions,  is  established  in  a 
paper  addressed  to  congress  May  10,  1779,  from  delegates  assem- 
bled at  Princeton,  New  Jersey.  The  boundaries  of  their  country, 
as  declared  in  the  address,  is  as  follows:  "From  the  mouth  of  the 
Alleghany  River,  at  Fort  Pitt,  to  the  Yenango,  and  from  thence  up 
French  Creek,  and  by  Le  Boeuf,!  along  the  old  road  to  Presque  Isle, 
on  the  east.  The  Ohio  River,  including  all  the  islands  in  it,  from 
Fort  Pitt  to  the  Ouabache,  on  t/ie  south  •  thence  up  the  River  Oua- 
bache  to  that  branch,  Ope-co-mee-cah^  and  up  the  same  to  the  head 
thereof;  from  thence  to  the  headwaters  and  springs  of  the  Great 
Miami,  or  Rocky  River ;  thence  across  to  the  headwaters  and  springs 
of  the  most  northwestern  branches  of  the  Scioto  River ;  thence  to 

*  In  the  battle  of  Fallen  Timbers  there  were  three  hundred  Delawares  out  of  seven 
hundred  Indians  who  were  in  this  engagement:  Colonial  History  of  Massachusetts, 
vol.  10. 

t  A  fort  on  the  present  site  of  Waterford,  Pa. 

\  This  was  the  name  given  by  the  Delawares  to  White  River,  Indiana. 


MAKE    PEACE.  177 

the  westernmost  springs  of  Sandusky  River ;  thence  down  said  river, 
including  the  islands  in  it  and  in  the  little  lake,  *  to  Lake  Erie,  on  the 
west  and  northwest,  and  Lake  Erie  on  the  north.  These  boundaries- 
contain  the  cessions  of  lands  made  to  the  Delaware  nation  by  the 
Wayandots  and  other  nations,  f  and  the  country  we  have  seated  our 
grandchildren,  the  Shawnees,  upon,  in  our  laps ;  and  we  promise  to- 
give  to  the  United  States  of  America  such  a  part  of  the  above 
described  country  as  would  be  convenient  to  them  and  us,  that  they 
may  have  room  for  their  children's  children  to  set  down  upon.":}: 

After  Wayne's  victory  the  Delawares  saw  that  further  contests 
with  the  American  colonies  would  be  worse  than  useless.  They 
submitted  to  the  inevitable,  acknowledged  the  supremacy  of  the 
Caucasian  race,  and  desired  to  make  peace  with  the  victors.  At  the 
treaty  of  Greenville,  in  1795,  there  were  present  three  hundred  and 
eighty-one  Delawares,  —  a  larger  representation  than  that  of  any 
other  Indian  tribe.  By  this  treaty  they  ceded  to  the  United  States 
the  greater  part  of  the  lands  allotted  to  them  by  the  Wyandots  and 
Iroquois.  For  this  cession  they  received  an  annuity  of  $1,000.§ 

At  the  close  of  the  treaty,  Bu-kon-ge-he-las,  a  Delaware  chief, 
spoke  as  follows : 

Father:  |  Your  children  all  well  understand  the  sense  of  the 
treaty  which  is  now  concluded.  We  experience  daily  proofs  of  your 
increasing  kindness.  I  hope  we  may  all  have  sense  enough  to  enjoy 
our  dawning  happiness.  Many  of  your  people  are  yet  among  us. 
I  trust  they  will  be  immediately  restored.  Last  winter  our  king 
came  forward  to  you  with  two;  and  when  he  returned  with  your 
speech  to  us,  we  immediately  prepared  to  come  forward  with  the 
remainder,  which  we  delivered  at  Fort  Defiance.  All  who  know 
me  know  me  to  be  a  man  and  a  warrior,  and  I  now  declare  that  I  will 
for  the  future  be  as  steady  and  true  a  friend  to  the  United  States  as 
I  have  heretofore  been  an  active  enemy.  "•[ 

This  promise  of  the  orator  was  faithfully  kept  by  his  people. 
They  evaded  all  the  efforts  of  the  Shawnee  prophet,  Tecumseh,  and 
the  British  who  endeavored  to  induce  them,  by  threats  or  bribes,  to> 
violate  it.** 

*  Sandusky  Bay. 

fThe  Hurons  and  Iroquois. 

\  Pioneer  History,  by  S.  P.  Hildreth,  p.  137,  where  the  paper  setting  forth  the 
claims  of  the  Delawares  is  copied. 

§  American  State  Papers:  Indian  Affairs,  vol.  1. 

||    Gen.  Wayne. 

Tf  American  State  Papers:  Indian  Affairs,  vol.  1,  p.  582. 

**  Bu-kon-ge-he-las  was  a  warrior  of  great  ability.  He  took  a  leading  part  in 
maneuvering  the  Indians  at  the  dreadful  battle  known  as  St.  Glair's  defeat.  He  rose 
from  a  private  warrior  to  the  head  of  his  tribe.  Until  after  Gen.  Wayne's  great  victory 
12 


178  HISTORIC    NOTES   ON   THE    NORTHWKST. 

The  Delawares  remained  faithful  to  the  United  States  during  the 
war  of  1812,  and,  with  the  Shawnees,  furnished  some  very  able  war- 
riors and  scouts,  who  rendered  valuable  service  to  the  United  States 
during  this  war. 

After  the  treaty  of  Greenville,  the  great  body  of  Delawares  re- 
moved to  their  lands  on  White  River,  Indiana,  whither  some  of 
their  people  had  already  preceded  them. 

Their  manner  of  obtaining  possession  of  their  lands  on  White 
River  is  thus  related  in  Dawson's  Life  of  Harrison:  "The  land  in 
question  had  been  granted  to  the  Delawares  about  the  year  1770,  by 
the  Piankeshaws,  on  condition  of  their  settling  upon  it  and  assist- 
ing them  in  a  war  with  the  Kickapoos. "  These  terms  were  complied 
with,  and  the  Delawares  remained  in  possession  of  the  land. 

The  title  to  the  tract  of  land  lying  between  the  Ohio  and  White 
Rivers  soon  became  a  subject  of  dispute  between  the  Piankeshaws 
and  Delawares.  A  chief  of  the  latter  tribe,  in  1803,  at  Yincennes, 
stated  to  Gen.  Harrison  that  the  land  belonged  to  his  tribe,  "and 
that  he  had  with  him  a  chief  who  had  been  present  at  the  transfer 
made  by  the  Piankeshaws  to  the  Delawares,  of  all  the  country  be- 
tween the  Ohio  and  White  Rivers  more  than  thirty  years  previous." 
This  claim  was  disputed  by  the  Piankeshaws.  They  admitted  that 
while  they  had  granted  the  Delawares  the  right  of  occupancy,  yet 
they  had  never  conveyed  the  right  of  sovereignty  to  the  tract  in 
question. 

Gov.  Harrison,  on  the  19th  and  27th  of  August,  1804,  concluded 
treaties  with  the  Delawares  and  Piankeshaws  by  which  the  United 
States  acquired  all  that  fine  country  between  the  Ohio  and  Wabash 
Rivers.  Both  of  "these  tribes  laying  claim  to  the  land,  it  became 

in  1794,  he  had  been  a  devoted  partisan  of  the  British  and  a  mortal  foe  to  the  United 
States.  He  was  the  most  distinguished  warrior  in  the  Indian  Confederacy;  and  as  it 
was  the  British  interests  which  had  induced  the  Indians  to  commence,  as  well  as  to  con- 
tinue, the  war,  Buck-on-ge-he-las  relied  upon  British  support  and  protection.  This 
support  had  been  given  so  far  as  relates  to  provisions,  arms  and  ammunition;  but 
at  the  end  of  the  battle  referred  to,  the  gates  of  Fort  Miamis,  near  which  the  action 
was  fought,  were  shut,  by  the  British  within,  against  the  wounded  Indians  after 
the  battle.  This  opened  the  eyes  of  the  Delaware  warrior.  He  collected  his  braves 
in  canoes,  with  the  design  of  proceeding  up  the  river,  under  a  flag  of  truce,  to  Fort 
Wayne.  On  approaching  the  British  fort  he  was  requested  to  land.  He  did  so,  and 
addressing  the  British  officer,  said,  "  What  have  you  to  say  to  me?"  The  officer  re- 
plied that  the  commandant  wished  to  speak  with  him.  "Then  he  may  come  here," 
was  the  chief's  reply.  "  He  will  not  do  that,"  said  the  sub-officer;  "and  you  will  not 
be  suffered  to  pass  the  fort  if  you  do  not  comply."  "What  shall  prevent  me?" 
"These,"  said  the  officer,  pointing  to  the  cannon  of  the  fort.  "I  fear  not  your 
cannon,"  replied  the  intrepid  chief.  "After  suffering  the  Americans  to  insult  and 
treat  you  with  such  contempt,  without  daring  to  fire  upon  tJietn,  you  cannot  expect  to 
frighten  me."  Buck-on-ge-he-las  then  ordered  his  canoes  to  push  off  from  the  shore, 
and  the  fleet  passed  the  fort  without  molestation.  A  note  [No.  2]:  Memoirs  of  Gen. 
Harrison. 


BECOME    CITIZENS.  17'.> 

necessary  that  both  should  be  satisfied,  in  order  to  prevent  disputes 
in  the  future.  In  this,  however,  the  governor  succeeded,  on  terms, 
perhaps,  more  favorable  than  if  the  title  had  been  vested  in  only 
•one  of  these  tribes ;  for,  as  both  claimed  the  land,  the  value  of  each 
claim  was  considerably  lowered  in  the  estimation  of  both ;  and, 
therefore,  by  judicious  management,  the  governor  effected  the  pur- 
chase upon  probably  as  low,  if  not  lower,  terms  that  if  he  had  been 
obliged  to  treat  with  only  one  of  them.  For  this  tract  the  Pianke- 
shaws  received  $700  in  goods  and  $200  per  annum  for  ten  years; 
the  compensation  of  the  Delawares  was  an  annuity  of  $300  for  ten 
years. 

The  Delawares  continued  to  reside  upon  White  River  and  its 
branches  until  1819,  when  most  of  them  joined  the  band  who  had 
•emigrated  to  Missouri  upon  the  tract  of  land  granted  jointly  to  them 
und  the  Shawnees,  in  1T93,  by  the  Spanish  authorities.  Others  of 
their  number  who  remained  scattered  themselves  among  the  Miamis, 
Pottawatomies  and  Kickapoos ;  while  still  others,  including  the  Mo- 
ravian converts,  went  to -Canada.  At  that  time,  1819,  the  total  num- 
ber of  those  residing  in  Indiana  was  computed  to  be  eight  hundred 
souls.  * 

In  1829  the  majority  of  the  nation  were  settled  on  the  Kansas 
and  Missouri  rivers.  They  numbered  about  1,000,  were  brave,  en- 
terprising hunters,  cultivated  lands  and  were  friendly  to  the  whites. 
In  1853  they  sold  to  the  government  all  the  lands  granted  them,  ex- 
cepting a  reservation  in  Kansas.  During  the  late  Rebellion  they 
sent  to  the  United  States  army  one  hundred  and  seventy  out  of  their 
two  hundred  able-bodied  men.  Like  their  ancestors  they  proved 
valiant  and  trustworthy  soldiers.  Of  late  years  they  have  almost 
entirely  lost  their  aboriginal  customs  and  manners.  They  live  in 
nouses,  have  schools  and  churches,  cultivate  farms,  and,  in  fact,  bid 
fair  to  become  useful  and  prominent  citizens  of  the  great  Republic. 

*  Their  principal  towns  were  on  the  branches  of  White  River,  within  the  present 
limits  of  Madison  and  Delaware  counties,  and  the  capital  of  the  latter  is  named  after 
-the  "Muncy"  or  "  Mon-o-sia  "  band.  Pipe  Creek  and  Kill  Buck  Creek,  branches  of 
White  River,  are  also  named  after  two  distinguished  Delaware  chiefs. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

THE  INDIANS:  THEIR  IMPLEMENTS,  UTENSILS,  FORTIFICATIONS, 
MOUNDS,  AND  THEIR  MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS. 

BEFORE  the  arrival  of  the  Europeans  the  use  of  iron  was  but  little 
known  to  the  North  American  Indians.  Marquette,  in  speaking  of 
the  Illinois,  states  that  they  were  entirely  ignorant  of  the  use  of  iron 
tools,  their  weapons  being  made  of  stone.  *  This  was  true  of  all  the 
Indians  who  made  their  homes  north  of  the  Ohio,  but  south  of  that 
stream  metal  tools  were  occasionally,  met  with.  When  Hernando- 
De  Soto,  in  1539-43,  was  traversing  the  southern  part  of  that  terri- 
tory, now  known  as  the  United  States,  in  his  vain  search  for  gold, 
some  of  his  followers  found  the  natives  on  "the  Savanna  River  using 
hatchets  made  of  copper,  f  It  is  evident  that  these  hatchets  were  of 
native  manufacture,  for  they  were  "said  to  have  a  mixture  of  gold.' * 

The  southern  Indians  ' '  had  long  bows,  and  their  arrows  were 
made  of  certain  canes  like  reeds,  very  heavy,  and  so  strong  that  a 
sharp  cane  passeth  through  a  target.  Some  they  arm  in  the  point 
with  a  sharp  bone  of  a  fish,  like  a  chisel,  and  in  others  they  fasten 
certain  stones  like  points  of  diamonds.":}:  These  bones  or  "scale 
of  the  armed  fish"  were  neatly  fastened  to  the  head  of  the  arrows 
with  splits  of  cane  and  fish  glue.§  The  northern  Indians  used 
arrows  with  stone  points.  Father  Rasles  thus  describes  them  : 
"Arrows  are  the  principal  arms  which  they  use  in  war  and  in  the 
chase.  They  are  pointed  at  the  end  with  a  stone,  cut  and  sharpened 
in  the  shape  of  a  serpent's  tongue  ;  and,  if  no  knife  is  at  hand,  they 
use  them  also  to  skin  the  animals  they  have  killed."  "The  bow- 
strings were  prepared  from  the  entrails  of  a  stag,  or  of  a  stag's  skin, 
which  they  know  how  to  dress  as  well  as  any  man  in  France,  and 
with  as  many  different  colors.  They  head  their  arrows  with  the  teeth 
of  fishes  an'd  stone,  which  they  work  very  finely  and  handsomely.  "T 

*  Sparks'  Life  of  Marquette,  p.  281. 

f  A  Narrative  of  the  Expedition  of  Hernando  De  Soto,  by  a  Gentleman  of  Elvas; 
published  at  Evpra  in  1557,  and  afterward  translated  and  published  in  the  second 
volume  of  the  Historical  Collections  of  Louisiana,  p.  149.  \  Idem,  p.  124. 

§  Du  Pratz'  History  of  Louisiana:  English  translation,  vol.  2,  pp.  223,  224. 

1  Kip's  Jesuit  Missions,  p.  39. 

*[  History  of  the  First  Attempt  of  the  French  to  Colonize  Florida,  in  1562,  by  Rene" 
Laudonniere:  published  in  Historical  Collections  of  Louisiana  and  Florida,  vol.  1,  p.  170. 

180 


THEY    USE   STONE   IMPLEMENTS.  181 

Most  of  the  hatchets  and  knives  of  the  northern  Indians  were 
likewise  made  of  sharpened  stones,  "which  they  fastened  in  a  cleft 
piece  of  wood  with  leathern  thongs."*  Their  tomahawks  were  con- 
structed from  stone,  the  horn  of  a  stag,  or  "from  wood  in  the  shape 
of  a  cutlass,  and  terminated  by  a  large  ball."  The  tomahawk  was 
held  in  one  hand  and  a  knife  in  the  other.  As  soon  as  they  dealt  a 
blow  on  the  head  of  an  enemy,  they  immediately  cut  it  round  with 
the  knife,  and  took  off  the  scalp  with  extraordinary  rapidity,  f 

Du  Pratz  thus  describes  their  method  of  felling  trees  with  stone 
implements  and  with  fire:  "Cutting  instruments  are  almost  con- 
tinually wanted  ;  but  as  they  had  no  iron,  which  of  all  metals  is  the 
most  useful  in  human  society,  they  were  obliged,  with  infinite  pains, 
to  form  hatchets  out  of  large  flints,  by  sharpening  their  thin  edge, 
and  making  a  hole  through  them  for  receiving  the  handle.  To  cut 
down  trees  with  these  axes  would  have  been  almost  an  impracticable 
work ;  they  were,  therefore,  obliged  to  light  fires  round  the  roots  of 
them,  and  to  cut  away  the  charcoal  as  the  fire  eat  into  the  tree.":}: 

Charlevoix  makes  a  similar  statement:  "These  people,  before 
we  provided  them  with  hatchets  and  other  instruments,  were  very 
much  at  a  loss  in  felling  their  trees,  and  making  them  fit  for  such 
uses  as  they  intended  them  for.  They  burned  them  near  the  root, 
and  in  order  to  split  and  cut  them  into  proper  lengths  they  made 
use  of  hatchets  made  of  flint,  which  never  broke,  but  which  required 
a  prodigious  time  to  sharpen.  In  order  to  fix  them  in  a  shaft,  they 
cut  off  the  top  of  a  young  tree,  making  a  slit  in  it,  as  if  they  were 
going  to  draft  it,  into  which  slit  they  inserted  the  head  of  the  axe. 
The  tree,  growing  together  again  in  length  of  time,  held  the  head 
of  the  hatchet  so  firm  that  it  was  impossible  for  it  to  get  loose ; 
they  then  cut  the  tree  at  the  length  they  deemed  sufficient  for  the 
handle.  "§ 

When  they  were  about  to  make  wooden  dishes,  porringers  or 
spoons,  they  cut  the  blocks  of  wood  to  the  required  shape  with 
stone  hatchets,  hollowed  them  out  with  coals  of  fire,  and  polished 
them  with  beaver  teeth.  | 

Early  settlers  in  the  neighborhood  of  Thorntown,  Indiana,  no- 
ticed that  the  Indians  made  their  hominy-blocks  in  a  similar  manner. 
Hound  stones  were  heated  and  placed  upon  the  blocks  which  were 
to  be  excavated.  The  charred  wood  was  dug  out  with  knives,  and 

*  Hennepin,  vol.  2,  p.  103. 

t  Letter  of  Father  Rasles  in  Kip's  Jesuit  Missions,  p.  40. 

}  Volume  2,  p.  223. 

§  Narrative  Journal,  vol.  2,  p.  126. 

||  Hennepin,  vol.  2,  p.  103. 


182  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

then  the  surface  was  polished  with  stone  implements.  These  round 
stones  were  the  common  property  of  the  tribe,  and  were  used  by 
individual  families  as  occasion  required.* 

"They  dug  their  ground  with  an  instrument  of  wood,  which  was 
fashioned  like  a  broad  mattock,  wherewith  they  dig  their  vines  as  in 
France  ;  they  put  two  grains  of  maize  together."! 

For  boiling  their  victuals  they  made  use  of  earthen  kettles.^;  The 
kettle  was  held  up  by  two  crotches  and  a  stick  of  wood  laid  across. 
The  pot  ladle,  called  by  them  mikoine,  laid  at  the  side.§  "In  the 
north  they  often  made  use  of  wooden  kettles,  and  made  the  water 
boil  by  throwing  into  it  red  hot  pebbles.  Our  iron  pots  are  esteemed 
by  them  as  much  more  commodious  than  their  own." 

That  the  North  American  Indians  not  only  used,  but  actually 
manufactured,  pottery  for  various  culinary  and  religious  purposes 
admits  of  no  argument.  Hennepin  remarks:  "Before  the  arrival 
of  the  Europeans  in  North  America  both  the  northern  and  southern 
savages  made  use  of,  and  do  to  this  day  use,  earthen  pots,  especially 
such  as  have  no  commerce  with  the  Europeans,  from  whom  they  may 
procure  kettles  and  other  movables."*!"  M.  Pouchot,  who  was  ac- 
quainted with  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  Canadian  Indians, 
states  "that  they  formerly  had  usages  and  utensils  to  which  they 
are  now  scarcely  accustomed.  They  made  pottery  and  drew  fire  from 
wood."  ** 

In  1700,  Father  Gravier,  in  speaking  of  the  Yazoos,  says:  "You 
see  there  in  their  cabins  neither  clothes,  nor  sacks,  nor  kettles,  nor 
guns  ;  they  carry  all  with  them,  and  have  no  riches  hut  earthen  pots, 
quite  well  made,  especially  little  glazed  pitchers,  as  neat  as  you  would 
see  in  France."  ft  The  Illinois  also  occasionally  used  glazed  pitch- 
ers.^ The  manufacturing  of  these  earthen  vessels  was  done  by  the 
women. §§  By  the  southern  Indians  the  earthenware  goods  were 
used  for  religious  as  well  as  domestic  purposes.  Gravier  noticed 
several  in  their  temples,  containing  bones  of  departed  warriors,, 
ashes,  etc. 

*   Statements  of  early  settlers. 

t   Laudonniere.  p.  174. 

\   Hennepin,  vol.  2,  p.  105. 

§   Pouchot's  Memoirs,  vol.  2,  p.  186. 

I    Charlevoix'  Narrative  Journal,  vol.  2,  pp.  123.  124. 

f  Volume  2,  pp.  102,  103.     This  work  was  written  in  1697. 

**  Pouchot's  Memoirs,  vol.  2,  p.  219. 

tfGravier's  Journal,  published  in  Shea's  Early  Voyages  Up  and  Down  the  Missis- 
sippi, p  135. 

tt  Vide  p.  109  of  this  work. 

§§  Gravier's  Journal,  published  in  Shea's  Early  Voyages  Up  and  Down  the  Missis- 
sippi, p.  135;  also,  Du  Pratz'  History  of  Louisiana,  vol.  2,  p.  166. 


INDIAN    FORTIFICATIONS.  183 

The  American  Indians,  both  northern  and  southern,  had  most  of 
their  villages  fortified  either  by  wooden  ^palisades,  or  earthen 
breastworks  and  palisades  combined.  De  Soto,  on  the  19th  of  June, 
1541,  entered  the  town  of  Pacaha,*  which  w"as  very  great,  walled, 
and  beset  with  towers,  and  many  loopholes  were  in  the  towers  and 
wall.f  Charlevoix  said:  "The  Indians  are  more  skillful  in  erect- 
ing their  fortifications  than  in  building  their  houses.  Here  you  see 
villages  surrounded  with  good  palisades  and  with  redoubts ;  and 
they  are  very  careful  to  lay  in  a  proper  provision  of  water  and 
stones.  These  palisades  are  double,  and  even  sometimes  treble, 
and  generally  have  battlements  on  the  outer  circumvallation.  The 
piles,  of  which  they  are  composed,  are  interwoven  with  branches  of 
trees,  without  any  void  space  between  them.  This  sort  of  fortifica- 
tion was  sufficient  to  sustain  a  long  siege  whilst  the  Indians  were 
ignorant  of  the  use  of  fire-arms."^: 

La  Hontan  thus  describes  these  palisaded  towns :  "Their  villages 
are  fortified  with  double  palisadoes  of  very  hardwood,  which  are 
as  thick  as  one's  thigh,  and  fifteen  feet  high,  with  little  squares  about 
the  middle  of  courtines."§ 

These  wooden  fortifications  were  used  to  a  comparatively  late 
day.  At  the  siege  of  Detroit,  in  1712,  the  Foxes  and  Mascoutins 
resisted,  in  a  wooden  fort,  for  nineteen  days,  the  attack  of  a  much, 
larger  force  of  Frenchmen  and  Indians.  In  order  to  avoid  the 
fire  of  the  French,  they  dug  holes  four  or  five  feet  deep  in  the  bot- 
tom of  their  fort,  jj 

The  western  Indians,  in  their  fortifications,  made  use  of  both 
earth  and  wood.  An  early  American  author  remarks:  "The  re- 
mains of  Indian  fortifications  seen  throughout  the  western  country, 
have  given  rise  to  strange  conjectures,  and  have  been  supposed  to 
appertain  to  a  period  extremely  remote  ;  but  it  is  a  fact  well  known 
that  in  some  of  them  the  remains  of  palisadoes  were  found  by  the 
first  settlers."*"  When  Maj.  Long's  party,  in  1823,  passed  through 
Fort  "Wayne,  they  inquired  of  Metea,  a  celebrated  Pottawatomie  chief 
well  versed  in  the  lore  of  his  tribe,  whether  he  had  ever  heard  of  any 
tradition  accounting  for  the  erection  of  those  artificial  mounds  which 
are  found  scattered  over  the  whole  country.  "He  immediately 
replied  that  they  had  been  constructed  by  the  Indians  as  fortijica- 

*   Probably  in  the  limits  of  the  present  state  of  Arkansas: 
t  Account  by  the  Gentleman  of  Elvas,  p.  172. 

I  Narrative  Journal,  vol.  2,  p.  128. 
§  Vol.  2,  p.  6. 

||  Dubuisson's  Official  Report. 

II  Views  of  Louisiana:  Brackenridge,  p.  14. 


184  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

tions  before  the  white  man  had  come  among  them.  He  had  always 
heard  this  origin  ascribed  to  them,  and  knew  three  of  those  con- 
structions which  were  supposed  to  have  been  made  by  his  nation. 
One  is  at  the  fork  of  the  Kankakee  and  the  Des  Plaines  Rivers,  a 
second  on  the  Ohio,  which,  from  his  description,  was  supposed  to  be 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Muskingum.  He  visited  it,  but  could  not  de- 
scribe the  spot  accurately,  and  a  third,  which  he  had  also  seen,  he 
stated  to  be  on  the  head-waters  of  the  St.  Joseph  of  Lake  Michigan. 
This  latter  place  is  about  forty  miles  northwest  of  Fort  Wayne." 

One  of  the  Miami  chiefs,  whom  the  traders  named  Le  Gros,  told 
Barren*  that  "  he  had  heard  that  his  father  had  fought  with  his  tribe 
in  one  of  the  forts  at  Piqua,  Ohio ;  that  the  fort  had  been  erected 
by  the  Indians  against  the  French,  and  that  his  father  had  been 
killed  during  one  of  the  assaults  made  upon  iff 

While  at  Chicago,  and  ''with  a  view  to  collect  as  much  informa- 
tion as  possible  on  the  subject  of  Indian  antiquities,  we  inquired  of 
Robinson  ^  whether  any  traditions  on  this  subject  were  current 
among  the  Indians.  He  observed  that  these  ancient  fortifications 
were  a  frequent  subject  of  conversation,  and  especially  those  in  the 
nature  of  excavations  made  in  the  ground.  He  had  heard  of  one 
made  by  the  Kickapoos  and  Fox  Indians  on  the  Sangamo  River,  a 
stream  running  into  the  Illinois.  This  fortification  is  distinguished 
by  the  name  of  Etnataek.  It  is  known  to  have  served  as  an  in- 
trenchment  to  the  Kickapoos  and  Foxes,  who  were  met  there  and 
defeated  by  the  Pottawatomies,  the  Ottawas  and  Chippeways.  No 
date  was  assigned  to  this  transaction.  We  understood  that  the  Et- 
nataek  was  near  the  Kickapoo  village  on  the  Sangamo. "§ 

Near  the  dividing  Ijne  between  sections  4  and  5,  township  31 
north,  of  range  11  east,  in  Kankakee  county,  Illinois,  on  the  prairie 
about  a  mile  above  the  mouth  of  Rock  Creek,  are  some  ancient 
mounds.  "One  is  very  large,  being  about  one  hundred  feet  base  in 
diameter  and  about  twenty  feet  high,  in  a  conic  form,  and  is  said  to 
contain  the  remains  of  two  hundred  Indians  who  were  killed  in  the 
celebrated  battle  between  the  Illinois  and  Chippeways,  Delawares 
and  Shawnees ;  and  about  two  chains  to  the  northeast,  and  the  same 

*  An  Indian  interpreter. 

t  Long's  Expedition  to  the  Sources  of  the  St.  Peters,  vol.  1,  pp.  121,  122. 

j  Robinson  was  a  Pottawatomie  half-breed,  of  superior  intelligence,  and  his  state- 
ments can  be  relied  upon.  He  died,  only  a  few  years  ago,  on  the  Au  Sable  River. 

§  Long's  Expedition,  vol.  1,  p.  121.  This  stream  is  laid  down  on  Joliet's  map,  pub- 
lished in  1681,  as  the  Pierres  Sanguines.  In  the  early  gazetteers  it  is  called  Sangamo: 
vide  Beck's  Illinois  and  Missouri  Gazetteer,  p.  154.  Its  signification  in  the  Pottawat- 
omie dialect  is  "  a  plenty  to  eat  ":  Early  History  of  the  West  and  Northwest,  by  S.  R. 
Beggs,  p.  157.  This  definition,  however,  is  somewhat  doubtful. 


INDIAN    MOUNDS.  185 

distance  to  the  northwest,  are  two  other  small  mounds,  which  are 
said  to  contain  the  remains  of  the  chiefs  of  the  two  parties.1'* 

Uncorroborated  Indian  traditions  are  not  entitled  to  any  high 
degree  of  credibility,  and  these  quoted  are  introduced  to  refute  the 
often  repeated  assertion  that  the  Indians  had  no  tradition  concerning 
the  origin  of  the  mounds  scattered  through  the  western  states,  or 
that  they  supposed  them  to  have  been  erected  by  a  race  who  occu- 
pied the  continent  anterior  to  themselves. 

These  mounds  were  seldom  or  never  used  for  religious  purposes 
by  the  Algonquins  or  Iroquois,  but  Penicault  states  that  when  he 
visited  the  Natchez  Indians,  in  1704,  "the  houses  of  the  Sunst  are 
built  on  mounds,  and  are  distinguished  from  each  other  by  their  size. 
The  mound  upon  which  the  house  of  the  Great  Chief,  or  Sun,  is 
built  is  larger  than  the  rest,  and  its  sides  are  steeper.  The  temple  in 
the  village  of  the  Great  Sun  is  about  thirty  feet  high  and  forty -eight 
in  circumference,  with  the  walls  eight  feet  thick  and  covered  with  a 
matting  of  canes,  in  which  they  keep  up  a  perpetual  fire.":}: 

De  Soto  found  the  houses  of  the  chiefs  built  on  mounds  of  differ- 
ent heights,  according  to  their  rank,  and  their  villages  fortified  with 
palisades,  or  walls  of  earth,  with  gateways  to  go  in  and  out.§ 

When  Gravier,  in  1700,  visited  the  Yazoos,  he  noticed  that  their 
temple  was  raised  on  a  mound  of  earth.  ||  He  also,  in  speaking  of 
the  Ohio,  states  that  "it  is  called  by  the  Illinois  and  Oumiamis  the 
river  of  the  Akansea,  because  the  Akansea  formerly  dwelt  on  it."^[ 
The  Akansea  or  Arkansas  Indians  possessed  many  traits  and  cus- 
toms in  common  with  the  Natchez,  having  temples,  pottery,  etc. 
A  still  more  important  fact  is  noticed  by  Du  Pratz,  who  was  inti- 
mately acquainted  with  the  Great  Sun.  He  s^ays:  "The  temple  is 
about  thirty  feet  square,  and  stands  on  an  artificial  mound  about 
eight  feet  high,  by  the  side  of  a  small  river.  The  mound  slopes 
insensibly  from  the  main  front,  which  is  northward,  but  on  the  other 
sides  it  is  somewhat  steeper." 

According  to  their  own  traditions,   the  Natchez   "were  at  one 

*  Manuscript  Kankakee  Surveys,  conducted  by  Dan  W.  Beckwith,  deputy  govern- 
ment surveyor,  in  1834.  Major  Beckwith  was  intimately  acquainted  with  the  Potta- 
watomies  of  the  Kankakee,  whose  villages  were  in  the  neighborhood,  and  without 
doubt  the  account  of  these  mounds  incorporated  in  his  Field  Notes  was  communicated 
to  him  by  them. 

t  The  chiefs  of  the  Natches  were  so  called  because  they  were  supposed  to  be  the 
direct  descendants  of  a  man  and  woman,  who,  descending  from  the  sun,  were  the  first 
rulers  of  this  people. 

t  Annals  of  Louisiana:  Historical  Collections  of  Louisiana  and  Florida,  new  series, 
pp.  94.  95. 

§  Account  by  the  Gentleman  of  Elvas. 

||   Early  Voyages  Up  and  Down  the  Mississippi,  p.  136. 

IT  Idem,  p.  120. 


186  HISTORIC    5K)TES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

time  the  most  powerful  nation  in  all  North  America,  and  were 
looked  upon  by  the  other  nations  as  their  superiors,  and  were,  OIL 
that  account,  respected  by  them.  Their  territory  extended  from 
the  River  Ilterville,  in  Louisiana,  to  tlie  Wabasli.'1''*  They  had  over 
five  hundred  suns,  and,  consequently,  nearly  that  many  villages. 
Their  decline  and  retreat  to  the  south  was  owing  not  to  the  superi- 
ority in  arms  of  the  less  civilized  surrounding  tribes,  but  was  due  to 
the  pride  of  their  own  chiefs,  who,  to  lend  an  imposing  magnificence 
to  their  funeral  rites,  adopted  the  impolitic  custom  of  having  hun- 
dreds of  their  followers  strangled  at  their  pyre.  Many  of  the 
mounds,  scattered  up  and  down  valleys  of  the  Wabash,  Ohio  and 
Mississippi,  while  being  the  only,  may  be  the  time-defying  monu- 
ments of  the  departed  power  and  grandeur  of  these  two  tribes. 

The  Indian  manner  of  making  a  fire  is  thus  related  by  Hennepin : 
"Their  way  of  making  a  fire,  which  is  new  and  unknown  to  us,  is 
thus :  they  take  a  triangular  piece  of  cedar  wood  of  a  foot  and  a  half 
in  length,  wherein  they  bore  some  holes  half  through  ;  then  they 
take  a  switch,  or  another  small  piece  of  hard  wood,  and  with  both 
their  hands  rub  the  strongest  upon  the  weakest  in  the  hole,  which  i& 
made  in  the  cedar,  and  while  they  are  thus  rubbing  they  let  fall  a 
sort  of  dust  or  powder,  which  turns  into  fire.  This  white  dust  they 
roll  up  in  a  pellet  of  herbs,  dried  in  autumn,  and  rubbing  them  all 
together,  and  then  blowing  upon  the  dust  that  is  in  the  pellets,  the 
fire  kindles  in  a  moment,  "f 

The  food  of  the  Indians  consisted  of  all  the  varieties  of  gamer 
fishes  and  wild  fruits  in  the  vicinity  ;  and  they  cultivated  Indian 
corn,  melons  and  squashes.  From  corn  they  made  a  preparation 
called  sagamite.  They  pulverized  the  corn,  mixed  it  with  water,, 
and  added  a  small  proportion  of  ground  gourds  or  beans. 

The  clothing  of  the  northern  Indians  consisted  only  of  the  skins 
of  wild  animals,  roughly  prepared  for  that  purpose.  Their  southern 
brethren  were  far  in  advance  of  them  in  this  respect.  "'•Many  of  the- 
women  wore  cloaks  of  the  bark  of  the  mulberry  tree,  or  of  the 
feathers  of  swans,  turkies  or  Indian  ducks.  The  bark  they  take  from 
young  mulberry  shoots  that  rise  from  the  roots  of  trees  that  have 
been  cut  down.  After  it  is  dried  in  the  sun  they  beat  it  to  make  all 
the  woody  parts  fall  off,  and  they  give  the  threads  that  remain  a 
second  beating,  after  which  they  bleach  them  by  exposing  them  to 
the  dew.  When  they  are  well  whitened  they  spin  them  about  the 
coarseness  of  pack-thread,  and  weave  them  in  the  following  manner : 

*  Du  Pratz'  History  of  Louisiana,  vol.  2,  p.  146.  t  Ibid.  vol.  2.  p.  103. 


THEIR    CANOES.  187 

They  plant  two  stakes  in  the  ground  about  a  yard  and  a  half  asunder, 
and  having  stretched  a  cord  from  the  one  to  the  other,  they  fasten 
their  threads  of  bark  double  to  this  cord,  and  then  interweave  them 
in  a  curious  manner  into  a  cloak  of  about  a  yard  square,  with  a 
wrought  border  round  the  edges.'' 

The  Indians  had  three  varieties  of  canoes,  elm-bark,  birch-bark 
and  pirogues.  "Canoes  of  elm-bark  were  not  used  for  long  voyages, 
as  they  were  very  frail.  When  the  Indians  wish  to  make  a  canoe 
of  elm-bark  they  select  the  trunk  of  a  tree  which  is  very  smooth,  at 
the  time  when  the  sap  remains.  They  cut  it  around,  above  and 
below,  about  ten,  twelve  or  fifteen  feet  apart,  according  to  the  num- 
ber of  people  which  it  is  to  carry.  After  having  taken  off  the  whole 
in  one  piece,  they  shave  off  the  roughest  of  the  bark,  which  they 
make  the  inside  of  the  canoe.  They  make  end  ties  of  the  thickness 
of  a  finger,  and  of  sufficient  length  for  the  canoe,  using  young  oak 
or  any  other  flexible  and  strong  wood,  and  fasten  the  two  larger 
folds  of  the  bark  between  these  strips,  spreading  them  apart  with 
wooden  bows,  which  are  fastened  in  about  two  feet  apart.  They  sew 
up  the  two  ends  of  the  bark  with  strips  drawn  from  the  inner  bark 
of  the  elm,  giving  attention  to  raise  up  a  little  the  two  extremities, 
which  they  call  pinees,  making  a  swell  in  the  middle  and  a  curve  on 
the  sides,  to  resist  the  wind.  If  there  are  any  chinks,  they  sew  them 
together  with  thongs  and  cover  them  with  chewing-gum,  which  they 
crowd  by  heating  it  with  a  coal  of  fire.  The  bark  is  fastened  to  the 
wooden  bows  by  wooden  thongs.  They  add  a  mast,  made  of  a  piece 
of  wood  and  cross-piece  to  serve  as  a  yard,  and  their  blankets  serve 
them  as  sails.  These  canoes  will  carry  from  three  to  nine  persons 
and  all  their  equipage.  They  sit  upon  their  heels,  without  moving, 
as  do  also  their  children,  when  they  are  in,  from  fear  of  losing  their 
balance,  when  the  whole  machine  would  upset.  But  this  very  seldom 
happened,  unless  struck  by  a  flaw  of  wind.  They  use  these  vessels 
particularly  in  their  war  parties. 

"The  canoes  made  of  birch  bark  were  much  more  solid  and  more 
artistically  constructed.  The  frames  of  these  canoes  are  made  of 
strips  of  cedar  wood,  which  is  very  flexible,  and  which  they  render 
as  thin  as  a  side  of  a  sword-scabbard,  and  three  or  four  inches  wide. 
They  all  touch  one  another,  and  come  up  to  a  point  between  the 
two  end  strips.  This  frame  is  covered  with  the  bark  of  the  birch  tree, 
sewed  together  like  skins,  secured  between  the  end  strips  and  tied 

*  Du  Pratz,  vol.  2,  p.  231;  also,  Gravier's  Voyage,  p.  134.  The  aboriginal  method  of 
procuring  thread  to  sew  together  their  garments  made  of  skins  has  already  been  no- 
ticed in  the  description  of  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  Illinois. 


188  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

along  the  ribs  with  the  inner  bark  of  the  roots  of  the  cedar,  as  we 
twist  willows  around  the  hoops  of  a  cask.  All  these  seams  are  cov- 
ered with  gum,*  as  is  done  with  canoes  of  elm  bark.  They  then 
put  in  cross-bars  to  hold  it  and  to  serve  as  seats,  and  a  long  pole, 
which  they  lay  on  from  fore  to  aft  in  rough  weather  to  prevent  it 
from  being  broken  by  the  shocks  occasioned  by  pitching.  They 
have  with  them  three,  six,  twelve  and  even  twenty-four  places,  which 
are  designated  as  so  many  seats.  The  French  are  almost  the  only 
people  who  use  these  canoes  for  their  long  voyages.  They  will  carry 
as  much  as  three  thousand  pounds,  "f  These  were  vessels  in  which 
the  fur  trade  of  the  entire  northwest  has  been  carried  on  for  so  many 
years.  They  were  very  light,  four  men  being  able  to  carry  the 
largest  of  them  over  portages.  At  night  they  were  unloaded,  drawn 
upon  the  shore,  turned  over  and  served  the  savages  or  traders  as 
huts.  They  could  endure  gales  of  wind  that  would  play  havoc  with 
vessels  of  European  manufacture.  In  calm  water,  the  canoe  men, 
in  a  sitting  posture,  used  paddles ;  in  stemming  currents,  rising  from 
their  seats,  they  substituted  poles  for  paddles,  and  in  shooting 
rapids,  they  rested  on  their  knees. 

Pirogues  were  the  trunks  of  trees  hollowed  out  and  pointed  at 
the  extremities.  A  fire  was  started  on  the  trunk,  out  of  which  the 
pirogue  was  to  be  constructed.  The  fire  was  kept  within  the  desired 
limits  by  the  dripping  of  water  upon  the  edges  of  the  trunk.  As  a 
part  became  charred,  it  was  dug  out  with  stone  hatchets  and  the  fire 
rekindled.  This  kind  of  canoes  was  especially  adapted  for  the  navi- 
gation of  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri ;  the  current  of  these  streams 
carrying  down  trees,  which  formed  snags,  rendered  their  navigation 
by  bark  canoes  exceedingly  hazardous.  It  was  probably  owing  to 
this  reason,  as  well  as  because  there  were  no  birch  trees  in  their 
country,  that  the  Illinois  and  Miamis  were  not,  as  the  Jesuits  re- 
marked, "canoe  nations;"  they  used  the  awkward,  heavy  pirogue 
instead. 

Each  nation  was  divided  into  villages.  The  Indian  village,  when 
unfortified,  had  its  cabins  scattered  along  the  banks  of  a  river  or  the 

*"The  small  roots  of  the  spruce  tree  afford  the  wattap  with  which  the  bark  is 
sewed,  and  the  gum  of  the  pine  tree  supplies  the  place  of  tar  and  oakum.  Bark,  some 
spare  wattap  and  gum  are  always  carried  in  each  canoe,  for  the  repairs  which  fre- 
quently become  necessary."  Vide  Henry's  Travels,  p.  14. 

t  The  above  extracts  are  taken  from  the  Memoir  Upon  the  Late  War  in  North  Amer- 
ica Between  the  French  and  English,  1755-1760,  by  M.  Pouchot;  translated  and  edited 
by  Franklin  Hough,  vol.  2,  pp.  216.  217.  218.  Pouchot  was  the  commandant  at  Fort 
Niagara  at  the  time  of  its  surrender  to  the  English.  He  was  exceedingly  well  veVsed 
in  all  that  pertained  to  Indian  manners  and  customs,  and  his  work  received  the  indorse- 
ment of  Marquis  Vaudreuil,  Governor  of  Canada.  Of  the  translation,  there  were  only 
two  hundred  copies  printed. 


WIGWAMS.  189 

shores  of  a  lake,  and  often  extended  for  three  or  four  miles.  Each 
cabin  held  the  head  of  the  family,  the  children,  grandchildren,  and 
often  the  brothers  and  sisters,  so  that  a  single  c"abin  not  unfrequently 
contained  as  many  as  sixty  persons.  Some  of  their  cabins  were  in 
the  form  of  elongated  squares,  of  which  the  sides  were  not  more 
than  five  or  six  feet  high.  They  were  made  of  bark,  and  the  roof 
was  prepared  from  the  same  material,  having  an  opening  in  the  top 
for  the  passage  of  srnoke.  At  both  ends  of  the  cabin  there  were 
entrances.  The  fire  was  built  under  the  hole  in  the  roof,  and  there 
were  as  many  fires  as  there  were  families. 

The  beds  were  upon  planks  on  the  floor  of  the  cabin,  or  upon 
simple  hides,  which  they  called  a/ppichimon,  placed  along  the  parti- 
tions. They  slept  upon  these  skins,  wrapped  in  their  blankets, 
which,  during  the  day,  served  them  for  clothing.  Each  one  had 
his  particular  place.  The  man  and  wife  crouched  together,  her 
back  being  against  his  body,  their  blankets  passed  around  their 
heads  and  feet,  so  that  they  looked  like  a  plate  of  ducks.  *  These 
bark  cabins  were  used  by  the  Iroquois,  and,  indeed,  by  many  Indian 
tribes  who  lived  exclusively  in  the  forests. 

The  prairie  Indians,  who  were  unable  to  procure  bark,  generally 
made  mats  out  of  platted  reeds  or  flags,  and  placed  thesejiiats  around 
three  or  four  poles  tied  together  at  the  ends.  They  were,  in  form, 
round,  and  terminated  in  a  cone.  These  mats  were  sewed  together 
with  so  much  skill  that,  when  new,  the  rain  could  not  penetrate- 
them.  This  variety  of  cabins  possessed  the  great  advantage  that, 
when  they  moved  their  place  of  residence,  the  mats  of  reeds  were 
rolled  up  and  carried  along  by  the  squaws,  f 

"The  nastiness  of  these  cabins  alone,  and  that  infection  which 
was  a  necessary  consequence  of  it,  would  have  been  to  any  one  but 
an  Indian  a  severe  punishment.  Having  no  windows,  they  were  full 
of  smoke,  and  in  cold  weather  they  were  crowded  with  clogs.  The 
Indians  never  changed  their  garments  until  they  fell  off  by  their 
very  rottenness.  Being  never  washed,  they  were  fairly  alive  with 
vermin.  In  summer  the  savages  bathed  every  day,  but  immediately 
afterward  rubbed  themselves  with  oil  and  grease  of  a  very  rank 
smell.  "In  winter  they  remained  unwashed,  and  it  was  impossible 
to  enter  their  cabins  without  being  poisoned  with  the  stench.'' 

All  their  food  was  very  ill-seasoned  and  insipid,  "and  there  pre- 
vailed in  all  their  repasts  an  uncleanliness  which  passed  all  concep- 

*  Extract  from  Pouchot's  Memoirs,  pp.  185.  186. 

t  Letter  of  Father  Marest,  Kip's  Jesuit  Missions,  p.  199. 


190  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON    THE    NORTHWEST. 

« 

tion.  There  were  very  few  animals  which  did  not  feed  cleaner."* 
They  never  washed  their  wooden  or  bark  dishes,  nor  their  porringers 
and  spoons,  t  In  this  connection  William  Biggs  states:  "  They^; 
plucked  off  a  few  of  the  largest  feathers,  then  threw  the  duck, — 
feathers,  entrails  and  all,  —  into  the  soup-kettle,  and  cooked  it  in  that 
manner. ' '  § 

The  Indians  were  cannibals,  though  human  flesh  was  only  eaten 
at  war  feasts.  It  was  often  the  case  that  after  a  prisoner  had  been 
tortured  his  body  was  thrown  into  "the  war-kettle,"  and  his  remains 
greedily  devoured.  This  fact  is  uniformly  asserted  by  the  early 
French  writers.  Members  of  Major  Long's  party  made  especial 
inquiries  at  Fort  Wayne  concerning  this  subject,  and  were  entirely 
convinced.  They  met  persons  who  had  attended  the  feasts,  and  saw 
Indians  who  acknowledged  that  they  had  participated  in  them. 
Joseph  Barron  saw  the  Pottawatomies  with  hands  and  limbs,  both 
of  white  men  and  Cherokees,  which  they  were  about  to  devour. 
Among  some  tribes  cannibalism  was  universal,  but  it  appears  that 
among  the  Pottawatomies  and  Miamis  it  was  restricted  to  a  frater- 
nity whose  privilege  and  duty  it  was  on  all  occasions  to  eat  of  the 
enemy's  flesh;  —  at  least  one  individual  must  be  eaten.  The  flesh 
was  sometimes  dried  and  taken  to  the  villages,  j 

The  Indians  had  some  peculiar  funeral  customs.  Joutel  thus 
records  some  of  his  observations:  "They  pay  a  respect  to  their 
dead,  as  appears  by  their  special  care  of  burying  them,  and  even  of 
putting  into  lofty  coffins  the  bodies  of  such  as  are  considerable 
among  them,  as  their  chiefs  and  others,  which  is  also  practiced 
among  the  Accanceas,  but  they  differ  in  this  respect,  that  the  Accan- 
ceas  weep  and  make  their  complaints  for  some  days,  whereas  the 
Shawnees  and  other  people  of  the  Illinois  nation  do  just  the  con- 
trary, for  when  any  of  them  die  they  wrap  them  up  in  skins  and 
then  put  them  into  coffins  made  of  the  bark  of  trees,  then  sing  and 
dance  about  them  for  twenty-four  hours.  Those  dancers  take  care 
to  tie  calabashes,  or  gourds,  about  their  bodies,  with  some  Indian 
corn  in  them,  to  rattle  and  make  a  noise,  and  some  of  them  have  a 
drum,  made  of  a  great  earthen  pot,  on  which  they  extend  a  wild 
goat's  skin,  and  beat  thereon  with  one  stick,  like  our  tabors.  During 
that  rejoicing  they  threw  their  presents  on  the  coffin,  as  bracelets, 

*  Charlevoix'  Narrative  Journal,  vol.  2,  pp.  132,  133. 

t  For  a  full  account  of  their  lack  of  neatness  in  the  culinary  department,  vide  Hen- 
nepin,  vol.  2,  p.  120. 
|  The  Kickapoos. 

§  Narrative  of  William  Biggs,  p.  9. 
Ji  Long's  Expedition  to  the  sources  of  the  St.  Peters,  vol.  1,  pp.  103-106. 


BURIAL    CEREMONIES.  191 

pendants  or  pieces  of  earthenware.  When  the  ceremony  was  over 
they  buried  the  body,  with  a  part  of  the  presents,  making  choice  of 
such  as  may  be  most  proper  for  it.  They  also  bury  with  it  some 
store  of  Indian  wheat,  with  a  pot  to  boil  it  in,  for  fear  the  dead  per- 
son should  be  hungry  on  his  long  journey,  and  they  repeat  the  cere- 
mony at  the  year's  end.  A  good  number  of  presents  still  remaining, 
they  divide  them  into  several  lots  and  play  at  a  game  called  the  stick 
to  give  them  to  the  winner."* 

The  Indian  graves  were  made  of  a  large  size,  and  the  whole  of 
the  inside  lined  with  bark.  On  the  bark  was  laid  the  corpse,  accom- 
panied with  axes,  snow-shoes,  kettle,  common  shoes,  and,  if  a  wo- 
man, carrying-belts  and  paddles. 

This  was  covered  with  bark,  and  at  about  two  feet  nearer  the 
surface,  logs  were  laid  across,  and  these  again  covered  with  bark,  so 
that  the  earth  might  by  no  means  fall  upon  the  corpse,  f  If  the 
deceased,  before  his  death,  had  so  expressed  his  wish,  a  tree  was 
hollowed  out  and  the  corpse  deposited  within.  After  the  body  had 
become  entirely  decomposed,  the  bones  were  often  collected  and 
buried  in  the  earth.  Many  of  these  wooden  sepulchres  were  dis- 
covered by  the  early  settlers  in  Iroquois  county,  Illinois.  Doubt- 
less they  were  the  remains  of  Pottawatomies,  who  at  that  time  re- 
sided there. 

After  a  death  they  took  care  to  visit  every  place  near  their  cabins, 
striking  incessantly  with  rods  and  raising  the  most  hideous  cries,  in 
order  to  drive  the  souls  to  a  distance,  and  to  keep  them  from  lurk- 
ing about  their  cabins.^: 

The  Indians  believed  that  every  animal  contained  a  Manitou  or 
God,  and  that  these  spirits  could  exert  over  them  a  beneficial  or 
prejudicial  influence.  The  rattlesnake  was  especially  venerated  by 
them.  Henry  relates  an  instance  of  this  veneration.  He  saw  a 
snake,  and  procured  his  gun,  with  the  intention  of  dispatching  it. 
The  Indians  begged  him  to  desist,  and,  "with  their  pipes  and  to- 
bacco-pouches in  their  hands,  approached  the  snake.  They  sur- 
rounded it,  all  addressing  it  by  turns  and  calling  it  their  grand- 
father, but  yet  kept  at  some  distance.  During  this  part  of  the  cer- 
emony, they  filled  their  pipes,  and  each  blew  the  smoke  toward  the 
snake,  which,  as  it  appeared  to  rne,  really  received  it  with  pleasure. 
In  a  word,  after  remaining  coiled  and  receiving  incense  for  the  space 
of  half  an  hour,  it  stretched  itself  along  the  ground  in  visible  good 

*  Joutel's  Journal:  Historical  Collections  of  Louisiana,  vol.  1.  pp.  187,  188. 

t  Extract  from  Henry's  Travels,  p.  150. 

j  Charlevoix'  Narrative  Journal,  vol.  2,  p.  154. 


192  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NOKTHWEST. 

humor.  The  Indians  followed  it,  and,  still  addressing  it  by  the 
title  of  grandfather,  beseeched  it  to  take  care  of  their  families  dur- 
ing their  absence,  and  also  to  open  the  hearts  of  the  English,  that 
that  they  might  fill  their  (the  Indians')  canoes  with  rum.*  This 
reverence  of  the  Indians  for  the  rattlesnake  will  account  for  the  vast 
number  of  these  reptiles  met  with  by  early  settlers  in  localities  fa- 
vorable for  their  increase  and  security.  The  clefts  in  the  rocky 
cliffs  below  Niagara  Falls  were  so  infested  with  rattlesnakes  that 
the  Indians  removed  their  village  to  a  place  of  greater  security. 

The  Indians  had  several  games,  some  of  which  have  been  already 
noticed.  McCoy  mentions  a  singular  occurrence  of  this  nature  :  '  'A 
Miami  Indian  had  been  stabbed  with  a  knife,  who  lingered,  and  of 
whose  recovery  there  was  doubt.  On  the  12th  of  May  a  party  re- 
solved to  decide  by  a  game  of  moccasin  whether  the  man  should  live 
or  die.  In  this  game  the  party  seat  themselves  upon  the  earth 
opposite  to  each  other,  while  one  holds  a  moccasin  on  the  ground 
with  one  hand,  and  holds  in  the  other  a  small  ball ;  the  ball  he- 
affects  to  conceal  in  the  moccasin,  and  does  either  insert  it  or  not,  as 
he  shall  choose,  and  then  leaves  the  opposite  party  to  guess  where 
the  ball  is.  In  order  to  deceive  his  antagonist,  he  incessantly  utters 
a  kind  of  a  sing-song,  which  is  repeated  about  thrice  in  a  minute, 
and  moving  his  hands  in  unison  with  the  notes,  brings  one  of  them, 
at  every  repetition,  to  the  mouth  of  the  moccasin,  as  though  he  had 
that  moment  inserted  the  ball.  One  party  played  for  the  wounded 
man's  recovery  and  the  other  for  his  death  Two  games  were 
played,  in  both  of  which  the  side  for  recovery  was  triumphant,  and 
so  they  concluded  the  man  would  not  die  of  his  wounds,  "f 

The  Indians  had  a  most  excellent  knowledge  of  the  topography 
of  their  country,  and  they  drew  the  most  exact  maps  of  the  coun- 
tries they  were  acquainted  with.  They  set  down  the  true  north 
according  to  the  polar  star;  the  ports,  harbors,  rivers,  creeks,  and 
coasts  of  the  lakes  ;  roads,  mountains,  woods,  marshes  and  meadows. 
They  counted  the  distances  by  journeys  and  half-journeys,  allowing 
to  every  journey  five  leagues.  These  maps  were  drawn  upon  birch 
bark.*  "Previous  to  General  Brock's  crossing  over  to  Detroit,  he 
asked  Tecumseh  what  sort  of  a  country  he  should  have  to  pass 
through  in  case  of  his  preceding  farther.  Tecumsek  took  a  roll  of 
elm  bark,  and  extending  it  on  the  ground,  by  means  of  four  stones, 
drew  forth  his  scalping  knife,  and,  with  the  point,  etched  upon  the 

*  Alexander  Henry's  Travels,  p.  176. 
t  Baptist  Missions,  p.  98. 
\  La  Hontan,  vol.  2,  p.  13. 


MARRIAGE    AND    RELIGION. 

bark  a  plan  of  the  country,  its  hills,  woods,  rivers,  morasses,  a  plan 
which,  if  riot  as  neat,  was  fully  as  accurate  as  if  it  had  been  made 
by  a  professional  map-maker.* 

In  marriage,  they  had  no  ceremony  worth  mentioning,  the  man 
and  the  woman  agreeing  that  for  so  many  bucks,  beaver  hides,  orr 
in  short,  any  valuables,  she  should  be  his  wife.  Of  all  the  passionsr 
the  Indians  were  least  influenced  by  love.  Some  authors  claim  that 
it  had  no  existence,  excepting,  of  course,  mere  lust,  which  is  pos- 
sessed by  all  animals.  "By  women,  beauty  was  commonly  no  mo- 
tive to  marriage,  the  only  inducement  being  the  reward  which  she 
received.  It  was  said  that  the  women  were  purchased  by  the  night, 
week,  month  or  winter,  so  that  they  depended  on  fornication  for  a 
living  ;  nor  was  it  thought  either  a  crime  or  shame,  none  being 
esteemed  as  prostitutes  but  such  as  were  licentious  without  a  re- 
ward. "f  Polygamy  was  common,  but  was  seldom  practiced  except 
by  the  chiefs.  On  the  smallest  offense  husband  and  wife  parted, 
she  taking  the  domestic  utensils  and  the  children  of  her  sex.  Chil- 
dren formed  the  only  bond  of  affection  between  the  two  sexes  ;  and 
of  them,  to  the  credit  of  the  Indian  be  it  said,  they  were  very  fond. 
They  never  chastised  them,  the  only  punishment  being  to  dash,  by 
the  hand,  water  into  the  face  of  the  refractory  child.  Joutel  noticed 
this  method  of  correction  among  the  Illinois,  and  nearly  a  hundred 
years  later  Jones  mentions  the  same  custom  as  existing  among  the 


The  Algonquin  tribes,  differing  in  this  respect  from  the  southern 
Indians,  had  no  especial  religion.  They  believed  in  good  and  bad 
spirits,  and  thought  it  was  only  necessary  to  appease  the  wicked 
spirits,  for  the  good  ones  "were  all  right  anyway."  These  bad 
spirits  were  thought  to  occupy  the  bodies  of  animals,  fishes  and  rep- 
tiles, to  dwell  in  high  mountains,  gloomy  caverns,  dangerous  whirl- 
pools, and  all  large  bodies  of  water.  This  will  account  for  the 
offerings  of  tobacco  and  other  valuables  which  they  made  when 
passing  such  places.  No  ideas  of  morals  or  metaphysics  ever  en- 
tered the  head  of  the  Indians  ;  they  believed  what  was  told  them 
upon  those  subjects,  without  having  more  than  a  vague  impression 
of  their  meaning.  Some  of  the  Canadian  Indians,  in  all  sincerity, 
compared  the  Holy  Trinity  to  a  piece  of  pork.  There  they  found 
the  lean  meat,  the  fat  and  the  rind,  three  distinct  parts  that  form 

*  James'  Military  Occurrences  in  the  Late  War  Between  Great  Britain  and  the 
United  States,  vol.  1,  pp.  291,  292. 

*  Journal  of  Two  Visits  made  to  Some  Nations  West  of  the  Ohio,  by  the  Rev. 
David  Jones:  Sabin's  reprint,  p.  75. 

t  Idem. 


194  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

the  same  piece."*  Their  ideas  of  heaven  was  a  place  full  of  sen- 
sual enjoyments,  and  free  from  physical  pains.  Indeed,  it  is  doubt- 
ful if,  before  their  mythology  was  changed  by  the  partial  adoption 
of  some  of  the  doctrines  of  Christianity,  they  had  any  idea  of  spir- 
itual reward  or  punishment. 

Wampum,  prior  to  and  many  years  subsequent  to  the  advent  of 
the  Europeans,  was  the  circulating  medium  among  the  North  Ameri- 
can Indians.  It  is  made  out  of  a  marine  shell,  or  periwinkle,  some 
of  which  are  white,  others  violet,  verging  toward  black.  They  are 
perforated  in  the  direction  of  the  greater  diameter,  and  are  worked 
into  two  forms,  strings  and  belts.  The  strings  consist  of  cylinders 
strung  without  any  order,  one  after  another,  on  to  a  thread.  The 
belts  are  wide  sashes  in  which  the  white  and  purple  beads  are 
arranged  in  rows  and  tied  by  little  leathern  strings,  making  a  very 
pretty  tissue.  Wampum  belts  are  used  in  state  affairs,  and  their 
length,  width  and  color  are  in  proportion  to  the  importance  of  the 
affair  being  negotiated.  They  are  wrought,  sometimes,  into  figures 
of  considerable  beauty. 

These  belts  and  strings  of  wampum  are  the  universal  agent  with 
the  Indians,  not  only  as  money,  jewelry  or  ornaments,  but  as  annals 
and  for  registers  to  perpetuate  treaties  and  compacts  between  indi- 
viduals and  nations.  They  are  the  inviolable  and  sacred  pledges 
which  guarantee  messages,  promises  and  treaties.  As  writing  is 
not  in  use  among  them,  they  make  a  local  memoir  by  means  of 
these  belts,  each  of  which  signify  a  particular  affair  or  a  circum- 
stance relating  to  it.  The  village  chiefs  are  the  custodians,  and  com- 
municate the  affairs  they  perpetuate  to  the  young  people,  who  thus 
learn  the  history,  treaties  and  engagements  of  their  nation,  t  Belts 
are  classified  as  message,  road,  peace  or  war  belts.  White  signifies 
peace,  as  black  does  war.  The  color  therefore  at  once  indicates  the 
intention  of  the  person  or  tribe  who  sends  or  accepts  a  belt.  So 
general  was  the  importance  of  the  belt,  that  the  French  and  English, 
and  the  Americans,  even  down  as  late  as  the  treaty  of  Greenville, 
in  1795,  used  it  in  treating  with  the  Indians.:}: 

*  Pouchot's  Memoir,  vol.  2,  p.  223. 

t  The  account  given  above  is  taken  from  a  note  of  the  editor  of  the  documents 
relative  to  the  Colonial  History  of  New  York,  etc.,  vol.  9.  Paris  Documents,  p.  556. 

|  The  explanation  here  given  will  assist  the  reader  to  an  understanding  of  the 
grave  significance  attached  to  the  giving  or  receiving  of  belts  so  frequently  referred  to 
in  the  course  of  this  work. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


STONE  IMPLEMENTS. 

THE  stone  implements  illustrated  in  this  chapter  are  introduced 
as  specimens  of  workmanship  of  the  comparatively  modern  Indians, 
who  lived  and  hunted  in  the  localities  where  the  specimens  were 
found.  The  author  is  aware  that  similar  implements  have  been 
illustrated  and  described  in  works  which  relate  to  an  exclusively 
prehistoric  race.  Without  entering  into  a  discussion  concerning  the 
so-called  "Mound  Builders,"  that  being  a  subject  foreign  to  the 
scope  of  this  work,  it  may  be  stated  that  some  theorists  have  placed 
the  epoch  of  the  ' '  prehistoric  race ' '  quite  too  far  within  the  bounda- 
ries of  well-established  historical  mention,  and  have  assigned  to  the 
"  Mound  Builders  "  remains  and  relics  which  were  undoubtedly  the 
handiwork  of  the  modern  American  Indians.* 

Indeed  many  of  the  stone  implements,  also  much  of  the  pottery, 
and  many  of  the  so-called  ancient  mounds  and  excavations  as  well, 
found  throughout  the  west,  may  be  accounted  for  without  going 
beyond  the  era  of  the  North  American  Indian  in  quest  of  an  explana- 
tion. It  is  not  at  all  intended  here  to  question  the  fact  of  the  exist- 
ence of  the  prehistoric  race,  or  to  deny  that  they  have  left  more  or 
less  of  their  remains,  but  the  line  of  demarkation  between  that  race 

*  Mr.  H.  N.  Rust,  of  Chicago,  in  his  extensive  collection,  has  many  implements 
similar  to  those  attributed  to  prehistoric  man,  which  he  obtained  from  the  Sioux  Indi- 
ans of  northwestern  Dakota,  with  whom  they  were  in  daily  use.  Among1  his  samples 
are  large  stone  hammers  with  a  groove  around  the  head,  and  the  handles  nicely  at- 
tached. The  round  stone,  with  flattened  sides,  generally  regarded  as  a  relic  of  a  lost 
race,  he  found  at  the  door  of  the  lodges  of  the  Sioux,  with  the  little  stone  hammer, 
hooded  with  rawhide,  to  which  the  handle  was  fastened,  with  which  bones,  nuts  and 
other  hard  substances  were  broken  by  the  squaws  or  children  as  occasion  required. 
The  appearance  of  the  larger  disc,  and  the  well-worn  face  of  the  hammer,  indicate 
their  long  and  constant  use  by  this  people.  The  round,  egg-shaped  stone,  illustrated 
by  Fig.  9.  supposed  to  belong  to  the  prehistoric  age,  Mr.  Rust  found  in  common  use 
amonsr  this  tribe.  The  manner  of  fastening  the  handle  is  illustrated  in  the  cuts.  Figs. 
9  and  36.  The  writer  is  indebted  to  Mr.  Rust  for  favors  conferred  in  the  loan  of  imple- 
ments credited  to  his  collection,  as  well,  also,  for  his  valuable  aid  in  preparing  the 
illustrated  portion  of  this  chapter.  The  other  implements  illustrated  were  selected 
from  W.  C.  Beckwith's  collection.  The  Indians  informed  Mr.  Rust  that  these  clubs 
(Figs.  8  and  9)  were  used  to  kill  buffalo,  or  other  animals  that  had  been  wounded;  as 
implements  of  offense  and  defense  in  personal  encounters  ;  as  a  walking-stick  (the 
stone  being  used  as  a  handle)  by  the  dandies  of  the  tribe;  and  they  were  carried  as  a 
mace  or  badge  of  authority  in  the  rites  and  ceremonies  of  the  societies  established 
among  these  Indians,  which  were  similar  in  some  respects  to  our  fraternities. 

inn 


196  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

and  the  modern  Indian  cannot  be  traced  with  satisfaction  until  after 
large  collections  of  the  remains  of  both  races  shall  have  been  secured 
and  critically  compared  under  all  the  light  which  a  careful  examina- 
tion of  historical  records  will  shed  upon  this  new  and  interesting 
field  of  inquiry. 

Stone  implements  are  by  no  means  peculiar  to  North  America; 
they  have  been  found  all  over  the  inhabitable  world.  Europe  is 
especially  prolific  in  such  remains.  While  the  material  of  which  they 
are  made  varies  according  to  the  geological  resources  of  the  several 
countries  in  which  they  are  found,  there  is  a  striking  similarity  in 
the  shape,  size  and  form  of  them  all.  At  the  present  time  like 
implements  are  in  use  among  some  of  the  South  Sea  Islanders,  and 
by  a  few  tribes  of  North  American  Indians  living  in  remote  sections, 
and  enjoying  but  a  limited  intercourse  with  the  enlightened  world. 

The  stone  age  marks  an  important  epoch  in  the  progress  of  races 
of  men  from  the  early  stages  of  their  existence  toward  a  higher  civ- 
ilization. After  they  had  passed  the  stone  age,  and  learned  how  to 
manipulate  iron  and  other  metals,  their  advance,  as  a  general  rule, 
has  been  more  rapid. 

The  implements  here  illustrated  are  specimens  of  some  of  the 
more  prominent  types  of  the  vast  number  which  have  been  found 
throughout  the  valleys  of  the  Maumee,  Wabash  and  Illinois  Rivers, 
and  the  sections  of  country  drained  by  their  tributaries.  They  are 
picked  up  about  the  sites  of  old  Indian  villages,  in  localities  where 
game  was  pursued,  on  the  hillsides  and  in  the  ravines  where  they 
have  become  exposed  by  the  rains,  and  in  the  furrows  turned  up  by 
the  plowshare.  They  are  the  remains  of  the  early  occupants  of  the 
territory  we  have  described, —  testimonials  alike  of  their  necessities 
and  their  ingenuity,  and  were  used  by  them  until  an  acquaintance 
with  the  Europeans  supplied  them  with  weapons  and  utensils  formed 
out  of  metals.* 

It  will  be  observed  from  extracts  found  in  the  preceding  chapter 
that  our  Indians  made  and  used  implements  of  copper  and  stone, 
manufactured  pottery,  some  of  which  was  glazed,  wove  cloth  of  fiber 
and  also  of  wool,  erected  fortifications  of  wooden  palisades,  or  of 
palisades  and  (earth  combined,  to  protect  their  villages  from  their 
enemies,  excavated  holes  in  the  ground,  which  were  used  for  defen- 

*  It  may  be  well  to  state  in  this  connection  that  the  implements  illustrated  in  this 
work,  except  the  handled  club,  Figs.  9  and  36,  were  not  found  in  mounds  or  in  their 
vicinity,  but  were'gathered  upon  or  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  places  known  to 
the  early  settlers  as  the  sites  of  Piankeshaw,  Miami,  Pottawatomie  and  Kickapoo  vil- 
lages, and  in  the  same  localities  where  have  been  found  red-stone  pipes  of  Indian  make, 
knives,  hatchets,  gun-barrels,  buckles,  flints  for  old-fashioned  fusees,  brooches,  wrist- 
bands, kettles,  and  other  articles  of  European  manufacture. 


STONE    IMPLEMENTS. 


197 


sive  purposes,  and  erected  mounds  of  earth,  some  of  which  were 
used  for  religious  rites,  and  others  as  depositories  for  their  dead. 
All  these  facts  are  wejl  attested  by  early  Spanish,  French  and  Amer- 
ican authors,  who  have  recorded  their  observations  while  passing 
through  the  country.  We  have  also  seen  in  previous  chapters  that 
our  "red  men"  cultivated  corn  and  other  products  of  the  soil,  and 
were  as  much  an  agricultural  people  as  is  claimed  for  the  "Mound 
Builders." 

The  specimens  marked  Figs.  1,  2  and  3  are  samples  of  a  lot  of 
one  hundred  and  sixteen  pieces,  found  in  187S  in  a  "pocket"  on 
Win.  Pogue's  farm,  a  few  miles  southeast  of  Rossville,  Vermilion 


FIG.  3=%. 


FIG.  2= 


Vermilion  county,  111. 


Vermilion  county,  111. 


Vermilion  county,  111. 


county,  Illinois.  Mr.  Pogue  had  cleared  off  a  piece  of  ground  for- 
merly prairie,  on  which  a  growth  of  jack  oak  trees  and  underbrush 
had  encroached  since  the  early  settlement  of  the  county.  This  land 
had  never  been  cultivated,  and  as  it  was  being  broken  up,  the  plow- 
share ran  into  the  "nest,"  and  turned  the  implements  to  view. 
They  were  closely  packed  together,  and  buried  about  eight  inches 
below  the  natural  surface  of  the  ground,  which  was  level  with  the 
other  parts  of  the  field,  and  had  no  appearance  of  a  mound,  excava- 
tion, or  any  other  artificial  disturbance.  Two  of  the  implements, 
judging  from  their  eroded  fractures,  were  broken  at  the  time  they 


198  HISTORIC    NOTES   ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

were  deposited,  and  one  other  was  broken  in  two  by  the  plow.  The 
material  of  which  they  are  composed  is  white  chert.  The  samples 
illustrated  are  taken  as  an  average,  in  size  and  shape,  of  the  whole 
lot,  the  largest  of  which  is  3f  inches  wide  by  7  inches  long,  and  the 
smallest  2  inches  wide  by  nearly  4  inches  in  length.  Some  of  them 
are  nearly  oval,  others  long  and  pointed  at  both  ends,  in  others  the 
"shoulders"  are  well  denned,  while,  for  the  most  part,  they  are 
broadly  rounded  at  one  end  and  pointed  at  the  other.  They  are  all 
in  the  rough,  and  no  finished  implement  was  found  with  or  near  them. 
Indeed  the  whole  lot  are  apparently  in  an  unfinished  condition. 
With  very  little  dressing  they  could  be  fashioned  into  perfect  im- 
plements, such  as  the  "fleshers,"  "scrapers,"  "knives,"  "spear" 
and  "arrow"  heads  described  farther  on.  There  are  no  quarries  or 
deposits  of  flint  of  the  kind  known  to  exist  within  many  miles  of 
the  locality  where  these  implements  were  found.  We  can  only  con- 
jecture the  uses  for  which  they  were  designed.  We  can  imagine  the 
owner  to  have  been  a  merchant  or  trader,  who  had  dressed  them 
down  or  procured  them  at  the  quarries  in  this  condition,  so  they 
would  be  lighter  to  carry  to  the  tribes  on  the  prairies,  where  they 
could  be  perfected  to  suit  the  taste  of  the  purchaser.  We  might 
further  imagine  that  the  implement  merchant,  threatened  with  some 
approaching  danger,  hid  them  where  they  were  afterward  found,  and 
never  returned.  The  eroded  appearance  of  many  of  the  "find" 
bear  witness  that  the  lot  were  buried  a  great  many  years  ago.  * 

Fig.  4  is  an  axe  and  hammer  combined.  j,      4_i/ 

The  material  is  a  fine-grained  granite.  The 
handle  is  attached  with  thongs  of  rawhide 
passed  around  the  groove,  or  with  a  split  stick 
or  forked  branch  wythed  around,  and  either 
kind  of  fastening  could  be  tightened  by  driv- 
ing a  wedge  between  the  attachment  and  the 
surface  of  the  implement,  which  on  the  back 
is  slightly  concaved  to  hold  the  wedge  in 
place. 

Figs.  5,  6  and  7  are  also  axes ;  material, 
dark  granite.  Heretofore  it  has  been  the 
popular  opinion  that  these  .instruments  are 
"fleshers,"  and  were  used  in  skinning  animals,  cutting  up  the  flesh, 

*The  writer  has  divided  the  "lot,''  sending  samples  to  the  Historical  Societies  of 
Wisconsin  and  Chicago,  and  placed  others  in  the  collections  of  H.  N.  Rust,  of  Chicago; 
Prof.  John  Collett,  of  Indianapolis;  Prof.  A.  H.  Worthen,  Springfield,  Illinois;  Jose- 
phus  Collett,  of  Terre  Haute,  while  the  others  remain  in  the  collection  of  W.  C.  Beck- 
with,  at  Danville,  Illinois. 


STONE    IMPLEMENTS. 


199 


and  for  scraping  hides  when  preparing  them  for  tanning.  The  re- 
cent discoveries  of  remains  of  the  ancient  "Lake  Dwellers,"  of 
Switzerland,  have  resulted  in  finding  similar  implements  attached  to 
handles,  making  them  a  very  formidable  battle-axe. 


FIG.  6= 


• 
Vermilion  county,  111. 


Vermilion  co.,  111.  (H.  N.  Rust's  Collection.) 


From  the  implements  obtained  by  Mr.  Rust  of  the  Sioux  it  can 
readily  be  seen  how  implements  like  Fig.  6,  although  tapering 
from  the  bit  to  the  top,  could  be  attached  to  handles  by  means  of  a 
rawhide  band.  Before  fastening  on  the  handle  the  rawhide  would 
be  soaked  in  water,  and  on  drying  would  tighten  to  the  roughened 
surface  of  the  stone  with  a  secure  grip.  A  blow  given  with  the  cut- 
ting edge  of  this  implement  would  tend  to  wedge  it  the  more  firmly 
into  the  handle.* 


*  In  the  Fifth  Annual  Report  of  the  Regents  of  the  University  of  New  York 
(Albany,  1852,  page  105),  Mr.  L.  H.  Morgan  illustrates  the  ga-ne-a-ga-o-dus-ha,  or  war 
club,  used  by  "  the  Iroquois  at  the  period  of  their  discovery."  The  helve  is  a  crooked 
piece  of  wood,  with  a  chisel-shaped  bit  formed  out  of  deer's  horn  —  shaped  like  Fig. 
No.  7,  on  the  next  page  —  inserted  at  the  elbow,  near  the  larger  end;  and  in  many 
respects  it  resembles  the  clubs  illustrated  in  Plate  X,  vol.  2,  of  Dr.  Keller's  work  on. 
the  "  Lake  Dwellings  of  Switzerland  and  other  parts  of  Europe."  Mr.  Morgan  remarks 
that  "  in  later  times  a  piece  of  steel  was  substituted  for  the  deer  horn,  thus  making 
it  a  more  deadly  weapon  than  formerly."  There  is  little  doubt  that  the  Indians 
used  such  implements  as  Figs.  5,  6  and  7  for  splitting  wood  and  various  other  pur- 
poses. The  fact  of  their  being  used  for  splitting  wood  was  mentioned  by  Father 
Charlevoix  over  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  as  appears  from  extracts  on  page  181  of 
this  book,  quoted  from  his  Narrative  Journal. 


200 


ITISTOKIC    NOTES    ON    THE    NORTHWEST. 


Fig.  7  is  another  style  of  axe.     The  mate-  FIG.  7=>£. 

rial  out  of  which  it  is  composed  is  greenstone, 
admitting  of  a  fine  polish.  There  would  be  no 
difficulty  at  all  in  shrinking  a  rawhide  band  to 
its  surface,  and  the  somewhat  polished  condi- 
tion of  its  sides  above  the  "bit"  would  indi- 
cate a  long  application  of  this  kind  of  a  fasten- 
ing. It  could  also  be  used  as  a  chisel  in  exca- 
vating the  charred  surface  of  wood  that  was 
being  fashioned  into  canoes,  mortars  for  crack- 
ing corn,  or  in  the  construction  of  other  domes- 
tic utensils. 

Fig.  8  is  a  club  or  hammer,  or  both.  Its 
material  is  dark  quartz.  Some  varieties  of  this 
implement  have  a  groove  cut  around  the  cen- 
ter, like  Fig.  9.  The  manner  of  handling  it  in- 
volves the  use  of  rawhide,  and,  with  some,  is 
performed  substantially  in  the  same  manner  as 
in  Figs.  5,  6  and  7,  except  that  the  band  of  rawhide  is  broader, 
and  extends  some  distance  on  either  side  of  the  lesser  diameter 


Vermilion  county,Ill. 


FIG.  8= 


FIG.  36. 


Vermilion  countv.  111. 
(H.  N.  Rust's  Collection.) 


Dakota. 
(H.  N.  Rust's  Collection.) 


of  the  stone.  In  other  instances  they  are  secured  in  a  hood  of 
rawhide  that  envelops  nearly  the  whole  implement,  leaving  the 
point  or  one  end  of  the  stone  slightly  exposed,  as  in  Fig.  36.* 

*Mr.  Rust  has  in  his  collection  a  number  of  such  implements,  some  of  them 
weighing  several  pounds,  which,  along  with  the  ones  illustrated,  were  obtained  by  him 
from  the  Sioux  of  northwest  Dakota,  and  which  are  "hooded"  in  the  manner  here 
described.  Mr.  Wm.  Gurley,  of  Danville,  Illinois,  while  in  southwestern  Colorado  in 
1876,  saw  many  such  clubs  in  use  by  the  Ute  Indians.  They  were  entirely  encased 
in  rawhide,  having  short  handles.  The  handles  were  encased  in  the  rawhide  that 
extended  continuously,  enveloping  both  the  handle  and  the  stone.  The  Utes  used  these 
implements  as  hammers  in  crushing  corn,  etc.,  the  rawhide  covering  of  some  being 
worn  through  from  long  use,  and  exposing  the  stone. 


IMPLEMENTS    FOR    DESTRUCTIVE    PURPOSES. 


201 


Fig.  9  was  obtained  from  the  Sioux  by  Mr.  Rust.  The  stone  is 
composed  of  semi-transparent  quartz.  Its  uses  have  already  been 
described. 


Fio.  9. 


Northwest  Dakota  (H.  N.  Rust's  Collection). 


FIG.  10= 


Figs.  10  and  11  were  probably  used  as  spear-heads,  they  are 
certainly  too  large  for   arrow-heads,   and    too   thick  and  roundish 
to  answer  the  purpose  of  knives.     The 
material  is  white  chert.     The  edges  of    FIG.  n=%. 
both  these  implements  are  spiral,  the 
"wind"  of  the  opposite  edges  being 
quite  uniform.    Whether  this  was  owing 
to  the  design  of  the  maker  or  the  twist 
in  the  grain  of  the  chert,  from  which 
they  are  made,  is  a  conjecture  at  best. 

FIG.  12= 


Vermilion 
county,  111. 


Vermilion  county,  111. 

Fig.  12  was  probably  a  spear  or  knife. 
The  material  is  dark  flint.  A  piece  of 
quartz  is  impacted  in  the  upper  half  of 

Vermilion  county,     the  blade>  the  chiPPing  through  of  which 
111.  displays  the  skill  of  the  person  who  made 

it.  The  shoulders  of  the  implement  are  unequal,  and  the  angle  of 
its  edges  are  not  uniform.  It  is  flatter  upon  one  side  than  upon 
the  other.  These  irregularities  would  throw  it  out  of  balance,  and 
seemingly  preclude  its  use  as  an  arrow,  while  its  strong  shank  and 
deep  yokes  above  the  shoulder  would  admit  of  its  being  firmly 
secured  to  a  handle. 

Fig.  13  was  probably  intended  for  an  arrow-head,  and  thrown 
aside  because  of  a  flaw  on  the  surface  opposite  that  shown  in  the  cut. 


202 


HISTORIC    NOTES    ON    THE    NORTHWEST. 


It  is  introduced  to  illustrate  the  manner  in  which  the  work  FIG. 13=} 
progresses  in  making  such  implements.  From  an  exam- 
ination it  would  appear  that  the  outline  of  the  implement 
is  first  made.  After  this,  one  side  is  reduced  to  the  re- 
quired form.  Then  work  on  the  opposite  side  begins,  the 
point  and  edges  being  first  reduced.  The  flakes  are 
chipped  off  from  the  edges  upward  toward  the  center  of 
and  against  the  part  of  the  stone  to  be  cut  away.  In  this 
manner  the  delicate  point  and  completed  edges  are  pre- 
served while  the  implement  is  being  perfected,  leaving  the  shoulders, 
neck  and  shank  the  last  to  be  finished. 

Fig.  14-  is  formed  out  of  dark-colored,  hard,  fine-grained  flint.    Its 
edges  are  a  uniform  spiral,  making  nearly  a  half-turn  from  shoulder 

Fro.l6=W. 


Vermilion 

CO.,  111. 


Vermilion  county,  111. 


Vermilion  county,  111. 
(H.  N.  Rust's  Collection.) 


Vermilion  county,  111. 


to  point.  It  is  neatly  balanced,  and  if  used  as  an  arrow-head  its  wind 
or  twist  would,  without  doubt,  give  a  rotary  motion  to  the  shaft  in 
its  flight.  It  is  very  ingeniously  made,  and  its  delicately  chipped 
surface  shows  that  the  man  who  made  the  implement  intentionally 
gave  it  the  peculiar  shape  it  possesses. 

Fig.  15  is  made  out  of  fine-grained  blue  flint.  It  is  unusually  long 
in  proportion  to  its  breadth.  Its  edges  are  neatly  beveled  from  a 
line  along  its  center,  and  are  quite  sharp.  Its  well  defined  shoulders 
and  head,  with  the  yoke  deeply  cut  between  to  hold  the  thong,  would 
indicate  its  use  as  an  arrow-point. 


ARROW    HEADS. 


Fig.  16  is  a  perfect  implement,  and  its  surfaces  are  smoother  than 
the  observer  might  infer  from  the  illustration.  Its  edges  are  very 
sharp  and  smooth  and  parallel  to  the  axis  of  the  implement.  Its 
head,  unlike  that  of  the  other  implements  illustrated,  is  round  and 
pointed,  with  cutting  edges  as  carefully  formed  as  any  part  of  the 
blade.  It  has  no  yoked  neck  in  w7hich  to  bury  a  thong  or  thread, 
and  there  seems  to  be  no  way  of  fastening  it  into  a  shaft  or  handle. 
It  may  be  a  perfect  instrument  without  the  addition  of  either.  It  is 
made  out  of  blue  flint. 

ARROW    HEADS. 

Several  different  forms  of  implements  (commonly  recognized  as 
arrow  heads)  are  illustrated,  to  show  some  of  the  more  common  of 
the  many  varieties  found  everywhere  over  the  country.  Fig.  17 
has  uniformly  slanting  edges,  sharp  barbs  and  a  strong  shank.  The 
material  from  which  it  is  made  is  white  chert.  For  shooting  fish  or 
in  pursuing  game  or  an  enemy,  where  it  was  intended  that  the  im- 
plement could  not  be  easily  withdrawn  from  the  flesh  in  which  it 
might  be  driven,  the  prominent  barbs  would  secure  a  firm  hold. 

Fig.  18  is  composed  of  blue  flint ;  its  outline  is  more  rounded 
than  the  preceding  specimen,  while  a  spiral  form  is  given  to  its  deli- 
cate and  sharp  point. 


FIG.  17=. 


FIG.  18=}$. 


FIG.  20= 


FIG.  19= 


Vermilion  county, 
111. 


Vermilion 
county,  111. 


Vermilion  county, 
111. 


Vermilion 
county,  111. 


Fig.  19  is  composed  of  white  chert.  Its  surface  is  much  smoother 
than  the  shadings  in  the  cut  would  imply.  Its  shape  is  very  much 
like  a  shield.  Its  barbs  are  prominent,  and  the  instrument  would 
make  a  wide  incision  in  the  body  of  an  animal  into  which  it  might 
be  forced. 

Fig.  20,  like  Fig.  17,  has  sharp  and  elongated  barbs.  It  is  fash- 
ioned out  of  white  chert,  and  is  a  neat,  smooth  and  well-balanced 
implement. 


204 


HISTORIC    NOTES    ON    THE    NORTHWEST. 


FlG.  21  = 


Fig.  21  is  made  from  yellowish-brown  quartz,  semi-transparent 
and  inclined  to  be  impure.  The  surfaces  are  oval  from  edge  to 
edge,  while  the  edges  themselves  are  beautifully  serrated  or  notched, 
as  is  shown  in  the  cut.  It  is,  perhaps,  a  sample  of  the  finest  work- 
manship illustrated  in  this  chapter.  Indeed,  among 
the  many  collections  which  the  writer  has  had  oppor- 
tunities to  examine,  he  has  never  seen  a  specimen  that 
was  more  skillfully  made. 

Fig.  22  may  be  an  arrow-point  or  a  reamer.  The 
material  is  white  chert.  Between  the  stem  and  the 
notches  the  implement  is  quite  thick,  tapering  gradu- 
ally back  to  the  head,  giving  great  support  to  this  part 
of  the  implement. 

Fig.  23  is  an  arrow-point,  or  would  be  so  regarded. 
Its  stem  is  roundish,  and  has  a  greater  diameter  than 
the  cut  would  indicate  to  the  eye.  The  material  from 
which  it  is  formed  is  white  chert. 


Vermilion 
county,  111. 


FIG.  22=^. 


FIG.  23=}$. 


FIG.  24= 


FIG.  25=% 


Vermilion  co.,  111.        Vermilion  co.,  111.        Vermilion  co.,  111.         Vermilion  co.,  111. 

Figs.  24  and  25  are  specimens  of  the  smaller  variety  of  ' '  points  ' ' 
with  which  arrows  are  tipped  that  are  used  in  killing  small  game. 
Fig.  24  is  made  out  of  black  "trap-rock,"  and  Fig.  25  out  of  flesh- 
colored  flint. 

Fig.  26  is  displayed  on  account  of  its  peculiar  form ;  the  under 
surface  is  nearly  flat,  and  the  other  side  has  quite  a  ridge  or  spine 
running  the  entire  length  from  head  to  point.  Besides  this  the  head 


FIG.  26=}£. 


Vermilion  county,  111. 
are  offered  as  to  its  probable  uses. 


and  point  turn  upward,  giving  a  uniform 
curve  to  the  implement.  If  used  as  an 
arrow-point,  the  shaft,  in  consequence  of 
the  shape  of  the  stone,  would  describe  a 
curved  line  when  shot  from  the  bow.  It 
is  made  of  white  flint.  No  suggestions 


VARIETIES    OF    IMPLEMENTS    FOR    DOMESTIC    USES. 


205 


IMPLEMENTS    FOR    DOMESTIC    USES. 

Fig.  27  is  a  pestle  or  pounder.     It  is  made  out  of  common  gran- 
ite.    There  are  many  different  styles  of  this  pTG  27  _  ^ 
implement,  some  varieties  are  more  conical, 
while  others  are  more  bell-shaped  than  the 
one  illustrated.     They  are  used  for  crushing 
corn  and  other  like  purposes.    The  one  illus- 
trated has  a  concave  place  near  the  center  of 
the  base ;  this  would  the  better  adapt  it  to 
cracking   nuts,   as    the   hollow  space  would 
protect  the  kernel  from  being  too  severely 
crushed.     In  connection  with  this  stone,  the 
Indians  sometimes  used  mortars,  made  either) 
of  wood  or  stone,    into   which  the  articles 
to  be  pulverized    could   be   placed ;    or  the 
corn  or  beans  could  be  done  up  in  the  folds  Vermilion  county,  Illinois. 
of  a  skin,  or  inclosed  in  a  leathern  bag,  and     <H-  N-  Rust's  collection.) 
then  crushed  by  blows  struck  with  either  the  head  or  rim  of  the 
pestle.     The  stone  mortars  were  usually  flat  discs,  slightly  hollowed 
out  from  the  edges  toward  the  center. 

Fig.  28  may  be  designated  as  a  fleshcr  or  scraper.  The  specimen 
illustrated  is  made  of  white  flint.  It  is  very 
thin,  considering  the  breadth  and  length  of  the 
implement,  and  has  sharp  cutting  edges  all  the 
way  around.  It  might  be  used  as  a  knife,  as 
well  as  for  a  variety  of  other  purposes.  It  is 
an  unusually  smooth  and  highly  finished  tool. 
It  and  its  mate,  which  is  considerably  broader, 


FIG.  28=i 


V'Tmiiioi 


and  proportioned  more  like 
Fig.  29,  were  found  sticking 
perpendicular  in  the  ground, 
with  their  points  barely  ex- 
posed above  the  surface,  on 
the  farm  of  Win.  Foster,  a 
few  miles  east  of  Danville, 
Illinois.  Both  of  them  will 
make  as  clean  a  cut  through 
several  folds  of  paper  as  the 


FIG.  29=^. 


Vermilion  co.,  111. 


blade  of  a  good  pocket-knife. 

Fig.  29  is  composed  of  an  impure  purplish  flint.     It  is  very  much 
like  Fig.  28,  and  was  probably  used  for  similar  purposes. 


206 


HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 


FIG.  31= 


FIG.  30= %_.  Fig.  30,  as  the  illustration  shows,  is  rougher- 

edged  than  the  two  preceding  ones.  The  side 
opposite  the  one  shown  has  a  more  uneven  sur- 
face than  the  other.  A  smooth,  well-defined 
groove  runs  across  the  implement  (as  shown  by 
the  dark  shading)  as  though  it  were  intended  to 
be  fastened  to  a  helve,  although  the  groove 
would  afford  good  support  for  the  thumb,  if 
the  implement  were  used  only  with  the  hand. 
The  material  is  a  coarse,  impure,  grayish  flint. 
Fig.  31  might  be  said  to  Combine  the  qualities  of  a  v>—\/ 

knife,  gimlet  and  bodkin.  Its  cutting  edges  extend  all 
around,  and  along  the  stem  the  edges  are 
quite  abrupt.  The  implement  was  origi- 
nally much  longer,  but  it  appears  to  have 
lost  about  an  inch  in  length,  its  point  hav- 
ing been  broken  off.  The  blade  will  cut 
cloth  or  paper  very  readily.  The  mate- 
rial is  white  flint. 

Fig.  32  may  be  classed  with  Fig.  31. 
The  material  is  dark  fine-grained  flint,  and 
the  implement  perfect.  There  is  a  per- 
ceptible wind  to  the  edges  of  the  stem, 
while  the  edges  of  the  head  are  parallel 
with  the  plane  of  the  implement,  and  so 
sharp  that  they  will  cut  cloth,  leather  or 
paper.  It  was  probably  used  to  bore  holes 
and  cut  out  skins  that  were  being  manu- 
factured into  clothing  and  other  articles. 

Fig.  33  may  have  been  made  for  the  same  uses  as 
Figs.  31  and  32.  The  blade  is  shaped  like  a  spade,, 
the  stem  representing  the  handle.  It  tapers  from 
the  bit  of  the  blade  where  the  stem  joins  the 
shoulder,  which  is  the  thickest  part  of  the  imple- 
ment, and  from  the  shoulder  it  tapers  to  both  ends. 
The  bit  is  shaped  like  a  gouge,  and  makes  a  circular 

incision.     It  is  a  smooth  piece  of  workmanship,  made 
Vermilion 
county,  111.      out  ot  white  flint. 


Vertnilion 
county.  111. 


Vermilion 
county,  111. 


STONE    IMPLEMENTS. 


207 


Vermilion 
county,  111. 


FIG.  35=^ 


Fig.  34  has  been  designated  as  a  "rimmer."  The  FIG.  34= 
material  of  which  it  is  made  is  flesh-colored  flint.  The 
stem  is  nearly  round,  and  the  implement  could  be  used 
for  piercing  holes  in  leather  or  wood.  Another  use  at- 
tributed to  it  is  for  drilling  holes  in  pipes,  gorgets,  discs 
and  other  implements  formed  out  of  stone  where  the 
material  was  soft  enough  to  admit  of  being  perforated  in 
this  way. 

Fig.  35.       By   common    consent   this    implement   has 
received  the  name  of  "discoidal  stone."     The  one  illus- 
trated is  composed  of  fine  dark-gray 
granite.     Several  theories  have  been 
offered  as  to  the  uses  of  this  imple- 
ment,—  one  that  they  are  quoits  used 
by   the    Indians    in   playing    a   game 
similar  to   that  of    "pitching  horse- 
shoes";   that  they  were  employed  in 
another  game  resembling  "ten-pins," 
in  which  the  stone  would  be  grasped 
on  its  concave  side  by  the  thumb  and 
Vermilion  county,  111.  (H.  N.  Rust's    second    finger,   while    the    fore-finger 
Collection.)  rested  on  the  outer  edge,  or  rim,  and 

that  by  a  peculiar  motion  of  the  arm  in  hurling  the  stone  it  would 
describe  a  convolute  figure  as  it  rolled  along  upon  the  ground.  .  We 
may  suggest  that  implements  like  this  might  be  used  as  paint  cups,  as 
their  convex  surface  would  enable  the  warrior  to  grind  his  pigments 
and  reduce  them  to  powder,  preparatory  to  decorating  his  person. 

The  implements  illustrated  were,  no  doubt,  put  to  many  other 
uses  besides  those  suggested.  As  the  pioneer  would  make  his  house, 
furniture,  plow,  ox  yokes,  and  clear  his  land  with  his  axe,  so  the 
Indians,  in  the  poverty  of  their  supply,  we  may  assume,  .were  com- 
pelled to  make  a  single  tool  serve  as  many  purposes  as  their  ingenu- 
ity could  devise. 


CHAPTER  XX. 


THE  WAR  FOR  THE  FUR  TRADE. 

FORMERLY  the  great  Northwest  abounded  in  game  and  water-fowl. 
The  small  lakes  and  lesser  water-courses  were  full  of  beaver,  otter 
and  muskrats.  In  the  forests  were  found  the  marten,  the  raccoon, 
and  other  fur-bearing  animals.  The  plains,  partially  submerged, 
and  the  rivers,  whose  current  had  a  sluggish  flow,  the  shallow  lakes, 
producing  annual  crops  of  wild  rice,  of  nature's  own  sowing,  teemed 
with  wild  geese,  duck  and  other  aquatic  fowl  bursting  in  their  very 
fatness.  * 

The  turkey,  in  his  glossy  feathers,  strutted  the  forests,  some  of 
them  being  of  prodigious  size,  weighing  thirty-six  pounds,  f 

The  shy  deer  and  the  lordly  elk,  crowned  with  outspreading  horns, 
grazed  upon  the  plain  and  in  the  open  woods,  while  the  solitary  moose 
browsed  upon  the  buds  in  the  thick  copsewood  that  gave  him  food 
and  a  hiding  place  as  well.  The  fleet-footed  antelope  nibbled  at  the 
tender  grasses  on  the  prairies,  or  bounded  away  over  the  ridges  to 
hide  in  the  valleys  beyond,  from  the  approach  of  the  stealthy  wolf 
or  wily  Indian.  The  belts  of  timber  along  the  water-courses 

*"The  plains  and  prairies  (referring  to  the  country  on  either  .side  of  the  Illinois 
River)  are  all  covered  with  buffaloes,  roebucks,  hinds,  stags,  and  different  kind  of  fallow 
deer.  The  feathered  game  is  also  here  in  the  greatest  abundance.  We  find,  particu- 
larly, quantities  of  swan,  geese  and  ducks.  The  wild  oats,  which  grow  naturally  on 
the  plains,  fatten  them  to  such  a  degree  that  they  often  die  from  being  smothered  in 
their  own  grease.11 — Father  Marest's  letter,  written  in  1712.  We  have  already  seen, 
from  a  description  given  on  page  103,  that  water- fowl  were  equally  abundant  upon  the 
Mauvnee. 

t  In  a  letter  of  Father  Rasles,  dated  October  12,  1723,  there  is  a  fine  description  of 
the  game  found  in  the  Illinois  country.  It  reads:  "  Of  all  the  nations  of  Canada,  there 
are  none  who  live  in  so  great  abundance  of  everything  as  the  Illinois.  Their  rivers 
are  covered  with  swans,  bustards,  ducks  and  tea's.  One  can  scarcely  travel  a  league 
without  finding  a  prodigious  multitude  of  turkeys,  who  keep  together  in  flocks,  often 
to  the  number  of  two  hundred.  They  are  much  larger  than  those  we  see  in  France. 
I  had  the  curiosity  to  weigh  one,  which  I  found  to  be  thhty-six  pounds.  They  have 
hanging  from  the  neck  a  kind  of  tuft  of  hair  half  a  foot  in  length. 

"Bears  and  stags  are  found  there  in  very  great  numbers,  and  buffaloes  and  roebucks 
are  also  seen  in  vast  herds.  Not  a  year  passes  but  they  (the  Indians)  kill  more  than  a 
thousand  roebucks  and  more  than  two  thousand  buffaloes.  From  four  to  five  thousand  of 
the  latter  can  often  be  seen  at  one  view  grazing  on  the  prairies.  They  have  a  hump  on 
the  back  and  an  exceedingly  large  head.  The  hair,  except  that  on  the  head,  is  curled 
and  soft  as  wool.  The  flesh  has  naturally  a  salt  taste,  and  is  so  light  that,  although 
eaten  entirely  raw,  it  does  not  cause  the  least  indigestion.  When  they  have  killed  a 
buffalo,  which  appears  to  them  too  lean,  they  content  themselves  with  taking  the 
tongue,  and  going  in  search  of  one  which  is  fatter.11  Vide  Kip's  Jesuit  Missions,  pp. 
38,  39. 


THE  HUNTER'S  PARADISE.  209 

afforded  lodgment  for  the  bear,  and  were  the  trellises  that  supported 
the  tangled  wild  grapevines,  the  fruit  of  which,  to  this  animal,  was 
an  article  of  food.  The  bear  had  for  his  neighbor  the  panther,  the 
wild  cat  and  the  lynx,  whose  carnivorous  appetites  were  appeased  in 
the  destruction  of  other  animals. 

Immense  herds  of  buffalo  roamed  over 
the  extensive  area  bounded  on  the  east  by 
the  Alleghanies  and  on  the  north  by  the 
lakes,  embracing  the  states  of  Ohio,  Indi- 
ana, Illinois,  Wisconsin  and  the  southern 
half  of  Michigan.  Their  trails  checkered 
the  prairies  of  Indiana  and  Illinois  in 
every  direction,  the  marks  of  which,  deep 
worn  in  the  turf,  remained  for  many  years 
after  the  disappearance  of  the  animals  that  made  them.*  Their 
numbers  when  the  country  was  first  known  to  Europeans  were 
immense,  and  beyond  computation.  In  their  migrations  southward 
in  the  fall,  and  on  their  return  from  the  blue-grass  regions  of  Ken- 
tucky in  the  spring,  the  Ohio  River  was  obstructed  for  miles  during 
the  time  occupied  by  the  vast  herds  in  crossing  it.  Indeed,  the 
French  called  the  buffalo  the  "Illinois  ox,"  on  account  of  their 
numbers  found  in  "the  country  of  the  Illinois,"  using  that  expres- 
sion in  its  wider  sense,  as  explained  on  a  preceding  page.  So  great 
importance  was  attached  to  the  supposed  commercial  value  of  the 
buffalo  for  its  wool  that  when  Mons.  Iberville,  in  1698.  was  engaged 
to  undertake  the  colonization  of  Louisiana,  the  king  instructed  him 
to  look  after  the  buffalo  wool  as  one  of  the  most  important  of  his 
duties;  and  Father  Charlevoix,  while  traveling  through  "The 
Illinois,"  observed  that  he  was  surprised  that  the  buffalo  had  been 
so  long  neglected,  f  Among  the  favorite  haunts  of  the  buffalo 
were  the  marshes  of  the  Upper  Kankakee,  the  low  lands  about  the 
lakes  of  northern  Indiana,  where  the  oozy  soil  furnished  early  as 
well  as  late  pasturage,  the  briny  earth  upon  the  Au  Glaize,  and  the 
Salt  Licks  upon  the  Wabash  and  Illinois  rivers  were  tempting  places 
of  resort.  From  the  summit  of  the  high  hill  at  Ouiatanon,  over- 
looking the  Wea  plains  to  the  east  and  the  Grand  Prairie  to  the  west, 

*  "  Nothing,"  says  Father  Charlevoix,  writing  of  the  country  about  the  confluence  of 
the  Fox  with  the  Illinois  River,  "  is  to  be  seen  in  this  course  but  immense  prairies,  inter- 
spersed with  small  groves  which  seem  to  have  been  planted  by  the  hands  of  men.  The 
grass  is  so  very  high  that  a  man  would  be  almost  lost  in  it,  and  through  which  paths 
are  to  be  found  everywhere,  as  ivell  trodden  as  they  could  have  been  in  the  most  popu- 
lated countries,  although  nothing  passes  over  them  but  buffaloes,  and  from  time  to 
time  a  herd  of  deer  or  a  few  roebuck":  Charlevoix'  Narrative  Journal,  vol.  2,  p.  200. 

t  Brackenridge's  Views  of  Louisiana. 


210  HISTORIC    NOTES   ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach  in  either  direction,  the  plains  were  seen 
covered  with  groups,  grazing  together,  or,  in  long  files,  stretching 
away  in  the  distance,  their  dark  forms,  contrasting  with  the  green- 
sward upon  which  they  fed  or  strolled,  and  inspiring  the  enthusiasm 
of  the  Frenchman,  who  gave  the  description  quoted  on  page  104. 
Still  later,  when  passing  through  the  prairies  of  Illinois,  on  his  way 
from  Vincennes  to  Ouiatanon, —  more  a  prisoner  than  an  ambassa- 
dor,— George  Croghan  makes  the  following  entry  in  his  daily  jour- 
nal:  "18th  and  19th  of  June,  1765. — We  traveled  through  a  pro- 
digious large  meadow,  called  the  Pyankeshaws'  hunting  ground. 
Here  is  no  wood  ~  to  be  seen,  and  the  country  appears  like  an  ocean. 
The  ground  is  exceedingly  rich  and  partially  overgrown  with  wild 
hemp.*  The  land  is  well  watered  and  full  of  Ijnffalo,  deer,  bears, 
and  all  kinds  of  wild  game.  20th  and  21st. — We  passed  through 
some  very  large  meadows,  part  of  which  belonged  to  the  Pyanke- 
shaws.on  the  Yermilion  River.  The  country  and  soil  were  much  the 
same  as  that  we  traveled  over  for  these  three  days  past.  Wild  hemp 
grows  here  in  abundance.  The  game  is  very  plenty.  At  any  time 
in  a  half  hour  we  could  kill  as  much  as  we  wanted,  "t 

Gen.  Clark,  in  the  postscript  of  his  letter  dated  November,  1779, 
narrating  his  campaign  in  the  Illinois  country,  says,  concerning  the 
prairies  between  Kaskaskia  and  Vincennes,  that  "there  are  large 
meadows  extending  beyond  the  reach  of  the  eye,  variegated  with 
groves  of  trees  appearing  like  islands  in  the  seas,  covered  with 
buifaloes  and  other  game.  In  many  places,  with  a  good  glass,  you 
may  see  all  that  are  upon  their  feet  in  a  half  million  acres.  "J  It  is 
not  known  at  what  time  the  buffalo  was  last  seen  east  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi. The  Indians  had  a  tradition  that  the  cold  winter  of  17 — , 
—called  by  them  "the  great  cold"  on  account  of  its  severity,— 
destroyed  them.  "  The  snow  was  so  deep,  and  lay  upon  the  ground 
for  such  a  length  of  time,  that  the  buffalo  became  poor  and  too 
weak  to  resist  the  inclemency  of  the  weather;"  great  numbers  of 
them  perished,  singly  and  in  groups,  and  their  bones,  either  as  iso- 
lated skeletons  or  in  bleaching  piles,  remained  and  were  found  over 
the  country  for  many  years  afterwards.  § 

*  Further  on  in  his  Journal  Col.  Croghan  again  refers  to  "  wild  hemp,  growing  in 
the  prairies,  ten  or  twelve  feet  high,  which  if  properly  cultivated  would  prove  as  good 
and  answer  all  the  purposes  of  the  hemp  we  cultivate."  Other  writers  also  mention 
the  wild  hemp  upon  the  prairies,  and  it  seems  to  have  been  supplanted  by  other  grasses 
that  have  followed  in  the  changes  of  vegetable  growth. 

t  Croghan's  Journal. 

i  Clark's  Campaign  in  the  Illinois,  p.  92. 

§  On  the  4th  of  October,  1786,  one  day's  march  on  the  road  from  Vincennes  to  the 
Ohio  Falls,  Captains  Zigler's  and  Strong's  companies  of  regulars  came  across  five  buffalo. 
The  animals  tried  to  force  a  passage  through  the  column,  when  the  commanding  officer 


THE    DESTRUCTION    OF   THE    GAME.  211 

Before  the  coming  of  the  Europeans  the  Indians  hunted  the  game 
for  the  purpose  of  supplying  themselves  with  the  necessary  food  and 
clothing.  The  scattered  tribes  (whose  numbers  early  writers  greatly 
exaggerated)  were  few,  when  compared  with  the  area  of  the  coun- 
try they  occupied,  and  the  wild  animals  were  so  abundant  that  enough 
to  supply  their  wants  could  be  captured  near  at  hand  with  such  rude 
weapons  as  their  ingenuity  fashioned  out  of  wood  and  stone.  With 
the  Europeans  came  a  change.  The  fur  of  many  of  the  animals 
possessed  a  commercial  value  in  the  marts  of  Europe,  where  they 
were  bought  and  used  as  ornaments  and  dress  by  the  aristocracy, 
whose  wealth  and  taste  fashioned  them  into  garments  of  extraordi- 
nary richness.  Canada  was  originally  settled  with  a  view  to  the  fur 
trade,  and  this  trade  was,  to  her  people,  of  the  first  importance  —  the 
chief  motor  of  her  growth  and  prosperity.  The  Indians  were  sup- 
plied with  guns,  knives  and  hatchets  by  the  Europeans,  in  place  of 
their  former  inferior  weapons.  Thus  encouraged  and  equipped,  and 
.accompanied  by  the  coureur  des  bois,  the  remotest  regions  were  pen- 
etrated, and  the  fur  trade  extended  to  the  most  distant  tribes.  Stim- 
ulated with  a  desire  for  blankets,  cotton  goods  and  trinkets,  the  In- 
dians now  began  a  war  upon  the  wild  animals  in  earnest ;  and  their 
wanton  destruction  for  their  skins  and  furs  alone  from  that  period 
forward  was  so  enormous  that  within  the  next  two  or  three  genera- 
tions the  improvident  Indians  in  many  localities  could  scarcely  find 
enough  game  for  their  own  subsistence. 

The  coureur  des  lois  were  a  class  that  had  much  to  do  with  the 
development  of  trade  and  with  giving  a  knQwledge  of  the  geogra- 
phy of  the  country.  They  became  extremely  useful  to  the  mer- 
chants engaged  in  the  fur  trade,  and  were  often  a  source  of  great 
annoyance  to  the  colonial  authorities.  Three  or  four  of  these  pe,o- 
ple,  having  obtained  goods  upon  credit,  would  join  their  stock,  put 
their  property  into  a  birch  bark  canoe,  which  they  worked  them- 
selves, and  accompany  the  Indians  in  their  excursions  or  go  directly 

ordered  the  men  to  fire  upon  them.  The  discharge  killed  three  and  wounded  the 
others:  Joseph  Buell's  Narrative  Journal,  published  in  S.  P.  Hildreth's  Pioneer  History. 
Thirteen  years  later,  in  December,  1799,  Gov.  St.  Clair  and  Judge  Jacob  Burnett,  on  their 
way  overland  from  Cincinnati  to  Vincennes,  camped  out  over  night,  at  the  close  of  one 
of  their  days'  journeys,  not  a  great  ways  east  of  where  the  old  road  from  Louisville  to 
Vincennes  crosses  White  River.  The  next  day  they  encountered  a  severe  snow-storm, 
during  which  they  surprised  eight  or  ten  buffalo,  sheltering  themselves  from  the  storm 
behind  a  beech-tree  full  of  dead  leaves  which  had  fallen  beside  of  the  trace  and  hid 
the  travelers  from  their  view.  The  tree  and  the  noise  of  the  wind  among  its  leaves 
prevented  the  buffalo  from  discovering  the  parties  until  the  latter  had  approached 
within  two  rods  of  the  place  where  they  stood.  They  then  took  to  their  heels  and 
were  soon  out  of  sight.  One  of  the  company  drew  a  pistol  and  fired,  but  without 
effect:  Burnett's  Notes  on  the  Northwest  Territory,  p.  72. 


212  HISTORIC    NOTES   ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

into  the  country  where  they  knew  they  were  to  hunt.*  These 
voyages  were  extended  twelve  or  fifteen  months  (sometimes  longer) 
before  the  traders  would  return  laden  with  rich  cargoes  of  fur,  and 
often  followed  by  great  numbers  of  the  natives.  During  the  short 
time  required  to  settle  their  accounts  with  the  merchants  and  pro- 
cure credit  for  a  new  stock,  the  traders  would  contrive  to  squander 
their  gains  before  they  returned  to  their  favorite  mode  of  life  among 
the  savages,  their  labor  being  rewarded  by  indulging  themselves  in 
one  month's  dissipation  for  fifteen  of  exposure  and  hardship.  "We 
may  not  be  able  to  explain  the  cause,  but  experience  proves  that  it 
requires  much  less  time  for  a  civilized  people  to  degenerate  into  the 
ways  of  savage  life  than  is  required  for  the  savage  to  rise  into  a  state 
of  civilization.  The  indifference  about  amassing  property,  and  the 
pleasure  of  living  free  from  all  restraint,  soon  introduced  a  licen- 
tiousness among  the  coureur  des  bois  that  did  not  escape  the  eye  of 
the  missionaries,  who  complained,  with  good  reason,  that  they  were 
a  disgrace  to  the  Christian  religion,  "f 

"  The  food  of  the  coureur  des  bois  when  on  their  long  expeditions; 
was  Indian  corn,  prepared  for  use  by  boiling  it  in  strong  lye  to  re- 
move the  hull,  after  which  it  was  mashed  and  dried.  In  this  state 
it  is  soft  and  friable  lijce  rice.  The  allowance  for  each  man  on  the 
voyage,  was  one  quart  per  day ;  and  a  bushel,  with  two  pounds  of 
prepared  fat,  is  reckoned  a  month's  subsistence.  JSTo  other  allow- 
ance is  made  of  any  kind,  not  even  of  salt,  and  bread  is  never 
thought  of;  nevertheless  the  men  are  healthy  on  this  diet,  and  ca- 
pable of  performing  great  labor.  This  mode  of  victualing  was  es- 
sential to  the  trade,  which  was  extended  to  great  distances,  and  in 
canoes  so  small  as  not  to  admit  of  the  use  of  any  other  food.  If 
the  men  were  supplied  with  bread  and  pork,  the  canoes  would  not 
carry  six  months'  rations,  while  the  ordinary  duration  of  the  voyage 
was  not  less  than  fourteen.  No  other  men  would  be  reconciled  to 
such  fare  except  the  Canadians,  and  this  fact  enabled  their  employ- 
ers to  secure  a  monopoly  of  the  fur  trade.  "^ 

"The  old  voyageurs  derisively  called  new  hands  at  the  business 
mangeurs  de  lard  (pork  eaters),  as,  on -leaving  Montreal,  and  while 
en  route  to  Mackinaw,  their  rations  were  pork,  hard  bread  and  pea 

*The  merchandise  was  neatly  tied  into  bundles  weighing  sixty  or  seventy  pounds; 
the  furs  received  in  exchange  were  compressed  into  packets  of  about  the  same  weight, 
so  that  they  could  be  conveniently  carried,  strapped  upon  the  back  of  the  voyageur, 
around  the  portages  and  other  places  where  the  loaded  canoes  could  effect  no  passage. 

fSir  Alexander  Mackenzie's  Voyages,  etc.,  and  An  Account  of  the  Fur  Trade,  etc, 

\  Henry's  Travels,  p.  52. 


THE    COUREUR    DES    BOIS.  213 

soup,  while  the  old  voyageurs  in  the  Indian  country  ate  corn  soup 
and  such  other  food  as  could  be  conveniently  procured."* 

"The  coureur  des  lois  were  men  of  easy.,  virtue.  They  would 
eat,  riot,  drink  and  play  as  long  as  their  furs  held  out,"  says  La 
Hontan,  ' '  and  when  these  were  gone  they  would  sell  their  embroi- 
dery, their  laces  and  their  clothes.  The  proceeds  of  these  exhausted, 
they  were  forced  to  go  upon  new  voyages  for  subsistence,  "f 

They  did  not  scruple  to  intermarry  with  the  Indians,  among 
whom  they  spent  the  greater  part  of  their  lives.  They  made  excel- 
lent soldiers,  and  in  bush  fighting  and  border  warfare  they  were 
more  than  a  match  for  the  British  regulars.  "Their  merits  were 
hardihood  and  skill  in  woodcraft ;  their  chief  faults  were  insubor- 
dination and  lawlessness."^: 

Such  were  the  characteristics  of  the  French  traders  or  coureur  des 
bois.  They  penetrated  the  remotest  parts,  ^voyaged  upon  all  of  our 
western  rivers,  and  traveled  many  of  the  insignificant  streams  that 
afforded  hardly  water  enough  to  float  a  canoe.  Their  influence  over 
the  Indians  (to  whose  mode  of  life  they  readily  adapted  themselves) 
was  almost  supreme.  They  were  efficient  in  the  service  of  their 
king,  and  materially  assisted  in  staying  the  downfall  of  French  rule 
in  America. 

There  is  no  data  from  which  to  ascertain  the  value  of  the  fur 
trade,  as  there  were  no  regular  accounts  kept.  The  value  of  the 
trade  to  the  French,  in  1703,  was  estimated  at  two  millions  of  Jivres, 
and  this  could  have  been  from  only  a  partial  return,  as  a  large  per 
cent  of  the  trade  was  carried  on  clandestinely  through  Albany  and 
New  York,  of  which  the  French  authorities  in  Canada  could  have 
no  knowledge.  With  the  loss  of  Canada,  and  the  west  to  France, 
and  owing  to  the  dislike  of  the  Indians  toward  the  English,  and  the 
want  of  experience  by  the  latter,  the  fur  trade,  controlled  at  Montreal, 
fell  into  decay,  and  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  secured  the  advan- 
tages of  its  downfall.  During  the  winter  of  1783-4  some  merchants 

*Vol.  2  Wisconsin  Historical  Collection,  p.  110.  Judge  Lockwood  gives  a  very 
fine  sketch  of  the  coureur  des  bois  and  the  manner  of  their  employment,  in  the  paper 
from  which  we  have  quoted. 

t  La  Hontan,  vol.  1,  pp.  20  and  21. 

\  Parkman's  Count  Frontenac  and  New  France,  p.  209.  Judge  Lockwood,  in  the 
paper  referred  to,  speaking  of  the  coureur  des  bois  as  their  relations  existed  to  the  fur 
trade  in  1817,  thus  describes  them:  "  These  men  epgaged  in  Canada,  generally  for  five 
jears,  for  Mackinaw  and  its  dependencies,  transferable  like  cattle,  to  any  one  who 
wanted  them,  at  generally  about  500  livres  a  year,  or,  in  our  currency,  about  $83.33, 
furnished  with  a  yearly  equipment  or  outfit  of  two  cotton  shirts,  one  three-point  or 
triangular  blanket,  a  portage  collar  and  one  pair  of  shoes.  They  were  obliged  to  pur- 
chase their  moccasins,  tobacco  and  pipes  at  any  price  the  trader  saw  fit  to  charge  for 
them.  At  the  end  of  five  years  the  voyageurs  were  in  debt  from  $50  to  $150,  and 
•could  not  leave  the  country  until  they  paid  their  indebtedness." 


214  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

of  Canada  united  their  trade  under  the  name  of  the  ^Northwest 
Company";  they  did  not  get  successfully  to  work  until  1787.  Dur- 
ing that  year  the  venture  did  not  exceed  forty  thousand  pounds,  but 
by  exertion  and  the  enterprise  of  the  proprietors  it  was  brought,  in 
eleven  years,  to  more  than  triple  that  amount  (equal  to  six  hundred 
thousand  dollars),  yielding  proportionate  profits,  and  surpassing  any- 
thing then  known  in  America.* 

The  fur  trade  was  conducted  by  the  English,  and  subsequently 
by  the  Americans,  substantially  upon  the  system  originally  estab- 
lished by  the  French,  with  this  distinction,  that  the  monopoly  was 
controlfed  by  French  officers  and  favorites,  to  whom  the  trade  for 
particular  districts  was  assigned,  while  the  English  and  Americans 
controlled  it  through  companies  operating  either  under  charters  or 
permits  from  the  government. 

Goods  for  Indian  trao^e  were  guns,  ammunition,  steel  for  striking 
fire,  gun-flints,  and  other  supplies  to  repair  fire-arms;  knives,  hatchets, 
kettles,  beads,  men's  shirts,  blue  and  red  cloths  for  blankets  and 
petticoats  ;  vermilion,  red,  yellow,  green  and  blue  ribbons,  gener- 
ally of  English  manufacture ;  needles,  thread  and  awls  ;  looking- 
glasses,  children's  toys,  woolen  blankets,  razors  for  shaving  the 
head,  paints  of  all  colors,  tobacco,  and,  more  than  all,  spirituous 
liquors.  For  these  articles  the  Indians  gave  in  exchange  the  s'kins 
of  deer,  bear,  otter,  squirrel,  marten,  lynx,  fox,  wolf,  buifalo, 
moose,  and  particularly  the  beaver,  the  highest  prized  of  them  all. 
Such  was  the  value  attached  to  the  skins  and  fur  of  the  last  that 
it  became  the  standard  of  value.  All  other  values  were  measured 
by  the  beaver,  the  same  as  we  now  use  gold,  in  adjusting  com- 
mercial transactions.  All  differences  in  exchanges  of  property  or 
in  payment  for  labor  were  first  reduced  in  value  to  the  beaver  skin. 
Money  was  rarely  received  or  paid  at  any  of  the  trading-posts,  the 
only  circulating  medium  were  furs  and  peltries.  In  this  exchange  a 
pound  of  beaver  skin  was  reckoned  at  thirty  sous,  an  otter  skin  at 
six  livres,  and  marten  skins  at  thirty  sous  each.  This  was  only  about 
half  of  the  real  value  of  the  furs,  and  it  was  therefore  always  agreed 
to  pay  either  in  furs  at  their  equivalent  cash  value  at  the  fort  or 
double  the  amount  reckoned  at  current  fur  value,  t 

When  the  French  controlled  the  fur  trade,  the  posts  in  the  interior 
of  the  country  were  assigned  to  officers  who  were  in  favor  at  head- 
quarters. As  they  had  no  money,  the  merchants  of  Quebec  and 
Montreal  supplied  them  on  credit  with  the  necessary  goods,  which 

*  Mackenzie's  Voyages,  Fur  Trade,  etc. 
t  Henry's  Travels  and  Pouchot's  Memoirs. 


THE    FUR   TRADE.  215 

were  to  be  paid  for  in  peltries  at  a  price  agreed  upon,  thus  being 
required  to  earn  profits  for  themselves  and  the  merchant.  These 
officers  were  often  employed  to  negotiate  for  the  king  with  the  tribes 
near  their  trading-posts  and  give  them  goods  as  presents,  the  price 
for  the  latter  being  paid  by  the  intendant  upon  the  approval  of  the 
governor.  This  occasioned  many  hypothecated  accounts,  which  were 
turned  to  the  profit  of  the  commandants,  particularly  in  time  of 
war.  The  commandants  as  well  as  private  traders  were  obliged  to 
take  out  a  license  from  the  governor  at  a  cost  of  four  or  five  hundred 
livres,  in  order  to  carry  their  goods  to  the  posts,  and  to  charge  some 
effects  to  the  king's  account.  The  most  distant  posts  in  the  north- 
west were  prized  the  greatest,  because  of  the  abundance  and  low 
price  of  peltries  and  the  high  price  of  goods  at  these  remote  estab- 
lishments. 

Another  kind  of  trade  was  carried  on  by  the  coureurs  des  bois, 
who,  sharing  the  license  with  the  officer  at  the  post,  with  their  canoes 
laden  with  goods,  went  to  the  villages  of  the  Indians,  and  followed 
them  on  their  hunting  expeditions,  to  return  after  a  season's  trading 
with  their  canoes  well  loaded.  If  the  coureurs  des  bois  were  in  a 
condition  to  purchase  their  goods  of  first  hands  a  quick  fortune  was 
assured  them,  although  to  obtain  it  they  had  to  lead  a  most  danger- 
ous, and  fatiguing  life.  Some  of  these  traders  would  return  to  France 
after  a  few  years'  venture  with  wealth  amounting  to  two  million  five 
hundred  thousand  livres.* 

The  French  were  not  permitted  to  exclusively  enjoy  the  enormous 
profits  of  the  fur  trade.  We  jiave  seen,  in  treating  of  the  Miami 
Indians,  that  at  an  early  day  the  English  and  the  American  colonists 
were  determined  to  share  it,  and  had  become  sharp  competitors.  We 
have  seen  (page  112)  that  to  extend  their  trade  the  English  had  set 
their  allies,  the  Iroquois,  upon  the  Illinois.  So  formidable  were  the 
inroads  made  by  the  English  upon  the  fur  trade  of  the  French,  by 
means  of  the  conquests  to  which  they  had  incited  the  Iroquois  to 
gain  over  other  tribes  that  were  friendly  to  the  French,  that  the. 
latter  became  "of  the  opinion  that  if  the  Iroquois  were  allowed  to 
proceed  they  would  not  only  subdue  the  Illinois,  but  become  masters 
of  all  the  Ottawa  tribes,  t  and  divert  the  trade  to  the  English,  so  that 
it  was  absolutely  necessary  that  the  French  should  either  make  the 
Iroquois  their  friends  or  destroy  them.\  You  perceive,  my  Lord, 

*  Pouchot's  Memoirs. 

t  Whose  territories  embraced  all  the  country  west  of  Lake  Huron  and  north  of 
Illinois, —  one  of  the  most  prolific  beaver  grounds  in  the  country. 

\  Memoir  of  M.  Du  Chesneau,  the  Intendant,  to  the  King,  September  9, 1681,  before 
quoted. 


216  HISTORIC    NOTES    OX    THE    NORTHWEST. 

that  the  subject  which  we  have  discussed  [referring  to  the  efforts  of 
the  English  of  New  York  and  Albany  to  gain  the  beaver  trade]  is  to 
determine  who  will  be  master  of  the  heaver  trade  of  the  south  and 
southwest"* 

In  the  struggle  to  determine  who  should  be  masters  of  the  fur 
trade,  the  French  cared  as  little, —  perhaps  less, —  for  their  Indian 
allies  than  the  British  and  Americans  did  for  theirs.  The  blood  that 
was  shed  in  the  English  and  "French  colonies  north  of  the  Ohio 
River,  for  a  period  of  over  three-quarters  of  a  century  prior  to  1763, 
might  well  be  said  to  have  been  spilled  in  a  war  for  the  fur  trade,  f 

In  the  strife  between  the  rivals,  —  the  French  endeavoring  to  hold 
their  former  possessions,  and  the  English  to  extend  theirs,  —  the 
strait  of  Detroit  was  an  object  of  concern  to  both.  Its  strategical 
position  was  such  that  it  would  give  the  party  possessing  it  a  decided 
advantage.  M.  Du  Lute,  or  L'Hut,  under  orders  from  Gov.  De 
Nonville,  left  Mackinaw  with  some  fifty  odd  coureurs  des  hois  in 
1688,  sailed  down  Lake  Huron  and  threw  up  a  small  stockade  fort 
on  the  west  bank  of  the  lake,  where  it  discharges  into  the  River  St. 
Clair.  The  following  year  Capt.  McGregory, — Major  Patrick  Ma- 
gregore,  as  his  name  is  spelled  in  the  commission  he  had  in  his 
pocket  over  the  signature  of  Gov.  Dongan, — with  sixty  Englishmen 
and  some  Indians,  with  their  merchandise  loaded  in  thirty-two 
canoes,  went  up  Lake  Erie  on  a  trading  expedition  among  the  In- 
dians at  Detroit  and  Mackinaw.  They  were  encountered  and  cap- 
tured by  a  body  of  troops  under  Tonty,  La  Forest  and  other  officers, 
who,  with  coureur  de  bois  and  Indians  from  the  upper  country, 
were  on  their  way  to  join  the  French  forces  of  Canada  in  a  campaign 
against  the  Iroquois  villages  in  New  York.;}:  The  prisoners  were 
sent  to  Quebec,  and  the  plunder  distributed  among  the  captors.  Du 
Lute's  stockade  was  called  Fort  St.  Joseph.  In  1688  the  fort  was 
placed  in  command  of  Baron  LaHontan.§ 

Fort  St.  Joseph  served  the  purposes  for  which  it  was  constructed, 
and  a  few  years  later,  in  1701,  Mons.  Cadillac  established  Fort  Pont- 
ohartrain  on  the  present  site  of  the  city  of  Detroit,  for  no  other  pur- 

*  M.  De  La  Barre  to  the  Minister  of  the  Marine,  November  4,  1683 :  Paris  Docu- 
ments, vol.  9,  p.  210, 

f  War  was  not  formally  declared  between  France  and  England,  on  account  of 
colonial  difficulties,  until  May,  1756,  but  the  discursory  broils  between  their  colonies  in 
America  had  been  going  on  from  the  time  of  their  establishment. 

t  Tonty's  Memoir,  and  Paris  Documents,  vol.  9,  pp.  363  and  866. 

§  Fort  Du  Luth,  or  St.  Joseph,  as  it  was  afterward  called,  was  ordered  to  be  erected 
in  1686.  "  in  order  to  fortify  the  pass  leading  to  Mackinaw  against  the  English."  Du 
Luth,  who  erected  it,  was  in  command  of  fifty  men.  Several  parties  of  English  were 
either  captured  or  sent  back  from  this  post  within  a  year  or  two  from  its  establishment. 
Vide  Paris  Documents,  vol.  9,  pp.  300,  302.  306,  383. 


ENGLISH    AND    AMERICAN    TRADERS.  217 

pose  than  to  check  the  English  in  the  prosecution  of  the  fur  trade  in 
that  country.* 

The  French  interests  were  soon  threatened  from  another  direc- 
tion. Traders  from  Pennsylvania  found  their  way  westward  over  the 
mountains,  where  they  engaged  in  traffic  with  the  Indians  in  the 
valleys  of  eastern  Ohio,  arid  they  soon  established  commercial  rela- 
tions with  the  Wabash  tribes,  t  It  appears  from  a  previous  chapter 
that  the  Miamis  were  trading  at  Albany  in  1708.  To  avert  this 
danger  the  French  were  compelled  at  last  to  erect  military  posts  at 
Fort  Wayne,  on  the  Maumee  (called  Fort  Miamis),  at  Ouiatanon  and 
Yincennes,  upon  the  Wabash.;}:  Prior  to  1750  Sieur  de  Ligneris 
was  commanding  at  Fort  Ouiatanon,  and  St.  Ange  was  in  charge  at 
Yincennes. 

As  soon  as  the  English  settlements  reached  the  eastern  slope  of 
the  Alleghanies,  their  traders  passed  over  the  ridge,  and  they  found 
it  exceedingly  profitable  to  trade  with  the  western  Indians.  They 
could  sell  the  same  quality  of  goods  for  a  third  or  a  half  of  what  the 
French  usually  charged,  and  still  make  a  handsome  profit.  This 
new  and  rich  field  was  soon  overrun  by  eager  adventurers.  In  the 
meantime  a  number  of  gentlemen,  mostly  from  Yirginia,  procured 
an  act  of  parliament  constituting  "The  Ohio  Company,"  and  grant- 
ing them  six  hundred  thousand  acres  of  land  on  or  near  the  Ohio 
River.  The  objects  of  this  company  were  to  till  the  soil  and  to  open 
up  a  trade  with  the  Indians  west  of  the  Alleghanies  and  south  of  the 
Ohio. 

The  French,  being  well  aware  that  the  English  could  offer  their 
goods  to  the  Indians  at  greatly  reduced  rates,  feared  that  they  would 
lose  the  entire  Indian  trade.  At  first  they  protested  "  against  this 
invasion  of  the  rights  of  His  Most  Christian  Majesty"  to  the  gov- 
ernor of  the  English  colonies.  This  did  not  produce  the  desired 
effect.  Their  demands  were  met  with  equivocations  and  delays. 
At  last  the  French  determined  on  summary  measures.  An  order 

*  Statement  of  Mons.  Cadillac  of  his  reasons  for  establishing  a  fort  on  the  Detroit 
River,  copied  in  Sheldon's  Early  History  of  Michigan,  pp.  85-90. 

t  An  Englishman  by  the  name  of  Crawford  had  been  trading  on  the  Wabash  prior 
to  1749.  Vide  Irving's  Life  of  Washington,  vol.  1,  p.  48. 

\  The  date  of  the  establishment  of  these  forts  is  a  matter  of  conjecture,  owing  to 
the  absence  of  reliable  data.  A  "  Miamis  "  is  referred  to  in  1719,  and  in  the  same  year 
Sieur  Duboisson  was  selected  as  a  suitable  person  to  take  command  at  Ouiatanon,  and 
in  1735  M.  de  Vincenne  is  alluded  to,  in  a  letter  written  from  Kaskaskia,  as  com- 
mandant of  the  Post  on  the  Wabash.  However,  owing  to  the  successive  migrations  of 
the  Miami  Indians,  the  "  Miamis  "  mentioned  in  such  documents,  in  1719,  may  have 
referred  to  the  Miami  and  Wea  villages  upon  the  Kalamazoo  and  St.  Joseph  rivers,  in 
the  state  of  Michigan.  The  post  at  Vincennes,  it  may  be  safely  assumed,  was  garri- 
soned as  early  as  1735,  and  Ouiatanon,  below  La  Fayette,  and  Miamis,  at  Fort  Wayne, 
some  years  before,  in  the  order  of  time. 


218  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON7    THE    NORTHWEST. 

was  issued  to  the  commandants  of  their  various  posts  on  Lake  Erie, 
the  Ohio  and  the  "Wabash,  to  seize  all  English  traders  found  west  of 
the  Alleghanies.  In  pursuance  of  this  order,  in  1751,  four  English 
traders  were  captured  on  the  Yermilion  of  the  Wabash  and  sent  to 
Canada/"  Other  traders,  dealing  with  the  Indians  in  other  locali- 
ties, were  captured  and  taken  to  Presque  Isle,f  and  from  thence  to 
Canada. 

The  contest  between  the  rival  colonies  still  went  on,  increasing 
in  the  extent  of  its  line  of  operations  and  intensifying  in  the  ani- 
mosity of  the  feeling  with  which  it  was  conducted.  We  quote  from 
a  memoir  prepared  early  in  1752,  by  M.  de  Longueuil,  commandant 
at  Detroit,  showing  the  state  of  affairs  at  a  previous  date  in  the 
Wabash  country.  It  appears,  from  the  letters  of  the  commandants 
at  the  several  posts  named,  from  which  the  memoir  is  compiled, 
that  the  Indian  tribes  upon  the  Maumee  and  Wabash,  through  the 
successful  efforts  of  the  English,  had  become  very  much  disaffected 
toward  their  old  friends  and  masters.  M.  de  Ligneris,  commandant 
at  the  Ouyatanons,  says  the  memoir,  believes  that  great  reliance  is 
not  to  be  placed  on  the  Maskoutins,  and  that  their  remaining  neutral 
is  all  that  is  to  be  expected  from  them  and  the  Kickapous.  He  even 
adds  that  "we  are  not  to  reckon  on  the  nations  which  appear  in  our 
interests ;  no  Wea  chief  has  appeared  at  this  post  for  a  long  time. 
M.  de  Villiers,  commandant  at  the  Miamis, — Ft.  Wayne, — has  been 
disappointed  in  his  expectation  of  bringing  the  Miamis  back  from  the 
White  River, —  part  of  whom  had  been  to  see  him, —  the  small-pox 
having  put  the  whole  of  them  to  rout.  Coldfoot  and  his  son  have 
died  of  it,  as  well  as  a  large  portion  of  our  most  trusty  Indians. 
Le  Grls,  chief  of  the  Tepicons,*  and  his  mother  are  likewise  dead  > 
they  are  a  loss,  because  they  were  well  disposed  toward  the  French." 

The  memoir  continues:  "The  nations  of  the  River  St.  Joseph, 
who  were  to  join  those  of  Detroit,  have  said  they  would  be  ready  to 
perform  their  promise  as  soon  as  Ononontio§  would  have  sent  the 
necessary  number  of  Frenchmen.  The  commandant  of  this  post 
writes,  on  the  loth  of  January,  that  all  the  nations  appear  to  take 

*  Paris  Documents,  vol.  10,  p.  248. 

f  Near  Erie,  Pennsylvania. 

j  This  is  the  first  reference  we  have  to  Tippecanoe.  Antoine  Gamelin,  the  French 
merchant  at  Vincennes, — whom  Major  Hamtramck  sent,  in  1790,  to  the  Wabash  towns 
with  peace  messages, — calls  the  village,  then  upon  this  river,  Qiti-ie-pi-con-nae.  The 
name  of  the  Tippecanoe  is  derived  from  the  Algonquin  word  Ke-non-ge,  or  Ke-no-zha 
—  from  Kenose,  long,  the  name  of  the  long-billed  pike,  a  fish  very  abundant  in  this 
stream,  vide  Mackenzie's  and  James'  Vocabularies.  Timothy  Flint,  in  his  Geography 
and  History  of  the  Western  States,  first  edition,  published  at  Cincinnati,  1828,  vol.  2, 
p.  125,  says:  "  The  Tippecanoe  received  its  name  from  a  kind  of  pike  called  Pic-ca-nau 
by  the  savages."  The  termination  is  evidently  Frenchified. 

§  The  name  by  which  the  Indians  called  the  governor  of  Canada. 


FRENCH    TRADERS    KILLED. 

sides  against  us  ;  that  he  would  not  be  responsible  for  the  good 
dispositions  these  Indians  seem  to  entertain,  inasmuch  as  the 
Miamis  are  their  near  relatives.  On  the  one  hand,  Mr.  de  Jon- 
caire*  repeats  that  the  Indians  of  the  beautiful  riverf  are  all  English, 
for  whom  alone  they  work ;  that  all  are  resolved  to  sustain  each 
other ;  and  that  not  a  party  of  Indians  go  to  the  beautiful  river  but 
leave  some  [of  their  numbers]  there  to  increase  the  rebel  forces. 
On  the  other  hand,  "Mr.  de  St.  Ange,  commandant  of  the  post  of 
Vincennes,  writes  to  M.  des  Ligneris  [at  Ouiatanon]  to  use  all 
means  to  protect  himself  from  the  storm  which  is  ready  to  burst  on 
the  French ;  that  he  is  busy  securing  himself  against  the  fury  of  our 
enemies." 

"The  Pianguichias,  who  are  at  war  with  the  Chaoua-nons,  ac- 
cording to  the  report  rendered  by  Mr.  St.  Clin,  have  declared  entirely 
against  us.  They  killed  on  Christmas  five  Frenchmen  at  the  Ver- 
milion. Mr.  des  Ligneris,  who  was  aware  of  this  attack,  sent  off  a 
detachment  to  secure  the  effects  of  the  Frenchmen  from  being  plun- 
dered ;  but  when  this  detachment  arrived  at  the  Yermilion,  the 
Piankashaws  had  decamped.  The  bodies  of  the  Frenchmen  were 
found  on  the  ice.:J: 

"M.  des  Ligneris  was  assured  that  the  Piankashaws  had  commit- 
ted this  act  because  four  men  of  their  nation  had  been  killed  by  the 
French  at  the  Illinois,  and  four  others  had  been  taken  and  put  in 
irons.  It  is  said  that  these  eight  men  were  going  to  fight  the  Chick- 
asaws,  and  had,  without  distrusting  anything,  entered  the  quarters 
of  the  French,  who  killed  them.  It  is  also  reported  that  the  French- 
men had  recourse  to  this  extreme  measure  because  a  Frenchman  and 

*  A  French  half-breed  having1  great  influence  over  the  Indians,  and  whom  the 
French  authorities  had  sent  into  Ohio  to  conciliate  the  Indians. 

t  The  Ohio. 

i  Col.  Croghan's  Journal,  before  quoted,  gives  the  key  to  the  aboriginal  name  of 
this  stream.  On  the  22d  of  June,  1765,  he  makes  the  following  entry:  "We  passed 
through  a  part  of  the  same  meadow  mentioned  yesterday;  then  came  to  a  high  wood- 
land and  arrived  at  Vermilion  River,  so  called  from  a  fine  red  earth  found  there  by  the 
Indians,  with  which  they  paint  themselves.  About  a  half  a  mile  from  where  we  crossed 
this  river  there  is  a  village  of  Piankashaws,  distinguished  by  the  addition  of  the  name 
of  the  river"  (that  is,  the  Piankashaws  of  the  Vermilion,  or  the  Vermilions,  as  they 
were  sometimes  called).  The  red  earth  or  red  chalk,  known  under  the  provincial  name 
of  red  keel,  is  abundant  everywhere  along  the  bluffs  of  the  Vermilion,  in  the  shales 
that  overlay  the  outcropping  coal.  The  annual  fires  frequently  ignited  the  coal  thus 
exposed,  and  would  burn  the  shale  above,  turn  it  red  and  render  it  friable.  Carpen- 
ters used  it  to  chalk  their  lines,  and  the  successive  generation  of  boys  have  gathered  it 
by  the  pocketful.  Those  acquainted  with  the  passion  of  the  Indian  for  paint,  particu- 
larly red,  will  understand  the  importance  which  the  Indians  would  attach  to  it.  Hence, 
as  rioted  by  Croghan,  they  called  the  river  after  the  name  of  this  red  earth.  Vermilion 
is  the  French  word  conveying  the  same  idea,  and  it  is  a  coincidence  merely  that  Ver- 
milion in  French  has  the  same  meaning  as  this  word  in  English  On  the  map  in 
"  Volney's  View  of  the  Soil  and  Climate  of  the  United  States,"  Phila.  ed.  1804,  it  is 
called  Red  River.  The  Miami  Indian  name  of  the  Vermilion  was  Piankashaw.  as  ap- 
pears from  Gen.  Putnam's  manuscript  Journal  of  the  treaty  at  Vincennes  m  1792. 


220  HISTORIC    NOTES   ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

two  slaves  had  been  killed  a  few  days  before  by  another  party  of 
Piankashaws,  and  that  the  Indians  in  question  had  no  knowledge  of 
that  circumstance.  The  capture  of  four  English  traders  by  M.  de 
Celoron's  order  last  year  has  not  prevented  other  Englishmen  going 
to  trade  at  the  Yermilion  River,  where  the  Rev.  Father  la  Riehardie 
wintered."* 

The  memoir  continues:  "On  the  19th  of  October  the  Pianka- 
shaws had  killed  two  more  Frenchmen,  who  were  constructing 
pirogues  lower  down  than  the  Post  of  Vincenne.  Two  days  after- 
ward the  Piankashaws  killed  two  slaves  in  sight  of  Fort  Yincenne. 
The  murder  of  these  nine  Frenchmen  and  these  two  slaves  is  but 
too  certain.  A  squaw,  the  widow  of  one  of  the  Frenchmen  who  had 
been  killed  at  the  Yermilion,  has  reported  that  the  Pianguichias, 
Illinois  and  Osages  were  to  assemble  at  the  prairies  of  -  — ,  the 
place  where  Messrs,  de  Yilliers  and  de  Noyelle  attacked  the  Foxes 
about  twenty  years  ago,  and  when  they  had  built  a  fort  to  secure 
their  families,  they  were  to  make  a  general  attack  on  all  the  French. 

"The  Miamis  of  Rock  Riverf  have  scalped  two  soldiers  belong- 
ing to  Mr.  Yilliers'  fort.:}:  This  blow  was  struck  last  fall.  Finally, 
the  English  have  paid  the  Miamis  for  the  scalps  of  the  two  soldiers 
belonging  to  Mr.  de  Yilliers'  garrison.  To  add  to  the  misfortunes, 
M.  des  Ligneris  has  learned  that  the  commandant  of  the  Illinois  at 
Fort  Charters  would  not  permit  Sieurs  Delisle  and  Fonblanche, 
who  had  contracted  with  the  king  to  supply  the  Miamis,  Ouyaton- 
ons,  and  even  Detroit  with  provisions  from  the  Illinois,  to  purchase 
any  provisions  for  the  subsistence  of  the  garrisons  of  those  posts,  on 
the  ground  that  an  increased  arrival  of  troops  and  families  would 
consume  the  stock  at  the  Illinois.  Famine  is  not  the  sole  scourge 
we  experience  ;  the  smallpox  commits  ravages ;  it  begins  to  reach 
Detroit.  It  were  desirable  that  it  should  break  out  and  spread  gen- 
erally throughout  the  localities  inhabited  by  our  rebels.  It  would 
be  fully  as  good  as  an  army." 

The  Piankashaws,  now  completely  estranged  from  the  French, 
withdrew,  almost  in  a  body,  from  the  Wabash,  and  retired  to  the 
Big  Miami,  whither  a  number  of  Miamis  and  other  Indians  had, 

*  Father  Justinian  de  la  Richardie  came  to  Canada  (according  to  the  Liste  Crono- 
logiqm.  No.  429)  in  1716.  He  served  many  years  in  the  Huron  country,  and  also  in 
the  Illinois,  and  died  in  February,  1758.  Biographical  note  of  the  editor  of  Paris 
Documents  :  Col.  Hist,  of  New  York,  vol.  9.  p.  88.  The  time  when  and  the  place  at 
which  this  missionary  was  stationed  on  the  Vermilion  River  is  not  given.  The  date 
was  before  1750,  as  is  evident  from  the  text.  The  place  was  probably  at  the  large 
Piankashaw  town  where  the  traders  were  killed. 

fThe  Big  Miami  River  of  Ohio,  on  which  stream,  near  the  mouth  of  Loramies 
Creek,  the  Miamis  had  an  extensive  village,  hereafter  referred  to. 

\  Ft.  Wayne,  where  Mr.  Vilhers  was  then  stationed  in  charge  of  Fort  Miamis. 


PICKAW1LLANY.  221 

some  years  previous,  established  a  village,  to  be  nearer  the  English 
traders.  The  village  was  called  Pickawillany,  or  Picktown.  To 
the  English  and  Iroquois  it  was  known  as  the  Tawixtwi  Town,  or 
Miamitown.  It  was  located  at  the  mouth  of  what  has  since  been 
called  Loramie's  creek.  The  stream  derived  this  name  from  the  fact 
that  a  Frenchman  of  that  name,  subsequent  to  the  events  here  nar- 
rated, had  a  trading-house  at  this  place.  The  town  was  visited  in 
1751  by  Christopher  Gist,  who  gives  the  following  description  of  it:* 
"The  Twightee  town  is  situated  on  the  northwest  side  of  the  Big 
Min  e  ami  River,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  its  mouth. 
It  consists  of  four  hundred  families,  and  is  daily  increasing.  It  is 
accounted  one  of  the  strongest  Indian  towns  in  this  part  of  the  con- 
tinent. The  Twightees  are  a  very  numerous  people,  consisting  of 
many  different  tribes  under  the  same  form  of  government.  Each 
tribe  has  a  particular  chief,  or  king,  one  of  which  is  chosen  indiffer- 
ently out  of  any  tribe  to  rule  the  whole  nation,  and  is  vested  with 
greater  authority  than  any  of  the  others.  They  have  but  lately 
traded  with  the  English.  They  formerly  lived  on  the  farther  side  of 
the  Wabash,  and  were  in  the  French  interests,  who  supplied  them 
with  some  few  trifles  at  a  most  exorbitant  price.  They  have  now 
revolted  from  them  and  left  their  former  habitations  for  the  sake  of 
trading  with  the  English,  and  notwithstanding  all  the  artifices  the 
French  have  used,  they  have  not  been  able  to  recall  them."  George 
Croghan  and  Mr.  Montour,  agents  in  the  English  interests,  were  in 
the  town  at  the  time  of  Gist's  visit,  doing  what  they  could  to  inten- 
sify the  animosity  of  the  inhabitants  against  the  French.  Speeches 
were  made  and  presents  exchanged  to  cement  the  friendship  with 
the  English.  While  these  conferences  were  going  on,  a  deputation 
of  Indians  in  the  French  interests  arrived,  with  soft  words  and  valu- 
able presents,  marching  into  the  village  under  French  colors.  The 
deputation  was  admitted  to  the  council-house,  that  they  might  make 
the  object  of  their  visit  known.  The  Piankashaw  chief,  or  king, 
"Old  Britton,"  as  he  was  called,  on  account  of  his  attachment 
for  the  English,  had  both  the  British  and  French  flags  hoisted  from 
the  council-house.  The  old  chief  refused  the  brandy,  tobacco  and 
other  presents  sent  to  him  from  the  French  king.  In  reply  to  the 
speeches  of  the  French  ambassadors  he  said  that  the  road  to  the 
French  had  been  made  foul  and  bloody  by  them ;  that  he  had 
cleared  a  road  to  our  brothers,  the  English,  and  that  the  French  had 
made  that  bad.  The  French  flag  was  taken  down,  and  the  emissaries 

*  Christopher  Gist's  Journal. 


222  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON    THE    NORTHWEST. 

of  that  people,  with  their  presents,  returned  to  the  French  post  from 
whence  they  came. 

When  negotiations  failed  to*  win  the  Miamis  back  to  French 
authority,  force  was  resorted  to.  On  the  21st  of  June,  1752,  a  party 
of  two  hundred  and  forty  French  and  Indians  appeared  before  Pick- 
awillany,  surprised  the  Indians  in  their  corn-fields,  approaching  so 
suddenly  that  the  white  men  who  were  in  their  houses  had  great 
difficulty  in  reaching  the  fort.  They  killed  one  Englishman  and 
fourteen  Miamis,  captured  the  stockade  fort,  killed  the  old  Pianka- 
shaw  king,  and  put  his  body  in  a  kettle,  boiled  it  and  ate  it  up  in 
retaliation  for  his  people  having  killed  the  French  traders  on  the 
Vermilion  River  and  at  Yincennes.*  "Thus,"  says  the  eloquent 
historian,  George  Bancroft,  "on  the  alluvial  lands  of  western  Ohio 
began  the  contest  that  was  to  scatter  death  broadcast  through  the 
world."f 

*  The  account  of  the  affair  at  Pickawillany  is  summarized  from  the  Journal  of  Capt. 
Wm.  Trent  and  other  papers  contained  in  a  valuable  book  edited  by  A.  T.  Goodman, 
secretary  of  the  Western  Reserve  Historical  Society,  and  published  by  Robert  Clarke 
&  Co.,  1871,  entitled  "Journal  of  Captain  Trent." 

|  Old  Britton's  successor  was  his  son,  a  young  man,  whose  name  was  Mu-she- 
gu-a-nock-que,  or  "The  Turtle."  The  English,  and  Indians  in  their  interests,  had  a 
very  high  esteem  for  the  young  Piankashaw  king.  It  is  said  by  some  writers,  and 
there  is  much  probability  of  the  correctness  of  their  opinion,  that  the  great  Miami 
chief,  Little  Turtle,  was  none  other  than  the  person  here  referred  to.  His  age  would 
correspond  very  well  with  that  of  the  Piankashaw,  and  members  of  one  band  of  the 
Miami  nation  frequently  took  up  their  abode  with  other  bands  or  families  of  their  kin- 
dred. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


THE  WAR  FOR  THE  EMPIRE.     ITS  LOSS  TO  THE  FRENCH. 

THE  English  not  only  disputed  the  right  of  the  French  to  the 
fur  trade,  but  denied  their  title  to  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi, 
which  lay  west  of  their  American  colonies  on  the  Atlantic  coast. 
The  grants  from  the  British  crown  conveyed  to  the  chartered  pro- 
prietors all  of  the  country  lying  between  certain  parallels  of  latitude, 
according  to  the  location  of  the  several  grants,  and  extending  west- 
ward to  the  South  Sea,  as  the  Pacific  was  then  called.  Seeing  the 
weakness  of  such  a  claim  to  vast  tracts  of  country,  upon  which  no 
Englishman  had  ever  set  his  foot,  they  obtained  deeds  of  cession 
from  the  Iroquois  Indians, —  the  dominant  tribe  east  of  the  Mississip- 
pi, —  who  claimed  all  of  the  country  between  the  Alleghanies  and  the 
Mississippi  by  conquest  from  the  several  Algonquin  tribes,  who  occu- 
pied it.  On  the  13th  of  July.  1701,  the  sachems  of  the  Five  Nations 
conveyed  to  William  III,  King  of  .Great  Britain,  "their  beaver- 
hunting  grounds  northwest  and  west  from  Albany,"  including  a 
broad  strip  on  the  south  side  of  Lake  Erie,  all  of  the  present  states 
of  Michigan,  Ohio  and  Indiana,  and  Illinois  as  far  west  as  the  Illi- 
nois River,  claiming  "that  their  ancestors  did,  more  than  fourscore 
years  before,  totally  conquer,  subdue  and  drive  the  former  occupants 
out  of  that  country,  and  had  peaceable  and  quiet  possession  of  the 
same,  to  hunt  beavers  in,  it  being  the  only  chief  place  for  hunting 
in  that  part  of  the  world,"  etc.*  The  Iroquois,  for  themselves  and 
heirs,  granted  the  English  crown  "the  whole  soil,  the  lakes,  the 

*  The  deed  is  found  in  London  Documents,  vol.  4,  p.  908.  The  boundaries  of  the 
grant  are  indefinite  in  many  respects.  Its  westward  limit,  says  the  deed,  "  abutts 
upon  the  Twichtwichs  [Miamis],  and  is  bounded  on  the  right  hand  by  a  place  called 
Quadoge."  On  Eman  Bowen's  map,  ^which  is  certainly  the  most  authentic  from  the 
British  standpoint,  is  a  "  pecked  line  "  extending  from  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  river, 
up  that  stream,  to  the  Desplaines,  thence  across  the  prairies  to  Lake  Michigan  at 
Quadoge  or  Quadaghe,  which  is  located  on  the  map  some  distance  southeast  of  Chicago, 
which  is  also  shown  in  its  correct  place,  and  at  or  near  the  mouth  of  the  stream  that 
forms  the  harbor  at  Michigan  City,  formerly  known  by  the  French  as  Riviere  du  Che- 
min,  or  "  Trail  River,"  because  the  great  trail  from  Chicago  to  Detroit  and  Ft.  Wayne 
left  the  lake  shore  at  this  place.  The  "  pecked  line," — as  Mr.  Bowen  calls  the  dotted 
line  which  he  traces  as  the  boundary  of  the  Iroquois  deed  of  cession, —  extends  from 
Michigan  City  northward  through  the  entire  length  of  Lake  Michigan,  the  Straits  of 
Mackinaw  and  between  the  Manitou-lin  islands  and  the  main  shore  in  Lake  Huron; 
thence  into  Canada  around  the  riorth  shore  of  Lake  Nipissing;  and  thence  down  the 
Ottawa  River  to  its  confluence  with  the  St.  Lawrence. 

988 


224  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

rivers,  and  all  things  pertaining  to  said  tract  of  land,  with  power 
to  erect  forts  and  castles  there,"  only  reserving  to  the  grantors  and 
"their  descendants  forever  the  right  of  hunting  upon  the  same,"  in 
which  privilege  the  grantee  "was  expected  to  protect  them."  The 
grant  of  the  Iroquois  was  confirmed  to  the  British  crown  by  deeds 
of  renewal  in  1726  and  1744.  The  reader  will  have  observed,  from 
what  has  been  said  in  the  preceding  chapters  upon  the  Illinois  and 
Miamis  and  Pottawatomies  relative  to  the  pretended  conquests  of 
the  Iroquois,  how  little  merit  there  was  in  the  claim  they  set  up  to 
the  territory  in  question.  Their  war  parties  only  raided  upon  the 
country, —  they  never  occupied  it;  their  war  parties,  after  doing  as 
much  mischief  as  they  could,  returned  to  their  own  country  as 
rapidly  as  they  came.  Still  their  several  deeds  to  the  English  crown 
were  a  "color  of  title"  on  which  the  latter  laid  great  stress,  and 
paraded  at  every  treaty  with  other  powers,  where  questions  involv- 
ing the  right  to  this  territory  were  a  subject  of  discussion.  * 

The  war  for  the  fur  trade  expanded  into  a  struggle  for  empire 
that  convulsed  both  continents  of  America  and  Europe.  The  limit 
assigned  this  work  forbids  a  notice  of  the  principal  occurrences  in 
the  progress  of  the  French-Colonial  War,  as  most  of  the  military 
movements  in  that  contest  were  outside  of  the  territory  we  are  con- 
sidering. There  were,  however,  two  campaigns  conducted  by  troops 
recruited  in  the  northwest,  and  these  engagements  will  be  noticed. 
We  believe  they  have  not  heretofore  been  compiled  as  fully  as  their 
importance  would  seem  to  demand. 

In  1758  Gen.  Forbes,  with  about  six  thousand  troops,  advanced 
against  Fort  Du  Quesne.f  In  mid-September  the  British  troops  had 
only  reached  Loyal-hannon, ^  where  they  raised  a  fort.  "Intelli- 
gence had  been  received  that  Fort  Du  Quesne  was  defended  by  but 
eight  hundred  men,  of  whom  three  hundred  were  Indians,  "§  and 
Major  Grant,  commanding  eight  hundred  Highlanders  and  a  com- 
pany of  Virginians,  was  sent  toward  the  French  fort.  On  the  third 

*  The  Iroquois  themselves, —  as  appears  from  an  English  memoir  on  the  Indian 
trade,  and  contained  among  the  London  Documents,  vol.  7,  p.  18, — never  supposed 
they  had  actually  conveyed  their  right  of  dominion  to  these  lands.  Indeed,  it  appears 
that  the  Indians  generally  could  not  comprehend  the  purport  of  a  deed  or  grant  in  the 
sense  that  the  Europeans  attach  to  these  formidable  instruments.  The  idea  of  an 
absolute,  fee-simple  right  of  an  individual,  or  of  a  body  of  persons,  to  exclusively  own 
real  estate  against  the  right  of  others  even  to  enter  upon  it,  to  hunt  or  cut  a  shrub, 
was  beyond  the  power  of  an  Indian  to  comprehend.  From  long  habit  and  the  owner- 
ship (not  only  of  land  but  many  articles  of  domestic  use)  by  the  tribe  or  village  of 
property  in  common,  they  could  not  understand  how  it  could  be  held  otherwise. 

t  At  the  present  site  of  Pittsburgh.  Pa. 

JLoyal-hannon,  afterward  Fort  .Ligonier,  was  situated  on  the  east  side  of  Loyal- 
hannon  Creek,  Westmoreland  county,  Pa.,  and  was  about  forty-five  miles  from  Fort 
Du  Quesne;  vide  Pennsylvania  Archives,  XII,  389. 

§  Bancroft,  vol.  iv,  p.  311. 


DEFEAT    OF   THE    ENGLISH.  225 

day's  march  Grant  had  arrived  within  two  miles  of  Fort  Du  Quesne. 
Leaving  his  baggage  there,  he  took  position  on  a  hill,  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  from  the  fort,  and  encamped.* 

Grant,  who  was  not  aware  that  the  garrison  had  been  reinforced 
by  the  arrival  of  Mons.  Aubry,  commandant  at  Fort  Chartes,  with 
four  hundred  men  from  the  Illinois  country,  determined  on  an  am- 
buscade. At  break  of  day  Major  Lewis  was  sent,  with  four  hundred 
men,  to  lie  in  ambush  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  main  body,  on  the 
path  on  which  they  left  their  baggage,  imagining  the  French  would 
send  a  force  to  attack  the  baggage  guard  and  seize  it.  Four  hundred 
men  were  posted  along  the  hill  facing  the  fort  to  cover  the  retreat  of 
MacDonald's  company,  which  marched  with  drums  beating  toward 
the  fort,  in  order  to  draw  a  party  out  of  it,  as  Major  Grant  had  rea- 
son to  believe  there  were,  including  Indians,  only  two  hundred  men 
within  it.f 

M.  de  Ligneris,  commandant  at  Fort  Du  Quesne,  at  once  assem- 
bled seven  or  eight  hundred  men,  and  gave  the  command  to  M. 
Aubry.  ^  The  French  sallied  out  of  the  fort,  and  the  Indians,  who 
had  crossed  the  river  to  keep  out  of  the  way  of  the  British,  returned 
and  made  a  flank  movement.  Aubry,  by  a  rapid  movement,  attacked 
the  different  divisions  of  the  English,  and  completely  routed  and 
dispersed  them.  The  force  under  Major  Lewis  was  compelled  to 
give  way.  Being  flanked,  a  number  were  driven  into  the  river, 
most  of  whom  were  drowned.  The  English  lost  two  hundred  and 
seventy  killed,  forty-two  wounded,  and  several  prisoners  ;  among  the 
latter  was  Grant. 

On  the  22d  of  September  M.  Aubry  left  Fort  Du  Quesne,  with  a 
force  of  six  hundred  French  and  Indians,  intending  to  reconnoitre 
the  position  of  the  English  at  Loyal-hannon. 

"He  found  a  little  camp  in  front  of  some  intrenchments  which 
would  cover  a  body  of  two  thousand  men.  The  advance  guard  of 
the  French  detachment  having  been  discovered,  the  English  sent  a 
captain  and  fifty  men  to  reconnoitre,  who  fell  in  with  the  detach- 
ment and  were  entirely  defeated.  In  following  the  fugitives  the 
French  fell  upon  this  camp,  and  surprised  and  dispersed  it. 

"The  fugitives  scarcely  gained  the  principal  intrenchment,  which 
M.  Aubry  held  in  blockade  two  days.  He  killed  two  hundred  horses 
and  cattle."  The  French  returned  to  Fort  Du  Quesne  mounted. § 
"The  English  lost  in  the  engagement  one  hundred  and  fifty  men, 

*  The  hill  has  ever  since  borne  Grant's  name, 
•f- Craig's  History  of  Pittsburgh,  p.  74. 

JGarneau's  History  of  Canada,  Bell's  translation,  vol.  2,  p.  214. 
§  Pouchot's  Memoir,  p.  130. 
15 


226  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

killed,  wounded  and  missing.  The  French  loss  was  two  killed  and 
seven  wounded." 

The  Louisiana  detachment,  which  took  the  principal  part  in  both 
of  these  battles,  was  recruited  from  the  French  posts  in  "The  Illi- 
nois," and  consisted  of  soldiers  taken  from  the  garrison  in  that  terri- 
tory, and  the  coureurs  des  bois,  traders  and  settlers  in  their  respective 
neighborhoods.  It  was  the  first  battalion  ever  raised  within  the 
limits  of  the  present  states  of  Illinois,  Indiana  and  Michigan.  After 
the  action  of  Loyal-hannon,  "the  Louisiana  detachment,  as  well  as 
those  from  Detroit,  returned  home."* 

Soon  after  their  departure,  and  on  the  24th  of  November,  the 
French  abandoned  Fort  Du  Quesne.  Pouchot  says:  "It  came  to 
pass  that  by  blundering  at  Fort  Du  Quesne  the  French  were  obliged 
to  abandon  it.  for  want  of  provisions."  This  may  have  been  the 
true  reason  for  the  abandonment,  but  doubtless  the  near  approach  of 
a  large  English  army,  commanded  by  Gen.  Forbes,  had  no  small 
influence  in  accelerating  their  movements.  The  fort  was  a  mere 
stockade,  of  small  dimensions,  and  not  suited  to  resist  the  attacks  of 
artillery.  "I* 

Having  burnt  the  stockade  and  storehouses,  the  garrison  sepa- 
rated. One  hundred  retired  to  Presque  Isle,  by  land.  Two  hundred, 
by  way  of  the  Alleghany,  went  to  Yenango.  The  remaining  hun- 
dred descended  the  Ohio.  About  forty  miles  above  its  confluence 
with  the  Mississippi,  and  on  a  beautiful  eminence  on  the  north  bank 
of  the  river,  they  erected  a  fort  and  named  it  Fort  Massac,  in  honor 
of  the  commander,  M.  Massac,  who  superintended  its  construction. 
This  was  the  last  fort  erected  by  the  French  on  the  Ohio,  and  it  was 
occupied  by  a  garrison  of  French  troops  until  the  evacuation  of  the 
country  under  the  stipulations  of  the  treaty  of  Paris.  Such  was  the 
origin  of  Fort  Massac,  divested  of  the  romance  which  fable  has 
thrown  around  its  name.";}: 

*  Letter  of  Marquis  Montcalm:  Paris  Documents,  vol.  10,  p.  901. 

f  Hildreth's  Pioneer  History,  p.  42. 

\  Monette's  Valley  of  the  Mississippi,  vol.  1,  p.  317.  Goy.  Reynolds,  who  visited 
the  remains  of  Fort  Massac  in  1855,  thus  describes  its  remains:  "  The  outside  walls 
were  one  hundred  and  thirty-6ve  feet  square,  and  at  each  angle  strong  bastions  were 
erected.  The  walls  were  palisades,  with  earth  between  the  wood.  A  large  well  was 
sunk  in  the  fortress,  and  the  whole  appeared  to  have  been  strong  and  substantial  in  its 
day.  Three  or  four  acres  of  gravel  walks  were  made  on  the  north  of  the  fort,  on  which 
the  soldiers  paraded.  The  walks  were  made  in  exact  angles,  and  beautifully  graveled 
with  pebbles  from  the  river.  The  site  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  on  La  Belle  Rivere, 
and  commands  a  view  of  the  Ohio  that  is  charming  and  lovely.  French  genius  for  the 
selection  of  sites  for  forts  is  eminently  sustained  in  their  choice  of  Fort  Massacre."  The 
Governor  states  that  the  fort  was  first  established  in  1711,  and  "was  enlarged  and 
made  a  respectable  fortress  in  1756."  Vide  Reynolds'  Life  and  Times,  pp.  28,  29.  This 
is,  probably,  a  mistake.  There  are  no  records  in  the  French  official  documerts  of  any 
military  post  in  that  vicinity  until  the  so-called  French  and  Indian  war. 


CHANGE    OF    WAR-PLAN.  227 

On  the  day  following  the  evacuation,  the  English  took  peaceable 
possession  of  the  smoking  ruins  of  Fort  Du  Quesne.  They  erected 
a  temporary  fortification,  named  it  Fort  Pitt,  in  honor  of  the  great 
English  statesman  of  that  name,  and  leaving  two  hundred  men  as  a 
garrison,  retired  over  the  mountains. 

On  the  5th  of  December,  1758,  Thomas  Pownall,  governor  of 
Massachusetts  Bay  Province,  addressed  a  memorial  to  the  British 
Ministry,  suggesting  that  there  should  be  an  entire  change  in  the 
method  of  carrying  on  the  war.  Pownall  stated  that  the  French 
were  superior  in  battles  fought  in  the  wilderness ;  that  Canada  never 
could  be  conquered  by  land  campaigns ;  that  the  proper  way  to 
succeed  in  the  reduction  of  Canada  would  be  to  make  an  attack  on 
Quebec  by  sea,  and  thus,  by  cutting  off  supplies  from  the  home  gov- 
ernment, Canada  would  be  starved  out.* 

Pitt,  if  he  did  not  act  on  the  recommendations  of  Gov.  Pownall, 
at  least  had  similar  views,  and  the  next  year  (1759),  in  accordance 
with  this  plan,  Gen.  Wolfe  made  a  successful  assault  on  Quebec,  and 
from  that  time,  the  supplies  and  reinforcements  from  the  home  gov- 
ernment being  cut  off,  the  cause  of  the  French  in  Canada  became 
almost  hopeless. 

During  this  year  the  French  made  every  effort  to  stir  up  the 
Indians  north  of  the  Ohio  to  take  the  tomahawk  and  scalping-knife 
in  hand,  and  make  one  more  attempt  to  preserve  the  northwest 
for  the  joint  occupancy  of  the  Gallic  and  American  races.  Emissa- 
ries were  sent  to  Lake  Erie,  Detroit,  Mackinaw,  Ouiatanon,  Vincennes, 
Kaskaskia  and  Fort  Chartes,  loaded  with  presents  and  ammunition, 
for  the  purpose  of  collecting  all  those  stragglers  who  had  not  enter- 
prise enough  to  go  voluntarily  to  the  seat  of  war.  Canada  was  hard 
pressed  for  soldiers ;  the  English  navy  cut  o'ff  most  of  the  rein- 

*  Pownall's  Administration  of  the  Colonies,  Appendix,  p.  57.  Thomas  Pownall, 
born  in  England  in  1720,  came  to  America  in  1753;  was  governor  of  Massachusetts 
Bay,  and  subsequently  was  appointed  governor  of  South  Carolina.  He  was  highly  edu- 
cated, and  possessed  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  geography,  history  and  policy  of 
both  the  French  and  English  colonies  in  America.  His  work  on  the  "Administration 
of  the  American  Colonies"  passed  through  many  editions.  In  1756  he  addressed  a 
memorial  to  His  Highness  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  on  the  conduct  of  the  colonial  war, 
in  which  he  recommended  a  plan  for  its  further  prosecution.  The  paper  is  a  very 
able  one.  Much 'of  it  compiled  from  the  official  letters  of  Marquis  Vaudreuil,  Governor- 
General  of.  Canada,  written  between  the  years  1,743  and  1752,  showing  the  policy  of  the 
French,  and  giving  a  minute  description  of  their  settlements,  military  establishments 
in  the  west,  their  manner  of  dealing  with  the  Indians,  and  a  description  of  the  river 
communications  of  the  French  between  their  possessions  in  Canada  and  Louisiana.  In 
1776  he  revised  Evans1  celebrated  map  of  the  "  Middle  British  Provinces  in  America." 
After  his  return  to  England  he  devoted  himself  to  scientific  pursuits.  He  was  a  warm 
friend  of  the  American  colonists  in  the  contest  with  the  mother  country,  and  de- 
nounced the  measures  of  parliament  concerning  the  colonies  as  harsh  and  wholly 
unwarranted,  and  predicted  the  result  that  followed.  He  died  in  1805. 


228  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NOKTHWEST. 

forcements  from  France,  while  the  English,  on  the  contrary,  were 
constantly  receiving  troops  from  the  mother  country. 

Mons.  de  Aubry,  commandant  at  Fort  Chartes,  persuaded  four 
hundred  men  from  the  "Illinois  country"  to  follow  him  eastward. 
Taking  with  him  two  hundred  thousand  pounds  of  flour,  he  em- 
barked his  heterogeneous  force  in  bateaux  and  canoes.  The  route 
by  way  of  the  Ohio  was  closed ;  the  English  were  in  possession  of 
its  headwaters.  He  went  down  the  Mississippi,  thence  up  the  Ohio 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Wabash.  Having  ascended  the  latter  stream 
to  the  Miami  villages,  near  the  present  site  of  Fort  Wayne,  his  fol- 
lowers made  the  portage,  passed  down  the  Maumee,  and  entered 
Lake  Erie. 

During  the  whole  course  of  their  journey  they  were  being  con- 
stantly reinforced  by  bands  of  different  tribes  of  Indians,  arid  by 
Canadian  militia  as  they  passed  the  several  posts,  until  the  army 
was  augmented  to  sixteen  hundred  men,  of  whom  there  were  six 
hundred  French  and  one  thousand  Indians.  An  eye-witness,  in 
speaking  of  the  appearance  of  the  force,  said :  "  When  they  passed 
the  little  rapid  at  the  outlet  of  Lake  Erie  (at  Bufialo)  the  flotilla  ap- 
peared like  a  floating  island,  as  the  river  was  covered  with  their 
bateaux  and  canoes."* 

Aubry  was  compelled  to  leave  his  flour  and  provisions  at  the 
Miami  portage.  He  afterward  requested  M.  de  Port-neuf,  com- 
mandant at  Presque  Isle,  to  take  charge  of  the  portage,  and  to  send 
it  constantly  in  his  bateaux,  f 

Before  Aubry  reached  Presque  Isle  he  was  joined  by  other  bodies 
of  Indians  and  Canadians  from  the  region  of  the  upper  lakes.  They 
were  under  the  command  of  French  traders  and  commandants  of 
interior  posts.  At  Fort  Machault^;  he  was  joined  by  M.  de  Lignery  ; 
the  latter  had  assembled  the  Ohio  Indians  at  Presque  Isle.§  It  was 
the  original  intention  of  Aubry  to  recapture  Fort  Du  Quesne  from 
the  English.  On  the  12th  of  July  a  grand  council  was  held  at  Fort 
Machault,  in  which  the  commandant  thanked  the  Indians  for  their 
attendance,  threw  down  the  war  belt,  and  told  them  he  would  set 
out  the  next  day  for  Fort  Du  Quesne.  Soon  after  messengers  arrived 
with  a  packet  of  letters  for  the  officers.  After  reading  them  Aubry 
told  the  Indians:  "Children,  I  have  received  bad  news;  the  Eng- 
lish are  gone  against  Niagara.  We  must  give  over  thoughts  of  going 
down  the  river  to  Fort  Du  Quesne  till  we  have  cleared  that  place  of 

*Pouchot's  Memoirs,  vol.  1,  pp.  186,  187 

fldem,  p.  152. 

i  Located  at  the  mouth  of  French  Creek,  Pennsylvania. 

§Idem,  187. 


AUBRY'S  CAMPAIGN.  229 

the  enemy.  If  it  should  be  taken,  our  road  to  you  is  stopped,  and 
you  must  become  poor."  Orders  were  immediately  given  to  pro- 
ceed with  the  artillery,  provisions,  etc.,  up  French  Creek,  and  the 
Indians  prepared  to  follow.* 

These  letters  were  from  M.  Pouchot,  commandant  at  Niagara,! 
and  stated  that  he  was  besieged  by  a  much  superior  force  of  English 
and  Indians,  who  were  under  the  command  of  Gen.  Predeaux  and 
Sir  William  Johnson.  Aubry  answered  these  letters  on  the  next  day, 
and  said  he  thought  they  might  fight  the  enemy  successfully,  and 
compel  them  to  raise  the  siege.  The  Indians  who  brought  these  mes- 
sages to  Pouchot  informed  him  that  they,  on  the  part  of  the  Indians 
with  Aubry  and  Lignery,  had  offered  the  Iroquois  and  other  Indian 
allies  of  the  English  five  war  belts  if  they  would  retire.  These  prom- 
ised that  they  would  not  mingle  in  the  quarrel.  "We  will  here  recall 
the  fact  that  Pouchot,  by  his  letter  of  the  10th,  had  notified  Lignery 
and  Aubry  that  the  enemy  might  be  four  or  five  thousand  strong 
without  the  Indians,  and  if  they  could  put  themselves  in  condition 
to  attack  so  large  a  force,  he  should  pass  Chenondac  to  come  to 
Niagara  by  the  other  side  of  the  river,  where  he  would  be  in  con- 
dition to  drive  the  English,  who  were  only  two  hundred  strong  on 
that  side,  and  could  not  easily  be  reinforced.  This  done,  they  could 
easily  come  to  him,  because  after  the  defeat  of  this  body  they  could 
send  bateaux  to  bring  them  to  the  fort." 

M.  Pouchot  now  recalled  his  previous  request,  and  informed 
Aubry  that  the  enemy  were  in  three  positions,  in  one  of  which 
there  were  three  thousand  nine  hundred  Indians.  He  added,  could 
Aubry  succeed  in  driving  the  enemy  from  any  of  these  positions, 
he  had  no  doubt  they  would  be  forced  to  raise  the  siege.  ^ 

Aubry 's  route  was  up  French  Creek  to  its  head-waters,  thence 
making  the  portage  to  Presque  Isle  and  sailing  along  the  shores  of 
Lake  Erie  until  he  reached  Niagara.  Arriving  at  the  foot  of  Lake 
Erie  he  left  one  hundred  and  fifty  men  in  charge  of  his  canoes,  and 
with  the  remainder  advanced  toward  Niagara.  Sir  William  John- 
son was  informed,  on  the  evening  of  the  23d,  of  this  advance  of  the 
French,  and  ordered  his  light  infantry  and  pickets  to  take  post  on 
the  left,  on  the  road  between  Niagara  Falls  and  the  fort;  and  these, 
after  reinforcing  them  with  grenadiers  and  parts  of  the  46th  and  44th 
regiments,  were  so  arranged  as  to  effectually  support  the  guard  left 

*  Extract  from  a  letter  dated  July  17,  1759,  of  Col.  Mercer,  commandant  at  Fort 
Pitt,  published  in  Craig's  Olden  Time,  vol.  1,  p.  194. 

t  Fort  Niagara  was  one  of  the  earliest  French  military  posts,  and  situated  on  the 
right,  or  American  shore  of  Lake  Ontario,  at  the  mouth  of  Niagara  River.  It  has 
iigured  conspicuously  in  all  of  the  wars  on  the  lake  frontier. 

t  Pouchot's  Memoirs,  vol.  1,  pp.  186,  187,  188. 


230  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

in    the  trenches.     Most  of  his   men  were  concealed  either  in  the 
trenches  or  by  trees. 

On  the  morning  of  the  24th  the  French  made  their  appearance. 
They  were  inarching  along  a  path  about  eight  feet  wide,  and  "were 
in  readiness  to  fight  in  close  order  and  without  ranks  or  files."  On 
their  right  were  thirty  Indians,  who  formed  a  front  on  the  enemy's 
left.  The  Indians  of  the  English  army  advanced  to  speak  to  those 
of  the  French.  Seeing  the  Iroquois  in  the  latter' s  company,  the 
French  Indians  refused  to  advance,  under  pretext  that  they  were  at 
peace  with  the  first  named.  Though  thus  abandoned  by  their  chief 
force,  Aubry  and  Lignery  still  proceeded  on  their  way,  thinking 
that  the  few  savages  they  saw  were  isolated  men,  till  they  reached 
a  narrow  pathway,  when  they  discovered  great  numbers  beyond. 
The  English  Indians  then  gave  the  war-whoop  and  the  action  com- 
menced. The  English  regulars  attacked  the  French  in  front,  while 
the  Indians  poured  in  on  their  flank.  Thus  surprised  by  an  am- 
buscade, and  deserted  by  their  savage  allies,  the  French  proved  easy 
victims  to  the  prowess  of  far  superior  numbers.  They  were  assailed 
in  front  and  rear  by  two  thousand  men.  The  rear  of  the  column, 
unable  to  resist,  gave  way,  and  left  the  head  exposed  to  the  enemy's 
fire,  which  crushed  it  entirely.  An  Indian  massacre  followed,  and 
the  pursuit  of  the  victors  continued  until  they  were  compelled  to 
desist  by  sheer  fatigue.  Almost  all  the  French  officers  were  killed, 
wounded  or  taken  prisoners.  Among  the  latter  was  Aubry.  Those 
who  escaped  joined  M.  Rocheblave,  and  with  his  detachment  re- 
treated to  Detroit  and  other  western  lake  posts."" 

This  defeat  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Erie  was  very  severe  on  the 
struggling  western  settlements.  Most  all  of  the  able-bodied  men 
had  gone  with  Aubry,  many  never  to  return.  In  1760  M.  de  Mac- 
Carty,  commandant  at  Fort  Chartes,  in  a  letter  to  Marquis  Vaudreuil, 
stated  that  "the  garrison  was  weaker  than  ever  before,  the  check  at 
Niagara  having  cost  him  the  elite  of  his  men."f 

It  is  apparent,  from  the  desertion  of  Aubry  by  his  savage  allies, 
that  they  perceived  that  the  English  were  certain  to  conquer  in  the 
end.  They  felt  no  particular  desire  to  prop  a  falling  cause,  and 
thus  deserted  Mons.  Aubry  at  the  crisis  when  their  assistance  was 
most  needed.  Thus  was  defeated  the  greatest  French-Indian  force 
ever  collected  in  the  northwest.  % 

*  The  account  of  this  action  has  been  compiled  from  Mante,  p.  226;  Pouchot,  vol.  1, 
p.  192;  and  Garneau's  History  of  Canada,  vol.  2,  pp.  250,  251,  Bell's  translation. 

t  Paris  Documents,  vol.  10,  p.  1093. 

\  Aubry  returned  to  Louisiana  and  remained  there  until  after  the  peace  of  1763. 
In  1765  he  was  appointed  governor  of  Louisiana,  and  surrendered  the  colony,  in  March,. 


THE    DOWNFALL    OF    FKENCH    RULE.  231 

The  next  day  after  Aubry's  defeat,  near  Fort  Niagara,  the  fortress 
surrendered. 

After  the  surrender  of  Niagara  and  Fort  Du  Quesne,  the  Indian 
allies  of  France  retired  to  the  deep  recesses  of  the  western  forests, 
and  the  English  frontiers  suffered  no  more  from  their  depredations. 
Settlements  were  gradually  formed  on  the  western  side  of  the  Alle- 
ghanies,  and  they  remained  secure  from  Indian  invasions. 

In  the  meantime  many  Canadians,  becoming  satisfied  that  the 
conquest  of  Canada  was  only  a  mere  question  of  time,  determined, 
before  that  event  took  place,  to  remove  to  the  French  settlements 
on  the  lower  Mississippi.  "Many  of  them  accordingly  departed 
from  Canada  by  way  of  the  lakes,  and  thence  through  the  Illinois 
and  Wabash  Rivers  to  the  Mississippi."* 

After  the  surrender  of  Quebec,  in  1759,  Montreal  became  the 
headquarters  of  the  French  in  Canada,  and  in  the  spring  of  1760 
Mons.  Levi,  the  French  cornmander-in-chief,  besieged  Quebec.  The 
arrival  of  an  English  fleet  compelled  him  to  relinquish  his  designs. 
Amherst  and  Johnson  formed  a  junction,  and  advanced  against 
Montreal.  The  French  governor  of  Canada,  Marquis  Vaudreil, 
believing  that  further  resistance  was  impossible,  surrendered  all 
Canada  to  the  English.  This  included  the  western  posts  of  Detroit, 
Mackinaw,  Fort  Miami,  Ouiatanon,  Yiiicennes,  Fort  St.  Joseph, 
etc. 

After  this  war  ceased  to  be  waged  in  America,  though  the  treaty 
of  Paris  was  not  concluded  until  February,  1763,  the  most  essential 
parts  of  which  are  contained  in  the  following  extracts : 

"In  order  to  establish  peace  on  solid  and  durable  foundations, 
and  to  remove  forever  all  subjects  of  dispute  with  regard  to  the 
limits  of  the  British  and  French  territories  on  the  continent  of 
America,  it  is  agreed  that  for  the  future  the  confines  between  the 
dominions  of  his  Britannic  Majesty  and  those  of  His  Most  Christian 
Majesty  in  that  part  of  the  world,  shall  be  fixed  irrevocably  by  a 
line  drawn  along  the  middle  of  the  River  Mississippi  from  its  source 
to  the  River  Iberville,  and  from  thence  by  a  line  drawn  along  the 
middle  of  this  river  and  the  lakes  Maurepas  and  Pontchartrain,  to 
the  sea ;  and  for  this  purpose  the  most  Christian  King  cedes,  in  full 
right,  and  guarantees  to  his  Britannic  Majesty,  the  river  and  port  of 
Mobile,  and  everything  which  he  possesses,  or  ought  to  possess,  on 
the  left  side  of  the  Mississippi,  with  the  exception  of  the  town  of 

1766,  to  the  Spanish  governor,  Ulloa.  _  After  the  expulsion  of  Ulloa,  he  held  the 
government  until  relieved  by  O'Reilly,  in  July,  1769.     He  soon  afterward  sailed  for 
France.    The  vessel  was  lost,  and  Aubry  perished  in  the  depths  of  the  sea. 
*  Monette's  Valley  of  the  Mississippi,  vol.  1,  p.  305. 


232  HISTORIC    NOTES   ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

New  Orleans  and  of  the  island  on  which  it  is  situated ;  it  being  well 
understood  that  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  shall  be  equally 
free,  as  well  to  the  subjects  of  Great  Britain  as  to  those  of  France, 
in  its  whole  length  and  breadth,  from  its  source  to  the  sea."* 

Thus  Gallic  rule  came  to  an  end  in  North  America.  Its  downfall 
was  the  result  of  natural  causes,  and  was  owing  largely  to  the  differ- 
ence between  the  Frenchmen  and  the  Englishmen.  The  former,  as 
a  rule,  gave  no  attention  to  agriculture,  but  found  occupation  in 
hunting  and  trading  with  the  Indians,  acquiring  nomadic  habits  that 
unfitted  them  for  the  cultivation  of  the  soil ;  their  families  dwelt  in 
villages  separated  by  wide  stretches  of  wilderness.  While  the  able 
men  were  hunting  and  trading,  the  old  men,  women  and  children 
produced  scanty  crops  sown  in  "  common  fields,"  or  inclosures  of  a 
piece  of  ground  which  were  portioned  off"  among  the  families  of  the 
village.  The  Englishman,  on  the  other  hand,  loved  to  own  land, 
and  pushed  his  improvements  from  the  coast  line  up  through  all  the 
valleys  extending  westward.  Reaching  the  summit  of  the  Allegha- 
nies,  the  tide  of  emigration  flowed  into  the  valleys  beyond.  Every 
cabin  was  a  fort,  every  advancing  farm  a  new  line  of  intrenchment. 
The  distinguishing  characteristic  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  is  consistency 
and  firmness  in  his  designs,  arid,  more  than  all,  his  love  for  a  home. 
In  the  trials  and  hardships  necessarily  connected  with  the  opening 
up  of  the  wilderness  these  traits  come  prominently  into  play.  The 
result  was,  that  the  English  colonies  prospered  in  a  degree  hitherto 
unknown  in  the  annals  of  the  world's  progress.  And  by  way  of  con- 
trast, how  little  did  the  French  have  to  show  in  the  way  of  lasting 
improvements  in  the  northwest  after  it  had  been  in  their  possession 
for  nearly  a  century ! 

However,  the  very  traits  that  disqualified  the  Gaul  as  a  successful 
colonist  gave  him  a  preeminent  advantage  over  the  Anglo-Saxon  in 
the  influence  he  exerted  upon  the  Indian.  He  did  not  want  their 

*  "On  the  3d  day  of  the  previous  November,  France,  by  a  secret  treaty  ceded 
to  Spain  all  her  possessions  west  of  the  Mississippi.  His  Most  Christian  Majesty 
made  known  to  the  inhabitants  of  Louisiana  the  fact  of  the  cession  by  a  letter,  dated 
April  21,  1764.  Don  Ulloa,  the  New  Spanish  governor,  arrived  at  New  Orleans 
in  1766.  The  French  inhabitants  objected  to  the  transfer  of  Louisiana  to  Spain,  and, 
resorting  to  arms,  compelled  Ulloa  to  return  to  Havana.  In  1769,  O'Reilly,  with  a 
Spanish  force,  arrived  and  took  possession.  He  killed  six  of  the  ringleaders  and  sent 
others  to  Cuba.  Spain  remained  in  possession  of  Louisiana  until  March,  1801,  when 
Louisiana  was  retroceded  to  the  French  republic.  The  French  made  preparations  to 
occupy  Lousiana,  and  an  army  of  twenty-five  thousand  men  was  designed  for  that 
territory,  but  the  fleet  and  army  were  suddenly  blockaded  in  one  of  the  ports  of  Hol- 
land by  an  English  squadron.  This  occurrence,  together  with  the  gloomy  aspect  of 
affairs  in  Europe,  induced  Napoleon,  who  was  then  at  the  head  of  the  French  republic, 
to  cede  Louisiana  to  the  United  States.  The  tneaty  was  dated  April  30,  1803.  The 
actual  transfer  occurred  in  December  of  the  same  year."  Vide  Stoddard's  Sketches  of 
Louisiana,  pp.  71,  102. 


FRENCH    WAYS    WITH    THE    INDIANS. 

lands ;  he  fraternized  with  them,  adopted  their  ways,  and  flattered 
and  pleased  them.  The  Anglo-Saxon  wanted  their  lands.  From 
the  start  he  was  clamorous  for  deeds  and  cessions  of  territory,  and 
at  once  began  crowding  the  Indian  out  of  the  country.  "The  Iro- 
quois  told  Sir  Wm.  Johnson  that  they  believed  soon  they  should  not 
be  able  to  hunt  a  bear  into  a  hole  in  a  tree  but  some  Englishman 
would  claim  a  right  to  the  property  of  it,  as  being  found  in  his 
tree."* 

The  happiness  which  the  Indians  enjoyed  from  their  intercourse 
with  the  French  was  their  perpetual  theme  ;  it  was  their  golden  age. 
"Those  who  are  old  enough  to  remember  it  speak  of  it  with  rap- 
ture, and  teach  their  children  to  venerate  it,  as  the  ancients  did  the 
reign  of  Saturn.  '  You  call  us  your  children, '  said  an  aged  chief  to 
Gen.  Harrison,  '  why  do  you  not  make  us  happy,  as  our  fathers  the 
French  did?  They  never  took  from  us  our  lands,  which,  indeed, 
were  in  common  between  us.  They  planted  where  they  pleased, 
and  cut  wood  where  they  pleased,  and  so  did  we  ;  but  now,  if  a  poor 
Indian  attempts  to  take  a  little  bark  from  a  tree  to  cover  him  from 
the  rain,  up  comes  a  white  man  and  threatens  to  shoot  him,  claim- 
ing the  tree  as  his  own.'  "+ 

*  Pownall's  Administration  of  the  Colonies, 
t  Memoirs  of  Gen.  Harrison,  p.  134. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

PONTIAC'S  WAR  TO  RECOVER  THE  NORTHWEST  FROM  THE  ENGLISH. 

AFTEK  the  surrender  of  Canada  to  the  English  by  the  Marquis 
Yaudreuil,  Sir  Jeffery  Amherst,  commander-in-chief  of  His  Majesty's 
forces  in  North  America,  ordered  Major  Robert  Rogers  to  ascend 
the  lakes  and  take  possession  of  the  western  forts.  On  the  13th  of 
September  Rogers,  with  two  hundred  of  his  rangers,  left  Montreal. 
After  weeks  of  weary  traveling,  they  readied  the  mouth  of  Cuyahoga, 
River,  the  present  site  of  Cleveland,  on  the  7th  of  November.  Here 
they  were  met  by  Pontiac,  a  celebrated  Ottawa  chieftain,  who  asked 
Rogers  what  his  intentions  were,  and  how  he  dared  enter  that  coun- 
try without  his  permission.  Rogers  replied  that  the  French  had 
been  defeated ;  that  Canada  was  surrendered  into  the  hands  of  the 
British ;  and  that  he  was  on  his  way  to  take  possession  of  Detroit, 
Mackinaw,  Miamis  and  Ouitanon.  He  also  proposed  to  restore  a 
general  peace  to  white  men  and  Indians  alike.  "Pontiac  listened 
with  attention,  but  only  replied  that  he  should  stand  in  the  path  of 
the  English  until  morning."  In  the  morning  he  returned,  and 
allowed  the  English  to  advance.  He  said  there  would  be  no  trouble 
so  long  as  they  treated  him  with  deference  and  respect. 

Embarking  on  the  12th  of  November,  they  arrived  in  a  few  days 
at  Maumee  Bay,  at  the  western  end  of  Lake  Erie.  The  western 
Indians,  to  the  number  of  four  hundred,  had  collected  at  the  mouth 
of  Detroit  River.  They  were  determined  to  massacre  the  entire  party 
under  Rogers.  It  afterward  appeared  that  they  were  acting  under 
the  influence  of  the  French  commandant  at  Detroit.  Rogers  pre- 
vailed upon  Pontiac  to  use  his  influence  to  induce  the  warlike 
Indians  to  disband.  After  some  parleying,  Pontiac  succeeded,  and 
the  road  was  open  to  Detroit. 

Before  his  arrival  at  Detroit  Rogers  had  sent  in  advance  Lieuten- 
ant Brehm  with  a  letter  to  Captain  Beletre,  the  commandant,  inform- 
ing the  latter  that  his  garrison  was  included -in  the  surrender  of 
Canada.  Beletre  wholly  disregarded  the  letter.  He  declared  he 
thought  it  was  a  trick  of  the  English,  and  that  they  intended  to 
obtain  possession  of  his  fortress  by  treachery.  He  made  use  of 
every  endeavor  to  excite  the  Indians  against  the  English.  "He 


2:!4 


DETROIT    SURRENDERED.  235- 

displayed  upon  a  pole,  before  the  yelling  multitude,  the  effigy  of  a 
crow  pecking  a  man's  head,  the  crow  representing  himself,  and  the 
head,  observes  Rogers,  'being  meant  for  my  own.'  "* 

Rogers  then  sent  forward  Captain  Campbell  "with  a  copy  of  the 
capitulation  and  a  letter  from  the  Marquis  Yaudreuil,  directing  that 
the  place  should  be  given  up  in  accordance  with  the  articles  agreed 
upon  between  him  and  General  Amherst."  The  French  command- 
ant could  hold  out  no  longer,  and,  much  against  his  will,  was  com- 
pelled to  deliver  the  fortress  to  the  English.  The  lilies  of  France 
were  lowered  from  the  flagstaff,  and  their  place  was  taken  by  the 
cross  of  St.  George.  Seven  hundred  Indian  warriors  and  their 
families,  all  of  whom  had  aided  the  French  by  murdering  innocent 
women  and  children  on  the  frontiers  of  Pennsylvania  and  New  York, 
greeted  the  change  with  demoniacal  yells  of  apparent  pleasure ;  but 
concealed  in  their  breasts  was  a  natural  dislike  for  the  English. 
Dissembling  for  the  present,  they  kept  their  hatred  to  themselves, 
for  the  late  successes  of  British  arms  had  awed  them  into  silence. 

It  was  on  the  29th  of  November,  1760,  that  Detroit  was  given, 
over  to  the  English.  The  garrison,  as  prisoners  of  war,  were  taken 
to  Philadelphia. 

Rogers  sent  an  officer  up  the  Maumee,  and  from  thence  down  the 
Wabash,  to  take  possession  of  the  posts  at  the  portage  and  at  Oui- 
atanon.  Both  of  these  objects  were  attained  without  any  difficulty. 

On-  account  of  the  lateness  of  the  season  the  detachment  which 
had  started  for  Mackinaw  returned  to  Detroit,  and  all  efforts  against 
the  posts  on  the  upper  lakes  were  laid  as'ide  until  the  following  sea- 
son. In  that  year  the  English  took  possession  of  Mackinaw,  Green 
Bay  and  St.  Joseph.  The  French  still  retained  possession  of  Vin- 
cennes  and  Fort  Chartes.f 

It  always  was  the  characteristic  policy  of  the  French  to  render 
the  savages  dependent  upon  them,  and  with  that  design  in  view  they 
had  earnestly  endeavored  to  cultivate  among  the  Indians  a  desire  for 
European  goods.  By  prevailing  upon  the  Indians  to  throw  aside 
hides  and  skins  of  wild  beasts  for  clothing  of  European  manufacture, 
to  discontinue  the  use  of  their  pottery  for  cooking  utensils  of  iron, 
to  exchange  the  bow  and  arrow  and  stone  weapons  for  the  gun,  the 
knife  and  hatchet  of  French  manufacture,  it  was  thought  that  in  the 
course  of  one  or  two  generations  they  would  become  dependent  upon 
their  French  neighbors  for  the  common  necessaries  of  life.  When 

*  Parkman's  Conspiracy  of  Pontiac,  p.  150. 

fThis  account  of  the  delivery  of  the  western  forts  to  Rogers  has  been  collated  from 
his  Journal  and  from  Parkman's  Conspiracy  of  Pontiac. 


236  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

this  change  in  their  customs  had  taken  place,  by  simply  withholding 
the  supply  of  ammunition  they  could  coerce  the  savages  to  adopt  any 
measures  that  the  French  government  saw  fit  to  propose.  The  pol- 
icy of  the  French  was  not  to  force,  but  to  lead,  the  savages  into  sub- 
jection. They  told  the  barbarians  that  they  were  the  children  of  the 
great  king,  who  had  sent  his  people  among  them  to  preserve  them 
from  their  implacable  enemies,  the  English.  Flattering  them,  asking 
their  advice,  bestowing  upon  them  presents,  and,  above  all,  showing 
them  respect  and  deference,  the  French  gained  the  good  will  of  the 
savages  in  a  degree  that  no  other  European  nation  ever  equaled. 
After  the  surrender  of  the  western  posts  all  this  was  changed.  The 
accustomed  presents  formerly  bestowed  upon  them  were  withheld. 
English  traders  robbed,  bullied  and  cheated  them.  English  officers 
treated  them  with  rudeness  and  contempt.  But,  most  of  all,  the 
steady  advance  of  the  English  colonists  over  the  mountains,  occupy- 
ing their  lands,  driving  away  their  game,  and  forcing  them  to  retire 
farther  west,  alarmed  and  exasperated  the  aborigines  to  the  limit  of 
endurance.  "The  wrongs  and  neglect  the  Indians  felt  were  inflamed 
by  the  French  coureurs  de  bois  and  traders.  They  had  every  motive 
to  excite  the  tribes  against  the  English,  such  as  their  national  rancor, 
their  religious  antipathies,  and  most  especially  the  fear  of  losing  the 
profitable  Indian  trade."  Every  effort  was  made  to  excite  and  in- 
flame the  slumbering  passions  of  the  tribes  of  the  Northwest.  Secret 
councils  were  held,  and  different  plans  for  obtaining  possession  of 
the  western  fortresses  were  discussed.  The  year  after  Rogers  ob- 
tained Detroit  there  was,  in  the  summer,  an  outbreak,  but  it  was 
easily  quelled,  being  only  local.  The  next  year,  also,  there  was 
another  disturbance,  but  it,  like  the  former,  did  not  spread. 

During  these  two  years  one  Indian  alone, —  Pontiac, —  compre- 
hended the  situation.  He  read  correctly  the  signs  and  portents  of 
the  times.  He  well  knew  that  English  supremacy  on  the  North 
American  continent  meant  the  destruction  of  his  race.  He  saw  the 
great  difference  between  the  English  and  the  French.  The  former 
were  settlers,  the  latter  traders.  The  French  came  to  the  far  west 
for  their  beaver  skins  and  peltries,  while  the  English  would  only  be 
satisfied  with  their  lands.  Pontiac  soon  arrived  at  the  conclusion 
that  unless  the  ceaseless  flow  of  English  immigration  was  stopped, 
it  would  not  be  many  decades  before  the  Indian  race  would  be 
driven  from  the  face  of  the  earth.  Well  has  time  justified  this  opin- 
ion of  the  able  Indian  chieftain ! 

To  accomplish  his  designs.  Pontiac  was  well  aware  that  he  must 
induce  all  the  tribes  of  the  northwest  to  join  him.      Even  then  he 


PONTIAC'S    WAR.  237 

had  doubts  of  final  success.  To  encourage  him,  the  French  traders 
informed  him  "  that  the  English  had  stolen  Canada  while  their  com- 
mon father  was  asleep  at  Versailles ;  that  he  would  soon  awaken  and 
again  wrest  his  domains  from  the  intruders ;  that  even  now  large 
French  armies  were  on  their  way  up  the  St.  Lawrence  and  Missis- 
sippi rivers."  Pontiac  believed  these  tales,  for  let  it  be  borne  in 
mind  that  this  was  previous  to  the  treaty  of  Paris,  and  late  in  the 
autumn  of  1762  he  sent  emissaries  with  black  wampum  and  the  red 
tomahawk  to  the  villages  of  the  Ottawas,  Pottawatomies,  Sacs, 
Foxes,  Menominees,  Illinois,  Miamis,  Shawnees,  Delawares,  Wyan- 
dots,  Kickapoos  and  Senecas.  These  emissaries  were  instructed  to 
inform  the  various  tribes  that  the  English  had  determined  to  exter- 
minate the  northwestern  Indians ;  to  accomplish  this  they  intended 
to  erect  numerous  fortifications  in  the  territory  named ;  and  also 
that  the  English  had  induced  the  southern  Indians  to  aid  them.*  To 
avert  these  inimical  designs  of  the  English,  the  messengers  of  Pon- 
tiac proposed  that  on  a  certain  day  all  the  tribes,  by  concerted  action, 
should  seize  all  the  English  posts  and  then  attack  the  whole  English 
border. 

Pontiac' s  plan  was  contrived  and  developed  with  wonderful 
secrecy,  and  all  of  a  sudden  the  conspiracy  burst  its  fury  simultane- 
ously over  all  the  forts  held  by  the  British  west  of  the  Alleghanies. 
By  stratagem  or  forcible  assault  every  garrison  west  of  Pittsburgh, 
excepting  Detroit,  was  captured. 

Fort  St.  Joseph,  on  the  river  of  that  name,  in  the  present  state  of 
Michigan,  was  captured  by  the  Pottawatomies.  These  emissaries  of 
Pontiac  collected  about  the  fort  on  the  23d  of  May,  1763,  and  under 
the  guise  of  friendship  effected  an  entrance  within  the  palisades, 
when  they  suddenly  turned  upon  and  massacred  the  whole  garrison, 
except  the  commandant,  Ensign  Slussee  and  three  soldiers,  whom 
they  made  prisoners  and  sent  to  Detroit. 

The  Ojibbeways  effected  an  entry  within  the  defenses  of  Fort 
Mackinaw,  the  gate  being  left  open  while  the  Indians  were  amusing 
the  officer  and  soldiers  with  a  game  of  ball.  In  the  play  the  ball 
was  knocked  over  within  the  palisade.  The  players,  hurrying 
through  the  gates,  seemingly  intent  on  regaining  the  ball,  seized 
their  knives  and  guns  from  beneath  the  blankets  of  their  squaws, 
where  they  had  been  purposely  concealed,  and  commenced  an  indis- 
criminate massacre,  f 

*  The  Chickasaws  and  Cherokees  were  at  that  time,  though  on  their  own  responsi- 
bility, waging  war  aginst  some  of  the  tribes  of  the  northwest. 

fA  detailed  account  of  this  most  horrible  massacre  is  given  by  the  fur-trader  Alex- 


238  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

Ensign  Holmes,  who  was  in  command  at  Fort  Miami,*  learned 
that  to  the  Miamis  in  the  vicinity  of  his  post  was  allotted  the  de- 
struction of  his  garrison.  Holmes  collected  the  Indians  in  an 
assembly,  and  charged  them  with  forming  a  conspiracy  against  his 
post.  They  confessed ;  said  that  they  were  influenced  by  hostile 
Indians,  and  promised  to  relinquish  their  designs.  The  village  of 
Pontiac  was  within  a  short  distance  of  the  post,  and  some  of  his  im- 
mediate followers  doubtless  attended  the  assembly.  Holmes  sup- 
posed he  had  partially  allayed  their  irritation,  as  appears  from  a 
letter  written  ftom  him  to  Major  Gladwyn.f 

On  the  27th  of  May  a  young  Indian  squaw,  who  was  the  mistress 
•of  Holmes,  requested  him  to  visit  a  sick  Indian  woman  who  lived  in 
a  wigwam  near  at  hand.  "Having  confidence  in  the  girl,  Holmes 
followed  her  out  of  the  fort."  Two  Indians,  who  were  concealed 
behind  the  hut,  as  he  approached  it,  fired  and  "stretched  him  life- 
less on  the  ground."  The  sergeant  rushed  outside  of  the  palisade 
to  learn  the  cause  of  the  firing.  He  was  immediately  seized  by  the 
Indians.  The  garrison,  who  by  this  time  had  become  thoroughly 
alarmed,  and  had  climbed  upon  the  palisades,  was  ordered  to  surren- 
der by  one  Godefroy,  a  Canadian.  They  were  informed,  if  they 
submitted  their  lives  would  be  spared,  otherwise  they  all  would  be 
massacred.  Having  lost  their  officers  and  being  in  great  terror,  they 
threw  open  the  gate  and  gave  themselves  up  as  prisoners.  Accord- 
ing to  tradition,  the  garrison  was  afterward  massacred.;}: 

Fort  Ouiatanon  was  under  the  command  of  Lieut.  Jenkins,  who 
had  no  suspicion  of  any  Indian  troubles,  and  on  the  1st  of  June, 
when  he  was  requested  by  some  of  the  Indians  to  visit  them  in  their 
cabins  near  by,  he  unhesitatingly  complied  with  the  request.  Upon 
his  entering  the  hut  he  was  immediately  seized  by  the  Indian  war- 
riors. Through  various  other  stratagems  of  a  similar  nature  several 
of  the  soldiers  were  also  taken.  Jenkins  was  then  told  to  have  the 
soldiers  in  the  fort  surrender.  "For,"  said  the  Indians,  "should 
your  men  kill  one  of  our  braves,  we  shall  put  you  all  to  death." 

ander  Henry,  an  eye-witness  and  one  of  the  few  survivors,  in  his  interesting  Book  of 
Travels  and  Adventures,  p.  85. 

*  Now  Fort  Wayne. 

FORT  MIAMIS,  March  30th,  1763. 

f  Since  my  Last  Letter  to  You,  wherein  I  Acquainted  You  of  the  Bloody  Belt  being 
in  this  Village,  I  have  made  all  the  search  I  could  about  it,  and  have  found  it  not  to  be 
True;  Whereon  I  Assembled  all  the  chiefs  of  this  Nation,  &  after  a  long  and  trouble- 
some Spell  with  them,  I  Obtained  the  Belt,  with  a  Speech,  as  You  will  Receive  En- 
closed; This  affair  is  very  timely  Stopt,  and  I  hope  the  News  of  a  Peace  will  put  a 
Stop  to  any  further  Troubles  with  these  Indians,  who  are  the  Principal  Ones  of  Setting 
Mischief  on  Foot.  I  send  you  the  Belt,  with  this  Packet,  which  I  hope  You  will  For- 
ward to  the  General. 

|  Brice's  History  of  Fort  Wayne. 


PONTIAC'S    FAILURE.  239 

Jenkins  thinking  that  resistance  would  be  useless,  ordered  the  re- 
maining soldiers  to  deliver  the  fort  to  the  Indians.  During  the 
night  the  Indians  resolved  to  break  their  plighted  word,  and  mas- 
sacre all  their  prisoners.  Two  of  the  French  residents,  M.  M.  Mai- 
gonville  and  Lorain,  gave  the  Indians  valuable  presents,  including 
wampum,  brandy,  etc.,  and  thus  preserved  the  lives  of  the  English 
•captives.  Jenkins,  in  his  letter  to  Major  Gladwyn,  commandant  at 
Detroit,  states  that  the  Weas  were  not  favorably  inclined  toward 
Pontiac's  designs  ;  but  being  coerced  by  the  surrounding  tribes,  they 
undertook  to  carry  out  their  part  of  the  programme.  Well  did  they 
succeed.  Lieut.  Jenkins,  with  the  other  prisoners,  were,  within  a 
few  days  afterward,  sent  across  the  prairies  of  Illinois  to  Fort  Char- 
tres. 

Detroit  held  out,  though  regularly  besieged  by  Pontiac  in  person, 
for  more  than  fifteen  months,  when,  at  last,  the  suffering  garrison 
was  relieved  by  the  approach  of  troops  under  Gen.  Bradstreet.  In 
the  meantime  Pontiac  confederates,  wearied  and  disheartened  by  the 
protracted  struggle,  longed  for  peace.  Several  tribes  abandoned  the 
declining  fortune  of  Pontiac ;  and  finally  the  latter  gave  up  the  con- 
test, and  retired  to  the  neighborhood  of  Fort  Miamis.  Here  he 
remained  for  several  months,  when  he  went  westward,  down  the 
Wabash  and  across  the  prairies  to  Fort  Chartres.  The  latter  fort 
remained  in  possession  of  a  French  officer,  not  having  been  as  yet 
surrendered  to  the  English,  the  hostility  of  the  Indians  preventing 
its  delivery;  and  by  agreements  of  the  two  governments,  France 
and  England,  it  was  left  in  charge  of  the  veteran  St.'Ange. 

The  English  having  acquired  the  territory  herein  considered,  by 
conquest  and  treaty,  from  France,  renewed  their  efforts  to  reclaim 
authority  over  it  from  its  aboriginal  inhabitants.  To  effect  this 
object,  they  now  resort  to  conciliation  and  diplomacy.  They  sent 
westward  George  Croghan.* 

After  closing  a  treaty  with  the  Indians  at  Fort  Pitt,  Croghan 
started  on  his  mission  on  the  15th  of  May  1765,  going  down  the 
Ohio  in  two  bateaux.  His  movements  were  known  to  the  hostile 

*  Croghan  was  an  old  trader  who  had  spent  his  life  among  the  Indians,  and  was 
versed  in  their  language,  ways  and  habits  of  thought,  and  who  well  knew  how  to  flat- 
ter and  cajole  them.  Besides  this,  Croghan  enjoyed  the  advantage  of  a  personal  ac- 
quaintance with  many  of  the  chiefs  and  principal  men  of  the  Wabash  tribes,  who  had 
met  him  while  trading  at  Pickawillany  and  other  places  where  he  had  trading  estab- 
lishments. Among  the  Miami,  Wea  and  Piankashaw  bands  Croghan  had  many  Indian 
friends  whose  attachments  toward  him  were  very  warm.  He  was  a  veteran,  up  to  all 
the  arts  of  the  Indian  council  house,  and  had  in  years  gone  by  conducted  many  impor- 
tant treaties  between  the  authorities  of  New  York  and  Pennsylvania  with  the  Iroquois, 
Delawares  and  Shawnees.  In  the  war  for  the  fur  trade  Croghan  suffered  severely;  the 
French  captured  his  traders,  confiscated  his  goods,  and  bankrupted  his  fortune. 


240  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

tribes.  A  war  party  of  eighty  Kickapoos  and  Mascoutins,  "  spirited 
up  "  to  the  act  by  the  French  traders  at  Ouiatanon,  as  Croghan  says 
in  his  Journal,  left  the  latter  place,  and  captured  Croghan  and  his 
party  at  daybreak  on  the  8th  of  June,  in  the  manner  narrated  in  a 
previous  chapter.*  He  was  carried  to  Vincennes,  his  captors  con- 
ducting him  a  devious  course  through  marshes,  tangled  forests  and 
small  prairie,  to  the  latter  place,  f 

After  Croghan  had  procured  wearing  apparel  (his  captors  had 
stripped  him  well-nigh  naked)  and  purchased  some  horses  he 
crossed  the  Wabash,  and  soon  entered  the  great  prairie  which  he 
describes  in  extracts  we  have  already  taken  from  his  journal.  His 
route  was  up  through  Crawford,  Edgar  and  Vermilion  counties,  fol- 
lowing the  old  traveled  trail  running  along  the  divide  between  the 
Embarrass  and  the  Wabash,  and  which  was  a  part  of  the  great  high- 
way leading  from  Detroit  to  Kaskaskia ;  ^  crossed  the  Yermilion 
River  near  Danville,  thence  along  the  trail  through  Warren  county, 
Indiana.  Croghan,  still  a  prisoner  in  charge  of  his  captors,  reached 
Ouiatonon  on  the  afternoon  of  the  23d  of  June.§  Here  the  Weas, 

*P.  161. 

f  Croghan,  in  his  Journal,  says:  "  I  found  Vincennes  a  village  of  eighty  or  ninety 
French  families,  settled  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  being  one  of  the  finest  situations 
that  can  be  found.  The  French  inhabitants  hereabouts  are  an  idle,  lazy  people,  a 
parcel  of  renegadoes  from  Canada,  and  are  much  worse  than  the  Indians.  They  took 
secret  pleasure  at  our  misfortune,  and  the  moment  we  arrived  they  came  to  the  Indians, 
exchanging  trifles  for  their  valuable  plunder.  Here  is  likewise  an  Indian  village  of 
Piankashaws,  who  were  much  displeased  with  the  party  that  took  me,  telling  them 
that  '  our  and  your  chiefs  are  gone  to  make  peace,  and  you  have  begun  war,  for  which 
our  women  and  children,  will  have  reason  to  cry.1  Port  Vincent  is  a  place  of  great 
consequence  for  trade,  being  a  fine  hunting  country  all  along  the  Wabash." 

\  That  part  of  the  route  from  Kaskaskia  east,  from  the  earliest  settlement  of  Illi- 
nois and  Indiana,  was  called  "the  old  Vincennes  trace."  "This  trace,"  says  Gov. 
Reynolds,  in  his  Pioneer  History  of  Illinois,  p.  79,  "was  celebrated  in  Illinois.  The 
Indians  laid  it  out  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago.  It  commenced  at 
Detroit,  thence  to  Ouiatonon,  on  the  Wabash,  thence  to  Vincennes  and  thence  to  Kas- 
kaskia. It  was  the  Appian  way  of  Illinois  in  ancient  times.  It  is  yet  (in  1852)  visible 
in  many  places  between  Kaskaskia  and  Vincennes."  It  was  also  visible  for  years  after 
the  white  settlements  began,  between  the  last  place,  the  Vermilion  and  Ouiatonon,  on 
the  route  described. — [AUTHOR. 

§  Croghan  says  of  Ouiatonon  that  there  were  "about  fourteen  French  families  liv- 
ing in  the  fort,  which  stands  on  the  north  side  of  the  river;  that  the  Kickapoos  and 
Mascoutins,  whose  warriors  had  taken  us,  live  nigh  the  fort,  on  the  same  side  of  the 
river,  where  they  have  two  villages,  and  the  Ouicatonons  or  Wawcottonans  [as  Croghan 
variously  spells  the  name  of  the  Weasj  have  a  village  on  the  south  side  of  the  river." 
"  On  the  south  side  of  the  Wabash  runs  a  high  bank,  in  which  are  several  very  fine 
coal  mines,  and  behind  this  bank  is  a  very  large  meadow,  clear  for  several  miles."  The 
printer  made  a  mistake  in  setting  up  Croghan 's  manuscript,  or  else  Croghan  himself 
committed  an  unintentional  error  in  his  diary  in  substituting  the  word  south  for  north 
in  describing  the  side  of  the  river  on  which  the  appearances  of  coal  banks  are  found.  The 
only  locality  on  the  banks  of  the  Wabash,  above  the  Vermilion,  where  the  carbonifer- 
ous shales  resembling  coal  are  exposed  is  on  the  west,  or  north  bank,  of  the  river,  about 
four  miles  above  Independence,  at  a  place  known  as  ""Black  Rock,"  which,  says  Prof. 
Collett,  in  his  report  on  the  geology  of  Warren  county,  Indiana,  published  in  the  Geolog- 
ical Survey  of  Indiana  for  1873,  pp.  224-5,  "  is  a  notable  and  romantic  feature  in  the  river 
scenery."  "A  precipitous  or  overhanging  cliff  exhibits  an  almost  sheer  descent  of  a 


SUCCESS  OF  CKOGHAN'S  MISSION.  241 

from  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  took  great  interest  in  Mr. 
Croghan,  and  were  deeply  "concerned  at  what  had  happened. 
They  charged  the  Ivickapoos  and  Mascoutins  to  take  the  greatest 
care  of  him,  and  the  Indians  and  white  men  captured  with  him,  until 
their  chiefs  should  arrive  from  Fort  Chartres,  whither  the}7  had  gone, 
some  time  before,  to  meet  him,  and  who  were  necessarily  ignorant  of 
his  being  captured  on  his  way  to  the  same  place."  From  the  4th  to 
the  8th  of  July  Croghan  held  conferences  with  the  Weas,  Pianke- 
shaws,  Kickapoos  and  Mascoutins,  in  which,  he  says,  "I  was  lucky 
enough  to  reconcile  those  nations  to  His  Majesty's  interests,  and  ob- 
tained their  consent  to  take  possession  of  the  posts  in  their  country 
which  the  French  formerly  possessed,  and  they  oflered  their  services 
should  any  nation  oppose  our  taking  such  possession,  all  of  which  they 
confirmed  by  four  large  pipes."*  On  the  llth  a  messenger  arrived 
from  Fort  Chartres  requesting  the  Indians  to  take  Croghan  and  his 
party  thither ;  and  as  Fort  Chartres  was  the  place  to  which  he  had 
originally  designed  going,  he  desired  the  chiefs  to  get  ready  to  set 
out  with  him  for  that  place  as  soon  as  possible.  On  the  13th  the 
chiefs  from  "the  Miamis"  came  in  and  renewed  their  "ancient 
friendship  with  His  Majesty."  On  the  18th  Croghan,  with  his  party 
and  the  chiefs  of  the  Miami  arid  other  tribes  we  have  mentioned, 
forming  an  imposing  procession,  started  off  across  the  country 
toward  Fort  Chartres.  On  the  way  (neither  Croghan' s  official  report 
or  his  private  journal  show  the  place)  they  met  the  great  "Pontiac 
himself,  together  with  the  deputies  of  the  Iroquois,  Delawares  and 
Shawnees,f  who  had  gone  on  around  to  Fort  Chartres  with  Capt. 

hundred  and  forty  feet  to  the  Wabash,  at  its  foot.  The  top  is  composed  of  yellow,  red, 
brown  or  black  conglomerate  sandrock,  highly  ferruginous,  and  in  part  pebbly.  At  the 
base  of  the  sandrock,  where  it  joins  upon  the  underlying  carbonaceous  and  pyritous 
shales  are  'pot 'or  'rock-houses,'  which  so  constantly  accompany  this  formation  in 
southern  Indiana.  Some  of  these,  of  no  great  height,  have  been  tunneled  back  under 
the  cliff  to  a  distance  of  thirty  or  forty  feet  by  force  of  the  ancient  river  once  flowing 
at  this  level."  The  position,  in  many  respects,  is  like  Starved  Rock,  on  the  Illinois, 
where  La  Salle  built  Fort  St.  Louis,  and  commands  a  fine  view  of  the  Wea  plains, 
across  the  river  eastward,  and,  before  the  recent  growth  of  timber,  of  an  arm  of  the 
Grand  Prairie  to  the  westward.  The  stockade  fort  and  trading-post  of  Ouiatonon  has 
often  been  confounded  with  the  Wea  villages,  which  were  strung  for  several  miles  along 
the  margin  of  the  prairie,  near  the  river,  between  Attica  and  LaFayette,  on  the  south 
or  east  side  of  the  river;  and  some  writers  have  mistaken  it  for  the  village  of  Keth- 
tip-e-ca-nuk,  situated  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Wabash  River,  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Tippecanoe.  The  fort  was  abandoned  as  a  military  post  after  its  capture  from  the 
British  by  the  Indians.  It  was  always  a  place  of  considerable  trade  to  the  English,  as 
well  as  the  French.  Thomas  Hutchins,  in  his  Historical  and  Topographical  Atlas,  pub- 
lished in  1778,  estimates  "  the  annual  amount  of  skins  and  furs  obtained  at  Ouiatonon 
at  forty  thousand  dollars." 

*  Croghan's  official  report  to  Sir  Wm.  Johnson :  London  Documents,  vol.  7.  p.  780. 

t  These  last-named  Indian  deputies,  with  Mr.  Frazer,had  gone  down  the  Ohio  with 
Croghan,  and  thence  on  to  Fort  Chartres.     Not  hearing  anything  from  Croghan,  or 
knowing  what  had  become  of  him,  Pontiac  and  these  Indian  deputies,  on  learning  that 
Croghan  was  at  Ouiatanon,  set  out  for  that  place  to  meet  him. 
16 


242  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

Frazer.  The  whole  party,  with  deputies  from  the  Illinois  Indians, 
now  returned  to  Ouiatanon,  and  there  held  another  conference,  in 
which  were  settled  all  matters  with  the  Illinois  Indians.  "  Pontiac 
and  the  Illinois  deputies  agreed  to  everything  which  the  other  tribes 
had  conceded  in  the  previous  conferences  at  Ouiatanon,  all  of  which 
was  ratified  with  a  solemn  formality  of  pipes  and  belts."* 

Here,  then,  upon  the  banks  of  the  AVabash  at  Ouiatonon,  did  the 
Indian  tribes,  with  the  sanction  of  Pontiac,  solemnly  surrender  pos- 
session of  the  northwest  territory  to  the  accredited  agent  of  Great 
Britain,  f  Croghan  and -his  party,  now  swollen  to  a  large  body  by 
the  accession  of  the  principal  chiefs  of  the  several  nations,  set  out 
"for  the  Miamis,  and  traveled  the  whole  way  through  a  fine  rich 
bottom,  alongside  the  Ouabache,  arriving  at  Eel  River  on  the  27th. 
About  six  miles  up  this  river  they  found  a  small  village  of  the 
Twightwec,  situated  on  a  very  delightful  spot  of  ground  on  the  bank 
of  the  river.";}:  Croghah's  private  journal  continues:  "-July  28th, 
29th,  30th  and  31st  we  traveled  still  alongside  the  Eel  River,  passing 
through  fine  clear  woods  and  some  good  meadows,  though  not  so 
large  as  those  we  passed  some  days  before.  The  country  is  more 
overgrown  with  woods,  the  soil  is  sufficiently  rich,  and  well  watered 
with  springs." 

On  the  1st  of  August  they  "arrived  at  the  carrying  place  be- 
tween the  River  Miamis  and  the  Ouabache,  which  is  about  nine  miles 
long  in  dry  seasons,  but  not  above  half  that  length  in  freshets." 
"Within  a  mile  of  the  Twightwee  village,"  says  Croghan,  "I  was 
met  by  the  chiefs  of  that  nation,  who  received  us  very  kindly.  Most 
part  of  these  Indians  knew  me,  and  conducted  me  to  their  village, 
where  they  immediately  hoisted  an  English  flag  that  /  had  formerly 
given  them  at  Fort  Pitt.  The  next  day  they  held  a  council,  after 
which  they  gave  me  up  all  the  English  prisoners  they  had,  and  ex- 
pressed the  pleasure  it  gave  them  to  see  [that]  the  unhappy  differ- 
ences which  had  embroiled  the  several  nations  in  a  war  with  their 
brethren,  the  English,  were  now  so  near  a  happy  conclusion,  and 
that  peace  was  established  in  their  country.  "§ 

*Croghan's  official  report,  already  quoted. 

f  It  is  true  that  Pontiac,  with  deputies  of  all  the  westward  tribes,  followed  Croghan 
to  Detroit,  where  another  conference  took  place;  but  this  was  only  a  more  formal  rati- 
fication of  the  surrender  which  the  Indians  declared  they  had  already  made  of  the 
country  at  Ouiatonon. 

JThe  Miami  Indian  name  of  this  village  was  Ke-na-pa-com-a-qua.  Its  French 
name  was  A  1'Anguillo,  or  Eel  River  town.  The  Miami  name  of  Eel  River  was  Kin- 
na-peei-knoh  Sepe,  or  Water  Snake  (the  Indians  call  the  eel  a  water-snake  fish)  River. 
The  village  was  situated  on  the  north  bank  of  Eel  River,  about  six  miles  from  Logans- 
port.  It  was  scattered  alone:  the  river  for  some  three  miles. 

§The  following  is  Mr.  Croghan's  description  of  the  "Miamis,"  as  it  appeared  in 


POXTIAC'S   TRAGIC    DEATH.  24o 

From  the  Miamis  the  party  proceeded  down  the  Maumee  in 
canoes.  "About  ninety  miles,  continues  the  journal,  from  the  Miamis 
or  Twightwee  we  came  to  where  a  large  river,  that  heads  in  a  large 
^lickS  falls  into  the  Miami  River;  this  they  call  'The  Forks.' 
The  Ottawas  claim  this  country  and  hunt  here.*  This  nation  for- 
merly lived  at  Detroit,  but  are  now  settled  here  on  account  of  the 
richness  of  the  country,  where  game  is  always  to  be  found  in  plenty." 

From  Defiance  Croghan' s  party  were  obliged  to  drag  their  canoes 
several  miles,  "on  account  of  the  riffs  which  interrupt  the  naviga- 
tion," at  the  end  of  which  they  came  to  a  village  of  Wyandottes,  who 
received  them  kindly.  From  thence  they  proceeded  in  their  canoes 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Maurnee.  Passing  several  large  bays  and  a 
number  of  rivers,  they  reached  the  Detroit  River  on  the  16th  of 
August,  and  Detroit  on  the  following  morning,  f 

As  for  Pontiac,  his  fate  was  tragical.  He  was  fond  of  the  French, 
and  often  visited  the  Spanish  post  at  St.  Louis,  whither  many  of  his 
old  friends  had  gone  from  the  Illinois  side  of  the  river.  One  day  in 
1767,  as  is  supposed,  he  came  to  Mr.  St.  Ange  (this  veteran  soldier 
of  France  still  remained  in  the  country),  and  said  he  was  going  over 
to  Cahokia  to  visit  the  Kaskaskia  Indians.  St.  Ange  endeavored  to 
dissuade  him  from  it,  reminding  him  of  the  little  friendship  existing 
between  him  and  the  British.  Pontiac' s  answer  was :  "Captain,  I 
am  a  man.  I  know  how  to  fight.  I  have  always  fought  openly. 
They  will  not  murder  me,  and  if  any  one  attacks  me  as  a  brave  man, 

1765:  "  The  Twightwee  village  is  situated  on  both  sides  of  a  river  called  St.  Joseph's. 
This  river,  where  it  falls  into  the  Miami  River,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  this 
place,  is  one  hundred  yards  wide,  on  the  east  side  of  which  stands  a  stockade  fort  some- 
what ruinous."  The  Indian  village  consists  of  about  forty  or  fifty  cabins,  besides  nine 
or  ten  French  houses,  a  runaway  colony  from  Detroit  during  the  late  Indian  war;  they 
were  concerned  in  it,  and  being  afraid  of  punishment  came  to  this  post,  where  they 
have  ever  since  spirited  up  the  Indians  against  the  English.  All  the  French  residing 
here  are  a  lazy,  indolent  people,  fond  of  breeding  mischief,  and  they  should  not  be 
suffered  to  remain.  The  country  is  pleasant,  the  soil  rich  and  well  watered." 

*The  place  referred  to  is  the  mouth  of  the  Auglaize,  often  designated  as  "The 
Forks  "  in  many  of  the  early  accounts  of  the  country.  It  may  be  noted  that  Croghan, 
like  nearly  all  other  early  travelers,  overestimates  distances. 

t Croghan  describes  Detroit  as  a  large  stockade  "inclosing  about  eighty  houses.  It 
stands  on  the  north  side  of  the  river  on  a  high  bank,  and  commands  a  very  pleasant 
prospect  for  nine  miles  above  and  below  the  fort.  The  country  is  thick  settled  with 
French.  Their  plantations  are  generally  laid  out  about  three  or  four  acres  in  breadth 
on  the  river,  and  eighty  acres  in  depth;  the  soil  is  good,  producing  plenty  of  grain. 
All  the  people  here  are  generally  poor  wretches,  and  consist  of  three  or  four  hundred 
French  families,  a  lazy,  idle  people,  depending  chiefly  on  the  savages  for  their  subsist- 
ence. Though  the  land,  with  little  labor,  produces  plenty  of  grain,  they  scarcely  raise  as 
much  as  will  supply  their  wants,  in  imitation  of  Indians,  whose  manners  and  customs 
they  have  entirely  adopted,  and  cannot  subsist  without  them.  The  men,  women  and 
children  speak  the  Indian  tongue  perfectly  well."  At  the  conclusion  of  the  lengthy 
conferences  with  the  Indians,  in  which  all  matters  were  "  settled  to  their  satisfaction," 
Croghan  set  out  from  Detroit  for  Niagara,  coasting  along  the  north  shore  of  Lake  Erie 
in  a  birch  canoe,  arriving  at  the  latter  place  on  the  8th  of  October. 


244  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

I  am  his  match."  Pontiac  went  over  the  river,  was  feasted,  got 
drunk,  and  retired  to  the  woods  to  sing  medicine  songs.  In  the 
meanwhile,  an  English  merchant  named  Williamson  bribed  a  Kas- 
kaskia  Indian  with  a  barrel  of  rum  and  promises  of  a  greater  reward 
if  he  would  take  Pontiac' s  life.  Pontiac  was  struck  with  a  pa-ka- 
ma-gon  —  tomahawk,  and  his  skull  fractured,  causing  death.  This 
murder  aroused  the  vengeance  of  all  the  Indian  tribes  friendly  to 
Pontiac,  and  brought  about  the  war  resulting  in  the  almost  total  ex- 
termination of  the  Illinois  nation.  He  was  a  remarkably  fine-looking 
man,  neat  in  his  person,  and  tasty  in  dress  and  in  the  arrangement 
of  his  ornaments.  His  complexion  is  said  to  have  approached  that 
of  the  whites.*  St.  Ange,  hearing  of  Pontiac' s  death,  kindly  took 
charge  of  the  body,  and  gave  it  a  decent  burial  near  the  fort,  the 
site  of  which  is  now  covered  by  the  city  of  St.  Louis.  "Neither 
mound  nor  tablet,"  says  Francis  Parkman,  "marked  the  burial- 
place  of  Pontiac.  For  a  mausoleum  a  city  has  arisen  above  the  for- 
est hue,  and  the  race  whom  he  hated  with  such  burning  rancor  tram- 
ple with  unceasing  footsteps  over  his  forgotten  grave." 

*I.  N.  Nicollet's  Report,  etc.,  p.  81.  Mr.  Nicollet  received  his  information  con- 
cerning Pontiac  from  Col.  Pierre  Chouteau,  of  St.  Louis,  and  Col.  Pierre  Menard,  of 
Kaskaskia,  who  were  personally  acquainted  with  the  facts.  • 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

GEN.  CLARK'S  CONQUEST  OF  "THE  ILLINOIS." 

AFTER  the  Indians  had  submitted  to  English  rule  the  west  en- 
joyed a  period  of  quiet.  When  the  American  colonists,  long  com- 
plaining against  the  oppressive  acts  of  the  mother  country,  broke 
out  into  open  revolt,  and  the  war  of  the  revolution  fairly  began, 
the  English,  from  the  westward  posts  of  Detroit,  Vincennes  and 
Kaskaskia,  incited  the  Indians 
against  the  frontier  settlements, 
and  from  these  depots  supplied 
their  war  parties  with  guns  and 
ammunition.  The  Depredations 
of  the  Indians  in  Kentucky  were 
so  severe  that  in  the  fall  of  17T7 
George  Rogers  Clark  conceived, 
and  next  year  executed,  an  expe- 
dition against  the  French  settle- 
ments of  Kaskaskia  and  Vin- 
cennes, which  not  only  relieved 
Kentucky  from  the  incursions 
of  the  savages,  but  at  the  same 
time  resulted  in  consequences 
which  are  without  parallel  in  the 
annals  of  the  Northwest.* 

*Gen.  Clark  was  born  in  Albemarle  county,  Virginia,  on  the  19th  of  November, 
1752,  and  died  and  was  buried  at  Locust  Grove,  near  Louisville,  Kentucky,  in  February, 
1818.  He  came  to  Kentucky  in  the  spring  of  1775,  and  became  early  identified  as  a 
conspicuous  leader  in  the  border  wars  of  that  country.  The  border  settlers  of  Kentucky 
could  not  successfully  contend  against  the  numerous  and  active  war  parties  from  the 
Wabash  who  were  continually  lurking  in  their  neighborhoods,  coming,  as  Indians  do, 
stealthily,  striking  a  blow  where  least  expected,  and  escaping  before  assistance  could 
relieve  the  localities  which  they  devastated,  killing  women  and  children,  destroying 
live  stock  and  bvirning  the  pioneers1  cabins.  Clark  conceived  the  idea  of  capturing 
Vincennes  and  Kaskaskia.  Keeping  his  plans  to  himself,  he  proceeded  to  Williams- 
burg  and  laid  them  before  Patrick  Henry,  then  governor  of  Virginia,  who  promptly 
aided  in  their  execution.  From  Gov.  Henry  Clark  received  two  sets  of  instructions, 
one,  to  enlist  seven  companies  of  men,  ostensibly  for  the  protection  of  the  people  of 
Kentucky,  which  at  that  time  was  a  county  of  Virginia,  the  other,  a  secret  order,  to 
attack  the  British  post  of  Kaskaskia!  The  result  of  his  achievements  was  overshad- 
owed by  the  stirring  events  of  the  revolution  eastward  of  the  Alleghanies,  where  other 
heroes  were  winning  a  glory  that  dazzled  while  it  drew  public  attention  exclusively  to 

•>45 


24(5  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON    THE    NORTHWEST. 

The  account  here  given  of  Clark's  campaign  in  "The  Illinois'"  is 
taken  from  a  manuscript  memoir  composed  by  Clark  himself,  at  the 
joint  request  of  Presidents  Jefferson  and  Madison.*  We  prefer 
giving  the  account  in  -Gen.  Clark's  own  words,  as  far  as  practicable. 

The  memoir  of  Gen.  Clark  proceeds:  "On  the  (24th)  of  June, 
1778,  we  left  our  little  island,  +  and  run  about  a  mile  up  the  river  in 
order  to  gain  the  main  channel,  and  shot  the  falls  at  the  very  mo- 
ment of  the  sun  being  in  a  great  eclipse,  which  caused  various  con- 
jectures among  the  superstitious.  As  I  knew  that  spies  were  kept 
on  the  river  below  the  towns  of  the  Illinois,  I  had  resolved  to  march 
part  of  the  way  by  land,  and  of  course  left  the  whole  of  our  bag- 
gage, except  as  much  as  would  equip  us  in  the  Indian  mode.  The 
whole  of  our  force,  after  leaving  such  as  was  judged  not  competent 
to  [endure]  the  expected  fatigue,  consisted  only  of  four  companies, 
commanded  by  Captains  John  Montgomery,  Joseph  Bowman, 
Leonard  Helms  and  William  Ilarrod.  My  force  being  so  small  to 
what  I  expected,  owing  to  the  various  circumstances  already  men- 
tioned, I  found  it  necessary  to  alter,  my  plans  of  operation. 

"I  had  fully  acquainted  myself  that  the  French  inhabitants  in 
those  western  settlements  had  great  influence  among  the  Indians  in 
general,  and  were  more  beloved  by  them  than  any  other  Europeans ; 
that  their  commercial  intercourse  was  universal  throughout  the  west- 
ern and  northwestern  countries,  and  that  the  governing  interest  on 
the  lakes  was  mostly  in  the  hands  of  the  English,  who  were  not 
much  beloved  by  them.  These,  and  many  other  ideas  similar 
thereto,  caused  me  to  resolve,  if  possible,  to  strengthen  myself  by 
such  train  of  conduct  as  might  probably  attach  the  French  inhabit- 
ants to  our  interest,  and  give  us  influence  in  the  country  we  were 
aiming  for.  These  were  the  principles  that  influenced  my  future- 
conduct,  and,  fortunately,  I  had  just  received  a  letter  from  Col. 

them.  The  west  was  a  wilderness, —  excepting  the  isolated  French  settlements  about 
Kaskaskia,  and  at  Vincennes  and  Detroit, —  and  occupied  only  by  savages  and  wild 
animals.  It  was  not  until  after  the  great  Northwest  began  to  be  settled,  and  its  capa- 
bilities to  sustain  the  empire, —  since  seated  in  its  lap, —  was  realized,  that  the  magni- 
tude of  the  conquest  forced  itself  into  notice.  The  several  states  of  Ohio,  Indiana, 
Illinois,  Michigan,  and  Wisconsin,  carved  out  of  the  territory  which  he  so  gloriously 
won, —  nay,  the  whole  nation, —  owe  to  the  memory  of  George  Rogers  Clark  a  debt  of 
gratitude  that  cannot  be  repaid  in  a  mere  expression  of  words.  An  account  of  his  life 
and  eminent  services,  worthy  of  the  man,  yet  remains  to  be  written. 

*.Iudge  John  B.  Dillon,  when  preparing  his  first  history  of  Indiana,  in  1843,  had 
access  to  Clark's  original  manuscript  memoir,  and  copied  copious  extracts  in  the  vol- 
ume named,  and  it  is  from  this  source  that  the  extracts  appearing  in  this  work  were 
taken.  This  book  of  Judge  Dillon  is  not  to  be  confounded  with  a  History  of  Indiana^ 
prepared  and  published  by  him  in  1859.  His  first  book,  although  somewhat  crude,  is 
exceedingly  valuable  for  the  historical  matter  it  contains  relating  to  the  whole  North- 
west, while  the  latter  is  a  better  digested  history  of  the  state  of  which  he  was  an  emi- 
nent citizen. 

t  At  Louisville. 


CLARK'S  CAMPAIGN.  247 

Campbell,  dated  Pittsburgh,  informing  me  of  the  contents  of  the 
treaties*  between  France  and  America.  As  I  intended  to  leave  the 
Ohio  at  Fort  Massac,  three  leagues  below  the  Tennessee,  I  landed 
on  a  small  island  in  the  mouth  of  that  river,  in  order  to  prepare  for 
the  march.  In  a  few  hours  after,  one  John  Duff  and  a  party  of 
hunters  coming  down  the  river  were  brought  to  by  our  boats.  They 
were  men  formerly  from  the  states,  and  assured  us  of  their  happiness 
in  the  adventure.  .  .  .  They  had  been  but  lately  from  Kaskaskia, 
and  were  able  to  give  us  all  the  intelligence  we  wished.  They  said 
that  Gov.  Abbot  had  lately  left  Port  Yincennes,  and  gone  to  Detroit 
on  business  of  importance  ;  that  Mr.  Rochblave  commanded  at  Kas- 
kaskia, etc. ;  that  the  militia  was  kept  in  good  order,  and  spies  on 
the  Mississippi,  and  that  all  hunters,  both  Indians  and  others,  were 
ordered  to  keep  a  good  look-out  for  the  rebels  ;  that  the  fort  was  kept 
in  good  order  as  .an  asylum,  etc.,  but  they  believed  the  whole  to 
proceed  more  from  the  fondness  for  parade  than  the  expectation  of 
a  visit ;  that  if  they  received  timely  notice  of  us,  they  would  collect 
and  give  us  a  warm  reception,  as  they  were  taught  to  harbor  a  most 
horrid  idea  of  the  rebels,  especially  the  Virginians ;  but  that  if  we 
could  surprise  the  place,  which  they  were  in  hopes  we  might,  they 
made  no  doubt  of  our  being  able  to  do  as  we  pleased ;  that  they 
hoped  to  be  received  as  partakers  in  the  enterprise,  and  wished  us 
to  put  full  confidence  in  them,  and  they  would  assist  the  guides  in 
conducting  the  party.  This  was  agreed  to,  and  they  proved  valua- 
ble men. 

"The  acquisition  to  us  was  great,  as  I  had  no  intelligence  from 
those  posts  since  the  spies  I  sent  twelve  months  past.  But  no  part 
of  their  information  pleased  me  more  than  that  of  the  inhabitants 
viewing  us  as  more  savage  than  their  neighbors,  the  Indians.  I  was 
determined  to  improve  upon  this  if  I  was  fortunate  enough  to  get 
them  into  my  possession,  as  I  conceived  the  greater  the  shock  I 
could  give  them  at  first,  the  more  sensibly  would  they  feel  my  lenity, 
and  become  more  valuable  friends.  This  I  conceived  to  be  agree- 
able to  human  nature,  as  I  had  observed  it  in  many  instances. 
Having  everything  prepared,  we  moved  down  to  a  little  gully  a 
small  distance  above  Massac,  in  which  we  concealed  our  boats,  and 
set  out  a  northwest  course.  The  weather  was  favorable.  In  some 
parts  water  was  scarce,  as  well  as  game.  Of  course  we  suffered 
drought  and  hunger,  but  not  to  excess.  On  the  third  day  John 

*The  timely  information  received  of  the  alliance  between  the  United  States  and 
France  was  made  use  of  by  Gen.  Clark  with  his  usual  tact  and  with  great  success,  as 
will  be  seen  farther  on. 


248  HISTORIC    NOTES    OX    THE    NORTHWEST. 

Saunders,  our  principal  guide,  appeared  confused,  and  we  soon  dis- 
covered that  he  was  totally  lost,  without  there  was  some  other  cause 
of  his  present  conduct. 

"  I  asked  him  various  questions,  and  from  his  answers  I  could 
scarcely  determine  what  to  think  of  him, —  whether  or  not  that  he 
was  lost,  or  that  he  wished  to  deceive  us.  ...  The  cry  of  the  whole 
detachment  was  that  he  was  a  traitor.  He  begged  that  he  might  be 
suifered  to  go  some  distance  into  a  plain  that  was  in  full  view,  to  try 
to  make  some  discovery  whether  or  not  he  was  right.  I  told  him  he 
might  go,  but  that  I  was  suspicious  of  him,  from  his  conduct ;  that 
from  the  first  day  of  his  being  employed  he  always  said  he  knew  the 
way  well ;  that  there  was  now  a  different  appearance ;  that  I  saw  the 
nature  of  the  country  was  such  that  a  person  once  acquainted  with 
it  could  not  in  a  short  time  forget  it ;  that  a  few  men  should  go  with 
him  to  prevent  his  escape,  and  that  if  he  did  not  discover  and  take 
us  into  the  hunter's  road  that  led  from  the  east  into  Kaskaskia, 
which  he  had  frequently  described,  I  would  have  him  immediately 
put  to  death,  which  I  was  determined  to  have  done.  But  after  a 
search  of  an  hour  or  two  he  came  to  a  place  that  he  knew  perfectly, 
and  we  discovered  that  the  poor  fellow  had  been,  as  they  call  it, 
bewildered. 

"  On  the  fourth  of  July,  in  the  evening,  we  got  within  a  few  miles 
of  the  town,  where  we  lay  until  near  dark,  keeping  spies  ahead,  after 
which  we  commenced  our  march,  and  took  possession  of  a  house 
wherein  a  large  family  lived,  on  the  bank  of  the  Kaskaskia  River, 
about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  above  the  town.  Here  we  were  in- 
formed that  the  people  a  few  days  before  were  under  arms,  but  had 
concluded  that  the  cause  of  the  alarm  was  without  foundation,  and 
that  at  that  time  there  was  a  great  number  of  men  in  town,  but  that 
the  Indians  had  generally  left  it,  and  at  present  all  was  quiet.  We 
soon  procured  a  sufficiency  of  vessels,  the  more  in  ease  to  convey  us 
across  the  river. 

"With  one  of  the  divisions  I  marched  to  the  fort,  and  ordered  the 
other  two  into  different  quarters  of  the  town.'  If  I  met  with  no  resist- 
ance, at  a  certain  signal  a  general  shout  was  to  be  given  and  certain 
parts  were  to  be  immediately  possessed,  and  men  of  each  detach- 
ment, who  could  speak  the  French  language,  were  to  run  through 
every  street  and  proclaim  what  had  happened,  and  inform  the  inhab- 
itants that  every  person  that  appeared  in  the  streets  would  be  shot 
down.  This  disposition  had  its  desired  effect.  In  a  very  little  time 
we  had  complete  possession,  and  every  avenue  was  guarded  to  prevent 
any  escape  to  give  the  alarm  to  the  other  villages  in  case  of  opposi- 


CLARK'S  CONQUEST.  :M;> 

tion.  Various  orders  had  been  issued  not  worth  mentioning.  I  don't 
suppose  greater  silence  ever  reigned  among  the  inhabitants  of  a 
place  than  did  at  this  at  present ;  not  a  person  to  be  seen,  not  a  word 
to  be  heard  by  them,  for  some  time,  but,  designedly,  the  greatest 
noise  kept  up  by  our  troops  through  every  quarter  of  the  town,  and 
patrols  continually  the  whole  night  around  it,  as  intercepting  any 
information  was  a  capital  object,  and  in  about  two  hours  the  whole 
of  the  inhabitants  were  disarmed,  and  informed  that  if  one  was  taken 
attempting  to  make  his  escape  he  should  be  immediately  put  to 
death." 

When  Col.  Clark,  by  the  use  of  various  bloodless  means,  had 
raised  the  terror  of  the  French  inhabitants  to  a  painful  height,  he 
surprised  them,  and  won  their  confidence  and  friendship,  by  perform- 
ing, unexpectedly,  several  acts  of  justice  and  generosity.  On  the 
morning  of  the  5th  of  July  a  few  of  the  principal  men  were  arrested 
and  put  in  irons.  Soon  afterward  M.  Gibault,  the  priest  of  the  vil- 
lage, accompanied  by  five  or  six  aged  citizens,  waited  on  Col.  Clark, 
and  said  that  the  inhabitants  expected  to  be  separated,  perhaps  never 
to  meet  again,  and  they  begged  to  be  permitted  to  assemble  in  their 
church,  and  there  to  take  leave  of  each  other.  Col.  Clark  mildly 
told  the  priest  that  he  had  nothing  to  say  against  his  religion ;  that 
it  was  a  matter  which  Americans  left  for  every  man  to  settle  with  his 
God ;  that  the  people  might  assemble  in  their  church,  if  they  would, 
but  that  they  must  not  venture  out  of  town. 

]STearly  the  whole  French  population  assembled  at  the  church. 
The  houses  were  deserted  by  all  who  could  leave  them,  and  Col. 
Clark  gave  orders  to  prevent  any  soldiers  from  entering  the  vacant 
buildings.  After  the  close  of  the  meeting  at  the  church  a  deputation, 
consisting  of  M.  Guibault  and  several  other  persons,  waited  on  Col. 
Clark,  and  said  "that  their  present  situation  was  the  fate  of  war,  and 
that  they  could  submit  to  the  loss  of  their  property,  but  they  solic- 
ited that  they  might  not  be  separated  from  their  wives  and  children, 
and  that  some  clothes  and  provisions  might  be  allowed  for  their 
support."  Clark  feigned  surprise  at  this  request,  and  abruptly 
exclaimed,  "Do  you  mistake  us  for  savages?  I  am  almost  cer- 
tain you  do  from  your  language !  Do  you  think  that  Americans 
intend  to  strip  women  and  children,  or  take  the  bread  out  of  their 
mouths?  My  countrymen,"  said  Clark,  "disdain  to  make  war 
upon  helpless  innocence.  It  was  to  prevent  the  horrors  of  Indian 
butchery  upon,  our  own  wives  and  children  that  we  have  taken  arms 
and  penetrated  into  this  remote  stronghold  of  British  and  Indian 
barbarity,  and  not  the  despicable  prospect  of  plunder;  that  now  the 


250  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON    THE    NORTHWEST. 

king  of  France  had  united  his  powerful  arms  with  those  of  America, 
the  war  would  not,  in  all  probability,  continue  long,  but  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Kaskaskia  were  at  liberty  to  take  which  side  they  pleased, 
without  the  least  danger  to  either  their  property  or  families.  Nor 
would  their  religion  be  any  source  of  disagreement,  as  all  religions 
were  regarded  with  equal  respect  in  the  eye  of  the  American  law, 
and  that  any  insult  offered  to  it  would  be  immediately  punished." 

"And  now,"  Clark  continues,  "to  prove  my  sincerity,  you  will 
please  inform  your  fellow-citizens  that  they  are  quite  at  liberty  to 
conduct  themselves  as  usual,  without  the  least  apprehension.  I  am 
now  convinced,  from  what  I  have  learned  since  my  arrival  among 
you,  that  you  have  been  misinformed  and  prejudiced  against  us  by 
British  officers,  and  your  friends  who  are  in  confinement  shall  imme- 
diately be  released."*  In  a  few  minutes  after  the  delivery  of  this 
speech  the  gloom  that  rested  on  the  minds  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Kaskaskia  had  passed  away.  The  news  of  the  treaty  of  alliance 
between  France  and  the  United  States,  and  the  influence  of  the  mag- 
nanimous conduct  of  Clark,  induced  the  French  villagers  to  take  the 
oath  of  allegiance  to  the  state  of  Virginia.  Their  arms  were  restored 
to  them,  and  a  volunteer  company  of  French  militia  joined  a  detach- 
ment under  Capt.  Bowman,  when  that  officer  was  dispatched  to  take 
possession  of  Cahokia.  The  inhabitants  of  this  small  village,  on 
hearing  what  had  taken  place  at  Kaskaskia,  readily  took  the  oath  of 
allegiance  to  Virginia. 

The  memoir  of  Clark  proceeds:  "  Post  Vincennes  never  being 
out  of  my  mind,  and  from  some  things  that  I  had  learned  I  suspected 
that  Mr.  Gibault,  the  priest,  was  inclined  to  the  American  interest 
previous  to  our  arrival  in  the  country.  He  had  great  influence  over 
the  people  at  this  period,  and  Post  Vincennes  was  under  his  juris- 
diction. I  made  no  doubt  of  his  integrity  to  us.  I  sent  for  him, 
and  had  a  long  conference  with  him  on  the  subject  of  Post  Vincennes. 
In  answer  to  all  my  queries  he  informed  me  that  he  did  not  think  it 
worth  my  while  to  cause  any  military  preparation  to  be  made  at  the 
Falls  of  the  Ohio  for  the  attack  of  Post  Vincennes,  although  the  place 
was  strong  and  a  great  number  of  Indians  in  its  neighborhood,  who, 
to  his  knowledge,  were  generally  at  war;  that  the  governor  had,  a. 
few  weeks  before,  left  the  place  on  some  business  to  Detroit ;  that 
he  expected  that  when  the  inhabitants  were  fully  acquainted  with 
what  had  passed  at  the  Illinois,  and  the  present  happiness  of  their 
friends,  and  made  fully  acquainted  with  the  nature  of  the  war,  their 
sentiments  would  greatly  change ;  that  he  knew  that  his  appearance 

*  Clark's  Mfmoir. 


SECURES    VINCENNES.  251 

there  would  have  great  weight,  even  among  the  savages ;  that  if 
it  was  agreeable  to  me  he  would  take  this  business  on  himself,  and 
had  no  doubt  of  his  being  able  to  bring  that  place  over  to  the  Amer- 
ican interest  without  my  being  at  the  trouble  of  marching  against  it ; 
that  the  business  being  altogether  spiritual,  he  wished  that  another 
person  might  be  charged  with  the  temporal  part  of  the  embassy,  but 
that  he  would  privately  direct  the  whole,  and  he  named  Dr.  Lafont 
as  his  associate. 

"This  was  perfectly  agreeable  to  what  I  had  been  secretly  aim- 
ing at  for  some  days.  The  plan  was  immediately  settled,  and  the 
two  doctors,  with  their  intended  retinue,  among  whom  I  had  a  spy, 
set  about  preparing  for  their  journey,  and  set  out  on  the  14th  of  July, 
with  an  address  to  the  inhabitants  of  Post  Vincennes,  authorizing 
them  to  garrison  their  own  town  themselves,  which  would  convince 
them  of  the  great  confidence  we  put  in  them,  etc.  All  this  had  its 
desired  effect.  Mr.  Gibault  and  his  party  arrived  safe,  and  after 
their  spending  a  day  or  two  in  explaining  matters  to  the  people, 
they  universally  acceded  to  the  proposal  (except  a  few  emissaries 
left  by  Mr.  Abbot,  who  immediately  left  the  country),  and  went  in  a 
body  to  the  church,  where  the  oath  of  allegiance  was  administered 
to  them  in  a  most  solemn  manner.  An  officer  was  elected,  the  fort 
immediately  [garrisoned],  and '  the  American  flag  displayed  to  the 
astonishment  of  the  Indians,  and  everything  settled  far  beyond  our 
most  sanguine  hopes.  The  people  here  immediately  began  to  put 
on  a  new  face,  and  to  talk  in  a  different  style,  and  to  act  as  perfect 
freemen.  With  a  garrison  of  their  own.  with  the  United  States  at 
their  elbow,  their  language  to  the  Indians  was  immediately  altered. 
They  began  as  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  informed  the 
Indians  that  their  old  father,  the. king  of  France,  was  come  to  life 
again,  and  was  mad  at  them  for  fighting  for  the  English  ;  that  they 
would  advise  them  to  make  peace  with  the  Americans  as  soon  as 
they  could,  otherwise  they  might  expect  the  land  to  be  very  bloody, 
etc.  The  Indians  began  to  think  seriously ;  throughout  the  country 
this  was  the  kind  of  language  they  generally  got  from  their  ancient 
friends  of  the  W abash  and  Illinois.  Through  the  means  of  their 
correspondence  spreading  among  the  nations,  our  batteries  began 
now  to  play  in  a  proper  channel.  Mr.  Gibault  and  party,  accom- 
panied by  several  gentlemen  of  Post  Yincennes,  returned  to  Kas- 
kaskia  about  the  1st  of  August  with  the  joyful  news.  During  his 
absence  on  this  business,  which  caused  great  anxiety  to  me  (for 
without  the  possession  of  this  post  all  our  views  would  have  been 
blasted),  I  was  exceedingly  engaged  in  regulating  things  in  the  Illi- 


252  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

nois.  The  reduction  of  these  posts  was  the  period  of  the  enlistment 
of  our  troops.  I  was  at  a  great  loss  at  the  time  to  determine  how 
to  act,  and  how  far  I  might  venture  to  strain  my  authority.  My 
instructions  were  silent  on  many  important  points,  as  it  was  impos- 
sible to  foresee  the  events  that  would  take  place.  To  abandon  the 
country,  and  all  the  prospects  that  opened  to  our  view  in  the  Indian 
department  at  this  time,  for  the  want  of  instruction  in  certain  cases, 
I  thought  would  amount  to  a  reflection  on  government,  as  having  no 
confidence  in  me.  I  resolved  to  usurp  all  the  authority  necessary  to 
carry  my  points.  I  had  the  greater  part  of  our  [troops]  recnlisted 
on  a  different  establishment,  commissioned  French  officers  in  the 
country  to  command  a  company  of  the  young  inhabitants,  estab- 
lished a  garrison  at  Cahokia,  commanded  by  Capt.  Bowman,  and 
another  at  Kaskaskia,  commanded  by  Capt.  "Williams.  Post  Vin- 
cennes remained  in  the  situation  as  mentioned.  Col.  William  Linn, 
who  had  accompanied  us  as  a  volunteer,  took  charge  of  a  party 
that  was  to  be  discharged  upon  their  arrival  at  the  Falls,  and 
orders  were  sent  for  the  removal  of  that  post  to  the  mainland. 
Capt.  John  Montgomery  was  dispatched  to  government  with  letters. 
...  I  again  turned  my  attention  to  Post  Vincennes.  I  plainly  saw 
that  it  would  be  highly  necessary  to  have  an  American  officer  at  that 
post.  Capt.  Leonard  Helm  appeared  calculated  to  answer  my  pur- 
pose ;  he  was  past  the  meridian  of  life,  and  a  good  deal  acquainted 
with  the  Indian  [disposition].  I  sent  him  to  command  at  that  post, 
and  also  appointed  him  agent  for  Indian  affairs  in  the  department  of 
the  Wabash.  .  .  .  About  the  middle  of  August  he  set  out  to  take 
possession  of  his  new  command.*  Thus,"  says  Clark,  referring  to 

*  "An  Indian  chief  called  the  Tobacco's  Son,  a  Piankeshaw,  at  this  time  resided  in 
a  village  adjoining  Post  Vincennes.  This  man  was  called  by  the  Indians  'The  Grand 
Door  to  the  Wabash';  and  as  nothing  of  consequence  was  to  be  undertaken  by  the 
league  on  the  Wabash  without  his  assent,  I  discovered  that  to  win  him  was  an  object 
of  signal  importance.  I  sent  him  a  spirited  compliment  by  Mr.  Gibault;  he  returned 
it.  I  now,  by  Capt.  Helm,  touched  him  on  the  same  spring  that  I  had  done  the  inhab- 
itants, and  sent  a  speech,  with  a  belt  of  wampum,  directing  Capt.  Helm  how  to  man- 
age if  the  chief  was  pacifically  inclined  or  otherwise.  The  captain  arrived  safe  at  Post 
Vincennes,  and  was  received  with  acclamations  by  the  people.  After  the  usual  cere- 
mony was  over  he  sent  for  the  Grand  Door,  and  delivered  my  letter  to  him.  After 
having  read  it,  he  informed  the  captain  that  he  was  happy  to  see  him,  one  of  the  Big 
Knife  chiefs,  in  this  town;  it  was  here  he  had  joined  the  English  against  him;  but  he 
confessed  that  he  always  thought  they  looked  gloomy;  that  as  the  contents  of  the  let- 
ter were  of  great  moment,  he  could  not  give  an  answer  for  some  time;  that  he  must 
collect  his  counsellors  on  the  suV>ject.  and  was  in  hopes  the  captain  would  be  patient. 
In  short,  he  put  on  all  the  courtly  dignity  that  he  was  master  of.  and  dipt.  Helm  fol- 
lowing his  example,  it  was  several  days  before  this  business  was  finished,  as  the  whole 
proceeding  was  very  ceremonious.  At  length  the  captain  was  invited  to  the  Indian 
council,  and  informed  by  Tobacco  that  they  had  maturely  considered  the  case  in  hand, 
and  had  got  the  nature  of  the  war  between  the  Enirlish  and  ns  explained  to  their  sat- 
isfaction; that  as  we  spoke  the  same  language  and  appeared  to  be  the  same  people,  he 
always  thought  that  he  was  in  the  dark  as  to  the  truth  of  it,  but  now  the  sky  was 


CLAUK'S  INFLUENCE  OVER  THE  INDIANS.  1253 

Helm's  success,  "ended  this  valuable  negotiation,  and  the  saving  of 
much  blood.  ...  In  a  short  time  almost  the  whole  of  the  various 
tribes  of  the  different  nations  on  the  Wabash,  as  high  as  the  Ouia- 
tanon,  came  to  Post  Vincennes,  and  followed  the  example  of  the 
Grand  Door  Chief;  and  as  expresses  were  continually  passing  be- 
tween Capt.  Helm  and  myself  the  whole  time  of  these  treaties,  the 
business  was  settled  perfectly  to  my  satisfaction,  and  greatly  to  the 
advantage  of  the  public.  The  British  interest  daily  lost  ground  in 
this  quarter,  and  in  a  short  time  our  influence  reached  the  Indians 
on  the  River  St.  Joseph  and  the  border  of  Lake  Michigan.  The 
French  gentlemen  at  the  different  posts  we  now  had  possession  of 
engaged  warmly  in  our  interest.  They  appeared  to  vie  with  each 
other  in  promoting  the  business,  and  through  the  means  of  their 
correspondence,  trading  among  the  Indians,  and  otherwise,  in  a 
short  time  the  Indians  of  various  tribes  inhabiting  the  region  of 
Illinois  came  in  great  numbers  to  Cahokia,  in  order  to  make  treaties 
of  peace  with  us.  From  the  information  they  generally  got  from 
the  French  gentlemen  (whom  they  implicitly  believed)  respecting  us, 
they  were  truly  alarmed,  and,  consequently,  we  were  visited  by  the 
greater  part  of  them,  without  any  invitation  from  us.  Of  course  we 
had  greatly  the  advantage  in  making  use  of  such  language  as  suited 
our  [interest].  Those  treaties,  which  commenced  about  the  last  of 
August  and  continued  between  three  and  four  weeks,  were  probably 
conducted  in  a  way  different  from  any  other  known  in  America  at 
that  time.  I  had  been  always  convinced  that  our  general  conduct 
with  the  Indians  was  wrong ;  that  inviting  them  to  treaties  was  con- 
sidered by  them  in  a  different  manner  from  what  we  expected,  and 
imputed  by  them  to  fear,  and  that  giving  them  great  presents  con- 
firmed it.  I  resolved  to  guard  against  this,  and  I  took  good  pains 
to  make  myself  acquainted  fully  with  the  French  and  Spanish 
methods  of  treating  Indians,  and  with  the  manners,  genius  and  dis- 
position of  the  Indians  in  general.  As  in  this  quarter  they  had  not 
yet  been  spoiled  by  us,  I  was  resolved  that  they  should  not  be.  I 
began  the  business  fully  prepared,  having  copies  of  the  British  trea- 
ties." 

At  the  first  great  council,  which  was  opened  at  Cahokia,  an  Indian 
chief,  with  a  belt  of  peace  in  his  hand,  advanced  to  the  table  at  which 

cleaned  up;  that  ho  (bund  tli;it,  tin-  '  P>Lr  Knifo'  was  in  the  ri<rht;  thiit.  perhaps  if  the 
Enul  sli  conquered,  they  would  serve  them  in  (lie  sainu;  milliner  ihiit  Hi  17  intended  to 
serve  us;  that  his  ideas  were  qniti-  changed,  and  that  he  would  tell  all  the  red  people 
on  the  Wabash  to  bloody  1lie  land  no  more  for  the  English.  He  jumped  up,  struck 
his  breast,  called  himself  a  man  and  a  warrior,  said  that  he  was  now  a  Biy  Knife,  and 
took  Ciipt.  Helm  by  the  hand.  His  example  was  followed  by  all  present,  and  the 
evening  was  spent  in  merriment." 


254  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON    THE    NORTHWEST. 

Col. Clark  was  sitting;  another  chief,  bearing  the  sacred  pipe  of  the 
tribe,  went  forward  to  the  table,  and  a  third  chief  then  advanced 
with  fire  to  kindle  the  pipe.  When  the  pipe  was  lighted  it  was  fig- 
uratively presented  to  the  heavens,  then  to  the  earth,  then  to  all  the 
good  spirits,  to  witness  what  was  about  to  be  done.  After  the  ob- 
servance of  these  forms  the  pipe  was  presented  to  Clark,  and  after- 
ward to  every  person  present.  An  Indian  speaker  then  addressed 
the  Indians  as  follows  :  "  Warriors, — You  ought  to  be  thankful  that 
the  Great  Spirit  has  taken  pity  on  you,  and  cleared  the  sky  and 
•opened  your  ears  and  hearts,  so  that  you  may  hear  the  truth.  We 
have  been  deceived  by  bad  birds  flying  through  the  land.  But  we 
will  take  up  the  bloody  hatchet  no  more  against  the  Big  Knife,*  and 
we  hope,  as  the  Great  Spirit  has  brought  us  together  for  good,  as  he 
is  good,  that  we  may  be  received  as  friends,  and  that  the  belt  of 
peace  may  take  the  place  of  the  bloody  belt." 

"I  informed  them,"  says  Clark,  "that  I  had  paid  attention  to 
what  they  had  said,  and  that  on  the  next  day  I  would  give  them  an 
answer,  when  I  hoped  the  ears  and  hearts  of  all  people  would  be 
opened  to  receive  the  truth,  which  should  be  spoken  without  decep- 
tion. I  advised  them  to  keep  prepared  for  the  result  of  this  day,  on 
which,  perhaps,  their  very  existence  as  a  nation  depended,  etc.,  and 
dismissed  them,  not  suffering  any  of  our  people  to  shake  hands  with 
them,  as  peace  was  not  yet  concluded,  telling  them  it  was  time  enough 
to  give  the  hand  when  the  heart  could  be  given  also.  They  replied 
that  '  such  sentiments  were  like  men  who  had  but  one  heart,  and  did 
not  speak  with  a  double  tongue. '  The  next  day  I  delivered  them  the 
following  speech : 

'Men  and  Warriors, — Pay  attention  to  my  words:  You  informed 
me  yesterday  that  the  Great  Spirit  had  brought  us  together,  and  that 
you  hoped,  as  he  was  good,  that  it  would  be  for  good.  I  have  also 
the  same  hope,  and  expect  that  each  party  will  strictly  adhere  to 
whatever  may  be  agreed  upon,  whether  it  be  peace  or  war,  and  hence- 
forward prove  ourselves  worthy  of  the  attention  of  the  Great  Spirit. 
I  am  a  man  and  a  warrior, —  not  a  counsellor.  I  carry  war  in  my 

*The  early  border  men  of  Virginia  and  her  county  of  Kentucky  usually  carried 
very  large  knives.  From  this  circumstance  the  Virginians  were  called,  in  the  Illinois 
(Miami)  dialect,  She-mol-sea,  meaning  the  "  Big  Knife."  At  a  later  day  the  same 
appellation,  under  the  Chippewayan  word  Che-mo-ko-man,  was  extended,  by  the 
Indians,  to  the  white  people  generally, —  always  excepting  the  Englishman  proper, 
whom  they  called  the  Sag-e-nash,  and  the  Yankees  to  whom  they  gave  the  epithet  of 
Bos-to-ne-ly,  i.e.,  the  Bostonians.  The  term  is  derived  from  the  Miami  word  mal-she, 
or  ntol-sea,  a  knife,  or  the  Ojibbeway  mo-ko-man,  which  means  the  same  thing.  The 
prefix  che  or  she  emphasizes  the  kind  or  size  of  the  instrument,  as  a  huge,  long  or  big 
knife.  Such  is  the  origin  of  the  expression  "long  knives,"  frequently  found  in  books 
where  Indian  characters  occur. 


CLARK'S  SPEECH  TO  THE  INDIANS.  255 

right  hand,  and  in  my  left,  peace.  I  am  sent  by  the  great  council  of 
the  Big  Knife,  and  their  friends,  to  take  possession  of  all  the  towns 
possessed  by  the  English  in  this  country,  and  to  watch  the  motions 
of  the  red  people ;  to  bloody  the  paths  of  those  who  attempt  to  stop 
the  course  of  the  river,  but  to  clear  the  roads  from  us  to  those  who 
desire  to  be  in  peace,  that  the  women  and  children  may  walk  in  them 
without  meeting  anything  to  strike  their  feet  against.  I  am  ordered 
to  call  upon  the  Great  Fire  for  warriors  enough  to  darken  the  land, 
and  that  the  red  people  may  hear  no  sound  but  of  birds  who  live  on 
blood.  I  know  there  is  a  mist  before  your  eyes.  I  will  dispel  the 
clouds,  that  you  may  clearly  see  the  cause  of  the  war  between  the 
Big  Knife  and  the  English,  then  you  may  judge  for  yourselves  which 
party  is  in  the  right,  and  if  you  are  warriors,  as  you  profess  to  be, 
prove  it  by  adhering  faithfully  to  the  party  which  you  shall  believe 
to  be  entitled  to  your  friendship,  and  do  not  show  yourselves  to  be 
squawrs. 

'  The  Big  Knives  are  very  much  like  the  red  people.  They  don't 
know  how  to  make  blankets  and  powder  and  cloth.  They  buy  these 
things  1'rom  the  English,  from  whom  they  are  sprung.  They  live  by 
making  corn,  hunting  and  trade,  as  you  and  your  neighbors,  the 
French,  do.  But  the  Big  Knives,  daily  getting  more  numerous,  like 
the  trees  in  the  woods,  the  land  became  poor  and  hunting  scarce, 
and  having  but  little  to  trade  with,  the  women  began  to  cry  at  seeing 
their  children  naked,  and  tried  to  learn  how  to  make  clothes  for 
themselves.  They  soon  made  blankets  for  their  husbands  and  chil* 
dren,  and  the  men  learned  to  make  guns  and  powder.  In  this  way 
we  did  not  want  to  buy  so  much  from  the  English.  They  then  got 
mad  with  us,  and  sent  strong  garrisons  through  our  country,  as  you 
see  they  have  done  among  you  on  the  lakes,  and  among  the  French. 
They  would  not  let  our  women  spin,  nor  our  men  make  powder,  nor 
let  us  trade  with  anybody  else.  The  English  said  we  should  buy 
everything  of  them,  and  since  we  had  got  saucy  we  should  give  two 
bucks  for  a  blanket,  which  we  used  to  get  for  one  ;  we  should  do  as 
they  pleased ;  and  they  killed  some  of  our  people,  to  make  the  rest 
fear  them.  This  is  the  truth,  and  the  real  cause  of  the  war  between 
the  English  and  us,  which  did  not  take  place  until  some  time  after 
this  treatment. 

'  But  our  women  became  cold  and  hungry  and  continued  to  cry. 
Our  young  men  got  lost  for  want  of  counsel  to  put  them  in  the  right 
path.  The  whole  land  was  dark.  The  old  men  held  down  their 
heads  for  shame,  because  they  could  not  see  the  sun ;  and  thus  there 
was  mourning  for  many  years  over  the  land.  At  last  the  Great 


256  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON   THE    NORTHWEST. 

Spirit  took  pity  on  us.  and  kindled  a  great  council  fire,  that  never 
goes  out,  at  a  place  called  Philadelphia.  He  then  stuck  down 
a  post,  arid  put  a  war  tomahawk  by  it,  and  went  away.  The  sun 
immediately  broke  out,  the  sky  was  blue  again,  and  the  old  men 
held  up  their  heads  and  assembled  at  the  fire.  They  took  up  the 
hatchet,  sharpened  it,  and  put  it  into  the  hands  of  our  young  men, 
ordering  them  to  strike  the  English  as  long  as  they  could  find  one 
on  this  side  of  the  great  waters.  The  young  men  immediately  struck 
the  war  post  and  blood  was  shed.  In  this  way  the  war  began,  and 
the  English  were  driven  from  one  place  to  another  until  they  got 
weak,  and  then  they  hired  you  red  people  to  fight  for  them.  The 
Great  Spirit  got  angry  at  this,  and  caused  your  old  father,  the 
French  king,  and  other  great  nations,  to  join  the  Big  Knives,  and 
fight  with  them  against  all  their  enemies.  So  the  English  have  be- 
come like  deer  in  the  woods,  and  you  may  see  that  it  is  the  Great 
Spirit  that  has  caused  your  waters  to  be  troubled,  because  you  have 
fought  for  the  people  he  was  mad  with.  If  your  women  and  chil- 
dren should  now  cry,  you  must  blame  yourselves  for  it,  arid  not  the 
Big  Knives. 

4  You  can  now  judge  who  is  in  the  right.  I  have  already  told 
you  who  I  am.  Here  is  a  bloody  belt  and  a  white  one,  take  which 
you  please.  Behave  like  men,  and  don't  let  your  being  surrounded 
by  the  Big  Knives  cause  you  to  take  up  the  one  belt  with  your  hands 
while  your  hearts  take  up  the  other.  If  you  take  the  bloody  path, 
you  shall  leave  the  town  in  safet}'',  and  may  go  and  join  your  friends, 
the  English.  We  will  then  try,  like  warriors,  who  can  put  the  most 
stumbling-blocks  in  each  other's  way,  and  keep  our  clothes  longest 
stained  with  blood.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  you  should  take  the  path 
of  peace,  and  be  received  as  brothers  to  the  Big  Knives,  with  their 
friends,  the  French ;  should  you  then  listen  to  bad  birds  that  may 
be  flying  through  the  land,  you  will  no  longer  deserve  to  be  counted 
as  men,  but  as  creatures  with  two  tongues,  that  ought  to  be  destroyed 
without  listening  to  anything  you  might  say.  As  I  am  convinced 
you  never  heard  the  truth  before,  I  do  not  wish  you  to  answer  be- 
fore you  have  taken  time  to  counsel.  We  will,  therefore,  part  this 
evening,  and  when  the  Great  Spirit  shall  bring  us  together  again,  let 
us  speak  arid  think  like  men,  with  but  one  heart  and  one  tongue. ' 

"The  next  day  after  this  speech  a  new  fire  was  kindled  with 
more  than  usual  ceremony ;  an  Indian  speaker  came  forward  and 
said :  They  ought  to  be  thankful  that  the  Great  Spirit  had  taken 
pity  on  them,  and  opened  their  ears  arid  their  hearts  to  receive  the 
truth.  He  had  paid  great  attention  to  what  the  Great  Spirit  had 


CLARK   TREATS    WITH    THE    INDIANS.  257 

put  into  my  heart  to  say  to  them.  They  believed  the  whole  to  be 
the  truth,  as  the  Big  Knives  did  not  speak  like  any  other  people 
they  had  ever  heard.  They  now  saw  they  had  been  deceived,  and 
that  the  English  had  told  them  lies,  and  that  I  had  told  them  the 
truth,  just  as  some  of  their  old  men  had  always  told  them.  They 
now  believed  that  we  were  in  the  right ;  and  as  the  English  had 
forts  in  their  country,  they  might,  if  they  got  strong  enough,  want 
to  serve  the  red  people  as  they  had  treated  the  Big  Knives.  The 
red  people  ought,  therefore,  to  help  us,  and  they  had,  with  a  cheer- 
ful heart,  taken  up  the  belt  of  peace,  and  spurned  that  of  war.  They 
were  determined  to  hold  the  former  fast,  and  would  have  no  doubt 
of  our  friendship,  from  the  manner  of  our  speaking,  so  different 
from  that  of  the  English.  They  would  now  call  in  their  warriors, 
and  throw  the  tomahawk  into  the  river,  where  it  could  never  be 
found.  They  would  suffer  no  more  bad  birds  to  fly  through  the 
land,  disquieting  the  women  and  children.  They  would  be  careful 
to  smooth  the  roads  for  their  brothers,  the  Big  Knives,  whenever 
they  might  wish  to  come  and  see  them.  Their  friends  should  hear 
of  the  good  talk  I  had  given  them  ;  and  they  hoped  I  would  send 
chiefs  among  them,  with  my  eyes,  to  see  myself  that  they  were  men, 
and  strictly  adhered  to  all  they  had  said  at  this  great  fire,  which  the 
Great  Spirit  had  kindled  at  Cahokia  for  the  good  of  all  people  who 
would  attend  it." 

The  sacred  pipe  was  again  ykindled,  and  presented,  figuratively, 
to  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  and  to  all  the  good  spirits,  as  witness 
of  what  had  been  done.  The  Indians  and  the  white  men  then  closed 
the  council  by  smoking  the  pipe  and  shaking  hands.  With  no  ma- 
terial variation,  either  of  the  forms  that  were  observed,  or  with  the 
speeches  that  were  made  at  this  council,  Col.  Clark  and  his  officers 
concluded  treaties  of  peace  with  the  Piankeshaws,  Ouiatenoris,  Kick- 
apoos,  Illinois,  Kaskaskias,  Peorias,  and  branches  of  some  other 
tribes  that  inhabited  the  country  between  Lake  Michigan  and  the, 
Mississippi. 

Gov.  Henry  soon  received  intelligence  of  the  successful  progress; 
of  the  expedition  under  the  command  of  ('lark.  The  French  inhab- 
itants of  the  villages  of  Kaskaskia,  Cahokia  and  Post  Vincennes 
took  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  State  of  Virginia. 

In  October,  1778,  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Virginia 
passed  an  act  which  contained  the  following  provisions,  viz  :  All  the 
citizens  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Virginia  "who  are  already  settled 
or  shall  hereafter  settle  on  the  western  side  of  the  Ohio,  shall  be  in- 
cluded in  a  distinct  county,  which  shall  be  called  Illinois  county  • 
17 


258  HISTORIC    NOTES    ON    THE    NORTHWEST. 

and  the  governor  of  this  commonwealth,  with  the  advice  of  the 
council,  may  appoint  a  county  lieutenant,  or  commandant-in-chief, 
in  that  county,  during  pleasure,  who  shall  appoint  and  commission 
so  many  deputy  commandants,  militia  officers  and  commissaries  as 
he  shall  think  proper  in  the  different  districts,  during  pleasure ;  all 
of  whom,  before  they  enter  into  office,  shall  take  the  oath  of  fidelity 
to  this  commonwealth  and  the  oath  of  office,  according  to  the  form 
of  their  own  religion.  And  all  civil  officers  to  which  the  inhabit- 
ants have  been  accustomed,  necessary  for  the  preservation  of  the 
peace  and  the  administration  of  justice,  shall  be  chosen  by  a  major- 
ity of  the  citizens  in  their  respective  districts,  to  be  convened  for 
that  purpose  by  the  county  lieutenant,  or  commandant,  or  his  deputy, 
and  shall  be  commissioned  by  the  said  county  lieutenant  or  com- 
mandant-in-chief." 

Before  the  provisions  of  the  law  were  carried  into  effect,  Henry 
Hamilton,  the  British  lieutenant-governor  of  Detroit,  collected  an 
army,  consisting  of  about  thirty  regulars,  fifty  French  volunteers, 
and  four  hundred  Indians.  With  this  force  he  passed  down  the. 
River  Wabash,  and  took  possession  of  Post  Vincennes  on  the  15th 
of  December,  1778.  No  attempt  was  made  by  the  population  to 
defend  the  town.  Capt.  Helm  was  taken  and  detained  as  a  prisoner, 
and  a  number  of  the  French  inhabitants  disarmed. 

Clark  was  aware  that  Gov.  Hamilton,  now  that  he  had  regained 
possession  of  Vincennes,  would  undertake  the  capture  of  his  forces, 
and  realizing  his  danger,  he  determined  to  forestall  Hamilton  and 
capture  the  latter.  His  plans  were  at  once  formed.  He  sent  -a  por- 
tion of  his  available  force  by  boat,  called  The  Willing,  with  instruc- 
tions to  Capt.  Rogers,  the  commander,  to  proceed  down  the  Missis- 
sippi and  up  the  Ohio  and  Wabash,  and  secrete  himself  a  few  miles 
below  Vincennes,  and  prohibit  any  persons  from  passing  either  up  or 
down.  With  another  part  of  his  force  he  marched  across  the  country, 
through  prairies,  swamps  and  marshes,  crossing  swollen  streams  — 
for  it  was  in  the  month  of  February,  and  the  whole  country  was 
flooded  from  continuous  rains  —  and  arriving  at  the  banks  of  the 
Wabash  near  St.  Francisville,  he  pushed  across  the  river  and  brought 
his  forces  in  the  rear  of  Vincennes  before  daybreak.  So  secret  and 
rapid  were  his  movements  that  Gov.  Hamilton  had  no  notice  that 
Clark  had  left  Kaskaskia.  Clark  issued  a  notice  requiring  the 
people  of  the  town  to  keep  within  their  houses,  and  declaring  that 
all  persons  found  elsewhere  would  be  treated  as  enemies.  Tobacco1* 
X»n  tendered  one  hundred  of  his  Piankashaw  braves,  himself  at 
their  head.  Clark  declined  their  services  with  thanks,  saying  his 


SURRENDER    OF    HAMILTON.  259 

own  force  was  sufficient.  Gov.  Hamilton  had  just  completed  the 
fort,  consisting  of  strong  block-houses  at  each  angle,  with  the  cannon 
placed  on  the  upper  floors,  at  an  elevation  of  eleven  feet  from  the 
suriace.  The  works  were  at  once  closely  invested.  The  ports  were 
so  badly  cut,  the  men  on  the  inside  could  not  stand  to  their  cannon 
for  the  bullets  that  would  whiz  from  the  rifles  of  Clark's  sharp- 
shooters through  the  embrasures  whenever  they  were  suffered  for 
an  instant  to  remain  open. 

The  town  immediately  surrendered  with  joy,  and  assisted  at  the 
siege.  After  the  first  offer  to  surrender  upon  terms  was  declined, 
Hamilton  and  Clark,  with  attendants,  met  in  a  conference  at  the 
Catholic  church,  situated  some  eighty  rods  from  the  fort,  and  in  the 
afternoon  of  the  same  day,  the  24th  of  February,  1779,  the  fort  and 
garrison,  consisting  of  seventy-five  men,  surrendered  at  discretion.* 
The  result  was  that  Hamilton  and  his  whole  force  were  made  prison- 
ers of  war.t  Clark  held  military  possession  of  the  northwest  until 
the  close  of  the  war,  and  in  that  way  it  was  secured  to  our  country. 
At  the  treaty  of  peace,  held  at  Paris  at  the  close  of  the  revolutionary 
war,  the  British  insisted  that  the  Ohio  River  should  be  the  northern 
boundary  of  the  United  States.  The  correspondence  relative  to  that 
treaty  shows  that  the  only  ground  on  which  "the  American  commis- 
sioners relied  to  sustain  their  claim  that  the  lakes  should  be  the 
boundary  was  the  fact  that  Gen.  Clark  had  conquered  the  country, 
and  was  in  the  undisputed  military  possession  of  it  at  the  time  of 
the  negotiation.  This  fact  was  affirmed  and  admitted,  and  was  the 
chief  ground  on  which  British  commissioners  reluctantly  abandoned 
their  claim. "^ 

*  Two  days  after  the  Willing  arrived,  its  crew  much  mortified  because  they  did  not 
share  in  the  victory,  although  Clark  commended  them  for  their  diligence.  Two  days 
before  Capt.  Rogers'  arrival  with  the  Willing,  Clark  had  dispatched  three  armed 
boats,  under  charge  of  Capt.  Helm  and  Majors  Bosseron  and  Le  Grass,  up  the  Wabash, 
to  intercept  a  fleet  which  Clark  was  advised  was  on  its  way  from  Detroit,  laden  with 
supplies  for  Gov.  Hamilton  at  Vincennes.  About  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  up 
the  river  the  British  boats,  seven  in  number,  having  aboard  military  supplies  of 
the  value  of  ten  thousand  pounds  sterling  money  and  forty  men,  among  whom  was 
Philip  De  Jean,  a  magistrate  of  Detroit,  were  captured  by  Capt.  Helm.  The  writer 
has  before  him  the  statement  of  John  McFall,  born  near  Vincennes  in  1798.  He  lived 
near  and  in  Vincennes  until  1817.  His  grandfather,  Ralph  Mattison,  was  one  of 
Clark's  soldiers  who  accompanied  Helm's  expedition  up  the  Wabash,  and  he  often  told 
McFall,  his  grandson,  that  the  British  were  lying  by  in  the  Vermilion  River,  near  its 
mouth,  where  they  were  surprised  in  the  night-time  and  captured  by  Helm  without 
firing  a  shot. 

fThis  march,  from  its  daring  conception,  and  the  obstacles  encountered  and  over- 
come, is  one  of  the  most  thrilling  events  in  our  history,  and  it  is  to  be  regretted  that 
the  limited  space  assigned  to  other  topics  precludes  its  insertion. 

\  Burnett's  Notes  on  the  Northwest  Territory,  p.  77. 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


\ 


HISTORY  OF  IROQUOIS  COUNTY. 


IROQUOIS  COUNTY  IN  THE  WAR  OF  THE  GREAT  REBELLION; 

EMBRACING  AN  HISTORICAL   SKETCH  OF  EACH   REGIMENT  IN  WHICH   THERE  WERE 
IROQUOIS  COUNTY  SOLDIERS;  ALSO  A  ROLL  OP  HONOR,  GIVING  NAMES  OF 
ALL  DECEASED  SOLDIERS  THAT   DIED  IN  LINE  OF  DUTY,  AND  A 
BRIEF  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  OF  COL.  WILLIAMS  AND 
A  NUMBER  OF  GALLANT  OFFICERS  AND  SOL- 
DIERS WHO  WERE  KILLED  OR  DIED 
IN  THE  SERVICE. 

COMPILED    AND    WRITTEN    BY   ALEX.    L.    WHITEHALL,   LL.B., 
Captain  and  Adjutant  9th  Reg.  I.N.G.,  and  late  private  of  Co.  F,  9th  Reg.  Ind.  Vet.  Vol.  Inf. 


PREFACE. 

The  writer  of  the  following  regimental  sketches,  and  compiler  of 
the  "  Roll  of  Honor  of  Iroquois  County  Soldiers  in  the  War  of  the 
Rebellion,"  is  frank  to  admit  that  his  work  is  not  satisfactory  to  him- 
self, but  is  merely  presented  in  the  hope  that  it  may  become  a  founda- 
tion upon  which  a  more  perfect  and  satisfactory  work  may  be  reared  in 
the  future. 

Unfortunately,  reliable  regimental  histories,  or  even  faithful  records 
of  the  movements  and  doings  of  individual  regiments  are  not  generally 
accessible,  and  such  as  are  obtainable  are  apt  to  be  brief  and  unsatisfac- 
tory because  of  their  brevity, — being  for  the  most  part  merely  a  rehash 
of  some  officer's  diary.  No  attempt  is  made,  or  very  rarely  made,  at 
describing  the  behavior  of  a  regiment  in  battle,  and  the  chronicler 
must  depend  largely  upon  the  published  histories  of  the  war,  and  let- 
ters of  war  correspondents  of  newspapers  published  during  the  late 
war,  and  also  upon  reports  of  commanding  officers,  for  such  details  and 
descriptions  of  battles  and  marches  as  he  may  wish  to  employ  in 
writing  a  tolerably  correct  and  readable  regimental  history.  And  as 
the  written  statements  upon  which  historians  are  often  forced  to  rely  are 
not  always  written  by  a  man  who  was  on  the  field  of  battle,  or  who,  if 
there,  was  perhaps  not  in  the  best  position  for  acquiring  an  accurate 


262  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

knowledge,  or  of  witnessing  the  movements  and  behavior  of  the  troops 
of  whom  he  is  writing ;  hence  he  does  not  always  give  a  correct  account, 
nor  always  a  just  one.  But  like  others  who  have  found  themselves 
similarly  circumstanced,  we  have,  in  the  subsequent  pages,  sought  to 
make  the  best  use  possible  of  the  materials  at  hand  that  our  ability 
would  admit  of,'  in  the  hope,  as  before  stated,  that  our  efforts  and 
venture  may  lead  to  something  better;  and  if,  until  then,  our  work 
shall  be  useful  in  perpetuating  the  record  of  Iroquois  county's  patriot- 
ism in  the  war  for  the  Union,  we  shall  feel  our  labor  has  not  been 
in  vain. 

In  the  preparation  of  the  subsequent  pages  we  have  had  to  rely  very 
largely  upon  the  reports  of  the  adjutant-general  of  Illinois,  and  for 
necessary  data  and  material  have  also  consulted  "Eddy's  Patriotism 
of  Illinois,"  "  Yan  Home's  History  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland," 
and  "Gen.  Andrew's  History  of  the  Mobile  Campaign." 

We  were  a  soldier  from  a  sister  state,  and  had  a  personal  acquaint- 
ance with  only  four  of  the  regiments  whose  history  we  have  been 
requested  to  write,  and  do  not  feel  that  we  could  do  as  full  justice  to 
our  subject  as  if  we  had  been  an  Illinois  soldier,  and  familiar  with  the 
history  of  Illinois  regiments. 

It  is  but  just  to  ourself  to  say  that  the  work  has  been  done  during 
such  time  as  we  could  snatch  from  our  professional  duties,  and  done 
only  because  we  felt  that  the  gallant  dead  and  the  patriotic  surviving 
soldiers  who  enlisted  from  this  county  during  the  late  war,  deserved  to 
have  some  chronicler  present  for  the  perusal  of  their  neighbors  and 
friends  a  tolerable  fair  record  and  recital  of  their  trials  and  triumphs 
while  marching  and  fighting  under  the  dear  old  flag  of  our  Union. 
We  have  written,  and  present  to  the  public  the  following  pages,  believ- 
ing that  even  our  poor  recital  of  the  suffering  and  heroism  of  the  sol- 
diers of  Iroquois  county,  will  arouse  in  the  hearts  of  our  people  a 
kindlier  feeling  and  respect  for  their  neighbors  who  did  manful  duty 
as  defenders  of  our  imperiled  Union  when  assailed  by  treason ;  and 
also  to  arouse  a  deeper  reverence  for  the  noble  dead  that  gave  up  their 
lives  that  the  nation  might  live. 

REGIMENTAL   HISTORY. 

When  the  terrible  storm-cloud  of  secession  burst  upon  our  union  of 
states,  in  the  spring  of  1861,  the  county  of  Iroquois  contained  a  popu- 
lation of  a  little  over  16,000,  and  from  that  time  to  the  close  of  the 
war  increased  in  population  but  slightly.  As  a  proof  of  the  devotion 
of  her  people  to  the  Union,  it  is  only  necessary  to  state  that  this  grand 


IROQUOIS   COUNTY    IN   THE    WAR.  263 

county  sent  into  the  field  nearly  enough  men  to  make  two  lull  regi- 
ments. The  muster-in  rolls  of  the  various  organizations  in  which  the 
county  was  represented  show  that  over  1,500  men  enlisted  from  and 
are  credited  to  this  county.  And  of  this  brave  band  of  men,  loyal  and 
true  to  their  country  and  their  country's  flag,  over  300,  or  one-fifth, 
laid  down  their  lives  on  their  country's  altar.  Such  a  record  is  cer- 
tainly a  proud  one,  and  reflects  credit  upon  the  bravery  and  patriotism 
of  the  county  that  so  nobly  sprang  to  the  defense  of  our  imperiled  gov- 
ernment. We  present,  in  the  succeeding  pages,  brief  historical  sketches 
of  the  several  regiments  and  batteries  in  which  there  were  Iroquois 
county  soldiers.  The  different  arms  of  the  service  are  presented  to 
the  reader  in  the  following  order :  First,  Infantry ;  second,  Cavalry ;  and 
lastly  the  Artillery.  Beginning  with 

THE  TENTH  REGIMENT  ILLINOIS   INFANTRY. 

This  grand  old  regiment  was  organized  among  the  very  first,  and 
during  the  "  three-months  service"  under  command  of  its  colonel,  after- 
ward general,  B.  M.  Prentiss,  was  engaged  in  guarding  Cairo.  Three 
of  its  companies  during  the  three-months  term  served  as  artillerymen. 
The  regiment  reorganized  for  the  three-years  service,  with  James  D. 
Morgan  as  its  colonel,  who,  together  with  Col.  Tillson,  his  successor, 
was  afterward  promoted  to  a  generalcy.  The  regiment  took  a  part  in 
the  capture  of  New  Madrid,  Missouri ;  Island  No.  10,  Fort  Pillow, 
Corinth,  and  passed  through  the  first  siege  of  Nashville;  participated 
in  the  battle  of  Mission  Ridge.  In  the  winter  of  1864,  394  old  soldiers 
reenlisted.  During  the  Atlanta  campaign  the  Tenth  was  in  the  First 
Brigade,  Gen.  J.  D.  Morgan  commanding,  of  the  Second  Division, 
Gen.  Jeff.  C.  Davis  commanding,  of  the  Fourteenth  Army  Corps, 
Army  of  the  Cumberland,  and  behaved  gallantly  in  that  historic  cam- 
paign, which  culminated  in  the  downfall  of  Atlanta.  The  regiment 
marched  through  to  the  sea  with  Sherman,  and  took  in  the  "grand 
rounds"  through  the  Carolinas,  witnessing  the  surrender  of  Gen.  Joe 
Johnson's  army,  and  participated  in  the  grand  review  at  Washington 
city.  The  regiment  was  mustered  out  July  4,  1865.  Ex-county  sur- 
veyor E.  W.  Dodson  was  a  sergeant  in  the  Tenth,  and  there  were 
three  other  Iroquois  county  boys  in  this  regiment. 

THE  TWELFTH  REGIMENT  ILLINOIS  INFANTRY. 

The  Twelfth  regiment  entered  the  three-years  service  August  1, 
1861,  under  the  command  of  Col.  John  McArthur,  and  upon  his  pro- 
motion Gen.  A.  L.  Chetlain  succeeded  him  as  colonel,  and  was  after- 


264  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

ward  promoted.  At  the  battle  of  Fort  Donelson  the  loss  of  the 
regiment  was  nineteen  killed  and  fifty-eight  wounded.  The  Twelfth 
participated  in  the  siege  of  Corinth,  and  behaved  most  gallantly  in  the 
battle,  capturing  a  rebel  battery  and  a  stand  of  colors,  losing  Capt.  Ward, 
acting  major,  and  upward  of  100  men,  killed,  wounded  and  missing. 
Gen.  R.  J.  Oglesby,  the  brigade  commander,  was  severely  wounded  in 
this  action.  In  1863  the  regiment  took  an  active  part  in  the  north 
Mississippi  campaigns,  under  Gen.  Sherman.  Twenty-four  officers  and 
311  men  reenlisted  in  January,  1864,  and  returned  home  soon  after  on 
a  veteran  furlough.  On  the  return  of  the  regiment  to  the  front  it 
became  a  part  of  the  "Army  of  the  Tennessee,"  under  the  lamented 
hero  Gen.  J.  B.  McPherson,  and  was  actively  engaged  in  the  battles 
and  movements  in  Georgia  preceding  the  fall  of  Atlanta;  loss  of  the 
regiment  in  the  campaign  up  to  the  fall  of  Atlanta,  106  killed  and 
wounded.  At  Allatoona  the  regiment  was  hotly  engaged,  and  suffered 
a  loss  of  fifty -seven  out  of  161  men  engaged. 

It  was  with  Sherman  in  his  march  to  the  sea,  and  marched  from 
Savannah,  Georgia,  to  Columbia,  South  Carolina,  thence  to  Fayette- 
ville,  Goldsboro  and  Raleigh,  North  Carolina,  and  witnessed  the  sur- 
render of  Johnston's  army.  At  the  time  of  Johnston's  surrender  the 
Twelfth  had  tramped  600  miles,  and  in  the  northward  march  to  Wash- 
ington marched  186  miles  in  six  and  a  half  days,  "  and  it  wasn't  a  very 
good  time  for  marching,  either." 

The  regiment  took  a  part  in  the  grand  review  at  Washington,  and 
returned  home  for  muster  out,  and  was  paid  off  and  discharged  at 
Camp  Butler,  Illinois,  July  18,  1865.  Iroquois  county  was  represented 
in  the  Twelfth  regiment  by  eleven  men,  distributed  as  follows:  Com- 
pany C,  7  men  ;  PI,  1 ;  K,  2  men  ;  and  one  unassigned. 

THE  FOURTEENTH  REGIMENT  ILLINOIS  INFANTRY. 

This  regiment  went  into  the  field  May  25,  1861,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Col.  John  M.  Palmer,  afterward  major-general,  and  still  later 
governor  of  this  state.  The  Fourteenth  took  an  honorable  part  in  the 
battles  of  Fort  Donelson  and  Shiloh,  eliciting  the  praise  of  its  brigade 
commander  for  gallant  conduct  on  the  fateful  field  of  Shiloh.  The 
regiment  formed  a  part  of  Gen.  Hurl but's  division,  and  under  both  Grant 
and  Sherman  performed  several  brilliant  achievements  in  both  fighting 
and  marching  in  the  western  Tennessee  and  north  Mississippi  cam- 
paigns. 

The  regiment  reenlisted  and  took  a  part  in  the  Atlanta  campaign, 
being  consolidated  with  its  old  companion  regiment,  the  Fifteenth.  In 


IROQUOIS    COUNTY    IN   THE    WAR.  265 

the  attack  of  Hood  upon  Sherman's  rear,  after  the  fall  of  Atlanta,  this 
veteran  battalion  was  nearly  cut  to  pieces,  and  the  remnant  was 
mounted,  and  on  the  march  to  Savannah  and  through  the  Carolinas 
did  effective  service  as  scouts^being  for  the  most  of  the  time  in  advance 
of  the  army.  At  Goldsboro,  North  Carolina,  the  two  regiments,  hav- 
ing received  a  number  of  recruits,  resumed  their  regimental  organiza- 
tion as  the  Fourteenth  and  Fifteenth. 

Concerning  this  grand  old  command  we  copy  the  following  from 
the  adjutant-general's  report:  The  aggregate  number  of  men  who 
belonged  to  this  organization  was  1,980,  and  the  aggregate  mustered 
out  at  Fort  Leaven  worth  was  480. 

During  the  four  years  of  its  arduous  service  it  marched  4,490  miles, 
traveled  by  rail  2,330  miles,  and  by  river  4.850  miles,  making  a  total 
of  11,670  miles  traversed.  In  Company  I  there  were  two  privates 
from  this  county  ;  also  in  Company  K  there  was  a  corporal  and  pri- 
vate, all  of  whom  received  an  honorable  discharge. 

THE  TWENTIETH  REGIMENT  ILLINOIS  INFANTRY. 

(WRITTEN  BY  E.  B.  SLEETH,  ESQ.,  OP  DENVER,  COL.,  FORMERLY  SERGEANT  OF 

COMPANY  I.) 

The  Twentieth  Infantry  was  organized  at  Joliet,  Illinois,  May  14, 
1861,  under  the  command  of  Col.  C.  C.  Marsh.  It  was  mustered  into 
the  United  States  service,  or  during  the  war,  June  13,  1861,  by  Capt. 
T.  G.  Pitcher,  of  the  United  States  army.  It  left  Joliet  June  18,  by 
order  of  Gov.  Yates,  and  proceeded  to  Alton.  July  6  it  went  to  St. 
Louis  arsenal ;  on  the  10th  moved  to  and  fortified  Cape  Girardeau, 
Missouri ;  23d,  went  on  a  forced  march  to  Dallas,  and  captured  a 
large  amount  of  rebel  stores;  August  12,  moved  to  Bird's  Point,  Mis- 
souri ;  October  17  it  returned  to  Cape  Girardeau;  19th,  started  for 
Fredericton,  Missouri,  which  place  was  reached  on  the  20th,  and  had  a 
severe  engagement  with  the  enemy  under  Gen.  Jeff  Thompson,  and 
was  victorious,  capturing  one  piece  of  artillery,  a  twenty-pounder 
howitzer;  returned  to  Bird's  Point  November  1,  and  went  into  winter 
quarters.  January  14,  1862,  it  accompanied  Gen.  Grant  on  a  recon- 
noisance  in  Kentucky,  toward  Columbus;  20th,  returned  to  Bird's 
Point;  February  2,  moved  to  Fort  Henry,  under  command  of  Gen.  W. 
H.  L.  Wallace;  occupied  the  fort  on  the  4th.  On  the  llth  it  arrived 
at  Fort  Donelson,  and  was  engaged  in  the  three-days  battle  before  that 
place,  and  was  the  first  regiment  that  held  its  position  and  staid  the 
daring  charge  made  on  the  right  wing  of  our  army  by  Forrest,  in  his 
grand  effort  on  the  afternoon  of  the  last  day  of  the  battle,  for  which 
act  the  regiment  received  the  personal  thanks  of  Generals  Grant  and 


266  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

McClernand.  Lieut.  Col.  Irwin  and  fifty  men  were  killed  in  this 
action. 

The  regiment  next  moved  with  the  advance  of  Gen.  Grant's  army 
to  Savannah,  Tennessee.  On  the  24th  it  arrived  at  Pittsburg  Land- 
ing ;  was  engaged  in  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  April  6  and  7,  and  charged 
upon  and  captured  a  rebel  battery  of  two  guns;  had  forty-two  men 
killed,  among  whom  was  our  adjutant,  John  E.  Thompson.  The  regi- 
ment was  in  the  front  on  the  road,  and  during  the  siege  of  Corinth.  It 
left  its  position  before  Corinth  June  3,  and  arrived  at  Jackson,  Ten- 
nessee, on  the  8th,  and  was  engaged  in  guarding  the  railroad  during  the 
remainder  of  that  month  and  July.  August  14  it  went  to  Estramula, 
on  the  Hatchie  river.  September  1,  it  fought  the  battle  of  Britton's 
Lane,  and  returned  to  Jackson  on  the  4th,  and  remained  till  November 
8,  when  it  started  on  the  Holly  Springs  expedition.  It  arrived  at  the 
Springs  December  1,  and  on  the  3d  crossed  the  Tallahatchee  river  and 
marched  to  Oxford;  recrossed  the  river  on  the  24th,  on  account  of  the 
destruction  of  the  stores  at  Holly  Springs  by  the  enemy.  The  regi- 
ment suffered  severely  on  this  campaign  for  want  of  food,  living  for  ten 
days  on  corn  foraged  from  the  almost  desolate  and  impoverished 
country.  The  regiment  then  went  to  Memphis,  Tennessee,  and  there 
remained  until  March  1,  when  it  went  to  Lake  Providence,  Louisiana. 

April  1  it  arrived  at  Milliken's  Bend.  On  a  call  being  made  for 
volunteers  to  run  boats  past  the  Yicksburg  batteries,  the  entire  regi- 
ment tendered  its  services,  but  a  delegation  only  of  the  regiment  was 
accepted  and  made  the  perilous  voyage,  the  remainder  marching  around 
Yicksburg,  on  the  Louisiana  side  of  the  river,  crossing  in  the  transports 
that  had  run  the  blockade  to  the  Mississippi  shore,  and  at  once  marched 
to  the  rear  of  the  rebel  fortifications  at  Grand  Gulf,  which  place  was 
at  once  abandoned.  On  May  9  was  fought  the  battle  of  Thompson 
Hill ;  May  12  the  battle  of  Raymond,  where  Col.  Richards  and  forty 
men  were  killed.  May  13,  was  captured  Jackson,  Mississippi.  May 
15,  the  regiment  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  great  battle  of  Cham- 
pion Hills,  and  May  17  crossed  Black  river  and  took  position  in  front 
of  Yicksburg.  May  22  it  was  in  the  daring  charge  on  that  stronghold 
and  was  one  of  the  few  regiments  that  reached  the  rebel  works,  and 
retained  its  position  on  the  site  of  the  rebel  works  for  eighteen  hours, 
sheltering  itself  by  digging  under  the  walls  of  earth-works,  and  only 
vacated  its  position  because  other  troops  could  not  get  to  its  assistance. 

The  regiment  participated  in  the  whole  of  the  memorable  siege,  from 
Majr  22  to  July  4,  working  in  the  trenches  and  mines  under  Fort 
Hill,  rushing  into  and  holding  that  stronghold  with  three  other  regi- 
ments when  it  was  blown  up.  It  was  the  second  regiment  to  enter 


IROQUOIS    COUNTY    IN   THE    WAR.  267 

the  city  of  Vicksburg  under  Gen.  Logan,  and  in  consideration  of  the 
services  rendered  in  the  capture  of  Fort  Hill,  which  was  the  key  to 
the  Yicksburg  defenses,  the  regiment  was  appointed  provost-guard  of 
the  city,  which  place  it  occupied  until  the  beginning  of  the  winter, 
when  it  was  relieved,  and  joined  the  Third  Division  at  Black  river, 
Mississippi,  where  it  remained  the  greater  part  of  the  winter,  going 
with  Gen.  Sherman  on  his  raid  to  Meridian,  Mississippi.  It  was 
engaged  in  numerous  skirmishes  on  this  campaign ;  was  cut  from 
communication  with  the  north  for  thirty  days;  returned  to  Vicks- 
burg and  from  thence  to  Cairo,  Illinois.  The  veterans  of  the  regiment, 
of  which  there  were  two-thirds,  went  north  on  a  veteran  furlough ; 
while  the  remainder,  or  non-veterans,  went  to  Clifton,  Tennessee,  and 
marched  from  there  to  Huntsville,  where  the  regiment  WHS  again 
reunited.  It  joined  the  army  of  the  Tennessee  under  Gen.  Sherman, 
at  Cartersville,  Georgia,  under  command  of  Gen.  Force,  First  Brigade, 
Third  Division,  Seventeenth  Army  Corps.  It  took  an  active  part  in 
all  the  great  battles  fought  and  won  during  the  remainder  of  that 
campaign. 

July  22,  1864,  at  the  battle  of  Kenesaw  Mountain,  the  regiment 
was  almost  annihilated,  after  which,  by  order  of  Gen.  Leggett  com- 
manding the  division,  the  regiment  was  mounted,  and  acted  as  his 
body-guard  and  scouts.  When  Sherman  started  on  his  march  to  the 
sea  it  was  in  advance  of  the  "  Old  Third  Division,"  Seventeenth 
Corps,  and  was  engaged  in  continuous  skirmishes  from  Atlanta  to  the 
Gulf.  It  went  east  with  Sherman's  army;  was  in  the  grand  review 
at  Washington  city ;  after  which  it  went  to  Louisville,  Kentucky, 
where  it  was  mustered  out  of  service  and  sent  to  Chicago,  Illinois, 
at  which  place  it  was  paid  off  and  discharged  July  19,  1865.  This 
regiment  served  continuously  during  the  war  in  the  First  Brigade, 
Third  (or  Logan's)  Division,  Seventeenth  Army  Corps, — always  at  the 
front,  yet  never  suffering  a  defeat.  Company  I  of  this  regiment  was 
organized  in  the  old  court-house,  in  Middleport,  Iroquois  county,  by 
Capt.  George  H.  Walser,  April  19,  1861,  and  was  the  pioneer  company 
from  this  county,  and  was  ready  to  march  in  three  days  after  the  first 
call  made  for  troops. 

Sergeant  Sleeth  has  given  in  the  above  a  faithful  report  of  the  bat- 
tles and  marches  participated  in  by  the  Twentieth  regiment,  and  we 
can  only  add  that  in  the  assault  on  Kenesaw  Mountain  the  regiment 
was  flanked  by  the  enemy  and  overpowered  after  severe  loss,  and  all 
of  the  force  engaged  that  day  were  killed  or  captured  except  about  six- 
teen. Afterward  this  squad  was  enlarged  to  thirty-five  by  men  report- 
ing that  had  been  absent  from  the  regiment  with  leave,  and  on 


268  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

detached  duty.  This  band  of  survivors  of  the  grand  old  regiment  was 
mounted  and  placed  under  the  command  of  Capt.  King  and  employed 
as  scouts  by  Gen.  Leggett,  during  the  "  march  to  the  sea,"  also  during 
the  subsequent  marches  through  the  Carolinas.  When  this  detach- 
ment of  the  Twentieth  reached  Goldsboro,  North  Carolina,  it  was 
joined  by  250  recruits  from  Illinois  and  the  rest  of  the  old  soldier 
comrades  who  had  been  captured  at  Kenesaw,  and  who  had  been  for- 
tunate enough  to  survive  the  tortures  of  Andersonville  and  other 
prison  pens  of  the  south,  rejoined  the  regiment,  some  at  Goldsboro, 
and  others  at  Alexandria,  Virginia. 

After  the  return  of  the  exchanged  prisoners  and  the  accession  of 
the  250  recruits  the  regiment  resumed  its  regimental  organization,  and 
took  part  as  such  in  the  grand  review  at  Washington.  Some  idea  of 
the  service  done  by  the  daring  fellows  of  this  veteran  regiment  may  be 
gathered  from  the  statement  of  the  naked  fact  that  of  the  twenty-two 
officers  and  322  men  mustered  out  in  1865,  only  about  seventy  were 
members  of  the  old  organization  that  a  little  over  four  years  before 
took  the  field  with  over  900  men  in  its'  ranks. 

Company  I  went  into  the  battle  of  Fort  Donelson  with  sixty-five 
men,  and  twenty-six  of  that  number  were  killed  or  wounded.  Nine  of 
the  twenty-six  were  killed  and  died  of  wounds. 

Company  I  was  first  commanded  by  Capt.  George  H.  Walser,  of 
Middleport,  a  member  then  of  the  Iroquois  bar.  Capt.  Walser  resigned 
during  the  fall  of  1861,  and  was  succeeded  by  Capt.  Kennard,  of 
Champaign,  who  was  afterward  promoted  major,  and  then  Capt.  Row- 
land K.  Evans,  of  Bloomington,  assumed  command  of  the  company, 
and  on  his  promotion  Lieut.  David  Richardson,  of  Middleport,  who 
had  risen  from  the  ranks,  became  its  captain,  and  filled  the  position 
when  the  company  was  mustered  out.  Capt.  George  E.  King,  after- 
ward captain  of  Company  F,  One  Hundred  and  Thirteenth  Regiment, 
went  out  as  first  lieutenant  of  Company  1,  of  the  Twentieth.  Sergeant 
Sleeth,  of  Company  I,  was  sheriff  of  this  county,  and  is  now  city  attor- 
ney of  Denver,  Colorado.  Capt.  H.  B.  Yennum,  of  the  One  Hundred 
and  Fiftieth,  served  three  years  in  the  Twentieth.  Lieut.  Frank  High, 
of  Middleport,  also  an  officer  of  Company  1,  after  the  close  of  the  war 
was  appointed  general  passenger  agent  of  the  Chicago  &  Alton  railroad, 
and  still  holds  the  position.  Quite  a  number  of  our  well-to-do  farmers 
were  members  of  this  gallant  regiment. 


IROQUOIS   COUNTY    IN   THE    WAR.  269 

THE  TWENTY-FIRST  REGIMENT  ILLINOIS  INFANTRY. 

Most  readers  are  familiar  with  the  fact  that  this  regiment  went  into 
the  field  with  Gen.  U.  S.  Grant  at  its  head  as  colonel,  and  his  subse- 
quent promotion  and  grand  achievements  as  the  leader  of  the  armies 
of  the  west,  at  Donelson,  Shiloh,  Vicksburg  and  Mission  Ridge,  and 
his  triumphs  as  commander-in-chief  of  all  the  Union  armies  are  fresh 
in  the  minds  of  all  loyal  people.  The  regiment,  as  well  as  its  first 
commander,  has  a  proud  record  for  coolness  and  courage  on  many  a  hard 
fought  field.  But  as  Iroquois  county  furnished  but  one  man  (Joseph 
Shepard,  of  Milford).  to  this  regiment,  we  do  not  deem  it  best  in  this  con- 
nection to  give  a  detailed  history  of  the  Twenty-first,  but  will  merely  call 
attention  to  the  principal  campaigns  and  battles  in  which  "Grant's old 
regiment"  took  an  active  and  honorable  part.  It  was  engaged  in  the 
Missouri  campaigns  in  the  fall  of  1801,  and  winter  and  spring  of  1862, 
and  participated  in  the  battle  of  Frederickton.  It  formed  a  part  of  Gen. 
Steele's  Arkansas  expedition.  The  regiment  took  a  part  in  the  siege 
of  Corinth,  and  was  engaged  in  the  battles  of  Perryville  and  Stone 
River,  behaving  with  great  gallantry  in  a  charge  upon  the  celebrated 
Washington  Light  Artillery  of  rebel  fame,  in  the  latter  battle.  In  the 
disastrous  battle  of  Chickarnaugua  the  Twenty-first  lost  238  officers  and 
men,  in  killed,  wounded  and  missing.  As  a  part  of  the  Fourth  Army 
Corps  the  regiment  participated  in  the  Atlanta  campaign,  and  in  all  the 
engagements  behaved  with  its  accustomed  gallantry.  The  regiment 
was  with  the  army  of  Gen.  George  H.  Thomas,  at  Pulaski,  Columbia, 
Franklin  and  Nashville,  Tennessee,  and  rendered  a  good  account  of 
itself  in  this  important  campaign.  During  the  summer  of  1865,  in 
conjunction  with  other  forces  in  Thomas'  command,  the  Twenty-first 
regiment  went  to  Texas,  and  remained  there  on  duty  until  mustered  out 
at  San  Antonio,  December  16,  1865. 

THE  TWENTY-FIFTH  REGIMENT  ILLINOIS  INFANTRY. 

WRITTEN    BY   A.    H.    SOUTH,    FORMERLY   LIEUTENANT   OP    COMPANY    F. 

This  regiment  was  composed  of  companies  raised  in  the  counties  of 
Coles,  Edgar,  Champaign,  Douglas,  Yermilion  and  Iroquois,  "William 
N.  Coler,  of  Urbana,  Illinois,  colonel  commanding.  The  regiment  was 
mustered  into  the  United  States  service  August  4,  1861  (the  rnuster- 
in  rolls,  however,  make  it  August  6,  1861,  which  is  a  mistake),  at  the 
United  States  Arsenal  at  St.  Louis,  Missouri.  September  23,  1861, 
the  regiment  went  to  Jefferson  City  via  the  Pacific  railroad.  Septem- 
ber 27,  1861,  it  went  to  Otterville,  Missouri,  via  Pacific  railroad,  and 


270  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

went  into  camp  at  Lamine  river  bridge.  October  13,  1861,  it  went  to 
Sedalia.  Missouri,  terminus  of  the  Pacific  railroad. 

October  15,  1861,  the  regiment  went  to  Springfield,  Missouri,  from 
there  to  Wilson's  creek,  and  returned  to  Springfield,  and  from  there 
to  Holla,  Missouri,  arriving  at  the  latter  place  November  19,  1861.  It 
remained  in  camp  until  February  2, 1862,  and  then  started  for  Spring- 
field, Missouri,  arriving  there  February  13,  1862.  It  left  Springfield 
February  14,  1862.  March  6,  7  and  8  it  engaged  in  the  battle  of  Pea 
Ridge,  Arkansas.  After  marching  and  countermarching,  the  regiment, 
with  nine  other  regiments  under  the  command  of  Brigadier-General 
Jeif  C.  Davis,  started  for  Cape  GJ-irardeau,  Missouri,  May  9,  1862,  and 
arrived  there  May  20,  1862.  May  22  it  went  to  Hamburg  Landing 
via  steamboat  Henry  Clay,  arriving  there  May  26.  After  marching 
and  skirmishing  for  a  long  time  near  Jacinto  and  other  places  near 
there  it  left  luka,  Mississippi,  August  18,  1862,  for  Louisville,  Ken- 
tucky, via  Nashville,  arriving  there  September  26,  1862.  October  1, 
1862,  it  left  Louisville,  Kentucky,  and  was  near,  but  not  engaged  in, 
the  battle  of  Perryville,  Kentucky,  October  8,  1862. 

After  marching  around  the  country  for  several  days  the  regiment 
started  for  Nashville,  Tennessee,  arriving  there  November  7,  1862,  and 
remained  there,  doing  guard  duty  and  foraging,  until  December  26, 

1862,  when  the   regiment  started   for    Mnrfreesboro,  Tennessee.     It 
was  actively  engaged  in  the  battles  of  Stone  River,  from  December 
30, 1862,  to  January  4, 1863, — December  31  being  the  day  it  was  most 
actively  engaged.     The  regiment  remained  in  camp  from  January  6, 

1863,  to  June  24,  1863,  and  then  started  with  the  army,  under  Gen. 
Rosecrans,  after  the  rebel  army  under  Gen.  Bragg.    It  remained  awhile 
at  and  near  Winchester,  Tennessee,  and  was  actively  engaged  at  the 
battle  of  Chickamauga,  Georgia,  September  19  and  20, 1863.     Septem- 
ber 22  it  went  to  Chattanooga,  Tennessee,  and  remained  there  until 
November  23,  when  the  regiment  was  very  actively  engaged   in  the 
battles  of  Mission    Ridge,  fought   November   23,  24   and    25,  1863. 
November  28,  1863,  it  left  Chattanooga,  Tennessee,  for  Knoxville, 
Tennessee,  arriving  there  on  or  about  December  3.     The  regiment 
spent  the  winter  in  East  Tennessee,  marching,  countermarching,  skir- 
mishing and  foraging  all  the  time,  and  finally  got  back  to  Cleveland, 
Tennessee,  and  remained  from  April  16,  1864,  to  May  31,  1864,  when 
the  regiment  was  ordered  to  join  the  army  under  Gen   Sherman,  en 
route  for  Atlanta,  Georgia.     The  regiment  joined  the  brigade  June  7, 

1864,  The   regiment  remained  with  the   army,  pressing  on  toward 
Atlanta,    under    fire    nearly     every    day,     until     August    1,    1864, 
when  the  order  came  for  the  regiment  to  start  for  Springfield,  Illi- 


IROQUOIS    COUNTY    IN   THE    WAR.  271 

nois,  to  be  mustered  out.  It  -arrived  at  Springfield  August  11,  1864. 
September  5,  1864,  the  regiment  was  mustered  out,  having  served 
three  years  and  one  month,  and  having  marched  on  foot  3,252  miles, 
and  traveled  by  steamboat  and  rail  1,710  miles.  Total  number  of 
miles  traveled  in  three  years  was  4,962.  It  participated  in  the  follow- 
ing battles  and  numerous  heavy  skirmishes:  Pea  Ridge,  Arkansas; 
siege  of  Corinth,  Stone  River,  Tennessee  ;  Chickamauga,  Georgia  ;  Mis- 
sion Ridge,  Tennessee;  Kenesaw  Mountain,  Georgia;  Peach  Tree 
Creek,  Georgia,  and  Atlanta. 

Lieut.  South,  in  the  compilation  of  the  sketch  of  his  regiment,  has 
exhibited  rather  more  than  a  soldierly  modesty  in  his  brief  mention  of 
the  more  important  battles  in  which  the  Twenty-fifth  took  an  active 
and  honorable  part.  At  Pea  Ridge  the  regiment  experienced  its  first 
battle,  and  under  the  most  trying  ordeal  it  behaved  with  the  courage 
and  steadiness  of  veteran  troops.  In  the  terrible  struggle  among  the 
cedars  of  Stone  River,  Woodruff's  brigade,  to  which  the  Twenty-fifth 
belonged,  did  heroic  fighting,  and  was  warmly  commended  by  Gen. 
Jeff.  C.  Davis,  the  division  commander,  who,  speaking  in  his  report  of 
the  gallant  stand  made  by  the  brigade,  December  31,  1862,  says  of 
Carlin's  and  Woodruffs  brigades:  "  The  enemy  commenced  a  heavy 
and  very  determined  attack  upon  Carlin's  and  Woodruff's  brigades. 
These  brigades  were  fully  prepared  for  the  attack,  and  received  it  with 
veteran  courage.  The  conflict  was  fierce  in  the  extreme  on  both  sides. 
Our  loss  was  heavy,  and  that  of  the  enemy  was  no  less.  It  was, 
according  to  my  observation,  the  best  contested  point  of  the  day,  and 
would  have  been  held  but  for  the  overwhelming  force  moving  so  per- 
sistently against  my  right.  Carlin,  finding  his  right  flank  so  severely 
pressed  and  threatened  with  being  turned,  ordered  his  troops  to  retire. 
Woodruff's  brigade  succeeded  in  repulsing  the  enemy  and  holding  the 
position,  until  the  withdrawal  of  the  troops  on  both  of  its  flanks  com- 
pelled it  to  retire."  By  the  above  account  of  the  fight  by  the  general 
of  division,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  daring  brigade  held  its  ground 
stubbornly  until  completely  flanked  on  the  .left  and  right,  when  it  fell 
back  to  a  position  in  line  with  the  rest  of  the  division.  Col.  Wood- 
ruff, in  his  report  of  the  conduct  of  his  brigade,  pays  a  very  high  com- 
pliment to  the  personal  gallantry  of  Col.  T.  D.  Williams,  who  fell 
during  the  thickest  of  the  fight,  with  the  regimental  colors  of  the 
Twenty-fifth  in  his  hands.  The  loss  of  the  regiment  was  very  great, 
and  it  well  deserved  to  inscribe  upon  its  banner  "  Stone  River." 

At  Chickamauga  the  division  of  Davis,  including  the  Twenty-fifth 
regiment,  did  hard  fighting,  but  were  forced  to  yield  to  overpowering 
rebel  masses  hurled  against  them,  and  obliged  to  fall  back  toward 


272  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

Missionary  Ridge.  Much  of  the  hardest  fighting  was  done  in  a  dense 
wood,  and  the  regiment  being  at  close  quarters,  and  assailed  by  a 
greatly  superior  force  in  point  of  numbers,  lost  heavily.  The  Twenty- 
fifth  a  little  later  behaved  with  great  gallantry  in  the  assault  upon 
Missionary  Ridge.  During  the  Atlanta  campaign  the  Twenty-fifth 
never  failed  to  show  the  spirit  of  true  soldiers  whenever  brought  face 
to  face  with  the  enemy,  and  during  that  long  and  bloody  campaign  the 
sturdy  soldiers  of  the  old  Twenty-fifth  made  for  themselves  a  record 
that  entitles  them  to  the  praise  and  profound  respect  of  every  patriot 
in  the  loyal  state  that  sent  them  forth  to  do  valiant  battle  for  the  old 
flag. 

Company  F,  Capt.  Ray  "W.  Andrews,  of  Onarga,  commanding,  was 
almost  entirely  composed  of  men  from  this  county,  there  being  some 
eight  or  ten  men  in  the  original  company  from  Ford  and  Kankakee 
counties ;  and  among  the  recruits  afterward  sent  the  companies,  there 
were  about  a  half  a  dozen  men  that  belonged  in  other  counties.  First 
Lieut.  James  P.  Martin,  of  this  company,  filled  the  office  of  sheriff  of 
this  county  from  1864  to  1866.  He  was  also  the  founder  of  Old  Mar- 
tinton,  in  this  county.  Lieut.  Martin  died  about  eight  years  ago  from 
the  effects  of  disease  contracted  while  in  the  service.  Second  Lieut. 
Alex.  H.  South,  of  this  company,  filled  the  office  of  sheriff  for  three 
terms  successively,  and  was  an  excellent  officer. 

Company  G,  Capt.  (afterward  colonel)  Thomas  D.  Williams,  of  Che- 
banse,  commanding,  was  made  up  of  men  from  Champaign,  Iroquois 
and  Kankakee  counties, — Iroquois  county  furnishing  the  captain  (Will- 
iams), one  lieutenant,  and  about  one-third  of  the  rank  and  file  of  the 
company.  Jerome  Bard,  a  prominent  merchant  and  estimable  citizen 
of  Chebanse,  was  a  sergeant  in  Company  G,  and  a  faithful  soldier.  Our 
present  efficient  county  clerk,  Henry  A.  Butzow,  Esq.,  was  a  private  in 
Company  G  of  the  Twenty-fifth.  Several  of  the  old  soldier  boys  of  this 
splendid  old  regiment  are  now  well-to-do  and  influential  citizens  of 
this  county,  and  lack  of  space  forbids  individual  mention  of  these  men, 
who  performed  well  their  .part  as  brave  soldiers,  and  are  now  distin- 
guished as  peaceable,  upright  and  worthy  citizens. 

THE  THIRTY-NINTH  REGIMENT  ILLINOIS  INFANTRY. 

•This  organization — familiarly  known  as  "  Yates  Phalanx  " — left  the 
state  with  a  "  prize  banner,"  won  in  a  drill  contest  under  the  auspices  of 
the  State  Agricultural  Society,  and  being  composed  of  fine  material, 
well  officered,  it  bid  fair  to  win  the  glorious  name  that  it  did.  In  Octo- 
ber, 1861,  the  regiment  reported  to  Gen.  Curtis  for  duty,  in  Missouri, 


IROQUOIS    COUNTY    IN   THE    WAR.  273 

but  received  orders  about  the  first  of  November  to  proceed  to  Mary- 
land, and  it  did  so,  arriving  December  11,  1861.  During  the  winter 
of  1862  the  regiment  did  a  great  deal  of  hard  marching  and  fighting, 
the  engagements  being  generally  with  rebel  cavalry  seeking  to  get  into 
the  rear  of  the  Union  lines,  and  the  Thirty-ninth  which  was  guarding 
exposed  posts. 

The  regiment  was  in  the  battle  of  Winchester,  and  contributed  not 
a  little  toward  securing  the  defeat  of  Stonewall  Jackson.  The  greater 
part  of  the  summer  of  1862  was  spent  by  the  Thirty -ninth  in  weari- 
some marches  and  sharp  skirmishes,  and  the  fall  of  the  same  year  was 
mainly  spent  in  the  fortifications  at  Suffolk,  Virginia,  and  in  forays 
into  the  enemy's  country.  The  regiment,  in  January,  1863,  accompa- 
nied Gen.  Foster's  expedition  to  Hilton  Head,  South  Carolina,  and  in 
the  ensuing  spring  and  summer  it  assisted  in  the  laborious  siege  opera- 
tions that  culminated  in  the  capture  of  Morris  Island,  in  Charleston 
Harbor,  and  the  capture  of  Fort  Wagner.  Just  before  the  regiment 
started  to  South  Carolina,  a  flag  bearing  the  portrait  of  Gov.  Yates 
was  presented  to  the  regiment,  and  was  carried  to  the  close  of  the  war 
along  with  the  regimental  colors. 

The  regiment  reenlisted,  and  when  recruited  reported  to  Gen.  B. 
F.  Butler,  in  May,  1864,  and  took  an  active  part  in  the  expedition  up 
James  river.  The  Thirty-ninth  did  some  terrible  fighting  during 
May  and  June,  1864,  losing  315  men  during  these  two  months.  In  a 
charge  upon  the  rebel  works  at  Deep  Run,  Virginia,  August  16,  the 
Thirty-ninth  lost  104  men  and  several  officers.  In  a  charge  upon  the 
enemy's  works,  on  the  Darlington  road,  seven  miles  from  Richmond, 
October  13,  1864,  the  regiment  went  into  the  fight  250  strong  and 
lost  sixty  men.  During  the  winter  of  1864  and  1865  the  regiment 
was  in  front  of  Richmond  and  Petersburg,  and  having  received  about 
100  recruits,  these  were  drilled  and  disciplined  for  the  approaching  deci- 
sive campaign.  The  regiment  took  a  part  in  the  assault  upon  the 
rebel  works,  April  2,  1865,  and  were  the  first  troops  to  plant  the 
national  colors  on  the  works,  though  not  without  terrible  loss.  Seven 
of  the  color-guard  of  nine  were  shot,  and  out  of  the  150  men  that 
went  into  the  fight,  sixteen  were  shot  dead  and  forty-five  so  severely 
wounded  that  many  afterward  died  of  their  wounds.  As  a  testimonial 
to  the  regiment  for  its  bravery  Gen.  Gibbon  himself  placed  a  brazen 
eagle  upon  the  color-staff  at  the  grand  review  at  Washington,  and 
color-sergeant  Day  received  a  medal  of  honor  from  the  war  depart- 
ment for  his  bravery  in  planting  his  colors  upon  Fort  Gregg  after  he 
had  been  severely  wounded.  The  regiment  continued  in  the  service 
18 


274  HISTORY    OF    IEOQUOIS    COUNTY. 

after  the  fall  of   Richmond,  until   December  16,  1865,  when   it  was 
mustered  out. 

Iroquois  county  was  represented  in  the"Yates  Phalanx "  by  one 
non-commissioned  officer  and  five  privates.  One  of  the  latter  laid 
down  his  life  in  battle. 

THE  FORTY-SECOND  REGIMENT  ILLINOIS  INFANTRY. 

Col.  William  A.  Webb  organized  the  Forty-second  regiment  July 
22, 1861,  at  Chicago,  Illinois,  where  it  remained  in  camp  until  it  joined 
Gen.  Fremont's  army  at  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  September  21,  1861,  and 
was  by  him  sent  to  Gen.  Hunter  at  Tipton,  Missouri,  arriving  October 
18,  1861.  The  regiment  here  became  a  part  of  Gen.  John  M.  Palmer's 
brigade.  The  first  week  in  November  the  Forty-second  marched  to 
Springfield,  Missouri,  thence  to  Smithton,  in  the  same  state,  where  it 
went  into  winter  quarters  early  in  December.  The  regiment  was 
ordered  to  Fort  Holt,  Kentucky,  and  reached  its  destination  February 
20,  1862,  and  proceeded  from  there  to  Columbus  and  Island  No.  10, 
taking  an  active  part  in  the  siege  and  capture  of  the  island.  Previous 
to  the  capture  of  Island  No.  10  the  Forty-second  performed  a  couple 
of  brilliant  exploits  that  are  worthy  of  perpetuation  in  its  history. 
The  first  was  a  bold  dash  made  into  Union  City  by  the  Forty-second 
regiment,  supported  by  4.00  men  of  the  Fifteenth  Wisconsin  regiment, 
two  companies  of  the  Second  Illinois  Cavalry,  and  a  battery,  all  under 
the  command  of  Col.  Buford,  seconded  by  Col.  Roberts  of  the  Forty- 
second.  A  large  force  of  secessionists,  under  the  command  of  the 
notorious  Clay  King,  were  completely  surprised,  and  utterly  routed 
by  the  union  force.  The  union  loss  in  this  dash  was  one  man  killed, 
and  the  rebel  loss  twenty  killed  and  100  captured.  A  lot  of  200 
horses,  and  other  very  valuable  captures  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
charging  column.  Col.  Roberts,  at  the  head  of  about  forty  picked 
men  from  the  Forty-second,  one  dark  night  in  the  midst  of  a  terrific 
storm,  put  off  from  the  gun-boat  Benton  in  a  boat  with  muffled  oars, 
and  landed  in  the  face  of  a  scorching  picket  fire,  and  scaled  the  enemy's 
parapets  in  less  than  three  minutes  after  landing ;  and  before  the  dis- 
mayed rebels  could  get  aroused  to  what  was  going  on,  the  daring  band 
had  effectually  spiked  six  of  their  cannon,  the  Lady  Davis  among 
the  number,  which  daring  act  enabled  our  gun-boats  to  run  past  the 
battery,  and  complete  the  evacuation  of  the  Island.  The  regiment 
was  engaged  in  the  siege  of  Corinth,  and  the  battle  of  Farmington, 
losing  at  the  latter  place  seventeen  men. 

At  Columbia,  Tennessee,  September  9,  1862,  the  Forty-second  lost 


IROQUOIS    COUNTY    IN   THE    WAR.  275 

one  man  killed,  and  the  enemy  eighteen  killed  and  forty-five  wounded. 
The  regiment  was  cooped  up  in  Nashville  during  the  siege  late  in  the 
fall  of  1862.  December  10  it  moved  out  of  the  city  on  the  Nolansville 
pike,  and  entered  upon  the  Murfreesboro  campaign.  At  Stone  River, 
the  regiment  was  on  an  exposed  part  of  the  Held,  and  did  hard  fighting, 
losing  twenty-two  killed,  116  wounded  and  eighty-five  prisoners.  At 
Chickamauga  the  regiment  did  gallant  service,  and  displayed  great  cool- 
ness under  the  most  disheartening  surroundings.  Its  loss  on  the  two 
days,  September  19  and  20,  was  twenty-eight  killed,  128  wounded  and 
twenty-eight  taken  prisoners  by  the  rebels.  In  the  assault  upon  Mission 
Ridge  the  Forty-second  acted  as  skirmishers,  and  sustained  a  loss  of 
five  killed  and  forty  wounded. 

The  regiment  reenlisted  January  1,  1864,  and  six  weeks  later  was 
furloughed,  and  did  not  return  to  the  front  until  the  April  following, 
when  it  returned  to  Chattanooga,  and  entered  upon  the  Atlanta  cam- 
paign, participating  during  the  summer  of  1864,  in  the  following  en- 
gagements, viz :  Rocky  Face  Ridge,  Resaca,  Adairsville,  New  Hope 
Church,  Pine  Mountain,  Kenesaw  Mountain,  Peach  Tree  Creek,  Atlanta, 
Jonesboro  and  Lovejoy  Station,  going  into  camp  at  Atlanta,  September 
8,  1864,  with  a  loss  during  the  campaign  of  116  men. 

The  Forty-second,  during  the  Atlanta  campaign,  forming  a  part  of  the 
lamented  Gen.  Harker's  (Third)  brigade  of  the  second  division,  Fourth 
Army  Corps,  with  the  other  troops  of  the  Fourth  corps,  the  Forty-second 
took  up  position  at  Pulaski,  Tennessee,  to  check  the  northward  march 
of  Gen.  Hood's  army.  The  regiment  took  a  prominent  part  in  the 
battles  of  Spring  Hill,  Franklin  and  Nashville,  behaving  with  its 
accustomed  coolness  and  courage,  suffering  a  severe  loss  at  Franklin, 
losing  twenty-four  men  killed,  and  over  one  hundred  wounded  and  cap- 
tured. In  the  battles  at  Nashville  the  regimental  loss  in  killed  and 
wounded  was  thirteen  men.  The  regiment  participated  in  the  chase 
after  Hood's  defeated  army  as  far  as  Lexington,  Alabama.  Afterward, 
during  the  winterer  spring  of  1865,  the  Forty-second  formed  a  part  of 
the  expedition  to  Bull's  Gap,  Tennessee.  And  June  15,  1865,  the 
regiment  broke  camp  near  Nashville  and  moved  to  Johnson  ville,  thence 
to  New  Orleans,  and  from  there  to  Port  Lavaca,  Texas,  at  which  place 
it  was  mustered  out  December  16,  1865,  and  returned  to  Camp  Butler, 
Illinois,  arriving  January  3,  1866,  receiving  pay  and  final  discharge 
January  10,  1866. 

Iroquois  county  furnished  twenty-eight  men  to  the  Forty-second, 
distributed  as  follows  :  Company  C,  two  men  ;  D,  one  man  ;  F,  one 
man  ;  G,  twelve  men  ;  and  H,  twelve  men,  of  whom  six  died  in  line  of 
duty. 


276  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

THE  FORTY-THIRD  REGIMENT  ILLINOIS  INFANTRY. 

Iroquois  county  furnished  seventeen  enlisted  men  to  the  Forty- 
third  regiment  as  members  of  Company  K,  a  one-year  organization 
mustered  in  during  the  early  spring  of  1865. 

The  Forty-third  regiment  in  the  outset  was  very  largely  composed 
of  Germans,  and  under  the  command  of  Col.  Julius  Raith,  it  distin- 
guished itself  by  the  devotion  it  showed  to  the  "flag  of  the  free"  upon 
many  a  bloody  field  and  in  many  weary,  harassing  marches  through 
the  wilds  of  Arkansas  and  Tennessee,  often  meeting  and  vanquishing 
the  guerrilla  bands  that  so  sorely  ravaged  portions  of  the  state  of 
Arkansas  and  the  western  portion  of  Tennessee.  At  Shiloh  the 
chivalric  Col.  Raith  and  a  number  of  his  officers  and  men  laid  down 
their  lives  that  the  Union  might  live,  and  to  secure  peace  and  strength 
to  their  adopted  government.  Near  Jackson,  Tennessee,  the  Forty- 
third  and  Sixty-first  Illinois  regiments,  aggregating  a  force  of  four 
hundred  and  twenty-five  men,  defeated  the  notorious  rebel  raider,  Gen. 
Forrest,  at  the  head  of  eighteen  hundred  rebels.  The  regiment  formed 
a  part  of  Gen.  Steel e's  Arkansas  expedition,  and  subsequently  of  his 
expedition  toward  Red  river,  Texas,  and  suffered  heavily  from  the  toil- 
some marches  and  attacks  of  the  enemy  upon  the  column.  At  Prairie 
D'Anne,  Arkansas,  April  10,  1864,  the  Forty-third  regiment  behaved 
with  great  bravery,  and  was  the  first  to  occupy  the  evacuated  works 
of  the  confederates.  The  Forty-third  did  some  hard  fighting  at  Jen- 
kin's  Ferry,  Arkansas,  losing  quite  heavily  itself,  and  at  the  same  time 
inflicting  serious  loss  upon  the  rebel  command  under  Gen.  Kirby 
Smith. 

The  regiment  toward  the  latter  end  of  the  rebellion  was  stationed 
at  Little  Rock,  the  capital  of  Arkansas,  where  it  remained,  doing  guard 
duty,  from  May  3,  1864,  up  to  December  14,  1865,  when  it  was  mus- 
tered out  of  the  service  at  Little  Rock,  and  returned  home  soon  after. 

THE  FIFTY-FIRST  REGIMENT  ILLINOIS  INFANTRY. 

Nine  companies  of  the  Fifty-first  regiment  of  Infantry  were  organized 
at  Camp  Douglas  December  24,  1861,  and  led  to  the  field  by  Colonel 
Gilbert  W.  Cummings.  During  February  and  the  early  part  of  March, 
1862,  the  Fifty-first  was  engaged  in  campaigning  in  Missouri.  It  formed 
a  part  of  the  force  that  captured  New  Madrid,  Missouri,  and  after  resting 
a  few  days  at  New  Madrid  the  regiment  started  on  the  'expedition  for 
the  capture  of  Island  No.  10,  and  was  quite  effective  in  securing  the 
capture  of  the  4,000  troops  under  Gen.  Mackall,  that  sought  to  save 


IROQUOIS    COUNTY    IN   THE    WAR.  277 

themselves  by  flight  after  the  surrender  of  the  fortifications  on  Island 
No.  10. 

From  Island  No.  10  the  regiment  moved  down  the  river  to  Osceola, 
Arkansas,  and  thence  to  Hamburg  Landing,  arriving  April  22,  1862. 
During  the  later  part  of  April  the  regiment  was  made  a  part  of  Gen. 
John  M.  Palmer's  brigade,  of  Gen.  Paine's  division,  and  participated 
in  the  battle  of  Farmington,  winning  good  opinions  from  its  com- 
manders by  its  veteran-like  behavior  while  under  fire.  During  the 
operations  against  and  the  advance  upon  Corinth,  Paine's  division,  to 
which  the  Fifty-first  belonged,  with  that  of  Gen.  Stanley,  constituted 
the  "right  wing,"  as  designated  by  Gen.  Halleck. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  month  of  June,  1862,  while  the  regiment 
was  in  the  field  near  Baldwin,  Col.  F.  A.  Harrington  assumed  com- 
mand of  the  brigade  to  which  the  Fifty-first  belonged,  and  continued  in 
command  until  killed  at  its  head  during  the  bloody  battle  of  Stone 
River.  About  the  middle  of  June  the  regiment  returned  to  Corinth 
and  remained  there  until  July  20,  when  it  marched  to  Tuscumbia, 
Alabama,  and  during  the  greater  part  of  August  the  Fifty-first  was  en- 
gaged in  guardingthe  railroad  from  Hillsboro  to  Decatur,  until  the  first 
week  in  September,  when  it  crossed  the  Tennessee  river  and  moved  to 
Athens,  and  thence  to  Nashville,  forming  a  part  of  the  garrison  during 
the  siege  of  the  city  by  Breckenridge,  Morgan  and  Forrest,  being 
cut  off  from  Buell  in  Kentucky  from  September  11  to  November  6, 
1862,  during  which  time  the  garrison  suffered  from  a  scarcity  of  rations 
and  supplies.  Meantime  Col.  Cummings  resigned  while  the  regiment 
lay  at  Nashville,  and  Lieut.-Colonel  L.  P.  Bradley,  an  excellent  officer 
and  gallant  soldier,  succeeded  him  in  command  of  the  regiment.  In 
December,  before  the  movement  against  Bragg  at  Murfreesboro,  the 
Fifty-first  was  transferred  to  Gen.  Phil.  Sheridan's  division,  forming  a 
part  of  the  Third  Brigade,  Third  Division  of  the  Fourteenth  Army 
Corps.  The  regiment  went  into  the  battle  of  Stone  River  under  Col. 
Bradley,  but  Col.  Harrington,  acting-brigadier,  being  mortally  wounded 
and  captured,  Col.  Bradley,  December  31,  took  command  of  the 
brigade,  and  Capt.  Westcott  took  command  of  the  regiment.  The 
Fifty-first  was  in  the  thickest  of  the  fight,  and  sustained  a  loss  of 
nearly  sixty  killed,  wounded  and  missing.  In  the  following  March 
the  regiment  went  on  a  "wild  goose  chase"  after  Van  Dorn,  pursuing 
him  as  far  as  Duck  river.  In  the  forward  movement  to  Tullahoma, 
Tennessee,  and  Bridgeport,  Alabama,  after  Bragg,  the  division  to 
which  the  Fifty -first  belonged  formed  a  part  of  the  Twentieth  Corps 
under  Gen.  McCook  and  did  its  full  share  of  the  hard  marches  through 
Alabama  and  Georgia  and  into  the  Lookout  valley  near  Chattanooga, 


278  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

Tennessee,  and  also  took  a  hand  in  the  disastrous  battle  of  Chickamauga, 
losing  nearly  45  per  cent  of  the  men  engaged. 

After  the  battle  of  Chickamauga  the  Twentieth  and  Twenty-first 
Corps  were  consolidated,  and  designated  as  the  Fourth  Corps, —  Gen. 
Sheridan  commanding  the  Second  Division,  and  Col.  G.  C.  Harker  the 
Third  Brigade  of  the  Division  ;  the  Fifty-first  forming  a  part  of  the 
Third  Brigade.  In  the  assault  upon  Mission  Ridge.  Maj.  Davis  was 
severely  wounded,  Capt.  Bellows  was  killed,  and  the  regiment  lost 
thirty  men  out  of  the  150  that  went  into  the  charge.  Capt.  Tilton 
took  Maj.  Davis'  place  after  the  latter  was  wounded,  as  regimental 
commander.  The  last  of  November,  1863,  the  regiment,  brigade, 
division  and  corps,  moved  toward  Knoxville  to  release  Gen.  Burnside. 
It  encamped  at  Blain's  Cross  Roads,  and  remained  till  January  15, 
when  the  regiment  returned  to  Chattanooga  and  there  reenlisted,  and 
started  home  two  days  later  on  a  veteran  furlough.  The  regiment 
returned  to  Cleveland,  Tennessee,  the  last  of  March,  1864,  and  soon 
after  entered  upon  the  great  Atlanta  campaign,  and  during  the  many 
engagements  the  regiment  was  in  it  behaved  courageously,  losing  dur- 
ing the  campaign  three  officers  killed,  four  wounded,  and  105  men 
killed  and  wounded.  The  regiment  sustained  its  severest  loss  at  Kene- 
saw,  where  its  gallant  adjutant  and  one  lieutenant  were  killed,  and 
fifty-four  men  killed  and  wounded.  Capt.  Tilton,  of  Company  C, — the 
Iroquois  county  company, — was  severely  wounded  at  Dallas,  Georgia. 
The  regiment  marched  into  Atlanta  September  8,  1864,  and  a  proud 
day  it  was  to  the  conquerors  of  that  stronghold. 

The  last  of  September  the  regiment  moved  to  Bridgeport,  and  after 
a  couple  of  weeks  encamped  at  Chattanooga,  where  the  venerable  chap- 
lain, Rev.  L.  Raymond,  well  known  as  a  popular  evangelist  in  the 
Baptist  church,  resigned  and  went  home.  At  this  point  192  recruits 
(drafted  men)  joined  the  regiment,  many  of  whom  did  good  service  at 
Franklin  and  Nashville  a  few  weeks  later.  The  regiment  moved  with 
its  corps  to  Pulaski,  Tennessee,  to  checkmate  Hood  in  his  bold  advance 
upon  Nashville.  The  Third  Brigade,  under  Bradley,  held  the  strong 
columns  of  Hood  in  check,  November  29,  at  Spring  Hill,  enabling  the 
First  and  Third  Divisions  of  the  Fourth,  and  the  whole  of  the  Twenty- 
third  Corps,  and  their  trains,  to  pass  on  to  Franklin,  where,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  the  Second  Brigade  of  its  Division,  it  also  repaired,  halting 
on  Carter's  Hill  300  yards  in  advance  of  the  union  works,  on  the 
right  and  left  of  the  Columbia  pike.  Here  the  two  brigades  disposed 
on  each  side  of  the  pike,  hastily  threw  up  barricades,  and  in  obedience 
to  the  somewhat  reckless  orders  of  Gen.  Wagner,  it  made  ready  to  fight 
the  whole  of  Hood's  army.  When  Hood,  with  his  two  army  corps 


IROQUOIS   COUNTY    IN   THE    WAR.  279 

massed  in  column  on  the  pike,  and  on  either  side  of  it,  with  the  Third 
Corps  behind  the  others,  in  reserve,  the  two  gallant  skeleton  brigades, 
true  to  Wagner's  order,  held  their  position  in  the  face  of  an  army  of 
nearly  50,000  men,  advancing  in  grand  array  upon  the  army  of  Scho- 
field,  and  poured  a  deadly  fire  into  the  massed  ranks  of  the  enemy,  but 
were,  as  a  matter  of  course,  forced  to  fall  back  to  the  main  line,  which 
they  did  in  some  disorder, — but  for  the  most  part  the  Fifty-first  fell 
back  in  good  order,  though  at  a  rapid  pace,  and  once  behind  the  works 
they  faced  about  and  poured  a  deadly  fire  into  the  enemy's  ranks ;  but 
in  falling  back,  Wagner's  men  had,  in  some  places,  been  so  closely  pur- 
sued, that  in  letting  them  through  that  part  of  the  union  lines  held 
by  the  brigades  of  the  Twenty-third  Corps,  posted  on  the  right  and  left 
of  the  Columbia  pike,  the  rebels  also  forced  their  way  through  the 
lines  and  captured  a  battery,  turned  it  upon  the  union  line  crouching 
behind  their  works,  and  then  began  a  terrible  hand-to-hand  fight,  in 
which  the.  Fifty -first — or  so  much  of  it  as  had  not  been  killed  or  cap- 
tured before  reaching  the  works — took  a  hand.  Here  Captain  Tilton 
and  Lieut.  Iven  Bailey  (late  county  treasurer),  then  a  sergeant,  fell 
terribly  wounded^ — the  latter,  like  many  of  his  brave  comrades,  though 
shot  down  kept  on  firing  at  the  enemy  until  their  guns  were  wrenched 
from  their  hands  in  the  desperate  conflict.  At  last  the  gallant  First 
Brigade,  of  the  Second  Division,  having  come  to  their  relief,  the  enemy 
\vas  driven  back  beyond  the  works,  after  terrible  fighting,  and  kept 
there  until  after  midnight,  when  the  whole  union  army  fell  back  across 
the  Harpeth  river,  and  retired  to  Nashville.  At  Franklin,  beside  the 
loss  of  four  of  its  officers,  the  Fifty-first  lost  fifty-two  men  killed  and 
wounded,  and  ninety-eight  missing, —  most  of  the  latter  were  taken 
prisoners  before  they  could  get  behind  the  works,  after  they  had  been 
driven  from  the  outpost  on  Carter's  Hill. 

The  Fifty-first  regiment  was  engaged  in  the  two-days  battle  at 
Nashville,  and  followed  Hood's  defeated  army  to  the  Tennessee  river, 
and  afterward  went  into  winter  quarters  at  Huntsville,  Alabama.  In 
the  spring  it  moved  first  to  Greenville,  East  Tennessee,  and  from  there 
to  Nashville,  where  Company  I,  ninety  strong,  joined  the  regiment 
from  Camp  Butler,  Illinois.  Lieut.  James  Skidmore  and  his  company 
(F)  was  mustered  out,  and  returned  home  June  15,  1865.  Lieut.  Skid- 
more  himself  was  from  this  county.  The  regiment  during  the  month 
of  July  went  to  Texas,  and  was  mustered  out  there  September  25, 1865. 

Company  C  of  the  Fifty-first  was,  with  the  exception  of  some 
twenty  men  from  Knoxville  and  Knox  county  and  a  few  other  points, 
recruited  by  Lieut.  Albert  Eads,  from  Iroquois  county.  Capt.  N.  B. 
Petts,  assisted  by  A.  M.  Tilton  and  Adam  S.  Heth'eld,  afterward  first 


280  HISTORY    OF    JROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

lieutenant  and  first  sergeant  of  the  company  respectively,  did  most  of 
the  recruiting  for  the  company  during  the  early  fall  of  1861.  Lieut. 
Tilton,  on  the  resignation  of  Capt.  Petts,  was  made  captain  of -the  com- 
pany, and  he  was  succeeded  at  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  service  by 
Lieut.  Francis  M.  Bryant,  formerly  of  Middleport.  Sergt.  A.  S.  Het- 
field  was  promoted  lieutenant,  then  quartermaster,  and  afterward  cap- 
tain of  company  E.  Corp.  Benjamin  F.  James,  before  the  close  of  the 
war,  was  promoted  to  the  first  lieutenancy  of  company  B.  A  number 
of  the  members  of  the  Fifty-first  are  well-to-do  farmers  and  prominent 
citizens  of  this  county.  Among  them  we  name  A.  M.  Eastburn,  of 
Sheldon,  and  J.  J.  Edwards,  of  Crescent,  as  being  both  veterans  and 
sergeants  of  Company  C,  and  many  other  of  our  solid  citizens  did  noble 
duty  as  soldiers  of  the  old  Fifty-first  regiment. 

THE  FIFTY-SEVENTH  REGIMENT  ILLINOIS  INFANTRY. 

The  Fifty-seventh,  Col.  Silas  D.  Baldwin  commanding,  was  mus- 
tered into  the  United  States  service  at  Camp  Douglas,  December  26, 
1861,  and  the  second  week  in  February  following  it  moved  to  Cairo  ; 
thence  to  Forts  Henry  and  Donelson,  being. assigned  to  Gen.  Lew  Wal- 
lace's division  at  Donelson,  and  taking  part  in  the  battle.  At  Shiloh, 
in  the  two-days  battle,  the  regiment  lost  over  180  men  and  officers. 
Afterward  the  regiment  formed  a  part  of  the  army  besieging  Corinth, 
and  after  its  capture  formed  a  part  of  the  garrison,  and  stubbornly  held 
the  place  when  Yan  Dorn  assaulted  it,  losing  forty-two  men.  During 
the  summer  of  1863  the  regiment  was  engaged  in  chasing  the  bold 
raider,  Forrest,  from  one  place  to  another,  and  finally  settled  back  in 
its  old  quarters  as  the  garrison  of  Corinth,  and  remained  there  till 
November  4,  when  it  moved  to  Louisville,  where  it  reenlisted,  and  the 
veterans  returned  home  on  a  thirty-day  furlough,  the  regiment  mean- 
time being  strengthened  by  250  new  recruits  while  at  Chicago  on  fur- 
lough, and  with  this  new  levy  the  regiment  returned  to  the  front  in 
March,  1864. 

The  regiment  did  duty  at  Athens,  Alabama,  until  May  1,  1864, 
when  it  joined  Sherman's  grand  army  en  route  for  Atlanta,  and  formed 
a  part  of  the  army  of  the  Tennessee,  under  command  of  the  lamented 
Gen.  McPherson,  and  did  good  service  in  that  historic  campaign ;  and 
also  after  the  fall  of  Atlanta,  the  regiment  did  good  service  scouting 
through  North  Georgia.  After  a  severe  brush  with  the  rear  of  Hood's 
army,  then  marching  northward  on  October  13,  in  which  the  Fifty- 
seventh  lost  seven  men  and  threw  a  large  force  of  the  enemy  into  confu- 
sion, the  regiment,  with  the  rest  of  the  brigade,  took  up  the  line  of 


IROQUOIS    COUNTY    IN    THE    WAK;  281 

march  from  Rome  to  Atlanta,  and  thence  to  the  sea,  forming  a  part  of 
the  Fifteenth  Army  Corps;  and  the  fortunes  of  the  Fifty-seventh  after 
leaving  Atlanta,  Georgia,  on  the  famous  tramp  to  Savannah,  are  iden- 
tical with  those  of  the  Fifteenth  Corps,  to  which,  as  above  stated,  it 
belonged.  It  made  the  tour  of  the  Carolinas,  and  was  present  at  the 
surrender  of  Joe  Johnston's  army,  and  continued  its  tramping  after  the 
surrender,  until  it  finally  brought  up  with  the  rest  of  Sherman's  army 
in  the  grand  review  at  the  national  capital.  The  Fifty-seventh  was 
mustered  out  July  10,  1865,  at  Chicago.  There  were  thirteen  men 
from  Onarga,  in  this  county,  in  the  Fifty-seventh,  four  of  which  number 
lost  their  lives. 

THE  FIFTY-EIGHTH  REGIMENT  ILLINOIS  INFANTRY. 

Col.  William  F.  Lynch,  a  dashing  young  Irishman,  of  Elgin,  Illi- 
nois, organized  the  Fifty-eighth  at  Camp  Douglas  December  25,  1861, 
and  led  it  to  the  field  the  second  week  of  February,  1862,  taking  a 
part  in  the  siege  and  capture  of  Fort  Donelson,  and  later,  a  part  in  the 
dark  drama  enacted  on  Shiloh's  field,  where  the  greater  portion  of  the 
Fifty-eighth  was  surrounded  and  captured  after  a  prolonged  and  des- 
perate resistance,  in  which  the  regiment  was  severely  handled  by  an 
overpowering  foe.  Four  hundred  and  fifty  were  either  killed,  wounded 
or  captured,  and  as  218  was  the  number  taken  prisoners,  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  loss  in  killed  was  very  great.  Those  taken  prisoners  were  sent 
to  the  rebel  prison  pens  at  different  points  in  the  South,  and  as  a  large 
number  of  the  prisoners  were  suffering  from  wounds,  and  were  treated 
with  the  inhumanity  and  devilish  brutality  which  distinguished  the 
boasted  "  chivalrj' "  (?)  of  the  Confederacy,  after  seven  months'  suffering 
in  the  horrid  dens  devised  by  rebel  monsters,  130  men  of  the  218  were 
exchanged,  the  rest  having  died  under  their  tortures.  The  remnant  of 
the  regiment,  after  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  together  with  remnants  of 
other  regiments  that  had  suffered  in  the  same  manner  a  loss  of  the  major 
part  of  their  men,  were  consolidated  into  an  organization  known  as 
the  "  Union  Brigade,"  and  rendered  efficient  service  at  the  siege  of 
Corinth,  also  in  its  defense  still  later  in  the  year,  and  also  at  luka, 
Mississippi. 

In  the  early  winter  of  1862-3  the  regiment  was  reunited  at  Camp 
Butler,  the  prisoners  now  exchanged  and  able  for  duty  reported,  and 
the  regiment  was  held  at  Springfield  guarding  rebel  prisoners  until 
June  28,  1863,  meantime  it  had  received  a  number  of  recruits  and  was 
once  more  a  strong,  disciplined  and  effective  force.  The  regiment 
spent  the  rest  of  the  summer  of  1863  and  the  fall  of  that  year  in  doing 


282  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

garrison  duty  at  Cairo,  Mound  City,  Union  City,  Padncah  and  Colum- 
bus, Kentucky,  up  to  January  1,  1864,  when  it  veteranized.  January 
21,  1864,  the  Fifty-eighth  embarked  for  Yicksburg,  Mississippi ; 
arrived  there  February  3,  and  moved  across  the  Big  Black,  lighting  the 
enemy  at  Queen's  Hill ;  participated  in  the  Meridian  raid  and  suffered 
severely  on  the  raid,  by  reason  of  the  scarcity  of  rations,  subsisting 
seventy  hours  on  one  day's  rations  and  marching  forty-seven  miles  in 
the  meantime.  The  Fifty-eighth  was  the  first  infantry  to  enter  Meri- 
dian. On  its  return  to  Yicksburg  the  regiment  accompanied  Gen.  A. 
J.  Smith  in  his  Red  River  expedition,  and  took  a  part  in  the  siege  and 
capture  of  Fort  De  Russey,  the  Fifty-eighth's  colors  being  the  first 
planted  on  the  captured  works. 

In  the  disaster  at  Pleasant  Hill,  Louisiana,  the  Fifty-eighth  bore  a 
conspicuous  part  and  a  heroic  one,  in  checking  the  flushed  rebel  army 
that  was  pressing  triumphantly  back  upon  Grand  Ecore  in  disorderly 
retreat,  the  demoralized  army  of  Gen.  Banks.  Hoping  to  check  the 
exultant  foe  and  save  the  panic-stricken  army  of  Banks,  Gen.  A.  J. 
Smith  threw  out  his  lines  in  good  order,  but  a  brigade  of  eastern  troops 
on  the  right  of  the  Fifty-eighth  (the  latter  holding  the  extreme  left), 
filled  with  forebodings  of  defeat  from  the  tales  of  excited  and  demor- 
alized stragglers  from  Banks'  column,  fell  back  early  in  the  engage- 
ment, leaving  the  Fifty-eighth  alone  and  cut  off,  but  the  dauntless 
regiment  fearlessly  charged  the  pursuing  enemy  on  the  flank  and 
rear,  and  poured  in  such  a  deadly  enfilading  fire  as  to  completely  stag- 
ger and  throw  into  confusion  and  retreat  the  column  of  rebels  that,  in 
the  flush  of  victory,  were  fast  on  the  heels  of  the  flying  brigade  of 
eastern  troops.  And  here  the  daring  Fifty-eighth  got  in  its  best  work, 
taking  upward  of  500  prisoners,  many  of  whom  turned  out  to  be  the 
same  men  they  had,  the  winter  before,  guarded  as  prisoners  at  Camp 
Butler,  in  Illinois.  The  rebels  thus  confronted  and  driven  back  by 
this  gallant  regiment,  began  a  retreat.  And  yet  the  union  forces  also  con- 
tinued to  retreat,  and  the  boys  of  the  Fifty-eighth,  with  a  re-captured 
battery  and  their  prisoners,  fell  back  sullenly  with  and  in  the  rear  of 
the  main  column  to  Grand  Ecore.  The  regiment  afterward  partici- 
pated in  the  following  engagements  with  credit:  Marksville  Prairie, 
Clouterville  and  Yellow  Bayou,  losing  heavily  at  the  last-mentioned 
fight.  Nine  color-bearers  were  shot  down  in  rapid  succession,  and 
their  young  and  dashing  commander,  Col.  Lynch,  here  received  a 
severe  wound. 

The  regiment  spent  the  rest  of  the  summer  of  1864  in  steeple- 
chases after  guerrilla  bands  in  north  Mississippi,  west  Tennessee, 
Arkansas  and  Missouri,  and  in  the  fall  inarched  through  Missouri 


IROQUOI8    COUNTY    IN    THE    WAR. 

to  Kansas,  being  poorly  fed  on  the  route.  December  1,  1864,  the  regi- 
ment reached  Nashville,  Tennessee,  and  took  a  part  in  the  two-days 
battle  and  the  pursuit  of  Hood,  following  him  to  Eastport,  Mississippi, 
where  the  non-veterans  were  mustered  out,  leaving  390  men,  that  were 
consolidated  into  four  companies  as  the  Fifty-eighth  battalion,  and  sent 
to  Gen.  Canby,  at  Mobile,  Alabama ;  and  while  there  the  battalion  of  four 
companies  was  joined  by  six  new  companies  of  recruits,  and  was  fore- 
most in  the  charge  upon  Fort  Blakeley.  From  Mobile  the  Fifty-eighth 
went  to  Montgomery,  Alabama,  where  it  was  further  recruited  by  the 
assignment  of  recruits  from  the  Eighty-first  and  One  Hundred  and 
Fourteenth  Illinois.  And  it  remained  at  this  point,  doing  garrison 
duty  until  April  1,  1866,  when  it  was  mustered  out.  In  the  old  three- 
years  organization  Iroquois  county  furnished  nineteen  men  to  Company 
C,  and  Hon.  George  C.  Wilson  was  at  first  corporal,  and  afterward 
second  lieutenant  of  this  company. 

Company  H,  one  of  the  new  one-year  companies,  was  almost 
entirely  from  this  county,  and  was  commanded  by  Capt.  James  H. 
Jaquith,  of  Chebanse.  This  company  was  mustered  in,  in  the  spring 
of  1865,  and  saw  nearly  all  its  service  at  Montgomery,  Alabama,  doing 
guard  duty. 

THE  SEVENTY-SECOND  REGIMENT  ILLINOIS  INFANTRY. 

The  Seventy-second  was  one  of  the  Chicago  Board  of  Trade  regi- 
ments, and  went  into  the  field,  August  23,  1862,  under  the  lead  of 
Col.  F.  A.  Starring,  967  strong,  and  spent  most  of  that  fall  in  cam- 
paigning in  western  Kentucky,  leaving  Columbus,  Kentucky,  for 
Yicksburg,  November  21,  1862;  spent  the  winter  of  1862-3  in  the 
movements  preparatory  to  the  Vicksburg  campaign.  At  Champion  Hills 
the  regiment  came  into  the  fight  at  an  opportune  moment,  and  by  a 
bold  dash  helped  turn  the  left  flank  of  the  enemy,  and  drove  him  from 
the  field.  The  regiment  was  engaged  at  Big  Black,  and  in  all  the  siege 
operations  up  to  the  fall  of  Vicksburg  on  July  4,  1863.  The  regiment 
then  participated  in  the  capture  of  Natchez.  In  October,  1863,  the 
regiment  returned  to  Yicksburg,  Mississippi,  and  did  duty  until  the 
next  October,  1864,  as  provost-guards  of  the  city.  The  regiment 
moved  to  the  support  of  Thomas  at  Nashville,  November  13,  1864, 
and  became  a  part  of  Gen.  Schofield's  forces,  and  was  actively  engaged 
at  Franklin,  where  it  lost  nine  out  of  the  sixteen  officers  engaged,  and 
152  men  killed  and  severely  wounded.  The  regiment  fought  like 
tigers,  and  to  them  and  the  men  of  Opdyck's  Brigade  is  largely  due 
the  credit  of  saving  the  union  army  from  a  crushing  defeat.  The 


284  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

regiment  took  an  active  and  honorable  part  in  the  battles  of  Nashville, 
December  15  and  16,  and  followed  Hood's  flying  army  to  Clifton,  and 
there  embarked  and  proceeded  to  Eastport,  Mississippi,  and  went  from 
there  to  the  department  of  the  Gulf,  taking  a  part  in  the  capture  of 
Spanish  Fort  and  Blakeley  in  the  vicinity  of  Mobile.  From  Mobile, 
the  Seventy-second  marched  across  the  country  to  Montgomery,  a  dis- 
tance of  just  200  miles,  in  just  11  days.  The  regiment  went  from 
Montgomery  to  Yicksburg,  in  July,  1865,  and  August  6  was  mus- 
tered out  at  Vicksburg.  The  regiment  came  home  with  twenty-two 
officers  and  310  men  out  of  the  967  that  enlisted.  Iroquois  county 
furnished  Company  G  with  a  corporal  and  one  man,  one  of  whom  died, 
and  also  Company  K  two  men,  William  and  James  Shottenkirk,  of 
Onarga,  both  of  whom  died.  The  writer  lay  in  the  post  hospital,  at 
Franklin,  Tennessee,  when  James  Shottenkirk  died  there  of  his  wounds, 
and  will  always  remember  his  piteous  cries  and  prayers  for  relief  from 
his  suffering,  and  how  kindly  and  tenderly  his  brother  Daniel  sought 
to  soothe  the  terrible  agony  of  the  wounded  hero,  until  death's  icy 
hand  was  laid  upon  the  fevered  brow  of  the  young  soldier,  and  his 
pitiful  cry  of  "  Oh,  Danny,  give  me  water,"  was  hushed  forever. 

THE  SEVENTY-SIXTH  REGIMENT  ILLINOIS  INFANTRY. 

The  Seventy-sixth  Regiment  of  Illinois  Infantry  was  raised  in  the 
counties  of  Kankakee,  Iroquois,  Champaign  and  Grundy.  Iroquois 
furnished  three  full  companies,  to  wit :  Companies  A,  E  and  K,  and 
quite  a  number  to  Company  D  from  the  French  Canadian  colonists 
residing  in  the  north  part  of  this  county. 

The  regiment  was  mustered  into  service  August  22,  1862,  at  Kan- 
kakee city,  with  Alonzo  W.  Mack,  of  Kankakee  city,  as  its  colonel, 
and  Dr.  Franklin  Blades,  of  Iroquois  county,  as  surgeon,  and  also 
Dr.  "William  A.  Babcock,  of  this  county,  as.  first  assistant  surgeon. 
While  the  regiment  was  in  camp  at  Kankakee,  and  before  it  was 
mustered,  S.  C.  Munhall,  widely  known  among  his  comrades  as 
"  Urchin,"  sent  a  communication  to  his  home  paper,  the  "  Patriot " 
of  Champaign,  in  which  he  gives  a  racy  description  of  the  first  camp 
experiences  of  the  Seventy-sixth ;  and  we  here  take  the  liberty  of 
making  an  extract  from  it,  and  are  frank  to  say,  in  this  connection, 
that  to  our  friend  "  Urchin  "  we  are  largely  indebted  for  the  material 
from  which  we  have  evolved  this  rather  imperfect  regimental  sketch. 
But  to  return  to  "  Urchin's  "  letter ;  he  wrote,  under  date  of  August 
20,  1862:  "Our  camp  is  situated  about  one  mile  nortlrof  Kankakee 
city,  in  the  old  fair  ground.  It  is  a  beautiful  situation,  well  supplied 


IROQUOIS    COUNTY    IN   THE   WAR.  285 

with  water,  together  with  plenty  of  shade  trees,  which  are  a  fine  thing 
in  camp,  especially  after  drilling  in  the  hot  sun  for  a  period  of  two 
hours.  We  have  an  abundance  of  '  grub,' such  as  it  is,  namely,  army 
crackers  (thoroughly  seasoned),  coffee,  branded  '  pure  Rio,'  (which 
resembles  red-oak  bark,  pulverized),  sugar,  which  has  the  appearance  of 
being  half  sand),  rice,  molasses  (one  pint  to  every  eighteen  men  for 
three  meals),  and  other  notions,  such  as  candles,  soap,  etc.  But  so  it 
goes!  We  all  manage  to  get  enough  to  eat,  drink  and  wear,  besides 
having  plenty  of  fun.  There  are  now  in  camp  some  1,400  men  from 
the  different  counties,  ordered  to  rendezvous  here.  Quite  an  excite- 
ment was  created  in  camp  last  night  by  the  report  that  the  regiment 
was  ordered  to  Cairo.  A  great  many  companies  did  not  feel  disposed 
to  go  before  receiving  their  bounty  money,  but  after  cooking  two  days' 
rations,  and  a  great  many  of  them  packing  their  '  duds '  the  report 
turned  out  to  be  a  regular  h-o-a-x.  Our  company  (G)  received  the 
county  orders  yesterday  morning  much  to  our  surprise.  They  jumped 
around  in  as  good  spirits  as  so  many  grasshoppers  until  they  received 
orders  to  go  to  Cairo.  It  is  expected  our  regiment  will  organize  to-day 
or  to-morrow.  We  are  looking  anxiously  for  the  time  to  come  as  we 
expect  a  little  $40  in  'greenbacks'  when  that  day  rolls  round.  The 
principal  amusement  for  evenings  is  to  '  reach '  for  chickens.  One 
mess  in  an  adjoining  company  \vent  out  Saturday  evening  and  returned 
with  twenty-eight  fine  pullets,  a  goose  and  a  couple  of  fancy  ducks,  so 
you  can  judge  how  they  lived  on  the  following  Sabbath." 

As  they  had  anticipated,  the  regiment  was  sent  to  Cairo  immedi- 
ately after  it  was  mustered  in,  and  from  thence  to  Columbus,  Ken- 
tucky, where  it  remained  about  a  month;  and  again  we  will  quote  from 
one  of.Munhall's  letters,  describing  the  camp  and  camp-life  at  Colum- 
bus. He  wrote  September  7,  soon  after  arriving  there:  "This  partic- 
ular locality  of  the  Confederacy  is  what  your  correspondent  would 
style  a  'seedy  country,'  and  furthermore  I  will  say,  and  vouch  for  the 
truth  at  the  same  time,  the  inhabitants  are  peculiarly  suited  to  the 
country.  The  country  surrounding  us  does  not  appear  to  produce  any- 
thing but  contrabands,  mules  and  secessionists.  We  are  encamped  on 
the  top  of  a  hill,  some  two  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  river, 
about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  northeast  of  the  town  of  Columbus.  The 
grounds  were  evacuated  by  the  rebels  before  they  evacuated  this  place. 
Columbus  is  truly  a  stronghold.  The  fortifications  extend  nearly 
around  the  town,  and  huge  breastworks  are  along  the  river.  Every 
portion  of  these  fortifications  is  represented  by  innumerable  mortars, 
columbiads  and  cannon,  among  which  there  are  many  sixty-four  and 
one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  pounders  that  now  stand  grinning  and 


286  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

ready  to  belch  forth  '  conciliation'  by  the  ton  upon  the  traitor  hordes 
that  dare  to  confront  them.  Taking  everything  into  consideration, 
we  have  a  first-rate  camp  ground.  The  health  of  the  regiment  is 
good.  There  are  only  ten  or  twelve  in  the  hospital  and  none  seriously 
ill.  The  boys  are  in  good  spirits  and  anxious  to  try  the  range  of  their 
new  Enfields  the  regiment  captured.  The  guns  are  tip-top.  They 
were  captured  from  the  rebel  steamer  Fair  Play,  which  was  taken  with 
a  cargo  of  guns,  ammunition,  etc.,  by  our  troops  on  the  expedition  up 
the  Yazoo  river.  They  were  designed  to  be  sent  to  Hindman  for  his 
rebel  crew,  but  our  boys  will  put  them  to  a  better  use.  The  cartridge- 
boxes  and  other  accouterments  were  made  in  London,  and,  of  course, 
bear  the  stamp  of  the  English  crown.  *  *  *  *  In  pursuance  of 
orders  from  headquarters,  we  are  confined  to  camp  much  closer  than 
the  boys  like,  but  we  take  it  as  a  '  necessity  of  war,'  and  the  only  way 
by  which  proper  discipline  may  be  maintained.  We  have  reveille  at 
half-past  four  o'clock,  when  Sergeant  Miller  admonishes  us  to  '  fall  in  for 
roll-call' ;  next  comes  breakfast,  then  drill  for  two  hours ;  we  are  allowed 
then  to  make  our  own  amusement  till  noon.  After  dinner  '  ye  soldier 
goeth  where  he  listeth,'  taking  care  riot  to  intrude  on  the  sacred  soil  of 
the  sentinel's  beat,  lest  he  might  be  forced  to  visit  the  officer  of  the 
guard,  who,  perchance,  may  oifer  '  extra  inducements '  for  him  to  take 
quarters  in  the  guard-house.  At  five  o'clock  we  have  dress  parade,  after 
which  comes  supper  and  drill.  Tattoo  and  roll-call  at  nine,  when  you 
would  suppose  we  all  retired  to  rest,  but  on  the  contrary  then  com- 
mence the  hilarities  of  the  day ;  while  a  few  of  the  staid  and  sober 
ones  would  fain  retire  to  sweet  repose,  a  majority  of  'gay  and  festive 
cusses'  seek  to  while  away  the  allotted  'half  hour'  in  the  most  uproar- 
ious amusements  that  can  be  devised,  singing,  dancing,  speechifying, 
etc.  etc.,  until  from  exhaustion,  and  a  hearty  exercise  of  lungs,  limbs 
and  muscle,  they  gradually  '  subside,'  and  a  deathly  silence  pervades  the 
camp  until  the  ominous  blast  of  the  bugle  awakes  the  sleepers,  and  the 
bustle  of  the  previous  day  is  resumed.  Taking  all  into  consideration, 
'sogering'  here  is  a  gay  life,  yet  there  are  many  of  the  boys  who 
would  gladly  exchange  it  for  the  comforts  of  the  homes  they  left,  did 
not  duty  to  themselves  and  their  country  demand  the  sacrifice." 

Columbus  did  not  prove  so  healthy  a  place  as  "Urchin"  thought 
it  would.  Before  the  close  of  September  the  regiment  buried  several 
of  its  members  that  died  there  of  disease.  October  3,  1862,  the 
Seventy-sixth  moved  by  rail  to  Bolivar,  Tennessee,  where  it  remained 
in  camp  for  several  weeks,  doing  camp  and  garrison  duty  until  Novem- 
ber 3,  when  it  marched  to  La  Grange,  Tennessee,  and  still  later  in  the 
month,  on  or  about  the  24th,  it  started  with  other  troops  under  Grant 


IROQUOIS    COUNTY    IN    THE    WAR.  287 

on  his  famous  but  rather  unfortunate  Mississippi  campaign,  marching 
as  far  as  Yocona,  Mississippi,  when  the  unexpected  surrender  of  Holly 
Springs,  without  a  proper  defense,  deranged  Grant's  plans,  and  so  im- 
periled his  army  that  he  retired  again  to  his  base  of  supplies  in  Ten- 
nessee. But  previous  to  the  withdrawal  from  Yocono,  the  Seventy- 
sixth  suffered  while  encamped  there  for  three  weeks  from  the  scarcity 
of  rations,  and  subsisted  almost  entirely  on  corn. 

The  regiment  upon  its  return  to  Tennessee  encamped  at  Moscow, 
at  which  place  Col.  Mack  resigned,  and  Lieut.  Col.  S.  T.  Busey  was 
commissioned  colonel,  to  rank  from  January  7,  1863.  The  Seventy- 
sixth  remained  in  camp  at  Moscow  until  February  5,  1863,  when  it 
marched  to  La  Fayette,  Tennessee,  remaining  there  in  camp  about  a 
month,  and  here  again  our  inimitable  "Urchin  "  writes  a  letter, giving 
so  laconic  an  account  of  the  manner  in  which  soldiers  made  merry  over 
discomforts  and  misfortunes,  that  we  cannot  forbear  republishing  a  part 
of  it.  Under  date  of  February  9,  he  writes  among  other  things  :  *  * 
*  *  "  Before  closing  this  epistle  I  will  say  a  few  words  in  regard  to 
our  last  march.  On  the  5th  inst.  our  regiment  inarched  from  Moscow, 
Tennessee,  to  this  place,  over  roads  that  would  have  been  considered 
impassable  in  time  of  peace;  the  snow  was  about  four  inches  deep,  and 
the  depth  of  the  mud  under  the  snow  was  without  limitation.  The 
day  was  the  most  disagreeable  of  any  that  we  have  had  since  we  have 
been  in  the  service  of  '  Uncle  Sam.'  The  northeast  wind  blew  cold, 
and  the  snow  fell  thick  and  fast,  but  we  made  the  trip  without  any 
serious  accidents,  and  camped  about  3  o'clock  P.M.  in  the  muddiest 
place  we  could  find  near  the  village  of  La  Fayette,  ten  miles  distant 
•  from  Moscow.  After  we  were  halted  and  arms  stacked,  we  commenced 
work  shoveling  snow  and  mud,  hoping  to  discover  dry  soil  enough  on 
which  to  pitch  our  tents,  but  our  hopes  were  blasted  and  our  efforts 
defeated.  To  sleep  on  the  frozen  ground  without  fire,  or  in  the  mud 
with  fire,  seemed  to  be  our  destiny.  Choosing  the  latter  we  pitched  our 
tents,  built  our  fire  in  the  center  (Sibley  tents),  took  our  little  ration  of 
'hard  tack'  and  'sow  belly,'  and  wilted  down  with  three  rails  under 
us  crossways  to  keep  us  above  board,  determined  to  make  the  best  of 
a  bad  bargain.  The  night  proved  a  severe  one,  but  morning  found  us 
above  the  surface.  It  was  thought  by  some  that  one  man  in  our  mess 
had  gone  under,  but  on  calling  the  roll  was  found  present.  After  par- 
taking of  'Uncle  Sam's'  hospitalities  we  floated  out  each  man  on  a 
rail  and  commenced  to  improve  our  quarters.  We  now  boast  of  good 
quarters  and  stylish  living.  The  mud  is  rapidly  dry  ing  up,  the  average 
depth  is  now  about  sixteen  inches.  We  hope  to  leave  here  for  Mem- 
phis soon  as  we  are  now  well  fixed.  It  spoils  soldiers  to  remain  in 


288  HISTORY    OF    1ROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

good  quarters  long."  March  9  the  regiment  did  leave  its  comfortable 
quarters  at  La  Fayette,  and  marched  to  Memphis,  Tennessee,  where  it 
remained  just  thirty  days,  and  then  joined  in  the  Hernando  expedition, 
returning  to  Memphis  again  April  24,  1863,  where  it  remained  until 
May  13,  when  the  Seventy-sixth  took  passage  on  the  steamer  Fort 
Wayne,  and  steamed  down  the  broad  Mississippi  toward  Yicksburg. 
During  the  second  day's  ride  down  the  river,  the  boat  was  fired  into 
by  guerillas  at  Greenville,  and  on  the  15th  of  the  month  it  landed  at 
Young's  Point,  Louisiana.  On  the  18th  it  marched  to  Bowen's  Landing 
and  crossed  the  river.  May  19  the  regiment  was  assigned  a  position  on 
the  extreme  union  left,  and  continued  in  this  position  until  the  capture 
of  the  city.  In  the  great  charge  of  May  22,  the  Seventy-sixth  bore  a 
prominent  part,  it  being  the  first  real  tight  the  regiment  had  ever  par- 
ticipated in  ;  notwithstanding  the  men  of  the  Seventy-sixth  demeaned 
themselves  writh  all  the  steadiness  and  courage  of  veterans.  During 
the  long  siege  of  Yicksburg  the  regiment  lost  heavily,  and  among  the 
number  slain  was  Lieut.  Peter  I.  Williams,  of  Company  E,  one  of  the 
best  and  bravest  of  men,  universally  loved  and  esteemed  by  his 
comrades  and  all  who  knew  him  before  he  became  a  soldier.  After  the 
capture  of  Yicksburg  the  regiment  accompanied  Sherman  to  Jackson, 
Mississippi,  participating  in  the  battle  and  capture.  And  after  the  fall 
of  the  boasted  Sebastopol  of  the  rebels  of  Mississippi  (Yicksburg) 
August  12,  1863,  embarked  and  moved  to  Natchez,  Mississippi.  Sep- 
tember 1  it  went  on  the  expedition  of  Gen.  Crocker  into  Louisiana,  re- 
turning on  the  8th,  after  which  the  regiment  received  the  name  among 
the  boys  of  that  department  of  the  "  Alligator  Regiment." 

On  the  16th  of  the  month  the  Seventy-sixth  again  embarked  at 
Natchez  and  returned  to  Yicksburg.  November  28  the  regiment 
marched  to  Camp  Cowan,  and  February  1,  1864,  it  accompanied  Gen. 
W.  T.  Sherman  on  the  Meridian  raid,  during  which  it  participated  in 
a  number  of  pretty  sharp  skirmishes  on  the  march  to  Meridian. 
It  moved  from  Meridian  to  Enterprise  city,  where  the  regiment  camped 
two  days,  and  employed  the  time  in  tearing  up  and  destroying  the 
railroad,  and  left  Enterprise  February  19, 1864,  and  after  marching  four- 
teen days  on  half  rations,  reached  camp,  eight  miles  east  of  Yicksburg. 
The  regiment  lost  but  four  men  on  this  campaign,  two  of  whom  were 
wounded  and  the  other  two  were  captured  near  Enterprise,  just  pre- 
vious to  the  departure  of  the  regiment,  and  were  afterward  recaptured 
from  the  rebels  near  Hillsboro,  February  22,  by  a  foraging  party. 
The  Seventy-sixth  remained  in  their  camp  near  Yicksburg,  doing 
picket  and  camp  duty,  till  May  4,  1864,  when  it  joined  the  command 
of  Gen.  McArthnr  in  the  expedition  up  the  Yazoo  river,  taking  part 


IROQUOIS    COUNTY    IN    THE    WAR.  289 

in  the  engagements  at  Benton,  Vaughn's  Station,  and  Deasonville. 
The  campaign  occupied  seventeen  days,  and  the  troops  suffered  many 
hardships.  It  returned  to  Vicksburg  May  21,  and  remained  in  camp 
until  June  26,  when  it  marched  to  St.  Albans,  and  thence  returned 
to  Vicksburg  again  by  rail.  July  1  the  regiment  marched  to  Clear 
creek,  and  July  3  started  with  the  command  of  Maj.-Gen.  H.  W. 
Slocum  on  an  expedition  through  central  Mississippi,  to  the  cap- 
ital (Jackson)  arriving  there  on  the  5th,  after  a  fatiguing  march  and 
almost  continuous  skirmishing,  the  Seventy-sixth  being  in  advance. 
It  remained  in  camp  at  Jackson  until  July  6,  when  marching  orders 
were  received  at  four  o'clock  P.M.,  when  the  regiment  moved  about  three 
miles  and  met  the  enemy,  and  were  fiercely  attacked,  culminat- 
ing in  a  general  attack  upon  the  union  forces,  and  continuing  until 
darkness  compelled  a  cessation  of  active  hostilities,  which  were  resumed 
on  the  morning  of  the  7th,  lasting  till  noon,  the  Seventy-sixth 
meanwhile  taking  a  prominent  part  in  the  battle,  being  deployed 
as  skirmishers ;  were  finally  cut  off,  by  a  flank  movement  of  the  rebel 
forces,  from  the  union  army,  and  forced  to  fight  their  way  out  of  the 
"trap,"  over  a  hotly  contested  field,  losing  from  the  regiment  nearly 
100  men.  Capt.  Davis,  of  Company  K,  left  eight  of  his  brave  men 
dead  on  the  field.  July  9  the  regiment  had  made  the  retreat,  and 
was  again  encamped  at  Vicksburg.  On  the  23d  the  prisoners  who  had 
been  captured  at  Jackson  were  exchanged  at  Fort  Hill,  and  rejoined 
the  regiment.  July  29  the  regiment  moved  to  Morganza's  Bend, 
Louisiana,  and  August  24  moved  by  steamer  to  Port  Hudson,  Louisiana, 
returning  to  Morganza's  Bend  on  the  28th  of  the  same  month. 
It  embarked  on  steamer  September  3,  and  was  landed  at  the  mouth  of 
White  river  September  7. 

October  18, 1864,  it  moved  from  the  mouth  of  White  river  to  Mem- 
phis, Tennessee,  camping  in  Fort  Pickering,  where  the  regiment  re- 
mained until  October  27,  when  it  reembarked  on  steamer  and  returned 
to  the  mouth  of  White  river,  Arkansas.  November  1  it  started  to 
Duvall's  Bluff,  arriving  November  9.  It  remained  at  this  point  till 
November  27,  when  the  regiment  again  reembarked  and  returned  to 
Memphis,  where  it  remained  until  December  31.  It  moved  to  Kenners- 
ville,  Louisiana,  arriving  early  in  January,  1865,  and  lay  there  in 
camp  until  the  army  was  organized  for  the  Florida  campaign.  During 
the  month  of  February,  1865,  the  regiment  was  transported  by  ocean 
steamers  to  Fort  Barrancas,  Florida,  a  portion  of  the  regiment  being  on 
the  steamer  George  Peabody,  which  was  almost  totally  disabled  in  a 
storm,  and  was  only  saved,  with  a  precious  cargo  of  800  soldiers,  by 
the  coolness  of  the  officers  in  command  and  the  heroic  conduct  of  the 
19 


290  HISTORY    OF    IEOQUOIS    COUNTY. 

men.  All  the  ambulances,  wagons  and  nearly  200  mules  and  horses 
were  thrown  overboard.  The  detachment  of  the  regiment  on  the  ill- 
fated  steamer  was  returned  to  New  Orleans  and  went  to  Lakeport  by 
rail,  where  it  embarked  and  crossed  lakes  Ponchartrain  and  Borgne, 
reaching  the  Florida  coast  nearly  a  week  after  the  rest  of  the  com- 
mand. 

From  Barrancas  the  Seventy-sixth  and  other  regiments  went  on  an 
expedition  to  Pollard,  and  from  thence  returned  to  Pensacola,  where  it 
went  into  camp  and  remained  until  the  troops  set  out  on  the  Mobile 
campaign.  During  its  stay  at  Barrancas  and  Pensacola,  the  Seventy- 
sixth  was  attached  to  Gen.  Steele's  division. 

In  marching  out  from  Pensacola  on  the  campaign  against  Blakeley, 
the«union  arrny  of  Gen.  Steele  passed  over  the  same  road  upon  which 
Gen.  Jackson — "  Old  Hickory  " — moved  an  army  of  3,000  men  in  1818, 
and  found  it  a  miserable,  sandy  road,  in  spite  of  its  historic  association. 
March  31  Gen.  Steele's  army  took  up  a  position  in  front  of  the  fortifi- 
cations of  Blakeley,  not  a  little  to  the  surprise  of  the  rebels  behind  the 
works,  who  had  just  learned  from  scouts  that  the  union  army  was 
moving  on  towards  Montgomery,  and  had  got  "  stuck  "  in  the  Florida 
swamps  after  leaving  Pensacola.  The  Seventy-sixth  formed  a  part  of 
Spiceley's  brigade,  of  Steele's  division,  of  the  Thirteenth  Corps,  and 
in  the  line  of  investment  held  the  "  right  center,"  to  the  left  of  the 
Stockton  road  leading  into  Blakeley,  which  position,  with  the  Seventy- 
sixth  in  advance  of  both  brigade  and  division,  was  held  during  the 
eight-days  siege  operations,  and  up  to  the  time  of  the  assault  and 
capture  of  the  stronghold,  April  9,  1865, — being  the  last  battle  of  any 
importance  of  the  war  of  the  rebellion.  Throughout  the  siege  in  its 
advanced  position  the  Seventy-sixth  behaved  with  coolness  and  cour- 
age, but  particularly  distinguished  itself  in  the  final  assault  upon  the 
works.  Gen.  C.  C.  Andrews,  in  his  history  of  the  Mobile  campaign, 
gives  the  following  truthful  and  glowing  description  of  the  charge 
of  the  Seventy-sixth :  "  The  Seventy-sixth  Illinois  charged  directly 
on  the  redoubt  in  their  front — the  one  north  of  the  Stockton  road — 
and  preserved  its  alignment  well  until  it  got  to  the  second  line  of 
abattis.  One  man  of  that  regiment  was  killed  at  the  first  line  of 
abattis  and  rifle-pits,  then  at  the  second  line  the  battle  became  fierce 
and  bloody.  The  confederates  maintained  a  bold  front  from  behind 
their  breastworks,  and  when  the  Seventy-sixth  Mras  within  fifty  yards  of 
the  redoubt  it  suffered  severely  from  the  confederate  musketry  and 
artillery.  While  a  part  of  the  regiment  maintained  a  spirited  fire,  the 
rest  crossed  the  abattis.  Lieut.  William  F.  Kenaya  was  shot  through 
a  leg  at  the  second  abattis,  and  nearer  the  works  was  hit  in  the  ankle 


IROQUOIS    COUNTY    IN   THE   WAR.  291 

joint  of  his  other  leg,  then  unable  to  walk  he  kept  upright  on  his 
knees  and  rallied  and  cheered  the  men.  The  color-sergeant  (Hussey) 
was  killed  within  twenty  feet  of  the  works;  then  the  colors  were  taken 
by  the  noble  and  brave  Corporal  Goldwood,  who,  as  he  was  planting 
them  on  the  parapet,  received  the  contents  of  three  muskets  so  close 
that  the  discharge  burnt  his  clothes,  and  he  fell  dead  inside  the  works 
with  the  colors  in  his  arms.  The  Seventy-sixth  and  the  confederates 
fought  across  the  works,  and  those  of  the  regiment  in  the  rear  were 
coming  up  as  fast  as  they  could  pass  the  obstructions.  Col.  Busey  ran 
along  close  to  the  parapet  and  with  his  revolver  disabled  the  gunner  of 
a  howitzer  about  to  be  fired,  and  which  afterward  proved  to  have  a 
double  charge  of  grape  and  canister,  then  turning  to  the  right  he 
exchanged  shots  with  two  at  short  range.  Afterward  he  ordered 
Lieut.-Col.  Jones,  Capts.  Hughes  and  Ingersoll  and  Lieut.  Warner, 
with  from  twenty  to  fifty  men  to  charge  the  right  flank  of  the  redoubt, 
while  he  with  another  squad  charged  the  front.  They  charged  with  bayo- 
nets and  drove  the  confederates  from  the  works.  Fifty  yards  in  rear 
of  the  redoubt  the  ground  began  to  slope  considerably.  It  had  been 
cleared  of  underbrush,  and  the  latter  had  been  piled  along  the  crest. 
Behind  that  cover  the  confederates  formed  again  and  gave  another 
volley,  wounding  among  others  Col.  Busey  and  Capt.  Hughes.  Then 
the  Seventy-sixth  charged  them  again,  and  they  threw  down  their 
arms  and  ran  into  the  woods  toward  the  landing.  Col.  Busey  sent 
detachments  in  pursuit  of  them.  Upward  of  400  prisoners  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  Seventy-sixth.  It  had  five  men  killed  inside  the 
works.  Its  whole  number  of  killed  was  sixteen,  of  whom,  besides 
those  already  mentioned,  were  Sergeant  Perkins  and  Corporals  Hop- 
kins and  Tremaine.  There  were  eighty  wounded,  some  mortally,  so 
that  its  entire  casualties  were  about  100.  Among  the  wounded  were 
Lieuts.  Martin  and  Warner.  The  Seventy-sixth  entered  the  redoubt 
over  the  south  salient  and  over  the  breastworks  extending  south.  Its 
national  colors  were  planted  on  the  breastworks.  It  is  claimed  by  his 
comrades  that  Private  Eldrick  Bronllette,  of  Company  D,  was  the  first 
one  over  the  works.  He  was  killed  fifty  yards  inside  the  works  by  a 
confederate  captain,  and  the  latter  was  killed  by  Broullette's  comrade. 
The  regiment  used  the  bayonet  in  the  charge  and  displayed  throughout 
the  highest  degree  of  valor.  No  regiment  on  the  field  that  day  suf- 
fered so  heavily.  None  exhibited  more  intrepid  bravery ;  and  higher 
praise  than  that  cannot  be  awarded  troops." 

The  colors  of  the  Seventy-sixth  were  the  first  planted  on  the  rebel 
works  in  this  assault,  and  of  all  the  regiments  that  were  engaged  in  the 
charge,  none  suffered  as  did  this  regiment.  It  lost  118  men  killed  and 


292  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

wounded,  out  of  the  260  that  advanced  to  the  assault  when  the  signal 
gun  was  fired.  The  graves  of  seventeen  heroic  dead  mark  the  spot 
where  the  colors  were  planted  by  that  brave  boy, — "Charley"  Gold- 
wood. 

After  the  capture  of  Blakeley  the  Seventy-sixth  marched  to  Stark's 
Landing,  on  Mobile  bay,  and  embarked  for  Mobile,  and  steamed  across 
the  bay  to  the  captured  city,  where  it  encamped  for  several  weeks.  It 
moved  from  Mobile  to  Selma,  Alabama,  by  steamer,  where  it  remained 
but  a  short  time,  #nd  returned  to  Mobile.  Afterward  the  regiment 
embarked  on  the  steamer  Herman  Livingston  for  Galveston,  Texas,  at 
which  place  it  went  into  camp,  and  remained  until  July  22,  when  it 
was  mustered  out. 

The  regiment  traveled  over  12,000  miles,  and  saw  a  great  deal  of 
hard  service.  It  campaigned  in  eight  different  states  of  the  confed- 
eracy. During  the  term  of  service  it  received  156  recruits,  which  on 
the  muster-out  were  transferred  to  the  Thirty-seventh  Illinois.  The 
regiment  returned  with  471  officers  and  men,  having  been  more  fortu- 
nate than  many  other  regiments,  who  saw  no  more  service,  in  losing  by 
battle  and  disease  only  a  little  less  than  half  its  original  number. 

On  the  non-commissioned  staff  of  the  Seventy-sixth,  Iroquois  county 
was  represented  by  Sergt.-Maj.  Joseph  P.  Schooley,  of  Ash  Grove,  and 
principal  musician  Isaac  D.  Courtright,  of  Middleport.  Sergt.-Maj. 
Schooley  was,  June  13,  1864,  to  accept  promotion  as  captain  of  the 
4th  Miss.  Art.,  A.D.  He  was  succeeded  January  8,  1864,  by  S.  0, 
Munhall  ("Urchin  ")  of  Company  B,  then  of  Champaign,  but  now  the 
present  popular  postmaster  of  the  city  of  Watseka. 

Company  A  was  organized  at  Middleport,  in  July,  1862,  with 
George  C.  Harrington  as  captain,  and  was  composed  mainly  of  citizens 
of  Middleport,  Belmont,  Iroquois,  Concord  and  Beaver  townships. 
Capt.  Harrington,  on  the  resignation  of  Maj.  Dubois,  was  promoted 
major,  to  rank  as  such  from  January  7,  1863,  and  continued  with  the 
regiment  until  June  27,  1863,  when  he  resigned.  On  the  promotion 
of  Capt.  Harrington,  Lieut.  Abraham  Andrew  became  captain,  and 
continued  in  command  of  Company  A  until  it  was  mustered  out.  Aus- 
tin W.  Hoyle,  late  county  treasurer  of  this  county,  enlisted  in  the 
Seventy -sixth,  and  was  the  first  orderly-sergeant  of  Company  A,  and 
was  finally  promoted  to  the  second  lieutenancy  of  A,  a  position  he  well 
deserved,  so  his  comrades  say.  James  "W.  Kay,  a  private  soldier  in 
this  company,  was  elected  county  clerk  of  this  county  in  1865,  and 
made  a  very  efficient  officer.  Quite  a  number  of  the  surviv.ors  of  Com- 
pany A  are  respected  citizens  of  Watseka  and  vicinity. 

Rev.  Abram  Irvin  organized  the  first  week  in  August,  1862,  from 


IROQUOIS    COUNTY-  IN   THE    WAR.  293 

citizens  residing  in  the  eastern  half  of  the  county,  Company  E  of  the 
Seventy-sixth,  and  was  commissioned  its  first  captain,  with  Rev.  Peter 
I.  Williams,  of  Milford,  as  first  lieutenant,  and  C.  L.  Hoyle,  of  Beaver, 
as  second  lieutenant.  Capt.  Irvin  was  discharged  December  10,  1864, 
and  Lieut.  Williams  having  been  killed  at  Vicksburg,  Lieut.  Hoyle 
was  promoted  to  the  captaincy.  James  PI.  Eastburn,  who  is  now  a 
well-to-do  farmer  of  Sheldon  township,  was  one  of  the  sergeants  of 
Company  E,  and  before  the  close  of  the  war  was  promoted  to  the  first 
lieutenancy  of  the  company.  Sergeant  Frank  Williamson,  of  Company 
E,  has  for  several  years  been  the  representative  of  Prairie  Green  town- 
ship on  the  board  of  supervisors  of  this  county,  and  Robert  W.  Foster, 
a  private  of  the  company,  has  served  as  supervisor  of  both  Stockland 
ana  Sheldon  townships.  Many  of  the  solid  farmers  of  Milford,  Stock- 
land,  Beaver  and  Sheldon  townships  were  soldiers  in  Company  E,  and 
good  soldiers,  too. 

The  majority  of  Company  K  were  citizens  of  Ash  Grove  and  Loda 
townships,  in  this  county,  and  the  remainder  belonged  in  the  northern 
part  of  Ford  county.  The  officers  of  the  company  were  all  from  this 
county.  Capt.  Joseph  Davis,  of  Ash  Grove,  was  the  first  commander 
of  the  campany,  and  continued  with  it  up  to  February  24,  1865,  when 
he  resigned,  and  was  succeeded  by  William  A.  Watkins,  of  Loda,  who 
officiated  as  captain  until  the  regiment  was  mustered  out.  The  gal- 
lant color-sergeant,  Henry  B.  Hussey,  of  Ash  Grove,  who  was  killed 
in  the  charge  upon  Blakeley  while  bearing  aloft  the  colors  of  his  regi- 
ment, was  a  sergeant  in  Company  K,  and  many  of  the  survivors  of  this 
company  may  be  found  in  Ash  Grove  and  Loda  townships  as  hard- 
working, well-to-do  farmers.  Many  of  the  men  from  Iroquois  in  the 
Seventy-sixth  were  either  farmers  or  farmer's  sons  when  they  enlisted, 
and  after  having  manfully  assisted  in  thrashing  the  rebels,  they  quietly 
returned  to-  their  farms,  and  the  same  persistent  toil  and  carefulness  for 
which  they  were  distinguished  as  soldiers,  has  made  them,  even  in  pur- 
suing the  arts  of  peace,  both  prosperous  and  useful  citizens ;  at  least 
such  is  the  case  in  the  majority  of  instances. 

THE  EIGHTY-EIGHTH  REGIMENT  ILLINOIS  INFANTRY. 

This  heroic  regiment,  also  one  of  the  Board  of  Trade  regiments, 
went  into  the  field  from  Chicago  840  strong  during  the  first  week  of 
September,  1862,  under  the  lead  of  Colonel  (afterward  general)  Fran- 
cis T.  Sherman,  and  in  less  than  a  month  gave  proof  of  its  excellent 
fighting  qualities  at  the  battle  of  Perryville,  losing  four  killed  and 
forty-one  wounded.  Afterward,  as  a  part  of  the  right  wing  of  Rose- 


294  HISTORY    OF    IEOQUOIS   COUNTY. 

crans'  army,  under  Gen.  Philip  H.  Sheridan,  it  took  an  active  part  in 
the  desperate  fighting  on  the  banks  of  Stone  river,  performing  many 
valorous  acts  upon  that  hotly  contested  field,  fighting  hand-to-hand 
with  the  confident  foe.  After  the  battle  of  Chickamauga,  the  regiment 
was  assigned  to  the  First  Brigade,  Second  Division  of  the  old  "  Fight- 
ing Fourth  Corps,"  and  participated  in  the  assault  upon  Mission  Ridge, 
being  one  of  the  first  regiments  to  plant  the  national  flag  upon  the 
captured  line  of  defenses  that  crowned  the  ridge.  The  Eighty-eighth 
took  an  active  part  in  the  East  Tennessee  campaign  during  the  winter 
of  1863-4,  and  being  for  the  most  part  shelterless,  half  clothed  and 
half  starved,  the  regiment  suffered  severely,  and  not  always  uncom- 
plainingly, but  always  doing  its  duty  in  the  face  of  all  disappointments 
and  privations,  and  doing  it  well.  It  took  a  part  as  a  portion  of  the 
Fourth  Corps,  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  which  formed  the  center  of 
Sherman's  grand  army  of  invasion,  under  "  Pap  Thomas,"  in  all  of 
the  principal  engagements  that  occurred  during  the  Atlanta  campaign, 
being  prominently  engaged  at  Rocky  Face  Ridge,  Resaca,  Adairsville, 
New  Hope  Church,  Pine  Mountain,  Kenesaw,  Smyrna  Camp  Ground, 
Atlanta,  Jonesboro  and  Lovejoy  Station. 

After  the  fall  of  Atlanta  the  regiment  was  dispatched  to  Chatta- 
nooga, Tennessee,  where  it  did  duty,  and  at  Bridgeport,  Alabama, 
until  it  joined  its  old  brigade  at  Pulaski.  Tennessee,  where  the  Fourth 
Corps  lay  waiting  and  watching  for  the  advance  of  Hood  upon  Nash- 
ville. The  regiment  participated  in  the  heavy  skirmishing  with  the 
enemy  at  Columbia  and  Spring  Hill. 

In  the  desperate  and  blood}7  encounter  at  Franklin,  November  30, 
1864,  the  regiment,  as  a  part  of  Opdyck's  immortal  brigade,  won 
imperishable  renown.  The  First  Brigade,  Second  Division,  Fourth 
Army  Corps,  under  Col.  Opdyck,  formed  on  the  march  from  Spring 
Hill  the  rear-guard  of  the  retreating  union  army,  and  when  in  the 
afternoon,  in  the  presence  of  a  hostile  army  nearly  50,000  strong,  Col. 
Opdyck  fell  back  to  Franklin,  his  command  passed  into  the  union  lines 
that  environed  the  little  town  on  the  Columbia  pike,  and  finding  the 
rest  of  the  union  army  in  position  for  battle,  he  halted  his  tired  troops 
opportunely  in  the  rear  of  the  two  brigades  holding  the  breastworks  on 
the  right  and  left  of  the  Columbia  pike.  And  when  an  hour  or  two 
later  the  desperate  assault  was  made  on  the  center,  and  the  union  lines 
driven  back,  and  the  rebel  masses,  flushed  with  their  brief  success 
were  crowding  wildly  into  the  breach,  then  the  heroic  old  veterans  of 
the  Eighty-eighth,  Thirty-sixth,  Forty-fourth,  Seventy-third  and  Sev- 
enty-fourth Illinois  regiments,  the  Twenty-fourth  Wisconsin,  and  the 
One  Hundred  and  Twenty-fifth  Ohio  regiments,  comprising  the  First 


IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  IN    THE    WAR.  295 

Brigade,  saw  that  immediate  action  was  demanded  of  them  as  reserves, 
waited  for  no  word  of  command,  but  instantly  fixed  bayonets,  and  when 
their  gallant  leader  turned  to  his  men  he  saw  they  were  ready  for  a 
charge,  and  the  chivalric  Opdyck,  in  his  clear,  ringing  tones,  gave  the 
command,  "  forward  First  Brigade  to  the  lines,"  and  forward  dashed 
the  daring  brigade  with  a  line  of  gleaming  steel,  that  soon  struck 
down  in  death  many  an  exultant  foeman.  The  conflict  was  brief  but 
bloody,  and  assisted  by  a  few  of  the  disorganized  masses  of  the  regi- 
ments that  had  been  driven  out  of  their  works  a  few  moments  before, 
the  stout-hearted  men  of  the  First  Brigade  drove  the  dense,  gray 
masses  beyond  the  lines.  Four  regimental  commanders  fell,  but  every 
man  of  that  noble  brigade  was  a  hero,  and  fought  as  if  on  his  own 
individual  prowess  depended  the  fortunes  of  the  imperiled  army  of  the 
Union,  and  actuated  by  such  heroism,  the  daring  brigade,  inside  of 
twenty  minutes,  drove  back  a  conquering  force  vastly  superior  in  point  of 
numbers,  recapturing  eight  pieces  of  artillery,  400  prisoners  and  ten 
battle-flags,  and  left  the  disputed  ground  covered  with  hundreds  of  brave 
foemen,  dead,  or  terribly  wounded.  It  is  doubtful  if  the  record  of  civ- 
ilized warfare  shows  fiercer  fighting  than  was  done  by  the  Eighty- 
eighth  and  its  gallant  companion  regiments  in  this  brief  but  bloody 
struggle  at  Franklin.  The  writer's  regiment,  on  the  extreme  left  of 
the  First  Division,  Fourth  Corps,  was  lying  behind  a  line  of  imperfect 
breastworks,  a  short  distance  to  the  right  of  where  the  union  lines  were 
forced  back,  and  watched  in  spite  of  the  fire  in  their  front,  as  well  as 
they  could  for  the  blinding  smoke,  the  terrible  wrestle  of  the  men  of 
the  west  with  the  impetuous  sons  of  the  south,  that  was  taking  place 
to  our  left,  to  see  who  should  gain  the  mastery.  The  success  of  the 
confederates  in  holding  their  ground  would  have  cut  us  off  from  the 
bridge  across  the  Harpeth  river,  and  compelled  the  surrender  of  the 
greater  part  of  the  outnumbered  and  nearly  exhausted  union  army. 
Hence,  we  watched  with  bated  breath  till  we  saw  the  "  gray  coats  " 
falling  back ;  then  our  fears  were  quieted  for  the  time,  and  thoughts  of 
ANDERSONVILLE  were  dispelled.  At  Nashville  the  regiment  behaved 
in  the  two-days  battle  with  its  usual  bravery,  and  engaged  in  the  pur- 
suit of  the  flying  foe,  following  on  the  heels  of  Hood  to  the  Tennessee 
river. 

The  regiment  was  mustered  out  in  June,  1865.  Of  the  900  that 
went  into  the  field  229,  all  told,  returned.  Col.  Sherman  was  captured 
at  Atlanta  and  thrown  into  prison,  and  managed  to  break  out,  but  was 
hunted  down  and  caught  by  bloodhounds  before  he  could  reach  our 
lines. 

Iroquois  county  was  represented  in   the  Eighty-eighth  as  follows: 


296  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

Dr.  A.  C.  Rankin,  Loda,  first  assistant  surgeon  ;  Company  C,  Lieut. 
Robert  O.  Crawford,  three  sergeants,  two  corporals  and  thirty-two  men  ; 
Company  F,  one  man ;  Company  K,  one  sergeant  and  three  men.  A 
sergeant  and  seven  men  of  the  above  number  died  on  the  field  of 
battle,  or  in  line  of  duty,  and  one,  James  Brett,  died  in  Andersonville. 


THE  EIGHTY-NINTH  REGIMENT  ILLINOIS  INFANTRY- 

The  Eighty -ninth,  or  "  Railroad  Regiment,"  made  up  mostly  of  rail- 
road employes,  was  mustered  into  the  United  States  service  at  Camp 
Douglas,  Chicago,  August  27,  1862,  and  in  about  a  week  was  hurried 
to  Kentucky,  where  it  formed  a  part  of  Gen.  Nelson's  army  till 
October,  when  it  was  placed  in  Gen.  Willich's  brigade  of  McCook's 
corps,  and  continued  in  Willich's  brigade  to  the  close  of  the  war, 
and  making  for  itself  a  good  record  in  the  battles  fought  by  the 
army  of  the  Cumberland.  At  Stone  River  it  lost  Capt.  Willett  and 
142  men.  At  Chickamauga  its  loss  was  very  great.  Lieut.  Col.  Dun- 
can J.  Hall,  three  captains  and  a  lieutenant  offered  up  their  lives  on  the 
altar  of  their  country,  and  109  men  were  killed,  wounded  and  captured. 
At  Mission  Ridge  a  captain  and  lieutenant  were  killed,  and  thirty-five 
men  killed  and  wounded.  During  the  Atlanta  campaign  the  regiment 
was  engaged  at  Rocky  Face,  Resaca,  Dallas,  Kenesaw  Mountain,  Peach 
Tree  Creek,  Atlanta,  Jonesboro  and  Lovejoy,  losing  in  the  campaign 
211  men  killed  and  wounded,  one  captain  and  one  lieutenant  killed 
and  several  officers  wounded.  During  the  battle  of  Franklin  the 
Third  Division,  Fourth  Corps  was  held  in  reserve  across  the  Harpeth 
river  to  cover  the  retreat  of  Schofield's  army,  and  the  Eighty-ninth  be- 
longed to  Willich's  brigade  of  this  division.  At  Nashville  the  Eighty- 
ninth  was  actively  engaged,  and  sustained  a  loss  in  the  two-days  fight  of 
thirty-nine  men.  After  the  defeat  of  Hood  it  pursued  his  forces  to  the 
Tennessee  river.  During  its  term  of  service  the  regiment  mustered 
on  its  original  roll  and  recruits  1,403  men ;  out  of  these  820  men  died 
of  disease  or  wounds,  or  were  killed  in  action.  The  regiment  was 
mustered  out  at  Nashville,  June  10,  1865.  From  this  county  there 
were  nine  men  and  Corporal  Oliver  Bunker  in  Company  D,  four  of  the 
nine  men  were  killed  or  died,  and  one  died  in  Andersonville  prison. 

THE  ONE  HUNDRED  AND  THIRTEENTH  REGIMENT  ILLINOIS  INFANTRY. 

The  One  Hundred  and  Thirteenth  regiment,  known  as  the  "Third 
Board  of  Trade  Regiment,"  was  made  up  of  volunteers  from  the  coun- 
ties of  Cook,  Kankakee  and  Iroquois  almost  wholly.  This  county 


IROQUOIS   COUNTY    IN   THE   WAR.  297 

furnished  three  full  companies, — D,  F  and  I,  half  of  Company  B,  and 
about  one-fourth  of  Company  H, — and  these  companies  afterward  re- 
ceived a  large  number  of  recruits,  so  that  this  county  furnished  nearly 
two-fifths  of  the  rank  and  file  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Thirteenth 
regiment.  Most  of  the  men  for  this  regiment  were  enlisted  during 
the  month  of  August,  1862,  but  the  regiment  was  not  mustered  until 
October  1,  and  from  that  time  till  November  5  following,  it  was  em- 
ployed in  guarding  rebel  prisoners  confined  in  Camp  Douglas,  and 
fitting  itself  by  drill  and  discipline  for  the  active1  duties  of  the  field. 
At  the  last  mentioned  date  the  regiment  left  Camp  Douglas  for  Mem- 
phis, Tennessee,  and  on  its  arrival  at  the  latter  place  it  was  placed  in 
Gen.  Sherman's  corps  (the  Fifteenth),  and  accompanied  him  in  his 
expedition  into  northern  Mississippi,  generally  designated  as  the  "  Tal- 
lahatchie  expedition."  On  its  return  from  this  campaign  it  moved 
against  Yicksburg  with  Sherman,  and  formed  a  part  of  the  brigade 
commanded  by  Gen.  Giles  A.  Smith,  and  in  the  division  of  Gen.  Mor- 
gan L.  Smith.  On  this  expedition  the  One  Hundred  and  Thirteenth 
participated  in  the  fight  at  Milliken's  Bend  and  the  engagement  at 
Chickasaw  Bayou.  The  regiment  participated  in  the  assault  upon  and 
capture  of  Arkansas  Post ;  and  the  One  Hundred  and  Thirteenth  and 
other  regiments  of  Gen.  Giles  A.  Smith's  brigade  behaved  with  great 
gallantry  in  the  face  of  a  destructive  fire  from  the  enemy's  rifle-pits  at 
a  short  range,  and  suffered  a  considerable  loss  in  consequence.  The 
One  Hundred  and  Thirteenth  especially  suffered  from  the  raking  fire 
to  which  it  was  subjected.  After  this  battle  Gen.  Sherman  determined 
to  honor  the  men  who  had,  by  their  bravery,  done  so  much  to  insure 
the  capture  of  the  prisoners  and  fort,  by  sending  them  home  in  charge 
of  the  prisoners;  and  Companies  C,  D,  F,  I  and  K  were  selected  from 
the  One  Hundred  and  Thirteenth, — being  just  one-half  of  the  regi- 
ment, and  they  were  the  companies  that  had  suffered  the  greatest  loss, — 
to  guard  the  prisoners  to  Springfield.  These  five  companies  were  to 
remain  north  and  fill  up  their  thinned  ranks  with  new  recruits.  The 
three  companies  from  Iroquois  (D,  F  and  I)  were  in  this  wing  of  the 
regiment  sent  back,  and  remained  at  Springfield  for  some  time.  The 
other  five  companies,  in  which  there  were  Iroquois  men  in  two  of  the 
companies  (B  and  H),  moved  from  Arkansas  Post  to  Young's  Point. 
Col.  Hoge,  while  the  regiment  lay  at  Young's  Point,  was  appointed 
provost-marshal  of  the  Fifteenth  Corps ;  and  while  here  the  One  Hun- 
dred and  Thirteenth  lost  many  noble  men  by  sickness,  as  was  also  the 
bitter  experience  of  all  the  regiments  in  that  army  while  lying  in  camp 
at  Young's  Point,  and  the  place  will  long  be  remembered  with  horror 
by  those  who  survived,  and  who  helped  with  trembling  hands  and 


298  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

aching  hearts  to  place  under  the  sod  of  this  fated  point  so  many  of 
their  dead  comrades. 

During  its  camp  life  at  Young's  Point  the  One  Hundred  and  Thir- 
teenth went  with  the  brigade  chosen,  and  led  by  Gen.  Sherman,  in 
person,  up  the  Black  Bayou  to  the  relief  of  Admiral  Porter  and  flotilla,, 
surrounded  by  the  land  forces  of  the  enemy.  The  admiral  was  in  dan- 
ger of  having  his  fleet  captured  and  sunk,  and  was  in  poor  plight  in 
the  treacherous,  shallow  bayou  to  make  any  resistance  or  escape  to  the 
Mississippi.  On  this  expedition  the  brigade,  with  plucky  Gen.  Sher- 
man, who  went  afoot  with  the  boys,  made  a  forced  march  of  twenty- 
five  miles  through  swamps,  over  extemporized  bridges  made  of  a  single 
log  or  plank,  marching  in  single  file,  and  suffering  many  hardships  and 
numberless  inconveniences,  but  finally  arriving  in  time  to  whip  the 
rebel  forces,  and  let  Porter  get  his  fleet  back  to  safer  waters.  And 
then  the  tired  brigade  had  no  alternative  left  but  to  "  coon "  their 
way  back  again  as  they  came  to  solid  land,  consuming  ten  days  in  the 
unpleasant  but  highly  successful  and  satisfactory  task. 

That  portion  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Thirteenth  in  the  field,, 
composed  of  the  five  companies  left,  after  the  detachment  of  five  com- 
panies went  north  in  charge  of  prisoners  from  Arkansas  Post,  were 
under  the  immediate  command  of  Col.  George  B.  Hoge,  and  embraced 
not  only  the  five  companies  left  behind,  but  the  sick  and  convalescents 
of  the  other  five  companies,  as  well  as  all  men  on  detached  duty.  This 
detachment  in  the  field  will  hereafter  be  designated  as  "the  regiment," 
and  we  will  here  say  it  was  with  Sherman  in  the  march  to  the  rear 
of  Vicksburg,  and  was  engaged  in  most  of  the  hard  fighting  that  cul- 
minated in  the  fall  of  Vicksburg,  and  the  capture  of  Gen.  Pemberton's 
army.  In  this  campaign  the  One  Hundred  and  Thirteenth  suffered 
from  both  disease  and  the  bullets  of  the  enemy,  losing  fully  one  entire 
third  of  the  force  that  went  into  the  campaign,  including  their  gallant 
colonel,  who  was  severely  wounded.  The  regiment  was  put  on  provost 
duty  for  some  little  time  at  Chickasaw  Bayou,  a  very  unhealthy  local- 
ity, and  in  a  few  days — during  July  and  August — the  greater  part  of 
the  force  was  on  the  sick  list,  and  several  died  at  this  post.  From 
Chickasaw  Bayou  the  regiment  moved  to  Corinth  in  the  latter  part  of 
August,  18G3,  and  remained  there  until  the  month  of  January  follow- 
ing, being  mostly  engaged  in  doing  post  duty  and  scouting  after 
guerilla  bands.  Col.  Hoge  meantime  commanded  the  post  at  Corinth, 
until  its  evacuation  by  the  federal  forces,  January  25,  1864,  when  the 
colonel  and  his  regiment  proceeded  to  Memphis,  Tennessee,  where  the 
colonel  took  command  of  the  second  brigade  of  the  post  defenses  of 
the  city  of  Memphis.  While  at  Memphis,  the  five  companies  that  had 


IROQUOIS   COUNTY    IN   THE    WAR.  299 

been  doing  guard  and  provost  duty  in  Illinois,  rejoined  the  regiment 
in  March,  1864.  The  brigade  under  Col.  Hoge  accompanied  Gen. 
Sturgis  in  his  unsuccessful  expedition  against  Gen.  N.  B.  Forrest,  the 
daring  rebel  raider,  and  cruel  butcherer  of  unoffending  and  helpless 
prisoners  at  Fort  Pillow. 

In  the  disastrous  expedition  of  Gen.  Sturgis  to  Guntown,  Missis- 
sippi, the  regiment  suffered  severely,  losing  fourteen  officers  and  135 
men  killed,  wounded  or  captured.  Among  the  officers  captured  was 
Capt.  George  E.  King  and  Lieut.  J.  E.  Leatherman  (then  sergeant)  of 
the  Iroquois  companies.  Inasmuch  as  the  regiment  was  a  great  suf- 
ferer by  this  disaster  to  the  union  arms,  it  is  but  fair  that  we  briefly 
sketch  the  main  incidents  of  this  unfortunate  campaign.  Gen.  Sturgis, 
in  command  of  about  12,000  troops,  including  the  commands  of  Gen. 
A.  J.  Smith  and  Griersori's  cavalry  division,  set  out  from  Memphis 
June  1,  1864,  with  Tupelo,  distant  160  miles  to  the  southeast,  as  his 
objective  point, — Tupelo  being  situated  on  the  Mobile  &  Ohio  railroad, 
and  a  point  of  considerable  strategic  importance.  The  sultry  weather 
and  heavy  rains  made  the  marching  laborious  and  slow,  and  exhausted 
the  whole  command  so  much  that  they  were  in  a  poor  condition  for  a 
pitched  battle  when  the  terrible  blow  fell  upon  them.  For  days  the 
tired  army  toiled  over  miserable  roads,  through  mud  and  rain,  until  the 
morning  of  June  10,  when  the  sun  shone  out  bright,  though  hot,  and 
the  wearied  fellows  felt  rejoiced  to  think  that  fair  weather  had  dawned 
upon  them  once  more,  and  moved  forward  with  a  more  buoyant  step, 
when  early  in  the  day  Gen.  Grierson's  cavalry  rode  upon  Forrest's 
troopers,  and  sharp  fighting  ensued,  Grierson's  gallant  troopers  driving 
the  enemy's  horse  before  them  to  the  banks  of  Tishomingo  creek, 
where  they  encountered  Forrest's  infantry,  strongly  posted  on  the  steep 
bank  of  the  creek  opposite  to  the  advancing  army  of  Sturgis.  At  this 
stage  Gen.  Sturgis,  instead  of  moving  up  his  troops  and  forming  a 
strong  assaulting  column,  and  then  moving  forward  cautiously,  hurried 
up  his  infantry  on  the  "  double  quick,"  many  of  the  regiment  having 
run  several  miles  in  the  hot  son,  were  pushed  forward  singly  and  with- 
out any  apparent  order  against  the  enemy  lying  in  his  strong  position, 
only  to  be  ruthlessly  cut  down  by  a  well-directed  fire  from  the  ranks  of 
Forrest ;  and  despite  the  fact  that  many  of  the  federal  regiments  went 
into  the  fight  exhausted  and  panting  with  the  fatigue  of  their  long  run 
to  the  battlefield,  and  were  pushed  forward  in  the  face  of  a  murderous 
fire  from  a  foe  strongly  posted  under  cover,  while  the  union  regiments 
were  without  support  of  any  kind,  still  these  brave  fellows,  under  all 
these  disadvantages  and  discouragements,  did  nobly  under  the  most 
trying  circumstances  that  could  befall  an  army;  and  many  regiments, 


300  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

the  One  Hundred  and  Thirteenth  among  the  number,  behaved  splen- 
didly. The  fighting  began  at  about  eleven  o'clock  in  the  forenoon  and 
had  become  general  by  one  o'clock,  and  continued  with  fury  till  four, 
when  the  enemy  having  turned  the  union  left,  and  there  was  danger 
of  the  whole  force  being  entirely  surrounded,  a  retreat  was  ordered, 
and  then  a  wild  scene  followed,  which  cannot  be  adequately  described. 
Soon  after  the  retreat  began  night  fell  upon  the  panic  stricken  army,  and 
as  if  to  render  confusion  confounded,  the  wagon  train  became  mired  in  a 
swamp,  blocking  up  the  road  so  that  the  artillery  could  not  be  got  past 
the  obstruction  and  had  to  be  abandoned  ;  and  the  infantry,  such  as 
were  not  cut  off  and  captured,  were  only  saved  by  the  vigilant  bravery 
of  Grierson's  faithful  cavalrymen,  who  held  back  the  triumphant  and 
plundering  troopers  of  Forrest.  Many  of  the  fugitives,  cut  off  from 
their  regiments  in  the  confusion  of  the  retreat,  struck  singly  and  in 
squads  across  the  country  for  Memphis,  and  many  actually  marched  a 
hundred  miles  before  tasting  food.  The  wrhole  command,  or  what  was 
left  of  it,  reached  Memphis  half  starved,  footsore  and  completely 
exhausted,  and  all  bitterly  cursing  the  heartless,  and  stupid  conduct  of 
Gen.  Sturgis,  who  got  off  the  field  that  witnessed  the  death  or  capture 
of  many  a  nobler  and  braver  soldier,  at  the  first  indication  of  a  rout, 
and  reached  Memphis  sound  and  safe.  Gen.  Sturgis  may  have  been  a 
good  soldier  and  a  patriot,  but  it  will  be  long  before  the  men  he  led  into 
that  fatal  trap  will  be  willing  to  regard  him  as  such. 

After  the  defeat  of  Sturgis  and  the  retreat  to  Memphis  the  One 
Hundred  and  Thirteenth  did  picket  and  provost  duty  at  Memphis  until 
October,  1864,  when  it  took  a  part  in  Gen.  Washburne's  expedition, 
and  was  engaged  in  the  disastrous  fight  at  Eastport,  Mississippi,  where 
it  lost  two  officers  and  fourteen  men. 

The  regiment,  on  its  return  from  Eastport,  continued  the  rest  of  its 
term  doing  duty  as  picket  and  provost-guard  at  Memphis — Col.  Hoge, 
now  a  general,  its  old  commander,  being  provost-marshal  of  West 
Tennessee.  The  regiment  was  mustered  out  June  20,  1865.  On  the 
regimental  staff  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Thirteenth,  Iroquois  county 
was  represented  by  Dr.  Lucien  B.  Brown,  of  Sheldon,  who  was  com- 
missioned first  assistant  surgeon  on  the  organization  of  the  regiment, 
and  afterward,  June  27,  1864,  he  was  promoted  surgeon  of  the  regi- 
ment, and  made  a  very  efficient  officer.  William  A.  McLean,  of  Mid- 
dleport,  was  the  first  quartermaster,  and  served  in  that  capacity  until 
July  12,  1864,  when  he  was  honorably  discharged  for  promotion  in 
another  regiment.  He  was  succeeded  by  William  H.  Taylor,  also  of 
Middleport,  who  retained  the  position  until  the  muster  out  of  his  reg- 
iment. 


1ROQUOIS    COUNTY    IN    THE    WAR.  301 

Company  B  was  composed  of  men  from  this  and  Kankakee  counties, 
in  about  an  equal  proportion,  and  was  mustered  in  with  Captain  Cephas 
Williams,  of  Kankakee,  in  command,  but  he  was  promoted  major  in 
about  a  year,  and  Lieut.  Andrew  Beckett,  of  Martinton,  in  this  county, 
was  commissioned  captain,  and  continued  in  command  until  the  close 
of  the  war  and  the  muster  out  of  the  regiment. 

Company  D  was,  at  its  muster  in,  composed  entirely  of  Iroqnois 
county  men,  recruited  from  Onarga,  Oilman,  Ash  Grove,  Spring  Creek, 
Milford  and  a  few  from  Middleport,  and  during  its  term  of  service  it 
was  officered  by  Iroquois  county  men.  About  three-fifths  of  the 
recruits  to  the  company  in  1863-65  were  also  from  Iroqnois  county. 
The  company,  during  its  whole  term  of  service,  was  commanded  by 
Captain  Robert  B.  Lucas,  of  Onarga;  D.  H.  Metzger,  now  of  Abilene, 
Kansas,  formerly  a  resident  of,  and  for  several  years  supervisor  of 
Onarga  township,  and  father  of  George  T.  Metzger,  late  county  treasurer, 
was  the  first  lieutenant  of  Company  D  for  its  whole  term  of  service, 
and  a  faithful  officer,  too.  The  second  lieutenants  were  George  B. 
Fickle,  of  Onarga,  and  after  his  resignation,  in  February,  1863,  Henry 
L.  Frisbie,  also  of  Onarga,  was  commissioned.  Many  of  the  rank  and 
file  of  Company  D  are  now  hard-working  mechanics  and  prosperous 
farmers,  residing  in  the  western  part  of  the  county. 

Company  F,  Captain  W.  I.  Bridges,  of  Belrnont,  commanding,  was 
composed  wholly  of  Iroquois  county  men,  from  Middleport,  Belmont, 
Iroquois,  Concord  and  Beaver  townships  mainly,  and  the  recruits  after- 
ward sent  to  the  company  were  nearly  all  from  this  county.  Capt. 
Bridges  resigned  in  February,  1863,  and  was  succeeded  by  Lieut. 
George  E.  King,  who  had  seen  service  in  the  old  Twentieth  as  a  lieu- 
tenant, resigned  and  enlisted  in  Company  F,  and  was  promoted  to  the 
captaincy  from  the  first-sergeancy.  Capt.  King  was  captured  at  Gun- 
town,  Mississippi,  and  sent  to  Anderson ville  prison,  thence  to  Macon, 
Georgia,  and  Charleston,  and  put  under  fire  to  prevent  our  troops 
firing  on  their  forts,  and  was  sent  to  Columbia,  where  he  made  his  escape 
and  reached  the  union  lines,  and  on  his  return,  at  the  close  of  the  war, 
he  was  breveted  lieutenant-colonel  for  meritorious  services.  Lieuts. 
Alfred  Fletcher  and  John  E.  Leatherman,  of  Company  F,  are  well 
known  farmers  of  Iroquois  and  Middleport  townships,  respectively, 
and  Lieut.  Leatherman  was  captured  at  Guntown  and  a  prisoner  at 
Andersonville  and  other  Southern  prisons.  John  S.  Dai-rough,  Esq., 
of  this  city  (Watseka),  and  Wesley  Warren  of  Woodland,  were  ser- 
geants of  this  company.  T.  S.  Arnold,  the  well  known  druggist  of 
Watseka,  Adam  Jacob,  the  tailor,  and  Capt.  B.  Braderick,  of  the  Cres- 
cent City  Guards,  Company  F,  Ninth  Regiment  I.  N.  G.,  were  all 


302  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

members  of  this  company,  and  we  might  name  many  more  of  our  sub- 
stantial citizens  that  used  to  inarch  and  fight  in  its  ranks. 

Company  I  was  made  up  entirely  of  Iroquois  county  soldiers,  and 
went  into  the  field  under  command  of  Capt.  George  West,  a  well 
known  and  well-to-do  farmer  of  Middleport  township,  who  in  conse- 
quence of  ill  health  resigned  May  25,  1863,  and  his  second  lieutenant, 
Aaron  F.  Kane,  of  Concord,  became  captain,  and  Sergeant  William  C. 
Shortridge,  the  well  known  shorthand  reporter  of  this  county,  became 
second  lieutenant.  First  Lieut.  Anderson  Tyler,  then  as  now  a  resi- 
dent of  Iroquois  village,  filled  the  above  position  for  nearly  three 
years,  and  until  mustered  out  with  his  company.  Daniel  Weston,  the 
well  known  druggist  of  Wellington,  was  a  sergeant  in  Company  I  of 
the  One  Hundred  and  Thirteenth. 

In  Company  H,  Iroquois  county  was  represented  by  Lieut.  Harri- 
son Daniels,  of  Chebanse,  the  orderly,  one  duty  sergeant,  and  fifteen 
privates. 

Of  the  non-commissioned  staff  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Thirteenth, 
Sergeant-Major  Hezekiah  Storms,  was  from  Onarga,  in  this  county,  as 
was  also  Commissary-Sergeant  Charles  A.  Newton.  The  quartermas- 
ter-sergeant, William  H.  Taylor,  who  was  after  promoted  quartermaster, 
was  from  Middleport. 

The  records  show  that  over  eighty  men  from  Iroquois  county  lost 
their  lives  while  in  line  of  duty  as  members  of  the  One  Hundred  and 
Thirteenth,  several  of  whom  starved  to  death  in  Andersonville.  This 
was  about  one-fifth  of  all  the  men  that  went  out  from  Iroquois  county 
in  the  ranks  of  the  regiment,  and  fully  as  many  more  were  seriously 
wounded  or  enfeebled  for  life  by  disease,  many  of  whom  have  since 
died.  Such  is  the  record  of  this  band  of  upward  of  400  brave-hearted 
patriots.  A  mere  statement  of  the  facts  is  all  the  eulogium  needed. 

Forty  recruits  from  Iroquois  county,  serving  in  the  One  Hundred 
and  Thirteenth  at  the  date  of  its  muster  out,  June  20,  1865,  were 
transferred  to  the  One  Hundred  and  Twentieth  Regiment  at  that  date, 
and  afterward  were  mustered  out  with  the  latter  organization  at  Mem- 
phis, Tennessee,  September  10,  1865. 


THE    ONE    HUNDRED   AND    THIRTY-FOURTH    REGIMENT   ILLINOIS 

INFANTRY. 

ONE- HUNDRED- DAYS  MEN. 

This  regiment  was  organized  at  Camp  Fry,  Chicago,  and  mustered 
on  the  last  day  of  May,  1864.  -Company  B,  Capt.  N.  B.  Petts,  was 
from  Iroquois  county,  and  was  made  up  of  young  men  principally 


IROQUOIS    COUNTY    IN   THE    WAR.  303 

between  fifteen  and  twenty-one  years  of  age,  many  of  whom  belonged 
to  the  very  best  families,  and  left  pleasant  homes,  and  though  the 
service  was  not  so  arduous  as  that  required  of  the  veterans  at  the 
front,  yet  it  was  of  such  a  character  as  to  so  impair  the  constitutions 
of  some  of  the  patriotic  youths  as  to  bring  them  to  early  graves. 
These  one-hundred-days  men  relieved  veterans  needed  for  active 
service.  And  they  did  good  service  in  garrisoning  important  posts 
and  guarding  prisoners.  The  regiment,  three  days  after  its  muster  in, 
was  sent  to  Columbus,  Kentucky,  where  it  did  garrison  duty  until 
ordered  to  Paducah,  and  thence  to  Mayfield ;  at  which  last  named 
post  it  erected  a  fort,  and  served  to  hold  in  check  unruly  spirits  in  that 
section  by  its  mere  presence.  On  its  return  to  Chicago  for  muster 
out,  Price  was  giving  the  unionists  trouble  in  Missouri,  and  at  the 
request  of  President  Lincoln  the  One  Hundred  and  Thirty-fourth 
went  to  Missouri,  and  did  garrison  duty  at  several  points  until  ordered 
home  for  discharge;  the  regiment  being  mustered  out  October  25, 
18f4. 

THE  ONE  HUNDRED  AND  FIFTIETH   REGIMENT  ILLINOIS  INFANTRY. 

The  One  Hundred  and  Fiftieth  regiment,  one-year  troops,  was 
organized  at  Camp  Butler,  Illinois,  February  14,  1865,  under  Col. 
George  W.  Keener,  and  proceeded  to  Nashville,  Tennessee,  arriving 
February  21,  and  moved  from  there  to  Bridgeport,  Alabama,  where,  up 
to  March  25, 1865,  it  did  post  duty  in  the  block-houses,  extending  from 
Bridgeport  to  Chattanooga,  along  the  line  of  the  Nashville  &  Chatta- 
nooga railroad.  In  March  it  was  assigned  to  the  brigade  of  the  Prince 
Salm  Salm,  and  March  25  was  sent  to  Cleveland,  Tennessee,  where  it 
did  post  duty  until  the  first  week  in  May,  when  it  was  stationed  at 
Dalton,  Georgia,  and  continued  until  July  8,  when  it  moved  to 
Atlanta,  and  there  quitted  the  brigade  and  did  garrison  duty  at  Atlanta, 
and  other  towns  near  Atlanta,  until  mustered  out  January  16,  1866. 
Chauncey  H.  Sheldon,  the  adjutant,  and  the  whole  of  Company  D, 
Capt.  H.  B.  Vennum  commanding,  was  from  this  county.  One  man 
of  the  company  died  during  the  term  of  service.  Richard  Carroll, 
former  supervisor  of  Sheldon,  and  a  resident  of  Watseka  now,  was 
second  lieutenant  of  D,  and  received  a  brevet  commission  in  recogni- 
tion of  his  efficiency  as  an  officer. 

The  Thirty-seventh,  Fifty-third,  Fifty-fourth,  Sixtieth,  Sixty-sixth, 
Sixty-seventh,  Sixty-ninth,  Seventy-first,  One  Hundred  and  Twenty- 
fourth,  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-seventh  and  One  Hundred  and 
Forty-seventh  Infantry  regiments  were  also  represented  from  Iroquois 
county  by  from  one  to  six  men. 


304  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

THE  EIGHTH  REGIMENT  ILLINOIS  CAVALRY. 

This  gallant  regiment,  under  the  command  of  Col.  (afterward  gen- 
eral) John  F.  Farnsworth,  entered  the  United  States  service  in  Sep- 
tember, 1861,  and  was  active  from  the  time  it  joined  the  Potomac 
army  until  the  cessation  of  hostilities.  Six  companies  of  the  regiment 
stubbornly  contested  "Stonewall"  Jackson's  advance  at  Mechanicsville 
for  several  hours.  The  Eighth  took  an  honorable  part  in  the  battles 
of  Gaines'  Hill,  Malverti  Hill,  Poolsville,  South  Mountain  and  Boones- 
boro,  and  also  in  the  terrible  struggle  at  Antietam.  The  regiment  led 
the  van  of  the  army  of  the  Potomac  most  of  the  time  up  to  the  battle 
of  Fredericksburg,  in  which  it  also  participated  with  credit.  During 
the  campaigns  of  1863,  the  regiment  was  ever  on  the  alert,  and  almost 
universally  rendering,  in  the  heavy  battles  and  numerous  pitched  bat- 
tles with  the  enemy's  cavalry,  a  good  account  of  itself.  In  1863  the 
regiment  was  in  twenty-six  different  engagements,  including  the  bloody 
battle  of  Gettysburg,  and  sustained  a  loss  of  twenty-three  killed,  and 
over  150  wounded  and  missing.  Up  to  the  close  of  the  war  the  regi- 
ment continued  to  render  effective  service  and  cover  itself  with  glory, 
and  when  there  was  no  longer  a  foeman  left  in  the  field  with  which  to 
try  the  temper  of  their  sabers,  the  dashing  fellows  of  the  Eighth  Cav- 
alry returned  to  their  prairie  homes  to  enjoy  the  peace  their  distin- 
guished valor  had  helped  to  conquer.  The  regiment  was  mustered  out 
at  St.  Louis,  July  17,  1865.  Old  Iroquois  was  represented  in  the 
Eighth  Cavalry  by  Capt.  Joseph  Clapp,  Lieut.  Charles  W.  Sprague 
and  Private  Henry  Weaver,  all  of  Loda  township.  Lieut.  Sprague 
now  resides  in  Artesia  township,  and  is  engaged  in  farming,  and  several 
years  ago  represented  his  township  on  the  board  of  supervisors. 

THE  NINTH  REGIMENT  ILLINOIS  CAVALRY. 

The  Ninth  Regiment  of  Illinois  Cavalry,  Col.  Albert  G.  Brackett, 
commanding,  was  organized  at  Camp  Douglas,  October  26,  1861.  The 
regiment  was  composed  of  twelve  companies  and  divided  into  three 
battalions  of  four  companies  each,  with  a  major  and  adjutant  to  each 
of  the  battalions. 

The  regiment  left  Chicago  in  February,  1862,  for  the  seat  of  war, 
going  first  to  Benton  Barracks,  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  where  it  remained 
until  the  last  of  the  month,  when  it  moved  to  Pilot  Knob  in  the  Iron 
Mountain  district,  and  from  thence  marched, — after  considerable  cam- 
paigning in  Missouri. — to  the  command  of  Gen.  Steele  at  Reeve  Sta- 
tion, on  the  Big  Black,  afterward  inarching  to  Jacksonport,  Arkansas, 


IROQUOIS    COUNTY    IN   THE    WAR.  305 

where  it  engaged  in  a  number  of  lively  skirmishes  in  the  country  adja- 
cent to  the  last  named  place.  During  the  month  of  May,  1862,  the 
Ninth  Regiment,  forming  a  part  still  of  Gen.  Steele's  division  of  Gen. 
Curtis'  army,  engaged  in  a  couple  of  brisk  skirmishes.  In  one  of  these 
skirmishes,  at  Stewart's  plantation,  Col.  Brackett  and  Capt.  Knight 
(of  Onarga),  the  commander  of  Company  M,  and  Adjt.  Blackburn 
were  wounded,  and  two  men  killed  and  thirty-three  woun'ded  ;  at  Wad- 
dell's  plantation  the  regiment  lost  twelve  men  wounded. 

On  June  26  the  Ninth  started  on  a  march  to  Helena,  where  it 
arrived  July  14,  after  a  most  fatiguing  march,  in  which  the  command 
suffered  greatly  on  account  of  the  scarcity  of  rations,  and  the  impossi- 
bility of  procuring  water  to  drink.  Five  men  sank  under  the  hard- 
ships of  the  march,  and  died  at  different  points  along  the  line  of  march, 
and  many  others  died  afterward,  no  doubt  principally  on  account  of 
the  hardships  endured  on  this  march.  The  regiment  remained  at 
Helena  doing  outpost  duty  and  skirmishing  with  the  enemy  until  it 
joined  Gen.  Washburne's  expedition  into  Mississippi ;  but  previous  to 
starting,  two  twelve-pounder  mountain  howitzers  were  assigned  to  the 
regiment,  and  were  manned  by  a  detail  from  the  regiment  under  the 
command  of  Lieut.  E.  G.  Butler,  of  the  Ninth.  Lieut.  Butler,  with 
his  volunteer  artillerymen  and  howitzers,  at  LaGrange  successfully 
repulsed  a  charge  of  two  regiments  of  Texan  Rangers  that  essayed  the 
capture  of  the  gallant  Butler  and  his  little  detachment;  but  after 
losing  fifty  men  killed  they  concluded  they  didn't  want  the  plucky 
lieutenant's  "bull  dogs,"  and  withdrew.  The  loss  to  the  unionists  in 
the  affair  was  twenty  killed  and  wounded. 

The  Ninth  participated  with  Washburne's  forces  in  the  engagements 
at  Okolona  and  Coffeeville,  Mississippi,  November  6  and  7,  1862.  In 
January,  1863,  the  regiment  took  a  part  in  the  expedition  of  Gen.  Gor- 
man, up  White  river  in  Arkansas,  marching  to  Clarendon,  on  White 
river,  and  then  marched  back  to  Helena,  arriving  January  23,  at  which 
place  it  remained  until  April  7  following,  when  it  moved  to  Memphis, 
Tennessee,  and  on  the  12th  of  the  month  moved  to  Germantown,  and 
was  there  assigned  to  the  cavalry  brigade  of  Col.  McCrillis  attached  to 
the  Sixteenth  Army  Corps,  remaining  in  the  brigade  until  the  follow- 
ing fall,  participating  in  the  engagements  at  Coldwater  and  Grenada, 
Mississippi.  In  the  latter  part  of  August  the  regiment  took  post  at 
LaGrange,  and  spent  several  weeks  in  skirmishing  and  reconnoitering, 
and  again  skirmished  with  the  enemy  at  Coldwater,  October  6,  and 
also  engaged  in  a  keen  fight  at  Salem,  Mississippi,  in  which  the  rebels 
were  forced  out  of  their  position  after  a  very  spirited  resistance.  At 
Wyatt,  Mississippi,  the  regiment  fought  the  enemy  all  day  on  October 
80 


306  HISTORY    OF   IKOQUOIS   COUNTY. 

13,  forcing  him  to  steal  away  from  the  battle-field  that  night  as  a 
measure  of  safety.  After  the  fight  at  Wyatt  the  regiment  returned  to 
LaGrange,  and  remained  there  till  the  first  week  in  November,  when 
it  moved  to  Corinth,  but  soon  after  returned  to  its  old  post  at  LaGrange, 
and  moved  from  there  to  Colliersville,  Tennessee,  the  last  of  Novem- 
ber, where  it  was  assigned  to  the  Second  Brigade  of  the  Cavalry  Divi- 
sion of  the  Sixteenth  Army  Corps,  and  December  3  and  4,  under  the 
command  of  the  daring  Grierson,  the  cavalry  division  engaged  and 
whipped  the  rebels  at  Saulsbury  and  Moscow,  Tennessee.  The  Ninth 
behaved  gallantly  at  Moscow. 

The  Ninth,  under  Grierson,  took  a  part  in  an  expedition  into  Mis- 
sissippi in  the  month  of  February,  1864,  and  fought  and  defeated  the 
enemy  at  West  Point  on  the  20th  of  the  month,  and  was  engaged  at 
Okolona  and  Mount  Ivy  on  the  21st  and  23d.  The  Ninth  went  into 
camp  at  Germantown  on  the  24th.  During  this  raid  into  Mississippi 
the  Ninth  did  its  full  share  of  the  hard  marching  and  fighting,  and  at 
one  time  after  the  battle  at  West  Point  the  Ninth,  while  acting  as  rear 
guard  for  the  army,  was  beset  by  Forrest,  and  successfully  hurled  back 
his  charging  troopers. 

The  regiment,  or  a  greater  portion,  reenlisted  March  16,  and 
received  thirty  days  furlough,  returning  to  the  front  toward  the  close 
of  April,  and  rendezvousing  at  Memphis,  Tennessee.  A  detachment 
consisting  of  160  men  were  with  Gen.  Sturgis  on  the  ill-starred  Gun- 
town  expedition,  and  did  effective  service  during  the  disastrous  retreat 
as  a  rear  guard,  losing  five  killed,  twenty-three  wounded  and  twelve 
taken  prisoners,  while  protecting  the  rear  of  Sturgis'  army  after  the  bat- 
tle of  Tishomingo  creek,  June  10,  1864.  The  regiment  formed  a  part 
of  Generals  Grierson  and  A.  J.  Smith's  expedition  to  Tupelo,  Missis- 
sippi, and  at  Pontatoc,  being  in  advance  did  heavy  skirmishing  with  the 
enemy,  and  succeeded  in  driving  him  back  at  all  points.  The  Ninth 
took  an  active  part  in  the  two-days  battle  at  Tupelo  July  14  and  15 ; 
also  at  Old  Town  Creek.  The  regiment  accompanied  Grierson  during 
August  in  his  Oxford,  Mississippi,  raid,  engaging  the  enemy  at  Talla- 
hatchie,  Oxford  and  Hurricane  creek,  losing  four  men  killed  and  a  num- 
ber wounded  in  the  latter  engagement.  The  regiment  was  absent  on 
this  raid  thirty-two  days,  and  returned  to  camp  near  Memphis,  at 
White  Station,  September  4.  Taking  the  field  again  as  a  part  of  Gen. 
Hatch's  cavalry  division  September  30,  inarching  to  Clifton  on  the 
Tennessee  river,  and  thence  to  Florence,  through  Waynesboro,  and 
returning  to  Clifton,  it  watched  the  forward  movement  of  Gen.  Hood 
in  his  advance  upon  Nashville  after  the  fall  of  Atlanta.  At  Shoal 
creek  ford,  on  the  Tennessee  river,  the  Ninth  fought  the  advance  of 


IROQUOIS   COUNTY    IN   THE   WAR.  307 

Hood's  army  and  drove  it  back.  While  watching  Hood  at  Shoal 
creek  Gen.  Hatch  received  orders  to  push  the  former's  cavalry  from 
the  fords,  and  to  develop  the  strength  of  the  enemy  in  his  front ;  and 
accordingly  Hatch  crossed  and  attacked  Hood's  cavalry  and  drove  it 
back  on  his  infantry,  the  Ninth  Cavalry  leading  the  attack.  The  rebels 
threw  two  divisions  against  the  division  of  Gen.  Hatch,  and  drove  it 
back  and  across  the  creek.  A  part  of  the  Ninth  regiment  having  been 
sent  on  a  detour  to  the  right  to  strike  the  enemy's  cavalry  in  the  flank 
and  rear  by  the  driving  back  of  Hatch's  division,  was  cut  off,  and  the 
battalion  of  the  regiment  thus  entrapped  cut  its  way  through  the  rebel 
line  at  night,  and  recrossing  the  creek,  rejoined  its  brigade  the  next 
day  after  the  tight.  After  Hood  crossed  the  Tennessee  Gen.  Hatch's 
division,  to  which  the  Ninth  belonged,  skirmished  almost  daily  with 
his  advance,  and  sought  to  hold  him  in  check  by  so  doing  until  ^Thomas 
could  collect  his  scattered  forces  and  insure  the  safety  of  Nashville  and 
the  ultimate  defeat  of  Hood.  At  Campbellsville,  November  24,  the 
Ninth  was  engaged  in  a  hotly  contested  fight  with  a  part  of  Hood's 
forces  that  attempted  to  capture  the  wagon  train  of  Gen.  Schofield. 
The  regiment  fought  overwhelming  odds,  but  pluckily  held  its  ground 
and  drove  the  enemy  back  until  the  ammunition  of  the  Ninth  was 
exhausted,  and  nothing  daunted,  the  bold  troops  of  the  Ninth,  still 
reluctant  to  yield  their  ground,  engaged  in  a  hand-to-hand  encounter, 
fighting  with  clubbed  carbines.  At  Franklin  the  cavalry  under  Hatch 
held  the  roads  leading  to  the  fords,  and  prevented  the  enemy's  cavalry 
from  crossing  the  river  and  getting  between  the  beleaguered  and  fight- 
ing army  of  Schofield  and  Stanley  at  Franklin  and  Nashville.  As  a 
part  of  Gen.  "Wilson's  cavalry  corps  the  Ninth  regiment  behaved  hand- 
somely in  the  assaults  upon  Hood's  left  at  Nashville,  December  15  and 
16,  which  so  successfully  resulted  in  doubling  back  the  whole  confed- 
erate left  upon  its  center  on  the  Franklin  Pike,  near  Brentwood  Gap. 
On  the  fifteenth  Col.  Coon's  brigade,  of  which  the  Ninth  formed  a 
part,  was  ordered  to  move  against  a  strong  rebel  redoubt  mounting  five 
cannon,  and  dismounting  the  gallant  troopers,  under  Hatch's  order  to 
"  go  for  the  fort,"  charged  up  a  high  and  very  steep  hill,  and  in  three 
minutes  from  the  time  they  started  were  in  possession  of  the  fort  and 
200  prisoners,  and  finding  themselves  under  a  terrible  fire  from  another 
fort,  about  500  yards  to  their  right,  the  tired  but  eager  cavalrymen 
dashed  against  that  in  an  irregular,  straggling  but  determined  body, 
and  after  a  sharp  fight  possessed  themselves  of  that  also,  and  had  they 
been  five  minutes  earlier  would  have  captured  the  rebel  chief  Gen. 
Hood.  Only  a  few  moments  before  Hatch  and  his  daring  trooper.- 
made  the  assault  upon  the  works,  Gen.  Thomas  had  declared  it  impos- 


308  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

sible  for  cavalry  to  "  storm  and  capture  a  fort,"  but  the  boys  taught  the 
old  hero  that  Western  troopers  could  capture  a  rebel  fort  when  they 
made  up  their  minds  to.     After  the  rout  of  Hood,  the  Ninth  and  other 
cavalry  regiments  hung  upon  and  harrassed  Hood's  rear,  and  had  some 
lively  little  encounters  and  one  particularly  deserves  mention.     Gen. 
Knipe  pressed  Hood's  train  so  close  that  the  latter  was  obliged  to  make 
a  stand  to  save  his  train  from  capture  on  the  banks  of  the  Little  Har- 
peth  creek,  a  few  miles  from  Franklin,  and  Gen.  Hatch  moved  forward 
to  Knipe's  support ;  the  two  divisions  then  charged  grandly  forward 
in  the  face  of  a  galling  fire,  presenting  a  line  a  mile  and  a  half  from 
right  to  left,  and  crossing  the  creek  soon  closed  with  the  enemy's  infantry 
in  a  hand-to-hand  struggle,  and  as  marly  of  the  rebels  were  dressed  in 
blue  uniforms,  our  boys  often  mistook  them  for  friends,  and  either  fell 
into  their  hands  or  cut  their  way  out.     It  was  so  difficult  on  account 
of  the  mist  and  smoke  that  Gen.  Hatch  at  one  time  could  not  distin- 
guish his  own  forces,  and  he  sent  an  aide  and  his  orderly  to  ride  up  to 
the  forces  and  inquire  who  they  were;  his  aide,  Lieut.  Crawford,  rode 
up  to  them  and  tapped  a  man  on  the  shoulder  and  asked  him,  "  What 
command  ? "      "  Nineteenth  Tennessee,  Bell's   Brigade,  rear  guard," 
was  the  answer.     He  now  knew  they  were  rebels,  arid  slipped  out  of 
their  ranks  and  rode  back  to  Hatch,  who  opened  on  them  with  cannon. 
At  this  point  Capt.  Foster,  of  the  Second  Iowa  cavalry,  galloped  a  little 
to  the  right  to  see  if  the  flank  of  his  brigade  (Gen.  Coon's)  was  safe, 
when  he  came  face  to  face  with  the  head  of  a  rebel  column,  and  was 
greeted  with  "  surrender  you  d — d  yankee."     Foster  swung  his  saber 
and  shouted  "  don't  you  fire  on  this  column,"  when,  thinking  him  a 
rebel,  they  took  down  their  arms,  and  the  daring  unionist  put  spurs  to 
his  horse  arid  escaped  to  .our  lines  in  the  midst  of  a  shower  of  rebel  bullets. 
The  brigade  was  thus  suddenly  attacked,  and  at  first  repulsed,  but  Gen. 
Coon  and  his  A.  A.  A.  G.  Capt.  John  H.  Avery,  of  the  Ninth  Illinois, 
quickly  rallied   the  men  and  moved  forward  with  their  horses  on  a 
walk,  firing  with  steady  aim  as  they  advanced,  until  the  rebel  lines 
gave  way  and  ran,  leaving  their  artillery  unsupported.     The  gallant 
Hatch,  with  but  nine  men,  charged  forward  and  captured  the  battery. 
The  Ninth  Illinois,  under  Col.  Harper,  then  moved  up  to  the  battery, 
and  then  the  rebels  rallied  and  made  several  desperate  attempts  to 
retake  it,  but  the  boys  of  the  old  Ninth  fired  several  deadly  volleys 
into  their  ranks,  and  night  coming  on  the  rebels  desisted  and  moved 
on, .leaving  three  brass  pieces  in   the  hands  of  the  cavalrymen.     The 
Ninth  was  warmly  complimented  for  its  gallant  and  stubborn  defense 
of  the  captured  guns.     The  Ninth  still   harrassed  Hood's  rear,  engag- 
ing him  again  several  times  before  he  crossed  the  Tennessee  river. 


IROQUOIS    COUNTY    IN   THE    WAR.  309 

After  Hood  had  been  driven  out  of  Tennessee  the  regiment  went 
to  Huntsville,  Alabama,  and  from  there  to  Florence,  in  the  same  state, 
and  thence  to  Eastport,  Mississippi,  and  again  returned  soon  after  to 
Florence,  and  went  into  camp  at  Gravelly  Springs,  January  10,  1865, 
w4iere  it  remained  until  February  9,  when  it  again  moved  to  Eastport 
and  encamped  there  until  June.  During  the  latter  part  of  the  month 
it  moved  to  luka,  and  from  there  to  Decatur,  Alabama,  and  afterward 
went  to  Montgomery  and  Selma,  also  to  Gainesville,  all  in  the  state  of 
Alabama.  Finally,  returning  to  Selma,  it  was  mustered  out  of  the 
service  the  last  day  of  October,  1865,  and  soon  after  returned  to 
Springfield,  Illinois,  for  final  payment  and  discharge. 

Company  M  was  composed  almost  wholly  of  Iroquois  county  men, 
and  recruited  principally  from  Onarga  and  the  immediate  neighbor- 
hood. Capt.  Eliphalet  R.  Knight,  of  Onarga,  commanded  the  com- 
pany from  November  30,  1861,  to  November  30,  1864,  when  his  term 
expired,  and  Lieut.  John  H.  Avery  assumed  command  as  captain,  and 
continued  in  command  to  the  close  of  the  war.  Capt.  Knight,  after 
'the  close  of  the  war,  removed  to  the  state  of  Arkansas  and  died  there 
recently.  Capt.  John  H.  Avery  entered  the  service  as  fourth  sergeant 
of  Company  M,  and  was  successively  promoted  second  and  first  lieu- 
tenant, and  finally  to  the  captaincy.  He  served,  during  the  last  year  of 
the  war,  upon  the  staff  of  his  brigade  commander,  Gen.  Coon,  in  the 
capacity  of  acting  assistant  adjutant  general.  The  captain  was  a  dash- 
ing and  efficient  young  officer,  and  won  his  promotion  by  good  con- 
duct in  the  field.  After  the  close  of  the  war  Capt.  Avery  served  a 
number  of  years  as  assistant  assessor  of  internal  revenue,  with  his 
office  at  Loda  in  this  county.  He  occupied  this  position  under  both 
Gen.  Carnahan  and  Judge  Blades,  while  they  were  assessors  for  this 
district,  and  always  proved  himself  a  vigilant,  careful  and  efficient 
officer.  Capt.  Avery  is  at  present  a  resident  of  the  state  of  Arkansas. 
First  Lieut.  Jacob  C.  Shear,  who  saw  nearly  three  years'  service  in 
Company  M,  held  the  office  of  sheriff  of  this  county  from  1876  to 
1878,  and  resides  at  present  on  his  farm  near  Thawville,  in  this 
county.  Sergeant  John  B.  Lowe  is  at  present  editor  of  the  Onarga 
"  Review,"  and  is  also  captain  of  the  Onarga  Rifles,  Company  E, 
Ninth  Regiment  Illinois  National  Guards.  We  might  mention  among 
others  who  acquitted  themselves  creditably,  Serg.-Maj.  Curtis,  L. 
Knight,  now  of  Arkansas,  and  B.  F.  Price,  of  Loda,  who  lost  an  arm, 
and  a  host  of  good  solid  citizens  now  residing  in  and  around  Onarga, 
whom  we  have  not  the  space  to  mention  individually.  Eighteen  of 
the  Iroquois  soldiers  in  this  company  lost  their  lives  fighting  for  the 
union. 


310  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

THE  TENTH  REGIMENT  ILLINOIS  CAVALRY. 

The  Tenth  regiment  of  cavalry  was  organized  at  Springfield,  Novem- 
ber 25,  1861,  with  Col.  James  Barrett  commanding.  Col.  Barrett 
resigned  in  the  spring  of  1862,  and  Lieut.-Col.  Dudley  "Wickersham,  of 
Springfield,  was  commissioned  its  colonel.  The  regiment  left  for  the 
front  in  April,  1862,  and  moved  to  Springfield,  Missouri,  and  soon  after 
was  engaged  in  the  battle  of  Prairie  Grove,  Arkansas,  and  subsequently 
participated  in  the  battles  of  Little  Rock,  Van  Buren,  Milliken's  Bend 
and  Yicksburg.  Col.  Wickersham  for  a  considerable  space  of  time 
was  in  command  of  a  cavalry  brigade  of  which  the  Tenth  formed  a 
part;  meantime  the  regiment  was  commanded  by  Lieut.-Col.  James 
Stuart,  a  dashing  and  brave  officer.  The  regiment  took  a  very  con- 
spicuous part  in  the  engagements  above  mentioned,  and  also  behaved 
nobly  at  Richmond,  Louisiana,  and  Bayou  Metre.  Unfortunately  we 
are  not  able  to  give  an  account  of  the  numerous  skirmishes  and  expe- 
ditions in  which  this  grand  body  of  men  participated.  They  were  not 
only  a  splendid  cavalry  force,  but  were  well  drilled  in  infantry  tactics, 
and  even  fought  on  several  occasions  a  part  of  them  as  artillerists.  In 
the  siege  and  assault  upon  Yicksburg  they  participated  as  dismounted 
cavalry,  and  did  their  whole  duty.  They  were,  as  an  organization,  a 
fine  body  of  men,  and  ready  and  willing  in  the  face  of  all  difficulties 
and  dangers  to  perform  their  part  and  do  it  well.  On  their  reenlist- 
ment  Gov.  Yates,  in  a  speech  to  the  regiment,  among  other  things, 
said :  "  It  is  well  known  that  cavalry  regiments  cannot  always  be  to- 
gether, but  whether  you  have  been  placed  on  duty  as  a  regiment,  in 
companies,  in  battalions,  or  in  squads,  the  Tenth  cavalry  was  always 
where  danger  was  nearest,  and  wherever  duty  called  you.  *  *  *  Now 
on  your  return  I  can  say  justly  that  I  am  proud  of  you.  You  have  con- 
ducted yourselves  as  patriots  and  you  have  never  disgraced  the  noble 
flag  under  which  you  have  fought."  The  regiment  operated  mainly  in 
Arkansas  and  Louisiana,  and  usually  formed  a  part  of  Gen.  Steele's 
command,  and  saw  a  great  deal  of  disagreeable  and  arduous  service. 

After  the  reenlistment  of  the  Tenth  the  regiment  was  consolidated 
to  nine  companies,  and  the  Fifteenth  Cavalry,  consolidated  to  three 
companies,  was  consolidated  with  the  Tenth,  the  consolidated  regiment 
being  called  the  Tenth.  At  a  reunion  of  the  Tenth  Cavalry  at  Spring- 
field, in  September,  1878,  Lieut.-Col.  T.  D.  Yredenburgh  delivered  an 
address,  from  which  we  cull  the  following  concerning  the  history  of  the 
Tenth  after  its  reenlistment : 

"  Here  we  had  a  full  regiment  of  well-seasoned  veterans,  experienced, 
tried  officer?,  and  all  hailed  with  delight  the  prospect  of  an  early  order 


IROQUOIS   COUNTY    IN   THE    WAR.  311 

to  more  active  fields,  feeling  assured,  should  the  opportunity  be  pre- 
sented, that  we  would  not  disgrace  our  calling.  Cheer  after  cheer 
echoed  through  the  camp  when  orders  were  received  in  February  to 
move  to  the  Mississippi  river,  and  so  anxious  were  all  to  be  in  the 
anticipated  struggle  at  Mobile  that  the  first  detachment,  once  embarked 
on  that  majestic  stream,  failed  to  find  land  before  reaching  New 
Orleans,  and  only  stopped  there  because  all  means  of  further  transpor- 
tation failed.  The  whole  regiment  finally  congregated  at  Greenville, 
which  was  made  headquarters,  and  the  high  hopes  of  seeing  the  last 
throes  of  the  confederacy  were  doomed  to  miscarry,  as  only  a  few  of 
our  numbers  reached  Mobile,  and  that  too  late  to  take  an  active  part 
in  its  capture.  The  only  exciting  times  experienced  in  New  Orleans 
was  on  the  receipt  of  the  news  of  the  death  of  President  Lincoln  and 
the  passage  of  the  rebel  ram  Webb.  In  the  first  instance  the  prompt 
and  energetic  action  of  this  regiment  undoubtedly  saved  the  city  from 
a  scene  of  bloodshed  and  confusion,  and  won  from  the  general  com- 
manding a  flattering  compliment  in  general  orders.  In  the  second 
instance,  the  Webb,  in  her  "cheeky"  attempt  to  run  the  blockade,  was 
recognized,  as  she  passed  Camp  Paripett,  by  a  member  of  the  Tenth 
who  had  good  reasons  for  remembering  her;  the  authorities  were 
apprised  of  the  dangerous  stranger's  approach, — the  timely  information 
enabled  the  navy  to  accomplish  her  destruction,  and  the  Tenth  captured 
every  soul  on  board  save  one. 

u  Early  in  the  year  1865,  as  the  tail  of  the  confederacy  continued  to 
wag  in  the  trans-Mississippi  department,  we  were  ordered  up  the  river 
and  put  in  an  appearance  at  Shreveport,  Marshall,  Tyler  and  several 
other  '  last  ditches.' 

"  Then  commenced  that  long,  wearisome  march  from  the  Red  to  the 
Rio  Grande.  How  different  this  march  from  any  taken  before.  For- 
merly the  advanced  guard  and  nightly  pickets  were  wont  to  be  continu- 
ally on  the  lookout  for  prowlers,  scouts  and  ambuscades.  Here  the 
very  swine  knew  the  meaning  of  '  General  Order  No.  2,'  and  basked  in 
perfect  security  almost  under  our  horses'  feet.  This  was  the  last  feather, 
and  all  felt  like  laying  aside  a  uniform  which  had  lost  its  power  to 
inspire  awe, — else  why  should  our  favorite  porker  treat  us  with  such 
contempt.  Still,  the  ride  had  its  pleasures.  All  enjoyed  the  varied 
scenery,  the  strange  grottoes  and  mysterious  rivers  with  a  commence- 
ment in  a  mountain  and  terminus  in  the  next  plain  ;  the  immense  herds 
of  half  wild  cattle,  lilliputian  donkeys,  etc.  How  captivating  old  time- 
stained  San  Antonio  looked,  hid  behind  its  full  tropical  foliage,  trav- 
ersed by  its  crystal  river,  and  full  of  evidences  of  age  and  durability. 
How  pleasant  in  the  cool  of  the  evening  to  stroll  through  its  wide 


312  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

plazas,  luxurious  gardens  and  open  churches  to  be  jostled  by  black- 
eyed,  half-veiled  beauties,  while  the  ear  was  saluted  by  a  hundred  voices 
of  joy  and  laughter.  From  San  Antonio  several  trips  were  made  to 
the  mountains  north  and  west,  some  of  them  quite  extended,  ostensi- 
bly after  Indians,  but  really  to  accustom  the  inhabitants  to  blue-coats, 
and  reestablish  Uncle  Sam's  prestige.  When  this  had  been  fully  accom- 
plished and  there  seemed  nothing  more  for  us  to  do,  the  order  to  pre- 
pare for  muster-out  arrived.  Never  was  an  order  obeyed  with  more 
alacrity.  By  November  22  we  were  ready,  mustered  out,  and  started 
home  for  discharge.  But  a  long  stretch  of  land  and  water  lay  between 
us  and  that  home.  Footsore  and  weary  the  dismounted  cavalryman 
dragged  himself  into  Columbus  after  a  tramp  of  150  miles,  thence  by 
rail  to  Houston  and  Galveston. 

"  On  a  cold,  raw  afternoon  in  December,  we  '  clod-hoppers,'  '  land- 
lubbers'  and  'cow-boys'  found  ourselves,  with  about  500  other  cattle, 
on  board  the  Texas,  gradually  losing  sight  of  land.  Bright  prospects 
of  soon  seeing  friends  and  home  danced  through  every  breast,  and  joy- 
ously all  eyes  watched  (toanany)  their  first  sunset  at  sea.  Suddenly, 
with  a  crash  suggestive  of  immediate  destruction,  the  huge  steamer  lay 
drifting  helplessly  on  the  deep.  An  anchor  was  quickly  gotten  out, 
and  an  examination  made,  which  developed  nothing  more  serious  than 
a  broken  wrist.  Still  without  a  new  one  the  vessel  was  immovable 
save  by  wind  and  tide.  Anxiously  was  the  captain  watched  disappear- 
ing through  the  growing  darkness,  headed  for  Galveston,  twenty  miles 
away,  in  the  only  boat  belonging  to  the  steamer.  He  left  with  the 
expectation  of  returning  by  midnight  with  the  needed  repairs.  As 
darkness  closed  in,  the  breeze,  which  had  been  fresh  all  day,  increased 
to  a  gale,  and  it  soon  became  evident  that  the  captain  would  not  return 
that  night,  as  no  boat  could  live  in  such  weather.  All  hands  stowed 
themselves  away  as  best  they  could,  expecting  that  daylight  would 
improve  the  appearance  of  things.  False  hope.  The  morning  only 
revealed  to  anxious  eyes  a  surging  mass  of  water  and  angry  clouds. 
Then  was  the  discovery  made  that  the  ship  was  unseaworthy  and  over- 
Idaded.  The  hold  was  crammed  full  of  merchandise,  principally  cot- 
ton, the  main  deck  crowded  with  cattle,  genuine  Texas  long-horns,  and 
the  upper  deck  uncomfortably  crowded  writh  soldiers,  about  700.  As 
the  vessel  surged  from  side  to  side  the  soldiers  clutched  at  any  object 
to  prevent  being  washed  overboard,  while  numbers  of  cattle  were 
crushed  and  smothered.  Squeamish  feelings  possessed  every  stom- 
ach, salt,  junk  and  hard-tack  presented  no  attractions.  The  mind  nat- 
urally reverted  to  things  of  the  future,  and  religious  sentiments  were 
more  prevalent  than  usual.  Old  tried  soldiers  were  seen  to  throw 


IROQUOIS    COUNTY   IN   THE    WAR.  313 

things  other  than  their  breakfast  overboard.  Yonder  drifted  past  the 
ace  of  spades,  and  then  the  queen  of  hearts  danced  by  in  company  with 
the  jack  of  diamonds.  At  intervals  a  well-thumbed,  yellow-backed 
copy  of  some  obscene  publication,  passing  to  oblivion,  would  indicate 
at  least  a  temporary  improvement  in  its  owner's  morals.  All  day  long 
and  through  the  following  night  the  weather  was  such  as  to  prevent 
any  one  from  coming  to  our  assistance,  save  a  plucky  little  revenue  cut- 
ter sent  from  Galveston,  but  she  only  made  the  matter  worse  by 
knocking  a  great  hole  in  herself  and  losing  for  us  our  best  anchor,  then 
without  so  much  as  '  I  beg  your  pardon,'  showed  us  her  heels  and  'put' 
for  the  nearest  harbor. 

"The  night  that  followed  was  a  time  of  great  anxiety;  little  sleep 
was  had  by  any.  The  next  day,  the  wind  subsiding  considerably, 
another  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  revenue  cutter  to  tow  us  to  Galves- 
ton was  successfully  accomplished  just  at  night.  Taking  another 
vessel,  an  English  screw  propeller,  as  soon  as  possible,  the  run  to 
New  Orleans  was  accomplished  in  about  thirty-six  hours.  The  wreather 
was  now  glorious,  and  the  trip  up  the  Mississippi  on  the  grand  old 
Missouri  was  delightful.  When  we  had  reached  Cairo  winter  was 
upon  us,  and  its  rigors  began  to  be  felt  seriously.  Four  years  and  over 
spent  in  the  south  had  had  its  effect^upon  our  systems.  In  anticipation 
of  an  early  muster-out  new  clothes  had  not  been  drawn  for  a  long  time, 
overcoats  and  blankets,  for  lack  of  transportation,  had  been  thrown 
away,  and  in  an  almost  destitute  condition  we  boarded  the  cattle  cars 
kindly  furnished  for  our  accommodation  by  the  Illinois  Central  railroad. 
Then  followed  thirty-six  hours  of  the  most  miserable  railroad  riding  ever 
enjoyed  in  this  lovely  state  of  ours;  but  all  the  miseries  have  an  end ; 
so  had  this  ride :  then  who  cared  ?  Fathers,  mothers,  sisters,  brothers, 
wives  and  sweethearts  were  waiting  to  receive  and  welcome,  while  an 
inward  consciousness  of  having  done  our  whole  duty  filled  each  breast 
with  pride  and  joy. 

"One  o'clock  A.M.,  January  1,  1866,  found  us  kn,ee-deep  in  snow, 
pounding  at  the  gates  of  Camp  Butler  for  admittance,  where,  we  had 
been  informed,  every  preparation  had  been  made  for  our  accommoda- 
tion. These  accommodations  on  inspection  proved  to  be  deserted 
barracks — nothing  more. 

"  All  haste  was  made  to  be  discharged,  but  red  tape  detained  us 
until  the  6th,  when,  with  thankful  hearts,  we  took  our  pay  and  Uncle 
Sam's  honorable  discharge,  bade  an  affectionate  adieu  to  old  comrades, 
and  hied  away  to  the  loved  ones  longing  for  our  return." 

The  regiment  was  mustered  outsat  San  Antonio,  Texas,  November 
22,  1865,  and  returned  home  soon  thereafter,  receiving  pay  and  final 


314  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

discharge  at  Springfield,  Illinois.  The  greater  portion  of  Company  C 
was  from  Loda  and  vicinity,  as  was  also  Capt.  Charles  H.  Jones,  its 
commander. 

Iroquois  county  was  also  represented  by  one  or  more  men  in  the 
Fourth,  Seventh,  Twelfth  and  Fourteenth  Regiments  of  Illinois  Cavalry, 
all  of  whom  did  credit  to  the  county  and  honor  to  themselves. 

THE  FIRST  REGIMENT  ILLINOIS  ARTILLERY. 

Battery  D  was  among  the  very  first  troops  organized,  and  was  com- 
manded by  Capt.  E.  McAllister,  of  Plainfield,  Illinois,  and  the  battery 
is  perhaps  better  known  among  soldiers  as  "  McAllister's  Battery."  In 
the  three-months  service  the  battery  formed  one  of  the  companies  of 
the  Tenth  regiment,  commanded  by  Col.  Morgan,  of  Quincy,  and 
was  stationed  at  Cairo  during  its  term  of  three  months.  The  battery 
was  reorganized  for  three  years  by  Capt.  McAllister,  and  made  its  first 
campaign  under  Gen.  McClernand.  At  Fort  Donelson  its  guns  were 
the  first  ones  that  opened  upon  the  enemy.  It  took  a  very  prominent 
part  in  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  after  which  it  was  transferred  to  Gen. 
John  A.  Logan's  Division  of  the  Seventeenth  Corps.  About  the  time 
of  its  transfer  to  Logan's  division,  its  commander,  Capt.  McAllister,  in 
consequence  of  ill-health  was  forced  to  resign,  and  he  was  succeeded 
in  command  by  Capt.  H.  A.  Rogers,  who  continued  to  be  its  leader 
during  the  campaign  of  Gen.  Grant  down  the  Mississippi,  and  back 
again  to  Memphis,  then  to  Milliken's  Bend,  and  round  to  the  rear  of 
Vicksburg,  also  during  the  battles  of  Raymond  and  Champion's  Hill, 
up  to  May  29,  in  the  siege  of  Yicksburg,  where  the  gallant  captain 
was  shot  dead  by  a  minie  ball.  Capt.  E.  H.  Cooper,  formerly  of 
Springfield,  on  the  death  of  Capt.  Rogers,  was  promoted  captain  and 
commanded  the  battery  during  the  rest  of  the  siege  of  Yicksburg.  In 
the  winter  of  1864  the  battery  reorganized  as  a  veteran  organization 
at  Camp  Fry,  Chicago,  and  soon  afterward  it  returned  to  the  front, 
and,  joining  Sherman's  army,  it  left  Vicksburg  in  April,  1864,  and 
proceeded  to  Georgia  and  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  march  to,  and 
capture  of  Atlanta.  July  22,  the  day  on  which  its  corps  commander, 
the  lamented  Gen.  McPherson,  was  shot,  the  battery  was  handled  with 
a  skill,  and  behaved  with  a  coolness  and  bravery  unsurpassed.  Capt. 
Cooper  that  day, never  left  his  horse,  but  was  tireless  and  fearless 
during  the  entire  battle,  and  showed  himself  worthy  to  be  the  com- 
mander of  such  a  battery.  After  the  fall  of  Atlanta  the  battery  was 
ordered  to  Nashville,  and  formed  a  part  of  Gen.  Thomas'  army,  and 
participated  in  the  battle  of  Nashville.  After  the  defeat  of  Hood  the 


IROQUOIS    COUNTY    IN   THE    WAR.  315 

battery  was  stationed  at  Clarksville,  Tennessee,  and  remained  there  up 
to  the  date  of  its  muster  out.  Capt.  Cooper,  in  recognition  of  his 
bravery  and  abilities  as  an  artillery  officer,  was  promoted  major  of  his 
regiment — the  First  Illinois  Artillery  ;  and  Lieut.  George  P.  Cunning- 
ham, of  Middleport,  Illinois,  became  captain  of  the  battery.  The 
battery  was  mustered  out  at  Chicago,  July  20,  1865.  This  county 
was  represented  by  Lieut.  Cunningham  and  eighteen  men,  among 
whom  we  might  mention  Sergeant  Bushrod  D.  Washington  as  a 
capable  non-commissioned  officer,  and  Daniel  Torbet,  of  Texas,  in  this 
county,  as  one  of  the  most  proficient  gunners  in  the  artillery  service. 
Sergeant  Washington,  as  a  scout  for  Gen.  Rousseau,  rendered  good 
service  in  helping  to  secure  the  capture  of  Buck  Smith's  guerrillas  in 
Tennessee. 

Battery  E,  more  familiarly  known  as  "  Waterhouse's  Battery,"  was 
organized  at  Chicago  in  October,  1861,  and  in  the  original  company 
there  were  about  twenty-five  men,  as  near  as  we  can  learn  from 
Leander  Cadore,  of  Martinton,  a  former  member  of  the  company. 
These  men  are  not  credited  to  the  county  on  the  adjutant-general's 
rolls,  but  are  well  known  to  have  been  residents  of  Papineau,  Martin- 
ton  and  Chebanse  townships  in  this  county,  and  several  of  the  sur- 
vivors still  live  there,  and  as  will  be  seen  from  the  roll  of  honor,  a 
sergeant  and  four  privates  of  the  squad  from  this  county  died  in  the 
service.  The  writer  has  sought  to  get  in  correspondence  with  Col. 
Waterhouse  and  obtain  material  for  a  good  historical  sketch,  but  thus 
far  has  failed  to  acquire  the  desired  information,  and  can  only  give  an 
incomplete  and  imperfect  sketch.  As  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  learn 
the  battery  was  engaged  at  Shiloh,  and  Capt.  Waterhouse  was  there 
wounded.  The  battery  took  a  part  in  the  siege  of  Corinth,  and  soon 
afterward  moved  to  Memphis,  and  from  that  time  up  to  its  muster  out 
we  are  ignorant  of  its  history,  except  that  it  took  a  part  in  the  disas- 
trous expedition  to  Guntown,  under  Gen.  Sturgis.  The  battery  was 
mustered  out  July  15,  1865.  There  were  also  in  Battery  I  two  men 
from  Iroquois  county. 

THE  SECOND  REGIMENT  ILLINOIS  ARTILLERY. 

In  Battery  L,  Second  regiment  Illinois  Artillery,  commonly  called 
"  Bolton's  Battery,"  there  was  quite  a  large  number  of  men  recruited 
from  this  and  Ford  counties;  and  these  men,  including  the  orderly  ser- 
geant and  several  other  non-commissioned  officers,  were  enlisted  by 
Uriah  Copp,  Jr.,  Esq.,  of  Loda,  in  this  county,  and  in  the  first  organi- 
zation of  the  battery  Copp  was  elected  lieutenant  and  acted  in  that 


316  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

capacity  for  several  weeks  at  Camp  Douglas  and  Benton  Barracks,  and 
in  fact  up  to  within  a  few  days  after  the  battle  of  Shiloh  or  Pittsburg 
Landing,  when  he  discovered  to  his  surprise,  that  the  rolls  under 
which  he  had  been  mustered  in  had  been,  as  he  alleges,  "  tampered  " 
with,  and  his  name  obliterated  therefrom,  not  only  as  a  lieutenant  but 
even  as  a  member  of  the  battery,  and  he  returned  to  Illinois  to  have 
the  matter  adjusted  and  his  commission  issued,  but  found  his  enemies 
in  the  company  had  destroyed  the  proper  rolls  and  substituted  fraudu- 
lent ones,  and  filed  the  same  as  genuine  in  the  adjutant-general's 
office  of  this  state;  and,  to  add  insult  to  injury,  had  drawn  his  pay  for 
recruiting  the  men  he  had  enlisted  and  brought  to  the  battery.  After 
several  vain  attempts  to  get  his  rights,  Copp  gave  up  his  military 
aspirations  and  resumed  his  duties  as  a  citizen  of  Loda,  but  Sergeant 
Hammond  and  the  other  men  that  he  had  enlisted  continued  in  the 
battery,  and  we  herewith  present  a  brief  sketch  of  the  same :  The 
battery  left  Chicago  in  March,  1862,  soon  after  organization,  and  went 
to  Benton  Barracks,  Missouri.  From  there  it  proceeded  by  steamer  to 
Pittsburg  Landing,  and  took  the  field  at  Shiloh,  April  9,  1862,  being 
assigned  to  Gen.  Hurlbut's  division.  It  participated  in  the  siege  of 
Corinth,  and  after  its  evacuation  proceeded  with  Gen.  Sherman's  com- 
mand to  Memphis,  Tennessee,  where  it  remained  in  camp  until  August. 
It  was  engaged  at  Nocomo  Creek  in  October  following,  and  was  selected 
to  make  the  attack  upon  the  enemy  in  the  battle  of  the  Hatchie,  by  Maj.- 
Gen.  S.  A.  Hurlbut.  At  this  battle  the  battery  took  a  stand  of  rebel 
colors  that  were  given  to  the  city  of  Chicago.  The  battery  marched  with 
Grant,  in  Logan's  division,  on  his  campaign  through  Mississippi,  by 
way  of  the  Tallahatchie  and  Water  valley,  in  December,  1862.  After 
the  capture  of  Holly  Springs  and  destruction  of  federal  supplies, 
Battery  L  returned  to  Memphis,  and  afterward  accompanied  Gen. 
Grant  to  Lake  Providence,  Louisiana,  and  Milliken's  Bend.  It  crossed 
the  Mississippi  and  engaged  in  the  Yicksburg  campaign,  being  em- 
ployed in  siege  operations  forty-seven  days.  After  the  fall  of  Yicks- 
burg it  again  commenced  the  campaign  in  Louisiana  under  Brigadier- 
Gen.  Leggett,  and  marched  after  the  rebel  general,  McCullongh,  to 
Monroe,  from  where  it  returned  to  Yicksburg.  Here  the  old  guns 
being  worn  out  Maj.-Gen.  McPherson  supplied  it  with  new  armament, 
and  everything  new  and  complete.  In  June,  1864,  it  fought  under 
McArthur  at  Benton  and  Deasonville,  and  in  July  under  Maj.-Gen. 
Slocum,  at  Clinton  and  Jackson,  Mississippi,  which  ended  its  active 
operations  in  the  field.  From  that  time  until  its  muster  out,  about 
August  1,  1865,  it  was  assigned  to  the  defenses  of  Yicksburg.  It  was 
at  last  mentioned  date  sent  to  Chicago  for  final  payment  and  discharge. 


IKOQUOIS    COUNTY    IN   THE    WAR.  317 

At  the  date  of  leaving  the  service  it  mustered  130   men  out  of  over 
450  who  had  been  on  its  rolls  from  first  to  last. 

Battery  A  of  this  regiment  was  also  furnished  with  four  recruits 
from  Ash  Grove  township,  all  of  whom  received  honorable  discharge. 


DEAD   HEROES. 

"  We  will  plant  it  here,  boys,  and  rally  the  old  Twenty-fifth  around  it,  and  here 

we  will  die." 

THOMAS  D.  WILLIAMS  was  born  at  Ormskirk,  in  Lancashire,  Eng- 
land, 011  March  8,  1826.  But  little  is  known  of  his  parents  further 
than  that  they  were  respectable  laboring  people.  Nothing  is  known 
of  the  boyhood  of  our  subject,  or  how  he  became  possessed  of  a  fail- 
education,  which  he  appears  to  have  acquired  while  yet  a  boy.  At 
fourteen,  like  many  an  English  lad  of  a  free  spirit  and  intrepid 
nature,  young  Williams  determined  to  visit  America,  the  famed 
land  of  freedom  and  prosperity.  Accordingly  he  crossed  the  Atlan- 
tic to  the  shores  of  the  New  World,  whether  as  a  runaway  sailor 
lad,  or  with  the  permission  of  his  parents,  we  are  not  able  to  say; 
but  are  tolerably  reliably  informed  that  young  Williams  was  early 
thrown  upon  his  own  resources,  and  for  aught  we  .have  been  able  to 
learn  of  his  early  life  and  career,  one  or  both  parents  may  have  been 
dead  at  the  time  he  made  his  first  voyage  to  this  country.  After 
spending  some  months  in  this  country  Williams  returned  to  his  old 
home,  but  not  content  there  he  again  returned  to  the  United  States 
in  1845,  and  found  employment  in  the  mining  regions  of  Pennsyl- 
vania as  a  clerk  in  one  of  the  offices,  but  at  what  precise  point  in  the 
mining  regions  we  are  unable  to  say. 

When  the  war  with  Mexico  began,  young  Williams  accompanied 
some  of  his  chums,  who  had  enlisted,  to  Philadelphia  to  see  them  off 
for  the  war,  and  while  there  he  became  seized  with  a  desire  to  try  the 
life  of  a  soldier,  and  he  also  volunteered,  enlisting  in  the  Rocket  and 
Howitzer  Battery,  commanded  by  Captain  (afterward  general)  Reno, 
and  in  a  little  time  won  promotion  to  the  position  of  a  non-commis- 
sioned officer,  and  behaving  himself  in  such  a  manner  as  to  call  from 
Lieut.  Gorgas,  who  was  commanding  the  battery  at  his  muster  out, 
the  following  recommendation : 

lt  The  bearer,  Thomas  D.  Williams,  has  served  during  the  recent 
war  with  Mexico  in  the  Rocket  and  Howitzer  Battery.  In  the  course 
of  the  campaign  he  won  for  himself  the  grade  jof  a  rion-commis- 
sioned  officer.  As  he  possesses  all  the  qualifications  requisite  for  a 


318  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

good  clerk,  I  take  pleasure  in  recommending  him  on  account  of  his 
industry  and  attention  to  duty.  I.   GORGAS, 

"  First  Lieut,  of  Ordnance,  late  commanding  Rocket  and  Howitzer  Battery  of  Ordnance. 
"  WATERVLIET  ARSENAL,  Sept.  11,  1848." 

Armed  with  this  ^flattering  indorsement  from  his  commander, 
Williams  started  to  New  York  city,  intending  to  apply  for  a  position 
in  a  large  mercantile  concern,  but  changed  his  mind,  and  September 
15,  1848,  enlisted  in  the  regular  army  as  a  sergeant  in  Company  A 
of  the  United  States  Engineer  Corps,  and  for  five  years  did  faithful 
duty  as  a  sergeant  of  engineers,  so  winning  the  esteem  of  Capt. 
George  B.  McClellan  (afterward  general),  at  one  time  his  com- 
mander, and  also  of  Capt.  P.  T.  Beauregard,  a  prominent  general  of 
the  confederates,  as  to  be  regarded  by  both,  and  particularly  by 
McClellan,  as  a  warm  personal  friend.  At  the  conclusion  of  his 
five-years  service  Sergt.  Williams  received  an  honorable  discharge, 
with  the  following  indorsement  on  it  as  to  character : 

"Sergt.  Thomas  D.  Williams  served  in  the  ordnance  company 
during  the  campaign  in  Mexico,  in  the  army  commanded  by  Maj.- 
Gen.  Scott.  As  an  engineer  soldier  he  is  considered  intelligent  and 
quick  in  the  performance  of  his  duties,  and  a  good  soldier.  The 
commandant  of  the  engineer  company  (A)  at  West  Point,  New 
York,  under  whom  Sergt.  Williams  served  at  the  time  of  reporting 
to  me  for  duty  on  the  Mexican  frontier,  concurs  in  the  above  char- 
acter of  Sergt,  Williams.  PJCH'D  DELAFIELD, 

"  Major  of  Engineers. 
"  FORT  BROWN,  Texas,  Sept.  17,  1853." 

Sergt.  Williams  reenlisted  at  Fort  Brown,  Texas,  in  September, 
1853,  and  continued  in  service  as  sergeant  of  engineers  up  to  Sep- 
tember, 1855,  when  he  was  mustered  out  at  his  own  request,  made 
to  the  secretary  of  war, —  he  having  married,  and  decided  to  adopt 
some  civil  profession,  and  his  certificate  of  honorable  discharge, 
under  hand  of  Maj.  Barnard,  as  to  his  character,  is  summed  up  in 
the  simple  but  expressive  word  "excellent." 

At  the  date  of  his  final  discharge  from  the  service,  Sergt.  Will- 
iams was  stationed  at  West  Point,  and  was  presented,  with  a  hand- 
some non-commissioned  officer's  dress-sword,  on  the  scabbard  of 
which  is  engraved:  "Presented  to  T.  D.  Williams  by  his  comrades 
of  the  U.  S.  Corps  of  Engineer  Soldiers,  West  Point,  N.  Y.,  Nov,  1, 
1855," — which  testimonial  from  his  comrades  shows  that  he  was  as 
highly  appreciated  by  the  rank  and  file  as  by  his  officers. 

Sergt,  Williams,    on    September   27,   1854,   was  united    in    mar- 


IKOQUOIS    COUNTY    IN    THE    WAR.  319 

riage  with  Miss  Mary  A.  Gleason,  of  Troy,  New  York,  at  the  city 
of  Troy,  and  his  young  bride  went  with  him  to  West  Point,  and 
staid  there  nearly  a  year,  when  she  prevailed  on  him  to  ask  for  a 
discharge  from  the  service.  After  he  left  the  army,  Williams  and 
his  young  wife  went  to  Camden,  Alabama,  where  he  became  in- 
structor of  mathematics  in  the  Wilcox  Military  Institute.  He  filled 
this  position  one  year  satisfactorily  ;  and  then,  at  the  instance  of 
several  wealthy  friends,  who  were  contemplating  taking  the  contract 
from  the  government  to  improve  Corpus  Christi  bay  by  dredging, 
he  went  to  the  bay,  and,  as  an  engineer,  examined  into  the  feasibility 
of  the  work  and  its  probable  profitableness  to  the  contractor  under- 
taking it,  and  he  reported  so  unfavorably  upon  the  project  that  his 
friends  at  once  abandoned  their  intention  to  bid  ;  and  the  same  par- 
ties being  owners  of  vast  tracts  of  wild  land  in  Texas,  proposed  to 
Williams  to  stock  a  large  ranche  for  him,  but  Mrs.  Williams  refused 
to  quit  civilized  haunts  and  take  up  a  home  in  the  Wilderness,  and 
that  project  was  also  abandoned.  Meeting  soon  after  this  in  New 
Orleans  city  his  old  West  Point  associate  and  friend,  Gen.  Beaure- 
gard,  then  a  captain  of  engineers  in  the  regular  army,  Williams 
applied  to  him  for  something  that  he  could  do  as  a  civilian  in  the 
United  States  service,  and  was  sent  to  Fort  St.  Phillip,  at  or  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Mississippi  river,  to  aid  in  its  repair,  as  assistant  super- 
intendent of  the  work,  if  we  are  not  mistaken.  While  at  Fort  St. 
Phillip,  Williams  was  taken  severely  ill,  and,  under  the  advice  of  his 
physician,  left  there  in  the  early  fall  of  1857  for  Chicago.  At  Chi- 
cago, soon  after  his  arrival,  Williams  fell  in  with  his  old  captain  of 
engineers,  George  B.  McClellan,  then  vice-president  of  the  Illinois 
Central  railroad,  who  at  once  offered  Williams  employment,  and 
sent  him  to  Chebaiise  station  as  agent  for  the  company  in  the  fall 
of  1857. 

Pleased  with  our  broad,  fertile  prairies  and  the  promising  young 
village  of  Chebanse,  Williams  bought  property  there  and  erected  a 
home,  and  became  one  of  the  early  and  prominent  business  men  of 
the  village,  transacting  easily  and  efficiently  his  duties  as  the  com- 
pany's agent,  and  carrying  on  a  grain  and  stock-shipping  business 
besides;  and  was  thus  employed  when  the  old  fiag  he  had  served 
eleven  years  under  was  fired  on  at  Sumter.  Surrounded  by  the 
comforts  of  home,  and  enjoying  the  society  of  a  young  wife  and  his 
babes;  and  having  served  his  adopted  country  eleven  long  years,  two  of 
them  in  active  service  with  Gen.  Scott,  in  Mexico,  in  which  he  had  par- 
ticipated in  every  battle  in  the  campaign,  from  Vera  Cruz  to  the  cap- 
ture of  the  Mexican  capital,  except  one  ;  and  having  been  wounded  at 


320 


HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 


the  battle  of  Contreras,  our  hero  felt  impelled  to  hold  in  subjugation 
his  strong  desire  to  again  nnsheath  his  sword  in  defense  of  the  old  flag 
he  had  followed  so  long  and  so  well  over  so  many  bloody  fields,  on 
account  of  his  wife  and  young  children.  But  when  the  old  flag  he 
so  fondly  cherished  went  down  in  the  dust,  smoke  and  defeat  at  Bull 
Run,  it  roused  this  41  man  of  war,"  and  he  set  about  recruiting  men 
for  the  regiment  then  being  raised  by  Col.  Coler,  of  Champaign,  and 
on  its  organization  was  very  properly  placed  in  command  of  Company 
Gr,  Twenty-fifth  regiment,  and  continued  in  command  until  the  resigna- 
tion of  Col.  Coler;  when,  at  the  urgent  request  of  some  of  the  best  offi- 


"  We  will  plant  it  hriv,  boys,  and  rally  the  old  Twi-iity-fifth  around  it.  and  here  w  will  die." 

cers  in  the  regiment,  who  had  discovered  that  he  was  the  true,  brave 
and  competent  man  to  lead  them,  he  was  commissioned  colonel  by 
Gov.  Yates  a  short  time  before  the  battle  of  Stone  River.  And,  us 
is  usual,  when  the  field  officers  are  ignored  and  a  ranking  captain 
promoted  to  the  command  of  the  regiment,  offense  was  given  to 
those  who  were  "jumped";  and  consequently  the  new  colonel 
went  into  the  struggle  that  cost  him  his  life  without  the 'presence  or 
assistance  of  either  the  lieutenant-colonel  or  major. 

Col.  Williams  had  given  proof  of  his  ability  as  a  company  com- 
mander at  Pea  Ridge  and  luka,  and  the  most  of  his  men  recognized 
and  respected  his  soldierly  qualities.  Up  to  the  time  that  lie  met 
his  death,  the  regiment  had  been  ably  handled  by  its  new  colonel, 
and  he  was  winning  the  love  and  confidence  of  every  true  soldier  in 


IROQUOIS   COUNTY    IN   THE    WAR.  321 

his  command  by  his  readiness,  tact  and  courage.  When  Wood- 
ruff's brigade  was  left  isolated  and  alone  on  the  field,  by  the  falling 
back  of  troops  on  the  right  and  left  during  the  fiercest  onset  of 
Bragg' s  army  on  December  31,  1862,  at  Stone  River,  the  Twenty- 
fifth  regiment  was  flanked  by  the  enemy,  and  Col.  Williams  found  it 
necessary  to  "change  front,"  and  in  doing  so  his  men  became  the 
least  bit  demoralized ;  and  fearing  that  they  might  fall  back  in  a 
panic,  as  other  regiments  had  done,  on  the  color-bearer  being  shot 
down  Col.  Williams  seized  the  colors  himself,  and  advancing  in 
front  of  the  center  of  his  regiment,  while  preparing  to  plant  the  col- 
ors, said:  "WE  WILL  PLANT  IT  HERE,  BOYS,  AND  RALLY  THE  OLD 
TWENTY-FIFTH  AROUND  IT,  AND  HERE  WE  WILL  DIE."  At  this  point 
he  was  shot  through  the  left  breast,  and  reeled  backward,  still  hold- 
ing the  colors.  He  was  taken  to  the  field  hospital,  and  lingered  a 
number  of  hours,  and  died,  saying  to  Surgeon  Brown  :  "I  have  done 
my  duty." 

Col.  Williams,  on  the  day  preceding  the  one  on  which  he  re- 
ceived his  death-wound,  was  severely  wounded  by  a  piece  of  shell 
tearing  a  ghastly  wound  in  the  fleshy  part  of  his  thigh,  but  binding 
his  handkerchief  over  it,  he  continued  on  the  field.  Men  less  deter- 
mined and  of  less  nerve  would  have  left  the  field,  and  felt  that  with 
such  a  wound  they  were  amply  justified  in  so  doing.  In  his  report 
of  the  battle  his  brigade  commander  referred  to  the  death  of  Col. 
Williams  in  the  following  words:  "Amid  the  glorious  results  of  a 
Battle  won,  it  gives  me  pain  to  record  the  names  of  the  gallant  men 
who  offered  up  their  lives  on  the  altar  of  their  country.  But  we 
must  drop  the  tear  of  sorrow  over  their  resting  places,  and  offer  our 
heartfelt  sympathies  to  their  relatives  and  friends,  trusting  that  God 
will  care  for  them  and  soothe  their  afflictions.  And  while  we  remem- 
ber the  noble  dead,  let  us  pay  a  tribute  of  respect  to  the  gallant  Col. 
T.  D.  Williams,  Twenty-fifth  Illinois  regiment,  who  died  in  the  per- 
formance of  his  duty.  He  fell  with  the  regimental  colors  in  his 
hands,  exclaiming  :  '  We  will  plant  it  here,  boys,  and  rally  the  old 
Twenty-fifth  around  it,  and  here  we  will  die.'  Such  conduct  is 
above  all  praise,  and  words  can  paint  no  eulogiums  worthy  of  the 
subject." 

Col.  Williams  and  two  of  his  children  were  buried  at  Oakwood 
Cemetery,  Troy,  New  York,  by  his  wife.  And  she  has  marked  the 
tomb  of  her  hero  by  a  beautiful  monument.  The  other  child  born  to 
them  is  buried  at  Camden,  Alabama,  and  only  the  wife  of  the  gallant 
soldier  still  lives.  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Williams  has  a  cosy  home  at  Che- 
banse,  bearing  within  its  walls  many  evidences  of  the  culture  and 
21 


322  HISTORY    OF   1ROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

refinement  of  its  owner,  and  with  tender  hands  she  has  placed  oa 
the  walls  of  her  parlor  pictures  of  her  heroic  husband,  and  also  of 
the  loved  little  ones  that,  with  their  brave,  noble-hearted  father,  await 
her  corning  on  the.  golden  shores  of  that  "  bright  and  better  land." 
To  Williams  Post,  No.  25,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  located  at 
Watseka,  Mrs.  Williams  has  presented  a  magnificent  silk  banner 
suitably  inscribed. 

From  a  newspaper  published  in  Troy,  New  York,  under  date  of 
January  25,  1863,  we  clip  the  following,  in  reference  to  the  burial  of 
Col.  Williams.  His  remains  were  sent  from  the  battlefield  to  Che- 
banse,  and  there  taken  in  charge  by  his  bereaved  wife  and  taken  to 
Troy,  and  buried  as  here  described : 

"  Yesterday  our  city  was  the  scene  of  one  of  those  sad  reminders 
of  the  stern  realities  of  war,  from  which,  thus  far  in  the  contest,  Troy 
has  been  comparatively  free.  The  spectacle  presented  yesterday,  at 
the  funeral  of  the  brave  Col.  Williams,  was  one  calculated  to  arouse 
the  deepest  feeling, — in  fact,  we  know  no  more  sad  public  demon- 
stration than  the  pageant  of  a  military  funeral.  The  led  horse  of 
the  fallen  warrior,  the  country's  flag  drooping  on  the  coffin,  the 
mournful  miner  music,  and  the  sword  he  has  wielded  in  many  a  good 
fight,  but  for  which  he  has  no  longer  any  use, — all  conspire  to  make 
it  an  impressive  occasion.  The  remains  arrived  in  the  city  on  Sat- 
urday, and  were  laid  in  state  at  the  armory  of  the  Citizens'  Corps, 
until  yesterday  noon,  when  the  funeral  procession  moved  thence  to 
Oakwood  Cemetery,  Brig. -Gen.  Allen,  with  a  portion  of  his  staff, 
Capt.  McConihe  and  Capt.  W.  F.  Calder,  acting  as  pall-bearers.  A 
detachment  of  twenty-five  regulars,  from  the  Watervliet  Arsenal, 
under  command  of  the  veteran  Sergt.  Smith,  acted  as  mourners. 
The  escort  consisted  of  the  artillery,  the  German  Rifle  Company,  the 
Republican,  Jackson,  Wool  and  Columbian  Guards, — the  whole  being 
under  the  command  of  Lieut.-Col.  Lawton.  Sullivan's  band  fur- 
nished the  music.  At  the  grave  the  usual  salute  was  fired,  and  every 
mark  of  respect  was  paid  to  the  warrior  who  had  '  gone  to  his  long 
home.'  ' 

Iroquois  county  may  well  feel  a  pride  in  the  fact  that  from  all  the 
brave,  true  men  whom  she  sent  from  her  broad  prairies  to  do  battle 
for  the  "old  flag,"  no  nobler  martyr  shed  his  blood  than  the  gallant 
Col.  Williams,  of  the  old  Twenty-fifth  regiment. 

Col.  Williams  was  a  magnificent  specimen  of  manhood,  standing 
six  feet  one  and  a  half  inches  in  his  stocking  feet,  and  being  well 
proportioned.  In  uniform  he  looked  the  soldier  he  proved  himself 
to  be.  His  face  wore  a  thoughtful  look,  and  was  kindly,  except 


IROQUOIS   COUNTY    IN   THE    WAR.  323 

when  it  showed  the  seal  •  of  determination.  Though  pleasant  and 
sociable  generally,  he  was  rather  modest  and  retiring  in  disposition. 
Had  he  lived  to  the  close  of  the  war,  Iroquois  county  would  doubt- 
less have  been  the  home  of  one  union  general,  for  the  bravery  and 
abilities  of  the  soldierly  Col.  Williams  would  have  been  recognized. 

It  is  known  to  be  a  fact  that,  after  the  battle  of  luka,  Capt.  Will- 
iams could  have  had  a  general's  commission  in  the  confederate 
forces,  had  he  seen  fit  to  turn  his  back  on  the  flag  he  loved  so 
well.  Like  the  noble  Gen.  George  H.  Thomas,  who  also  knew  and 
respected  Williams  as  an  excellent  soldier  in  Mexico  and  at  West 
Point,  whose  bones  now  repose  in  Oakwood  Cemetery,  only  a  few 
feet  from  those  of  Col.  Williams,  he  had  the  courage  to  say  No  to 
comrades  and  friends  he  loved,  who,  in  their  madness,  had  dared 
assail  the  "  old  flag  "  and  entreat  him  to  do  the  same  ungrateful  act. 
All  honor  to  the  brave  and  noble  soldier  who  laid  down  his  life  in 
defense  of  his  adopted  country,  and  may  its  chivalric  sons  emulate 
his  courage  and  cherish  his  memory.  , 

JAMES  H.  JAQUITII  was  born  near  Buckfield,  Maine,  on  June  18, 
1837.  He  resided  in  his  native  state  until  1855,  when  he  set  his 
face  westward,  and  settled  in  Lake  county,  near  Waukegan,  Illinois, 
and  at  once  cast  about  for  a  means  of  obtaining  a  livelihood,  and 
finally  decided  to  learn  the  carpenter's  trade,  working  at  that  trade 
in  Lake  county  for  several  years  until  he  became  a  competent  and 
skillful  mechanic.  A  year  or  two  before  the  outbreak  of  the 
rebellion  Jaquith  removed  to  Chebanse,  and  worked  at  his  trade 
there  and  at  Kankakee  city.  Soon  after  the  fall  of  Sumter,  young 
Jaquith  enlisted  in  Company  G  of  the  Twentieth  Regiment  of 
Infantry,  and  was  made  third  corporal,  and  afterward  promoted 
sergeant,  and  he  was  an  active,  faithful  soldier,  until  struck  down 
by  a  rebel  bullet  at  Shiloh  with  a  terrible  wound.  He  was  shot 
through  the  right  leg,  six  inches  above  the  knee,  and  lay  four  days 
upon  the  field  with  his  wound  undressed  and  uncared  for.  In  a  let- 
ter to  his  brother  he  speaks  of  these  four  days  of  suffering  in  the 
following  language:  ".  .  .  It  was  trying  to  body  and  soul.  .  .  . 
On  the  fourth  day  I  was  conveyed  to  a  boat  and  laid  on  a  tick 
of  straw,  the  softest  bed  I  had  laid  my  bones  on  for  eighteen  months  ; 
my  bed  had  usually  consisted  of  a  knapsack  for  a  pillow,  and  a  pil« 
of  sticks  or  stones  for  a  bed."  And  upon  this  bed  of  straw  the  gal- 
lant sergeant,  who  had  done  manful  duty  at  Donelson  and  escaped 
unscathed,  and  felt  himself  a  veteran,  waited  patiently  for  his  ugly 
and  painful  wound  to  heal ;  but  it  was  slow  in  healing,  and  he  was 
declared  to  be  too  badly  hurt  for  further  service  to  his  country,  and 


324  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

September  30,  1862,  the  maimed  soldier  was  honorably  discharged, 
and  returned  to  Kankakee  city,  and  in  a  little  time  resumed  work  at 
his  trade.  During  the  year  1863,  Jaquith  married,  at  Kankakee  city, 
Miss  Irene  E.  Merrill,  a  resident  then  of  Lake  county,  and  removing 
to  Chebanse  with  his  young  wife  began  housekeeping  there,  and 
continued  to  reside  at  Chebanse  until  the  spring  of  1865,  when 
responding  to  the  last  call  for  volunteers  for  one  year,  Sergt.  Jaquith 
recruited  and  led  to  the  field  as  its  captain,  Company  H  of  the  Fifty- 
eighth  regiment,  and  while  stationed  at  Montgomery,  Alabama,  he 
died  in  hospital  of  chronic  dysentery,  October  15,  1865,  sadly  mourned 
by  his  company,  a  loving  young  wife  and  little  daughter.  His  wife 
and  daughter  reside  at  Chebanse.  Captain  Jaquith  is  described  as 
being  a  tall,  dark  complexioned,  fine  looking  young  man,  loved  and 
respected  as  a  soldier  and  as  a  man. 

REV.  PETER  I.  WILLIAMS,  an  itinerant  preacher  of  the  M.  E. 
church,  was  assigned  to  Milford  circuit  in  1861,  and  little  was  known 
then  or  now  by  his  parishioners  of  the  antecedents  of  their  excellent 
pastor.  He  was  an  earnest,  active,  Christian  gentleman,  and  soon 
won  the  hearts  of  his  little  flock  at  the  then  country  town  of  Milford. 
He  busied  himself  in  getting  the  present  church  edifice  built,  which, 
by  the  way,  was  a  pretentious  building  in  those  days.  He  also 
preached  the  dedicatory  sermon,  and  was  regarded  as  an  eloquent 
and  earnest  minister  of  the  gospel, — a  man  wonderfully  zealous  and 
earnest  in  his  religious  faith.  He  was  a  man  of  some  thirty  years  of 
age,  and  an  earnest  advocate  and  supporter  of  the  union  cause  ;  and 
when  Company  E  was  being  recruited  for  the  Seventy-sixth  regi- 
ment, Rev.  Peter  I.  Williams  enlisted  and  used  his  influence  in 
securing  enlistments  to  the  company  ;  and  abandoning  the  comforts 
of  home,  a  young  wife,  and  a  congregation  of  Methodist  people  that 
loved  him  as  their  pastor,  he  went  to  the  front  to  help  put  down  the 
unholy  rebellion,  and  his  comrades  all  bear  testimony  to  his  excel- 
lent character  and  behavior  in  camp,  on  the  march,  and  in  battle, 
as  an  earnest,  God-fearing,  union-loving,  Christian  soldier.  While 
on  duty  with  a  squad  of  eight  of  his  men,  in  a  rifle  pit  on  the  skir- 
mish-line, close  to  the  fortifications  of  Yicksburg,  Lieut.  Williams  was 
mortally  wounded  by  a  ball  from  the  rifle  of  a  sharpshooter  in  the 
rebel  works,  the  same  bullet  also  wounding  private  George  Devore, 
one  of  his  men,  in  the  rifle  pit  with  him  at  the  time.  This  brave 
Christian  soldier  was  borne  to  the  hospital  of  his  command,  but  lin- 
gered only  a  few  hours,  and  June  21,  1863,  mourned  by  comrades, 
who  had  learned  to  love  him,  this  brave,  good  man  yielded  up  his 
life  upon  the  altar  of  his  country, — another  victim  to  the  fury  of  the 


IROQUOIS   COUNTY    IN    THE    WAR.  325 

slaveholders'  unholy  and  wicked  war.  In  the  death  of  Lieut.  Will- 
iams, Iroquois  county  lost  one  of  its  purest  patriots,  truest  soldiers, 
and  most  worthy  citizens  ;  the  church  lost  a  young,  ardent,  eloquent, 
warm-hearted  and  promising  teacher  and  preacher.  We  have  vainly 
sought  to  learn  something  of  the  early  life  of  this  earnest  Christian 
and  valiant  soldier,  who  laid  down  a  life  full  of  golden  promises,  as 
an  officer  of  one  of  the  gallant  companies  of  volunteers,  sent  into  the 
field  by  this  county,  but  have  only  been  able  to  learn  that  he  came 
to  this  county  from  the  west  part  of  the  state,  and  was  probably  a 
native  of  this  state.  The  most  reckless  and  roughest  boys  of  his 
company  respected  Lieut.  Williams  for  his  piety,  bravery  and  kind- 
ness of  heart ;  and  though  no  stone  may  mark  his  grave,  in  the 
hearts  of  those  men  who  faced  death  and  danger  with  him,  as  their 
leader  and  friend,  his  name  is  sacredly  enshrined,  and  to  the  end  of 
their  days  will  they  venerate  their  gallant  fallen  comrade,  as  the  true 
soldier,  Christian  and  patriot. 

LIEUT.  CHARLES  TAYLOR,  one  of  the  slain  heroes  of  this  county, 
came  to  Middleport  a  year  or  two  before  the  beginning  of  the  late 
war,  and  up  to  the  time  of  his  enlistment  in  the  old  Twentieth  he 
followed  his  trade,  that  of  a  carpenter  and  joiner.  His  friends  all 
bear  testimony  as  to  his  being  a  skillful  mechanic,  and  a  young  man 
of  fine  intellect  and  generous  impulses,,  but  unhappily  addicted  to 
the  vice  of  intemperance.  And  like  the  noble  "war  governor"  of 
our  state,  his  pernicious  habit  which  had  grown  upon  him  while  a 
resident  of  Philadelphia,  did  much  to  hide  the  noble  qualities  of 
head  and  heart  possessed  by  this  honest,  frank  and  adventurous 
young  man.  When  Sumter  was  fired  upon,  young  Taylor  was  among 
the  very  first,  if  not  the  first,  to  enlist  in  the  company  that  was 
quickly  formed  at  Middleport,  immediately  on  receipt  of  the  Presi- 
dent's call  for  volunteers,  and  was  very  active  in  securing  the  enlist- 
ment of  others.  Lieut.  Taylor's  soldierly  conduct  and  generous 
nature  won  for  him  favor  among  his  comrades  of  Company  I,  of  the 
Twentieth  regiment,  and  many  of  his  friends  at  home  (that  is,  his 
adopted  home),  admiring  the  bright,  generous  and  courageous  young 
fellow,  watched  his  conduct  in  the  field  with  some  little  pride,  as 
"Charlie"  gave  new  proofs  of  his  gallantry.  At  Britton's  Lane,  a 
battle  in  which  the  Twentieth  and  Thirtieth  Illinois  regiments  were 
attacked  by  an  overwhelming  force  of  rebels,  and  yet,  by  dauntless 
bravery  and  pure  western  pluck,  held  their  ground  and  gave  the 
enemy  a  good  sound  whipping,  despite  the  disparity  of  numbers, 
Lieut.  Taylor  was  in  the  thickest  of  the  battle,  and  his  saber  scab- 
bard was  struck  close  to  the  hilt,  and  scabbard  and  saber  so  battered 


326  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

and  twisted  by  the  shot  as  to  render  it  impossible  to  draw  the  blade 
from  the  scabbard.  The  lieutenant  sent  it  as  a  relic  of  the  fight  to  his 
friend,  Hon.  C.  Secrest,  of  this  city,  who  still  retains  it.  After  par- 
ticipating in  numerous  battles,  Lieut.  Taylor  was  finally  struck  down, 
after  over  three  years'  continuous  exposure  to  dangers  seen  and 
unseen  in  the  ranks  of  his  gallant  regiment,  by  a  rebel  bullet  in  the 
ankle,  during  the  hottest  of  the  fierce  struggle,  on  the  banks  of  Peach 
Tree  Creek,  a  few  miles  from  Atlanta.  He  was  helped  to  the  rear 
by  his  friend  and  comrade,  John  S.  Vemmm,  who  staid  with  him 
until  he  died  from  the  effects  of  his  wound,  which  he  received  June 
21,  1864.  His  death  occurred  on  the  24th,  and  he  was  buried  by 
Vennum  on  the  banks  of  Peach  Tree  Creek,  where  he  sleeps  the 
sleep  of  the  gallant  and  true  soldier. 

Among  the  knightly  young  heroes  who  fell  on  the  crimsoned 
field  of  Shiloh,  no  nobler  youth  died  the  death  of  a  brave  and  true 
defender  of  the  union  than  Corporal  PIIILO  P.  VENNUM,  of  Company 
I,  Twentieth  regiment.  He  was  a  young  man  of  about  twenty-two 
years,  when  the  rebel  bullet  shattered  the  precious  casket,  and  was 
a  fine-appearing  and  promising  young  man  ;  and  had  he  lived,  no 
doubt  his  family  and  the  country  would  have  been  honored  by  him. 
He  was  the  son  of  C.  C.  Yennum,  deceased,  one  of  the  pioneers  of 
Milford  township,  and  for  many  years  its  supervisor  and  most  hon- 
ored and  trusted  citizen,  and  the  brother  of  Hon.  Thomas  Yennum 
and  Capt.  J.  F.  Yennum.  Early  in  the  first  day's  battle,  young 
Yennum  was  struck  by  two  rebel  bullets,  one  of  which  cut  off  the 
forefinger  of  the  right  hand,  and  the  other  tore  through  the  muscle 
of  the  same  arm,  near  the  shoulder,  and  penetrating  the  right  side  of 
the  fearless  joung  warrior,  brought  his  tall  form  to  the  earth  ;  and  a 
few  moments  after  the  trampling  horde  of  traitors  passed  over  him 
in  pursuit  of  his  retreating  regiment,  that,  unable  to  stand  the 
simoon  of  destruction,  had  been  forced  from  that  part  of  the  field. 
His  body  was  found,  and  buried  by  his  cousin,  John  S.  Yennum,  and 
his  comrade,  Joseph  Leeds.  Many  of  his  comra'des  will,  doubtless, 
feel  a  pang  of  grief  seize  the  heart,  even  at  this  late  day,  as  they  read 
this  brief  tribute  to  a  noble  soldier  who  died  with  his  face  to  the  foe. 

SERGT.  CHARLES  BARD,  of  Chebanse,  and  one  of  the  first  settlers  of 
that  neighborhood,  after  farming  several  years  sold  his  farm,  moved 
into  Chebanse  and  went  to  merchandising.  He  enlisted  in  Company 
H,  Fifty-eighth  regiment,  under  Capt.  J.  H.  Jaquith.  Bard  was  made 
second  sergeant  of  his  company,  and  did  his  duty  faithfully  until  seized 
with  chronic  dysentery  at  Montgomery,  Alabama,  where  he  died  Sep- 
tember 23,  1S65.  His  widow  and  daughter  reside  at  Chebanse. 


IROQUOIS    COUNTY    IN    THE    WAR. 


327 


ROLL   OF   HONOR   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

Soldiers  from  this  county  that  were  killed  in  battle  or  died  in 
the  service  in  the  war  of  1861-5 : 


RESIDENCE.    MUSTERED  IN.    OROANIZATION. 


KILLED   OR   DIED. 


Ancel  B.  Oady 

Sydney  Henderson 


Win.  J.  Moore 

Serg.  Solon  White.  jPapineau 
William  Bondalovv.  Papineau 
Alexander  Gordon.  Papiueau 
Wm.  R.  Shoutter  ..!  Mil  ford.. 

Frank  B.  Eno ;  Loda  . . . . 

Serg.  G.  W.  Tolbert  Onarga  . . 
Corp.  J.  W.  Follett !  Onarga  .. 
Corp.  A.  W.  Wilson  Ouarga  .. 

Barney  Burn* |  Onarga  . . 

Riley  Chenneworth 'Onarga  .. 
Luci'ui  P.  Mendal. .  \  Onarga  . . 
David  H.  Putnam.. ; Onarga  . . 
Nelson  J.  Robinson  Onarga  .. 
Andrew  J.  Sellers  .  Onarga  .. 
William  Selvey —  Onarga  .. 
George  J.  Van  Ness  Onarga  . . 

Serg.  N.Dillon Onarga  .. 

Serg.  L.  Thayer  .. .  Onarga  . . 
Henry  Alexander  ..  [  Onarga  .. 
George  H.  Cooper  .  Onarga  . . 
William  Daniels...  Onarga  .. 
John  Robinson —  Ouarga  .. 
Wm.  N.  Skeels i  Onarga  . . 


Middleport  Oct.  21.  1861 . . 
Middleport  ;Sept,  14, 1861. 


Middleport  iDec.  18,  1863. 
Sept.  27,  1861. 
Nov.  21,  1361. 


e.y  •• 

ilson 


Corp.  P.  Tierne 
Saddler,  W.  Wf 
Jacob  Anderson 
Daniel  Chidsey  ... 
Win.  J.  Hamlin  — 

Simeon  Harris 

John  Haley 

Samuel  McGowan 


Loda 
Loda  ..  . 
Loda  . . . 
Loda  . . . 
Loda  .. 
Loda  . . 
Loda  .. . 
Loda  .. 


Joseph  McDonald  .  Loda 

Francis  Post  Loda 

Samuel  Sanders  . . .  Loda 
Gilbert  D.  Sperry..  Loda 
Edward  Webster  ..  I  Loda 


Charles  Edings Loda 

Tim  Broult L'Erable  .. 

Thomas  T.  P.  Cady  Ash  Grove. 

Win.  II.  Wilkinson  Chebanse.. 


. .  Nov.  12,  18lil. 
..Feb.  3.  1862  . 
. .  Sept.  10,1861. 
..'Sept.  10, 1861. 
.  .;Sept.  10, 1861. 
..'Sept.  10, 1861. 
.  'Sept.  10,1861. 
..'Sept.  10,1861. 
..  Sept.  10,  1861. 
..  Nov.  1.  1861.. 
..i  Sept.  10,1861. 
. .  I  Sept.  10, 1861. 
..Sept.  10,1861. 
..|Jan.  1,  1864  .. 
..|Ang.  1,  1862.. 
..!Dec.  1,  1861  .. 
..Aug.  1,  1862.. 
.  .|Feb.  1,  1862 

Aug.  1.  1862.. 

Jan.  1,  1863  .. 

Sept.  15,  1861. 

Sept.  15.  1861. 

Sept.  15, 1861. 

Sept.  15, 1861. 

'Sept.  15. 1861. 

Sept.  16, 1861. 

Sept.  15, 1861. 

Sept.  15, 1861 . 

Sept.  15,1861. 

Sept.  15, 1861. 

Sept.  15.  1861. 

Sept.  15,1861. 

Sept.  10, 1861. 


Jan.  12, 
Dec.  19,  1861  . 
Sept.  1,1861.. 
June  13, 1861 


2d  Lieut.  C.Taylor,  i  Middleport  I  March  1.  1862 
Corp.  George  Friel  Middleport  ^June  13,  1861. 
Corp.  F.  P.Vennum  Iroquois  Co  June  13, 1861. 
Corp.  A  Reynolds.  Iroquois  Co  June  13, 1861 

Joseph  Bray  ton Ashkum  ...  June  13,  1861. 

Jas.  Braudt!uburg..  Middleport  June  13,  1861 

John  W.  Bird Middleport  I  June  13,  1861. 

Laroy  T.  Thomas. .  Iroquois  Co  June  13,  1861. 

Jas.  H.  Thompson.  Oilman 'June  13,  1861. 

Oliver  Hudson Middleport 

William  A.  Jewell  .  Middleport 
Bcnj.  F.  Shockley  .  'Middleport 
James  Britton  ...'.. !  Aflhknm  . . . 


William  J.  Davis 
Henry  Leek 


Mil  ford  . 
Middleport 


June  15,  1863. 
April  23.  1861 
Nov.  1,  1862.. 


lenry  Le 

Col.  T.  D.  Williams  'Chebanse 
Serg.  Jas.  M.  Clark   Iroquois  Co  June  4,  1861.. 
Serg.L  H.Anderson  Iroquois  Co  June  4,  1861 


Corp.  M.  Neighbor. 
Corp.  T.  Peebles... 
Martin  V.  B.  Allen. 

Joseph  Guhl 

Torman  Hoel 

James  Johnson 

William  Johns 

Thomas  Kinder. . . . 
John  Little... 


Ash  Grove 
Martinlon 
Onarga  . .. 


June  4.  1861.. 
June  4,  1861.. 
June  4,  1861 


Martinton  .  June  4. 1861. 

Iroquois  Co  

Martinton  .  June  4,  1861. 


Martinton  . 

Loda 


June  4. 1861.. 
June  4,  1861 


Iroquois  Co  June  4, 1861. 


(Bat.  D,  1st  Art. 
Bat.  D,  1st  Art. 
Bat.  E,  1st  Art  . 
•  Bat.  E,  1st  Art  . 
Bat.  E,  1st  Art  . 
Bat.  E,  1st  Art  . 
Bal.  E,  1st  Art  . 
1  Bat.  L,  2d  Art. . 
Co.  M,  9th  Cav. 
Co.  M,  9th  Cav. 
Co.  M,  9th  Cav. 
Co.  M,  9th  Cav. 
Co.  M,  9th  Cav. 
Co.  M,  9th  Cav. 
Co.  M,  9th  Cav. 
Co.  M.  9th  Cav. 
Co.  M,  9th  Cav. 
I  Co.  M,  9th  Cav. 
Co.  M,  9th  Cav. 
[Co.  M,  9th  Cav. 
Co.  M,  9th  Cav. 
Co.  M,  9th  Cav. 
Co.  M,  9th  Cav. 
Co.  M,  9th  Cav. 
Co  M,  9th  Cav. 
Co.  M.  9th  Cav. 
Co.C,  10th  Cav. 
Co.  C,  10th  Cav. 
Co.  C,  10th  Cav. 
Co.  C,  10th  Cav. 
Co.  C,  10th  Cav. 
Co.  C,  10th  Cav. 
Co.  C,  10th  Cav. 
Co.  C,  10th  Cav. 
Co.  C,  10th  Cav. 
Co.C,  10th  Cav. 
Co.C,  10th  Cav. 
Co.C,  10th  Cav. 
Co.  C,  10th  Cav. 
Co.C.  lOih  Cav. 
I  Co.  E,  12th  Cav. 
ICo.C,  12th  Inf. 
Co.  G,  20th  Inf. 
Co.  I.  20th  Inf.. 
Co.  I,  20th  Inf.. 
Co.  I.  20th  Inf.. 
Co.  I,  20th  Inf.. 
| Co.  I,  20th  Inf.. 
Co.  I.  20th  Inf.. 
Co.  I,  20th  Inf. 
Co.  I,  20th  Inf.. 
Co.  T,  2()thlnf.. 
Co.  I,  20th  Inf.. 
Co.  I,  20th  Inf.. 
Co.  I.  20th  Inf.. 
Co  I,  20th  Inf. . 
Co.  I,  20th  Inf.. 
Co.  I  20th  Inf.. 
Co.  F.  25th  Inf. 
Co.  F,  25th  Inf. 
Co.  F.  25th  Inf. 
Co.  F,  25th  Inf. 
Co.  F,  25th  Inf. 
Co.  F,  2.-ith  Inf. 
Co.  P\  25th  Inf. 
Co.  F,  25th  Inf. 
Co.  F,  25th  Inf. 
;Co.  F,  25th  Inf. 
[Co.  F,  25th  Inf. 
Co.  F,  25th  Inf. 


D.  at  Fort  Donelson,  Feb.  16,  1862. 
D.  at  Cairo.  III.,  Nov.  25,  1861. 
D.  at  Nashville.  Tenn.,  Ffb  3,  1865. 
D.  at  Chebanse.  111.,  Oct.  23.  1861. 
D.  at  Memphis,  Tenn..  Sept.  12,  1863. 
D.  at  Memphis,  Sept.  17,  1863. 
D.  at  Memphis.  Sept.  9,  1863. 
D.  on  steamer  Champion.  May  6, 1862. 
D.  at  Reeve's  Sta.,  Mo.,  M»r.  31    1862. 
D.  at  Chicago,  Feb.  8,  1862. 
D.  nr  Jacksonport,  Ark.,  June  26. 1862. 
D.  at  Memphis,  Tenn.,  Feb.  12,  1864. 
D.  at  Reeve's  Sta.,  Mo.,  Mar.  22, 1862. 
D.  at  St.  Louis,  Oct.  13,  1864. 
D.  at  Memphis,  April  10,  1864. 
Drowned  in  Black  river,  June  26, 1862. 
Drowned  in  Black  river,  June  1,  1862. 
D.  at  Little  Black  river,  May  2,  1862. 
D.  at  Keokuk,  Iowa,  Oct.  8-  1862. 
D.  at  Columbia,  Tenn.,  Nov.  24,  1864. 
D.  at  Memphis,  Tenn.,  Oct.  1,  1862, 
D.  at  Onarga,  March  8,  1862. 
K.  at  Oxford,  Miss.,  August  13,  1864 
D.  at  St.  Louis. 

K.nrTishomingo  creek,  June  11, 1864. 
D.  at  Nashville,  Tenn.,  Dec.  24,  1864. 
D. 

D.  . 

D. 

'D,  at  Memphis,  Oct.  15,  1864. 
I). 

K.  in  battle. 

D.  at  Little  Rock,  Ark.,  Sept.  18, 1863. 
D.  at  Huntsville.  Ark.,  June  3.  1864. 
D.  at  Loda,  111..  Dec.  4,  1863. 
D.  at  Brownsville.  Ark.,  Sept..  13, 1863. 
K.  in  battle. 
D. 
D. 

JD.  at  Little  Rock,  Ark.,  Aug.  3.  1864. 
'D.  at  St.  Louis,  March  26,  1864. 
;D.  Nov.  13,  1862. 
!D.  at  Mound  City,  Dec.  9,  1861. 
|D.  July  29.  1864. 

K.  at  Champion  Hills,  May  16,  1863. 
•K.  at  Shiloh,  April  6,  1862. 
K.  at  Shiloh,  April  6,  1862. 
D.  at  Mound  City,  Nov.  8,  1861. 
K.  at  Raymond.  Miss.,  May  12.  1863. 
D.  at  Keokuk,  Iowa.  July  5,  1862. 
K.  at  Raymond,  Miss.,  May  12.  1863. 
D.  at  Vicksburg.  Miss.,  Dec.—,  1863. 
K.  at  Goldsboro,  N.  C.,  Dec.  16,  1*61. 
K.atFayetteville.  N.  C.,Mar.  11.1865. 
K.  near  Goldsboro,  N.  C.,  Jan.  5, 1865. 
K.  at  Edwards  Sta..  Miss..  May  6. 1862. 
D.  at  Millbrd.  III..  March  10,  1863. 
K.  in  action.  July  22,  1864. 
K.  at  Stone  River, Tenn.,  Dec.  31. 1862. 
D.  at  ClearCreck, Tenn., June 23, 1862. 
D   at  Jefferson  City.  Mo..  Oct,  23. 1861. 
K.  at  Pea  Ridge,  Ark..  March  8,  1862. 
K  at  Chickamauga.  Sept.  19,  1863. 
K.  at  Stone  River,  Dec.  31,  1862. 
D.  at  Murfreesboro.  Jan.  8.  1863. 
D.  at  Rolla  Mo..  Feb.  6,  1862. 
K.  at,  Mission  Ridge,  Nov.  25,  1865. 
D.  at  Springfield.  Mo.,  Nov.  11.  1861. 
D.  at  Chattanooga.  Jan.  11.  1864. 
K.  at  Mission  Ridge.  Nov.  25.  1863. 


328 


HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 


NAME. 


MiloLee 

Louis  Riddle 

Joseph  Riddle 

Michael  Slusher... 

P.  Stufflebeam 

Edwaru  Schmahorn 

\V.  C.  Ayres 

Jos.  C.  Bullington. 
Daniel  Harrington. 
Oliver  H.  Hopkins. 

John  Starritt 

Isaac  Taylor 

Joel  L.  Brooks 

Robert  Robinson  . 

Elisha  Karr 

William  Thomas 


RESIDENCE.   MUSTERED  IN.     ORGANIZATION. 


Martinton  .  June  4, 1861. 
Iroquois  Co  June  4,  1861. 
Iroquois  Co  June  4.  1861. 
ord  ....  June  4,  1861. 


F,  25th  Inf.  D. 
F,  25th  Inf.  D. 
F,  25th  Inf.iD. 


Mi  I  ford  .. 
Martinton  . 
Ashkum  . . . 
Iroquoj?  Co 
Iroqnois  Co 


June  4. 1861. 
June  4, 1861. 


Co. 

Co. 
I  Co. 
.Co.  F,  25th  Inf. 

Co.  F,  251  h  Inf. 

Co.  F,  25th  Inf. 

Co.  F.  25th  Inf. 

Co.  F,  25th  Inf. 

Co.  F,  25th  Inf. 


KILLED   OR  DIED. 


I). 


ni'ijuuin  v,'\jj \j\ft   i:  ,  £.*)  in  i  it  i , 

Iroquois Co.  F,  25th  Inf 


Ashkum 
Ashkum 
Ashkum .. 
Ashkum... 
Iroquois  Co 


I  j'nne'i,  isei! 

June  1,1861.. 


Co.  G.  25th  Inf. 


Co. 
Co. 

Co. 

Co. 

Milford  ....  Aug.  25,  1861.  Co. 
Philander II.  Foster  Bunkum...  Aug.  17,  1861.  !Co. 
William  Gilbert  ...  Bunkum. ..  I  Aug.  27, 1861.  Co. 

Isaac  Hoagland Bunkum...  Aug.  17.  lS(il.  Co. 

Joseph  t-herril IroquoisCo  Aug.  27,  1861.  Co. 

IsaacF. Smith Ashkum...  March  5,  1865.  Co. 

James  W.  Trotter  .  Middleport  Aug.  9,  1861..  Co. 
Corp.  M.Hosle....  Middleport  Sept.  90, 1861.  Co. 
Corp.  R.  A.  Tilton.  Middleport  |  Sept.  20.  1861.  Co. 
Corp.  H.  P.  Canada  I  Middleport  Sept.  20,  1861.  Co. 
Corp.  W.  Curry....  Middleport  Sept.  20,  1861. 'Co. 


G,  25th  Inf. 
G.  251  h  Inf. 
G.  25th  Inf.  D. 
E.  39th  Inf.  K, 


Corp. Chamberlain. 
Corp.  G.  Gravel 


Corp.  N.  R.  Harris,  j Middleport 
Corp.  R.  A.  Jolley.  'Middleport 
Corp.  J.  W.  Lyman  I  Middleport 
Corp.  W.  Matthews  Middleport 


Middleport  |Nov.  20,  1861.  Co. 
Middleport   Sept.  20,  1861.  Co. 


Corp.  C.  W.  Miller. 
Corp.  Montgomery. 

Louia  Green 

George  W.  Joel 

Isaac  Houghland  .. 

Oscar  Wade 

George  Connell 

Levi  Edwards 


Middleport 
Middleport 
Middleport 
Middleport 
Middleport 
Beaverville 
Iroqnois  Co 
Bel  mon t . . . 


Sept.  20,  1861. 
Nov.  1,  1861. 
Oct.  1.1861  .. 
Oct.  15. 1861..  Co. 
Sept,  20,  1861.  Co. 
Nov.  20,  1861.  Co. 
Dec.  23,  1863. 1  Co. 
Co. 

Co. 

Co. 


Feb.  27.  1864. 
March  31, 1862  Co. 


Jasper  N.  Moore.. .Belmont...  j  March  31, 1862  Co 
David  A.  Oppy ' Iroquois  Co  March  20, 1864' Co. 


William  P.  Sallee. 
Corp.  W.  Laughlin. 

William  Clurk 

Jonas  Lash 

Clinton  D.  Root... 
T.  C.  Rounsaville.. 
Corp.  C.  G.  Chapin 

Daniel  Tengley 

Capt.  J.  H.  Jaquinth 

Serg.  C.  Bard 

Samuel  Butcher  . . . 
Michael  Comfort .. 
Harmon  Dimick. .. 
Francis  Dulorgers  . 
Lcander  Mercier. . . 
Abraham  B.  Ogle  . . 
William  Smith  .... 
James  Shottenkirk 
W.  Shottenkirk  .. . 
Corp.  W.  Norton  .. 

Corp.  E.  Troup 

Corp.  John  Morris. 

Elijah  Biirker 

William  Crozier  . . . 

PeterGravlo 

N.  S.  Hundlev... 


Iroquois  Co 

Onarga 

Onarga 

Onarga  — 
Onarga  — 

Onarga 

Clifton  .... 
Ashkum .. . 
Chebanse.. 
Chebanse . . 
Chebanse.. 
Chebanee.. 
Martinton  . 
Papineati  . . 
Papineau .. 
Chebanse. . 
Chebanse.. 

Onarga 

Onarga 

Belmont . . . 
Middleport 
Middleport 
Middleport 
Middleport 
IroquoisTp 
Middleport 


Georire  W.  Izzard. .  Middleport 


Feb.  29,  1864. 'Co. 
Sept.  24  1861.  Co. 
Sept.  24,  1861.  Co. 
Sept.  24,  1861.  Co. 
Sept.  24,  1861.  Co. 
Sept.  24.  1861.  Co. 
Nov.  7, 1861..  Co. 
Jan.  1.  1864  ..  Co. 
April  1,  1865  .  Co. 
March  13, 1S65  Co. 
March  14. 1865  Co. 
March  14.  1865  Co. 
Feb.  18.  186i  .  Co. 
March  6,  1865  Co. 
March  6",  f865  Co. 
March  14  1865  Co. 
Feb.  27.  1865.  Co. 
Aug.  7,  1862..  C'o. 
Aug.  14,  1862.  Co 


G.  42d  Inf 
II.  42dlnf 
H.42d  Inf 
H.  42d  Inf 
II,  42d  Inf 
K,  43d  Inf 

B,  51st  Inf 

C,  51st  Inf.  U 
C.51st  Inf.  I) 
C,  51st  Inf.  D 
C.  51st  Inf.  D 
C,  51st  Inf.  D, 
C,  Slst  Inf    D, 
C,  51st  Inf.  D 
C,  51st  Inf.  D 
C,  51st  Inf.  D 
C,  51st  Inf.  D 
C,  51st  Inf.  D 
C,  Slst  Inf.  K 
C,  Slst  Inf.  D 
C,  Slst  Inf.  D 
C,  Slst  Inf.  K 
C,  Slst  Inf.  D 
C,  Slst  Inf.  .K 
C,  Slst  Inf.  D 
C,  Slst  Inf.  D 
C,  51st  Inf.  ID 
C'.  Slst  Inf.  ID, 
C,  57th  Inf.  K 
C,  57th  Inf.  I) 
C.  57th  Inf.  D 
C,  57th  Inf.  D 
C.  57th  Inf.   K 
C,  58th  Inf.  1) 
C,  58th  Inf.  I) 
H,  58th  Inf.  D 
II,  58ihlnf.  D 
II.  58th  Inf.  D 
H.  58'h  Inf.  D 
II,  58th  Inf.  D 
H,  58th  Inf.  D 
H,  58th  Inf.  1) 
H,  58th  Inf.  D 
H,  58th  Inf.  I) 


K,  72ddnf  . 
K,  72d  Inf  . 


July  24.  1862  .  Co.  A,  76th  Inf. 

July  24.  1862.  Co.  ' 

July  24.  1862. 

July  24,  1862 

July  24.  1-62 

July  24,  1862 

July  24,  ]«••> 


Co. 
Co 
Co 
Co 
Co. 


July  24,  1862  .  Co. 


Henry  Jones Middleport   July  24,  18W  .  Co. 

Daniel  G.  Jacobs  ..  Middleport   July  24.  186'i  .  Co 

Frank  Jackson Belmont...  July  24,  1862  .  Co 

Elisha  M.  Kendall  .  ;  Belmont . ...  July  24,  1862  .  Co 

Joel  Lesco Iroquois  Tp  July  24,  1862  .  Co 

William  McAtee. . .  iBelmont . . .  July  24, 186:3  .  Co 
IroquoisTp  July  24, 1862  .  Co 
Concord  . . .  July  24.  186'2  <  o 
Middleport  July  24,  1862  .  Co 
[Belmont...  Jill  y  24.  18'i2  .  Co 
Middleport  July  24,  1862  .  Co 
{Belmont...  'July  24,  1862.  Co 


George  Miller 
James  II.  O'Brine 
John  Rineheart. . . 
Ezekiel  Rockhold 
Samuel  Roberts  . . 

Asa  Sapp 

Chas.  W.  Spencer 


1) 
I) 
D 
A.  nth  Inf. IP 

A.  76th  Inf.  I) 
A.  76rh  Inf.  D. 
A,  76th  Inf.  D 
A,  76th  Inf.  I) 
A.  76th  Inf.  P. 
A,  76th  Inf.  K 
A.  7fith  Inf.  D. 
A,  76th  Inf  D. 
A.  76th  Inf.  D 
A.  76th  Inf.  D, 
A,  76th  Inf.  D, 
A.  76th  Inf.  D. 
A.  76th  Inf.  K. 
A.  76tli  Inf.  D. 
A.  76th  Inf.  I), 
A.  76th  Inf.  K, 
A.  76th  Inf.  1). 
A.  76th  Inf.  D. 
A.  76th  Inf.  D 


at  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  Nov.  27.  1861. 
at  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  Dec.  10.  1861. 
at  St..  Louis.  Mo.,  Dec.  18,  1863. 
at  Ottervllle,  Mo.,  Oct.  15.  1861. 
at  Chickamaugji.  Sep.  19.  1863. 
at  Rolla.  Mo..  Dec.  7, 1861. 
at.  Stone  River.  Dec.  31.  1862. 
near  Atlanta.  Ga.,  July  22.  1864. 
at  Bridgeport,  Ala.,  Nov.  16,  1863. 
at  Rolla,  Mo..  Nov.  25.  1861. 
at  St.  Louis.  Mo..  Dec.  11, 1861. 
at  Chattanooga,  Dec.  23,  1863. 
at  Nashville,  Tenn.,  Feb.  22,  1864. 
at  Knoxville,  Tenn.,  Feb.  7,  1863. 
at  Di ury's Bluffs,  Va.,  May  14. 1864. 
lit  Tipton,  Mo.,  Jan.  24,  1862. 
at  Tipton,  Mo.,  Dec.  25.  1861. 
Nov.  11.  1861. 

at  Smithton.  Mo.,  Jan.  3,  1862. 
at  Kesaca.  Ga..  May  14,  1864. 
at  Little  Rock,  Ark.,  Aug.  4,  1865. 
in  action,  Sept.  20,  1863. 
at  Sheldon.  111.,  March  26.  1862. 
at  Middleport,  111..  July  23. 1863. 
atFaimington,Miss.,  July  24. 1862. 
atFarmington,  Miss.,  May  28  1862. 
at  Farmington.  Miss.,  July  24, 1862. 
at  Andersonville.  Oct.  15.  1864. 
at  Chicago.  Jan.  30.  1862. 
near  Corinth.  June  11.  1862. 
at  Richmond,  Va..  March  12,  1864. 
at  Mound  City.  March  25, 1862. 
at  Chicago,  Jan.  7.  1862. 
at  Chickamuuga,  Sept.  20,  1864. 
at  Louisville,  Ky..  July  6.  1864. 
at  Chattanooga,  Sept.  14.  1864 
at  Franklin,  Tenn  ,  Nov.  30.  1864. 
near  Atlanta,  Gn.,  Sept.  20.  1864. 
at  Kern-saw  M'n,  June  27,  1864. 

at  Nashville.  Nov.  2, . 

at  Annapolis.  Md..  May  8.  1864. 

Dec.  6,  1864. 

June  30.  1864. 

at  Corinth,  Oct.  3,  1862. 

at  Paducah,  Ky. 

at  PittsburgLand'g.  April  15,  1862. 

at  Quincy,  111.,  May  21.  1862. 

at  shiloh.  April  6,  1862. 

April  13,  1862. 

at  Montgomery/Ala.,  Sept.  29. 1865. 

at  Montgomery,  Oct.  15.  1865. 

at  Montgomery,  Sept..  23.  1865. 

at  Montgomery.  Sept.  27,  1865. 

at  Montgomery,  Sept.  6, 1865. 

at  Montgomery.  Aug.  25,  1865. 

at  Montgomery,  Aug.  11,  1865. 

at  Montgomery,  July  1.  1865. 

at  Montgomery,  July  9,  1865. 

at  Montgomery,  July  17,  1865. 

at  Franklin.  Teim.,  Nov.  30.  1864. 

near  Vicksbnrg,  May  9.  1863. 

at  Bolivar.  Tenn.,  Oct.  26,  1862. 

at  Jackson.  Miss..  July  11,  1863. 

Oct.  2-2.  1864. 

at  Vick«burg,  Dec.  25,  1863. 

at  Columbus.  Ky.,  Oct.  8.  18i:2. 

at  Port  Hud-on.  LS..  Aug.  30,  1864. 

at  St.  Louis.  Dec.  18.  1862. 

at  Jackson.  Miss..  July  7.  18IV4. 

at  Memphis.  Tenn..  April  7.  1863. 

at  Memphis.  Tenn.,  Feb.  12.  1863. 

ut  Vick<burg.  May.  18.  1864. 

at  Middleport.  111..  Sept.  27.  1864. 

April  16,  1864. 

at  Bolivar.  Tenn..  Oct.  23,  1862. 

at  Jackson.  Miss..  July  7.  1864 

at  Virksburg.  Dec.  26,  1863. 

at  Halfway  Sta.,  Ind.,  July  24. 1864. 

June  2.  1863. 

at  VU'kshurg.  Jan.  8,  1864. 

at  Memphis.  Sept.  7.  1864. 

at  Vicksburg,  June  22.  1863. 


IROQUOIS    COUNTY    IN    THE    \VAK. 


329 


RESIDENCE.  I  MUSTERED  IN.    ORGANIZATION. 


Robert  Wright  Micldleport 

William  B\  Wilson.  Belmont... 

James  Brown Middleport 

A.  Brandenburg  . . .  Middleport 
J.  O.  Endsley,  Jr.. 
R.  E.  Fenncmore. 
Langdon  llogle. .. 

Calvin  Mason 

Micajah  Moore  .. . 

Joseph  Cote 

Dephis  Fortin 

Lieut.  P.  I.Williams  Mil  ford 

Serg.  J.  M.  Beedle.  <  Beaver 

Corp. J.B.McKiuley  Ash  Grove. 

Corp.  S.  Hall Crab  Apple 

Corp.  H.  II.  Palmer  Beaver 

Joseph  Eastburn  . .  Concord  . . . 

Abel  Burroughs Concord  . . . 

Benjamin  Brutton.  ;Ash  Grwve. 


KILLED   OR  DIED. 


Samuel  Clemens. . . 
Joseph  W.  Cleaver. 


Concord  . . 

Millord  .... 

T.  F."  Eastburn Middleport 

John  W.  Garland.. 'Milford  .... 
Addison  Hoskins..  Milford  — 
Thomas  P.  Handy.  PrairieGr'n 

James  Kline Beaver 

Kobert .heard 'Milford  .... 

H.  B.  Longnecker  .  Ash  Grove  . 

Henry  S.  Murray  . .  Beaver 

Thomas  W.  Manter  Concord  . .. 
S.W.Montgomery  Ash  Grove. 
Amos  W.  Markley.  Concord  ..  . 
Edward  Mitchell ...  Middleport 

Mason  Pier Milford  — 

Moses  Spain Ash  Grove. 

Hamilton  Spain  . . .  Ash  Grove 

Joseph  Sallee... 

John  H.  Best  .... 

Clinton  Cleaver. . 

Isaac  M.  Caldwell 

Jas.  W.  Higginson.  Ash  Grove. 

Serg.W.E.Schofleld ,  Loda 

Serg.  H.  B.  Hussey  Ash  Grove. 


jJuly  24,  1862  .  Co.  A,  76th  Inf  ;D.  at  Memphis,  Oct.  6,  1864. 
i  July  24,  1862  .  iCo.  A,  76th  Inf.  |  D.  at  Vicksburg,  May  28,  1864. 
July  24,  1862  .  Co.  A,  76th  Inf.  D.  at  Cairo,  Oct.  7.  1864. 
July  24,  1862  .  iCo.  A,  76th  Inf .  D.  at  Middleport,  Nov.  12.  1864. 

A.  76th  Iiif .  K.  at  Blakeley,  Ala.,  April  <),  1865. 

A,  76th  Inf .  D.  at  Vicksburg,  Jan.  30.  1861. 

A,  76  h  Inf.  D.  at  Memphis.  Sept.  22,  1864. 

A,  76th  Inf .  D.  at  Middleport,  Jan.  2,  1865. 

A,  76th  Inf.  D.  at  Mobile.  Ala.,  May  22,  1865. 

D,  76th  Inf.  D.  at  Memphis,  Tenn. 

D,  76th  Inf.  ,D.  at  St.  Mary,  111.,  Dec.  10.  1864. 

E,  76th  Inf.  'D.  at  Vicksburg,  Miss.,  June  21,  1863. 
E,  76th  Inf.  !D.  at  Memphis,  April  12,  1863. 

E,  76th  Inf.  D.  March  20, 1865. 

E,  76th  Inf.  JD.  July  29,  1864. 

E.  76th  Inf .  ,D.  at  Holly  Springs.  Dec.  19,  1862. 
.  E,  76th  Inf.  D.  at,  Sheldon,  111.,  Dec.  9,  1864. 
.  E,  76th  Inf.  D.  at  Vicksburg,  Aug.  22,  1864. 
.  E,  76th  Inf.  D.  at  La  Grange,  Tenn.,  Mar.  18,  1863. 


Middleport  July  24^  1862 

Crab  Apple 

Micldleport 

Belmont. .. 

Middleport 

St..  Mary.. . 

St..  Mary . . 


July  24,  1862 
July  24,  1862 
July  24,  1862 
July  24.  1862 
Aug.  7.  1862. 
July  28,  1862 


Aliif.  9,  1862. 
Aug.  6.  1862. 
Aug.  1,  1862. 
Aug.  7,  1862. 
Aug.  7,  1862. 
Aug.  9,  1862., 
Aug.  1,  1862. 


Aug.  4,  1862..! Co 
Aug.  12,  1862.  Co 


Beaver 
. .   Crab  Apple 
..  Milford.... 

Cimcord .. 


Corp.  J.  G.  Clawson 

Elijah  Bratton 

Loilis  Dilleback  .  . . 
Hiram  B.  Harris.. . 
William  B.  King... 

Oliver  P.  Nail , 

Aaron  Russell 

Samuel  Rowley 

George  W.  Thomas. 
Joel  L.  Vaughn  .... 
Elisha  Hawkins  . .. 

Wm.  Radway 

Myron  Anderson  .. 
Elon  C.  Burnett  ... 

John  Lynn  

Charles  H.  Miller.. 
Abraham  Weaver.. 
Serg.  J.V.T.  Shaffer 


Aug.  4,  1862. 
lAug.  3,  1862. 
!Aug.  8,  1863. 
Aug.  2,  1862. 
Aug.  9,  1862. 
Aug.  1,  1862. 
Aug.  11,  1862.1  Co. 
Aug.  9,  1862..  Co. 
Aug.  9,  1862..  Co. 
Aug.  6,  1862.. 'Co. 
Aug.  4,  1862..  Co. 
Aug.  9  1862..  iCo. 
Aug.  10,  1862-lCo. 
Aug.  1,  186-i?<]Co. 
Aug  3,  1862..  Co. 
Aug.  11,  1862. 1  Co. 
Dec.  17,  1863  .  Co. 
Co. 

C'o. 

CO, 

Co. 

Co, 

C'o. 

C'o. 

Co. 

C'o. 

Co. 

Co. 

Co. 

Co. 

Co. 


July  31.  1862 . 

July  22.  1862  . 
AshGrove  .  Aug.  5,  1862. . 
Ash  Grove.  JAus.'.  1  1862. 

Loda  :Aiig.  1,  1862.. 

AshGrove.  July  25,  1862. 

Loda  Aug.  5,  1862.. 

Ash  Grove.  Aug.  1,  1862.. 
Ash  Grove. 'Aug.  1,  1862.. 
AshGrove.  July  25, 1862. 
Ash  Grove.  Aug.  5,  1862. 


K.  76th  Inf.  D.  at  Moscow,  Tenn.,  Feb.  2,  1863. 

E.  76th  Inf.  D.  at  Cairo,  Sept.  3  1863. 

PA  76th  Inf.  ID.  at  Memphis.  Tenn  .  Sopt.  S8  1864. 

E,  76th  Inf.  D.  at  Milford,  Dec.  7,  1863. 

E,  76th  Inf.  1).  at  Milford.  May  23,  1864. 

E,  76th  Inf.  D.  at  Columbus,  Ky.,  Nov.  25  1862. 

E,  76th  Inf .  .1).  at  JeftVrson  Barracks.  Au«r.  18, 1863. 

E,  76th  Inf.  D.  nt  Memphis,  March  11,  1S63. 

E,  76th  Inf.  ID.  at  Mobile,  Ala.,  June  1.  1865. 

E,  76th  Inf.  I),  at  Memphis,  Aug.  16.  1863. 

E,  76th  Inf.  D.  at  Cairo,  Nov.  15,  1863. 

E,  76th  Inf.  D.July  11,  1864. 

E,  76th  Inf.  K.  near  Jackson,  Miss.,  July  7,  1864. 

E,  76th  Inf.  D.  at  Vicksburg.  Aug.  8,  1863. 

E,  76th  Inf.  Drowned  at  Natchez,  Aug.  14, 1863. 

E,  76th  Inf.  D.  at  Memphis,  March  7,  1865. 

E,  76th  Inf.  D.  at  La  Grange,  Tenn.,  Dec.  16.  1862. 

E,  76th  Inf.  !D.  at  Beaver,  111.,  Nov.  22.  186:}. 

E,  76th  Inf.  ;D.  at  Morgauza,  La.,  Aug.  16,  1864. 

E,  76th  Inf.  D.  at  Tallahatchie.  Miss..  Jan.  1. 1863. 

E,  76th  Inf.  'D.  at  Memphis.  May  4,  1863. 


E,  76th  Inf. 
K,  76th  Inf 


D.  at  Natchez.  Nov.  3,  1863. 

D.  at  Memphis,  Tenn.,  May  18.  1863. 


Ash  Grove.  Aug.  10,  1862. 
Ash  Grove.  Dec.  9.  1863  . . 
Iroquois  Co  Aug.  7,  1862. 
Iroquois  Co  Aug.  10.  1862. 
Ashkum  .. .  Auir.  10,  1862. 
Clifton  ....  July  29,  1862. 
Clifton  ....  July  29,  1862. 
Loda 


Ashkum  . . 


James  Brett I  Ashkum  . . . 

Louis  T.  Trounville  Clifton 

Leon  J.  Lourant.. .  Clifton  — 

Magloire  Puoton. .  .  Clifton  

John  Tibault Clifton  

Corp.  Brandenburg  Micldleport. 

Noah  Buck Middleport 

John  Bartholomew  Martinton  . 
JonathanW.  Lymau  M  iddleport, 
Ambrose  Lctahton  Middleport 

Francis  Ponto Chebanse. . 

Serg.  S.  L.  Thomas  Ouarga  .... 

Serg.  E.  G.  Hall Ouarga 

Serg.  G.  W.  Parcell  Onarga 

Serg.  T.  Webster  . .  Onarga 

Corp.  John  Harper.  Onarga 

John  W.  Briden  . . .  Onarga  

Henry  B.  Conn Spring  Cr'k 

Alonzo  W.  Curtis..  Onarga 


Owen  L.  Evans. .. 


Onarga  . . . 


Wm.  H.  Frazee ! Onarga 


Aug.  10,  1862. 

Aug.  14,  1862.  Co 

Aug.  14.  1862.  (V 

iAug.  14,  1862.  Co 

Aug.  16,  1862.  Co. 

Aug.  16.  1862  Co 

Aug.  16,  1862.  CO 

Aug.  18   1862.  Co 

Aug.  !),  1862..  Co 

Aug.  !),  1862..  Co 

Aug.  9,  1862  Co 

Aug.'.).  1862..  Co 

Aug.  <).  1862..  Co 

Aug.  12,  1862.  Co 

July  30,  18»i2  .  Co 

July  28,  1862.  'C'o 

July  30,  1862.  i  Co 
July  29,  1862., Co 

July  30,  1862.  Co 

Aug.  7.  1862..  Co 
Aug.  14,  1862.  Co 

Aug.  7.  1862..  Co 

IAug.  14, 1862  C'o 


K,  76th  Inf.!K.  at  Blakeley,  Ala..  April  9,  1865. 
K.  76th  Inf.  D.  at  La  Grange.  Tenn.,  Dec.  4,  1862. 
K,  76th  Inf.  K.  at  Jackson,  Miss..  July  7,  1864. 
K,  76th  Inf/K.  at  Jackson.  Miss.,  July  7,  1864. 
K,  76th  Inf.  D.  at  Oxford,  Miss.,  Dec.  17,  1862. 
K,  76th  Inf.;D.  at  Holly  Springs,  Dec.  10,  1862. 
K,76th  Inf.  D.  at  Columbus,  Ky.,  Oct.  5,  1862. 
K,  76th  Inf.  D.  at  La  Grange,  Tenn.,  Nov.  16,  1862. 
K,  76th  Inf.  K.  at  Jackson,  Miss.,  July  7,  1864. 
K,  76th  Inf.  D.  at  La  Grange,  Tenn.,  Dec.  3,  1862. 
K.  76th  Inf .   I),  at  St.  Louis,  April  11,  1863. 
K,  76th  Inf.  D.  July  7,  1864. 

C,  88th  Inf.  I),  at  Nashville.  Tenn.,  Jan.  13,  1864. 
C,  88th  Inf .  ,K.  at  Adifirsville.  Ga.,  May  17,  1864. 
C,  88th  Inf.  D.  at  Murfreesboro,  Ana.  3,  1863. 
C.  88th  Inf.  1).  Dec.  8,  1862. 
C,  88th  Inf.  I).  Jan.  30.  1864. 

C,  88lh  Inf.  K.  at  Stone  Kiver,  Dec.  31,  1862. 

K,  88th  Inf.  D.  at  Gallatin,  Tenn.,  Dec.  26,  1862. 
K,  88th  Inf.  D.  in  Andersonville  pr.,  July  25. 1864. 

D,  89th  Inf.  ID.  Nov.  14,  1862. 

I),  89th  Inf.  D.  in  Andersonville  pr.,  Sept.  1   1864. 

D,  89th  Inf.  D.  at  Louisville,  Ky.,  Sept.  2,  1863. 

1),  89th  Inf.  D.  at  Louisville,  Ky.,  Feb.  3.  1864. 

B,  113th  Inf;D.  at  Vicksburg,  June  18.  1863. 

B,  113th  Inf  iD.  at  Corinth.  Miss..  Sept.  17,  1863. 

H.  113th  Inf  D  at  Corinth.  Miss.,  Sept.  15,  1863. 

B.  113th  Inf  D.  at  J<  fferson  Barracks,  Jan.  21.  1863. 

B,  113th  Inf  D.  at  Corinth,  Miss..  Sept.  27,  1863. 

B,  113th  Inf  K.  at  Vicksburg,  May  19,  1863. 

I),  113th  Inf  D.  at  St.  Louis!  Mo.,  March  11.  1863. 

D,  113th  Inf  D.  at  Young's  Point,  Feb.  13,  1863. 

1),  113th  Inf  D.  at  Memphis.  Dec.  31,  1863. 

D,  113lh  Inf  D.  at  Mobile.  Ala.,  July  4,  1864. 

I).  113th  Inf  K.  Sept.  30.  1864. 

J),  113th  Inf  D.  at  Del  Key.  111.,  March  5.  1863. 

D,  113th  Inf  D.  at  Camp  Butler,  111.,  July  3,  1864. 

D,  113th  Inf  I),  at  Young's  Point.  La.,  Feb.  10. 1863. 

D,  113th  Inf  K.  at  Arkansas  Post.  Jan.  11,  1864. 

D.  113th  Inf  D.  at  Camp  Butler,  111.,  Oct.  8,  1864. 


330 


HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 


NAME. 

RESIDENCE. 

MUSTERED  IN.    ORGANIZATION. 

KILLED   OR  DIED. 

George  W.  Goble.. 
Samuel  J.  Harper.. 
Andrew  S.  Harper  . 
James  G.  Hopkins. 
James  S.  Jones.  .  .  . 

Onarga  .... 
Onarga  .... 
Onarga  .... 
Onnrga  
Ouarga  
Onarga  
Onarga  
Onarga  
Milford.... 
Onarga  .... 
Milford.... 
Onarga  .... 
Ash  Grove  . 
Onurga  
Onarga  
Onarga    .  . 

Aug.  19.  1862. 
Aug.  4,  1862. 
Aug.  6,  1862.. 
Aug.  9,  1862 
Aug.  15,  1862. 
July  30.  1862  . 
Aug.  9.  1862.. 
Aug.  14,  1863. 
Aug.  13,  1862. 
July  30.  1862  . 
Aug.  15,  1862. 
Aug.  20,  1862. 
Aug.  7.  1862.. 
Ang   12,  1862. 
Jan.  14,  1864  . 
Jan.  4,  1864 

Co.  D,  113th  Inf 
Co.  D,  113th  Inf 
Co.  D,  113th  Inf 
Co.  D,  113th  Inf 
Co.  D,  113th  Inf 
Co.  D,  113th  Inf 
Co.  D,  113th  Inf 
Co.  D.  113th  Inf 
Co.  D.  113th  Inf 
Co.  D,  113th  Inf 
Co.  I),  113th  Inf 
Co.  D,  113th  Inf 
Co.  D,  113th  Inf 
Co.  D,  113th  Inf 
Co.  D.  113th  Inf 
Co.  D,  113th  Inf 
Co.  D.  113th  Inf 
Co.  I),  H3th  Inf 
Co.  D,  113th  Inf 
Co.  F.  11  3th  Inf 
Co.  F.  113th  Inf 
Co.  F,  113th  Inf 
Co.  F,  113th  Inf 
Co.  F,  113th  Inf 
Co.  F,  113th  Inf 
Co.  F,  113th  Inf 
Co.  F.  113th  Inf 
Co.  F,  113th  Tuf 
Co.  F.  113th  Inf 
Co.  F.  113th  Inf 
Co.  F,  113th  Inf 
Co.  F,  113th  Inf 
Co.  F.  113th  Inf 
Co.  F,  113th  Inf 
Co.  F,  113th  Inf 
Co.  F.  113th  Inf 
Co.  F.  113th  Inf 
Co.  F,  113th  Inf 
Co.  F.  113th  Inf 
Co.  F,  113th  Inf 
Co.  F,  113th  Inf 
Co.  F,  113th  Inf 
Co.  F.  113th  Inf 
Co.  H,  113th  Inf 
Co.  H,  113th  Inf 
Co.  H,  113th  Inf 
Co.  H.  113th  Inf 
Co.  H,  113th  Inf 
Co.  I,  113th  Inf. 
Co.  I,  113th  Inf. 
Co.  I,  113th  Inf. 
Co.  I.  113th  Inf 
Co.  I,  113th  Inf. 
Co.  I,  113th  Inf. 
Co.  I,  113th  Inf. 
Co.  I.  113th  Inf. 
Co.  I,  113th  Inf. 
Co.  I.  113th  Inf. 
Co.  I.  113ih  Inf. 
Co.  I.  113th  Inf. 
C'o.  I,  113th  Inf. 
Co.  I,  11  3th  Inf. 
Co.  I.  113th  Inf. 
Co.  I.  113th  Inf. 
Co.  I,  113th  Inf. 
Co.  I,  113th  Inf. 
Co.  I.  113th  Inf. 
Co.  I.  113th  Inf. 
Co.  1),  150th  Inf 

D.  near  Yazoo  river,  Jan.  2,  1863. 
D.  at  St.  Louis.  Feb.  25,  1863. 
D.  at  Holly  Springs.  Jan.  11,  1863. 
D.  at  Onarga.  April  6,  1863. 
K.  June  30.  1864. 
D.  at  Mound  City.  111.,  Mar.  20,  1863. 
D.  at  Vicksburg,  June  26.  1863. 
D.  at  Camp  Butler,  Feb.  22.  1864. 
D.  at  Memphis,  March  12.  1865. 
D.  at  Chicago.  Oct.  17.  1S62. 
D.  at  Memphis.  Dec.  17,  1862. 
D.  on  hospital  boat.  March  29,  1863. 
D.  at  Onarga.  Oct.  2,  1862. 
D.  at  Richmond.  Va.,  Aug.  19.  1863. 
D.  in  Andersonville  pr.,  Aug.  22,  1864. 
D.  at  Memphis,  June  1,  1864. 
D.  in  Andersonville  pr..  Ausr.  22.  1864. 
D.  in  Andersonville,  Sept.  15.  1864. 
D.  at  Camp  Butler,  Feb.  13.  1864. 
D.  at  St.  Louis,  April  1,  1863. 
K.  at  Arkansas  Post,  Jan  11.  1863. 
D.  at  St.  Louis,  Feb.  8.  1863. 
D.  in  Iroquois  countv.  Oct.  13,  1863. 
D.  at  Memphis.  Feb.'  26,  1863. 
D.  at  Memphis.  March  3,  1863. 
I),  at  borne,  Feb.  20,  1865. 
D.  at  Young's  Point,  March  18  1863. 
D.  at  Camp  Butler. 
D.  on  steamer  Ed.  Walsh,  Jan.  22,  1863. 
D.  in  Iroquois  county,  Jan.  15,  1865. 
D.  in  Andersonville,  Oct.  18,  1864. 
D.  at  Chicago.  Nov.  15,  1862. 
D.  in  Iowa,  March  —  .  1863. 
D.  at  Young's  Point.  Feb.  10.  1863. 
D.  at  Chickasaw  Bluff.  Dec.  31.  1862. 
D.  at  Camp  Butler,  May  21,  1863 
D.  at  St.  Louis,  July  7.  1863. 
D.  in  Andersonville  pr.,  Oct.  10,  1864. 
D.  in  Andersonville,  Oct.  —  ,  1864. 
K.  at  Guntown,  Miss.,  June  10,  1864. 
D.  at  Springfield,  111. 
D.  at  Camp  Butler,  March  18.  1864. 
D.  at  Memphis,  March  22.  1865. 
D.  at  Memphis,  Dec.  17,  1862. 
I),  at  Young's  Point,  April  9.  1863. 
D.  at  Corinth,  Miss.,  Sept.  6,  1863. 
I),  near  Hipley,  Miss..  June  10.  1864. 
D.  at  Young's  Point,  Feb.  4.  1863. 
D.  at  St.  Louis.  F^b.  17.  1863. 
D.  at  Corinth,  Miss.,  Aug.  17.  1863. 
D.  at  St.  Louis,  Dec.  20,1862. 
K.  at  Arkansas  Post.  Jan.  11,  1863. 
I),  at  Memphis,  Dec.  15.  1862. 
D.  at  Camp  Yates.  Ill  .  Jan.  13.  1864. 
D.  at  C'p  Hancock  111..  Oct.  19.  1862. 
I),  at  Camp  Butler.  Oct.  13.  1863. 
I),  at  Camp  Kutler.  March  14,  1863. 
D.  at  Camp  Butler,  Oct.  28,  1863. 
D.  at  Memphis,  Dec.  6,  1862. 
D.  at  Memphis.  Dec.  7.  1862. 
I),  at  Memphi-.  Nov.  26.  1864. 
D.  at  Young's  I'oint,  April  5.  1862. 
D.  at  Young's  Point,  March  14,  1863. 
D.  on  steamboat.  Jan.  23.  1863. 
D  at.  Young's  Point.  March  13.  1863. 
D.  at  Cahawba.  Ala..  Sept.  8.  1S6J. 
D.  at  Camp  Butler.  April  10.  1863 
1).  in  Andersonville  pr..  Sept.  8,  1864. 
D.  at  Nashville,  Tenn.,  July  24,  1865. 

William  Lee  
William  Marshall.. 
Abraham  Meffard.. 
Hiram  Shaw  .... 

Harvey  Strain  
Landrum  Search.  .  . 
David  Swank  

Lewis  Thomas  
Greenberry  Davis  .  . 

Alden  Lindsay  
Simeon  T.  Shook.. 
John  Stnfflebeam.. 
Corp.  W.  F.  Higgle 
George  E.  Harden  .  . 
Benjamin  A.  Burt  . 
Manfred  Flesher.  .  . 
Peter  Freeberg  
Joseph  S.  Harwood 
Walter  Hooker  
H'.  A.  Henderson  .. 
R.  Leatherman 

Onarga  .... 
Middfeport 

Onarga  .... 

Oct.  22,  1863  . 
Dec.  9,  1863  .  . 

Middleport 
Middleport 

Milford.... 
IroquoisTp 
Beaver  
Gilman  
Middleport 
Middleport 
Iroquois  Co 

Aug.  12,  1862. 
Aug.  12.  1862. 
Aug.  12,  1862. 
Aug.  12,  1862. 
Aug.  12,  1862. 
An's.  12.  1862. 
Aug.  12,  1862. 
Aug.  12,  1862. 

Marcellus  Keen  — 
James  McManus..  . 
Joseph  Miller  
N.  B.  McC'lintock.. 
Wm.  N.  Sturtevant 
Abijah  Shepard  — 
William  Tyler  ...   . 
Henry  Warren  
J.  A.  Whiteman  .  .. 

MiddK-port 
Belmont  .  .  . 
Belmout  .  .. 
Middleport 
Iroquois  Tp 
IroquoisTp 
Middleport 
Middleport 
Concord  .  .  . 
Belmont  .  . 

Aug.  12,  1862. 
Ang.  12,  1862. 
Aug.  12,  1862. 
Aug.  12,  1862. 
Aug.  12,  1862. 
Aug.  12,  1862. 
Aug.  12,  1862. 
Aug.  12,  1862. 
Aug.  12,  1862. 

James  Miller      .... 
James  O.  Pugh  
John  Rush  
Isaac  D.  Tnllis  ... 
Joseph  Warren  
Thomas  Elliott  .... 
Sylvester  Lyons  .  .  . 
Henry  A.  Miner  ... 
Frank  Roth  
George  Stiffles  
Corp.  Wm.  Hush  , 
Benjamin  Appleget 
Alexander  Black  .  . 
Harvey  Barr  
Thomas  Carpenter. 
Henry  Fry  

Middleport 
Middleport 
Middleport 
Belmont  .  .  . 

Dec.  4,  1863.. 
Dec.  28,  1863. 
March  4,  1864. 

Belmont.  .. 
Chebanse  .. 
Chebanse.. 
Chebanse  .  . 

Chebanse  .. 
chehanpe.  . 
Iroquois  Co 
Iroquois  Co 
Iroquois    .. 
Iroquois  Co 
Iroquois  Co 
Iroquois  Co 
Iroquois  Co 
Iroquois  Co 
Iroquois  .  .  . 
Iroquois  Co 
Iroquois  Co 
Iroquois  Co 
Iroquois  Co 
Iroquois  Co 
Iroquois  Co 
Iroquois  Co 
Iroquois  Co 
Mil  lord.... 

Aiig!  22,  'is'ea! 

Aug.  13.  1862 
Aug.  7.  1862.. 
Aug.  13,  1862. 
Aug.  14,  1862. 
Aug.  8,  1862.. 
Aug.  8.  1862.. 
Aug.  11,  1862. 
Ausr.  15.  1862. 
Aug.  8.  1862.. 
Aug.  9,  1862  . 
Aug.  10.  1862. 
Aug.  14.  1862. 
Aug.  7.  1862.. 
Aug.  7,  1862.. 
Aug.  12,  1862. 
Aug.  10.  1862. 
Aug.  11.  1862. 
Aug.  9,  1862.. 
Aug.  13,  1862. 
Aug.  12.  1862. 
Aug.  11.  1862. 
Dec.  9,  1863  .. 

Clause  Halderman. 
Thomas  Kane  
Wm.  Leatherman  . 
Riley  Lister  
Abraham  Markley. 
Cyrus  Murray  
Samuel  Morgan  
Cornelius  Morgan  . 
Mathew  Pinnco  .... 
Jacob  F.  Plummer. 
Nimrod  Romine  .  .  . 
Smiley  J.  Dawson  . 
William  R.  Frv.... 

James  A.  Leighdy  . 
Wm.  C.  Ttittle  

Milford.... 

Chebanse  .. 

Dec.  9.  1863.. 
Jan.  21,  18o5  . 

HISTORY  OF  IROQUOIS  COUNTY. 

BY  E.  S.  RTCKER. 

Iroquois  county  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Kankakee  county,  on 
the  east  by  Indiana,  on  the  south  by  Vermilion,  and  on  the  south 
and  west  by  Ford  county.  It  is  about  thirty-five  and  one-half  miles 
from  north  to  south,  and  thirty -two  miles  from  east  to  west/  It  com- 
prises seven  ranges,  two  of  which  are  fractional.  By  reference  to  the 
map  it  will  be  seen  that  five  are  reckoned  west  from  the  second  prin- 
cipal meridian,  and  two  east  from  the  third  principal  meridian.  All 
the  townships  in  the  county  are  numbered  north  from  the  base  line. 
Starting  at  the  south  side  with  number  twenty-four  and  finishing  at 
the  north  with  twenty-nine,  we  have  six  townships ;  a  strip  two  miles 
wide  on  the  north  side  of  the  last  lying  in  Kankakee.  The  county  is 
divided  into  twenty-five  political  townships. 

The  face  of  the  country  has  few  natural  diversifications.  Origin- 
ally, Iroquois  county  was  well  wooded,  and  much  valuable  timber 
grew  on  the  borders  of  the  streams;  but  the  woodman's  ax  with 
thoughtless  care  and  speculative  industry  long  ago  thinned  it  out  and 
consigned  the  choice  growth  to  the  uses  of  improvement  far  and  near. 
The  surface  is  well  elevated  and  gently  undulating.  The  southern 
border  of  the  county  rests  upon  the  summit  of  the  water-shed  from 
which  streams  flow  in  opposite  directions  to  the  Illinois  and  the 
Wabash*  rivers.  Iroquois  county  lies  on  the  northern  slope  of  this 
great  ridge,  a  tract  of  country  superb  in  every  feature,  and  of  rare 
fertility,  whose  superior  advantages  for  dairying  and  agriculture, 
added  to  a  fine  geographical  position  in  relation  to  markets,  renders 
it  possible  to  become  one  of  the  richest  regions  in  the  Northwest. 
The  soil  is  a  black  vegetable  mold,  varying  from  one  and  a  half  to 
two  feet  in  depth,  and  is  nearly  uniform  throughout  the  county. 
The  quadrilateral  formed  by  the  Iroquois  river  and  comprising  the 
northeast  quarter  of  the  county  contains  several  sandy  tracts,  which 
possess  but  little  fertility.  These  do  not  constitute  more  than  five 
per  cent  of  the  whole  area. 

The  county  presents  an  admirable  system  of  natural  drainage  by 
means  of  its  larger  watercourses  and  their  numerous  tributaries. 


332  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

The  principal  streams  are  the  Iroquois  river,  Sugar,  Mud,  Fountain 
Spring,  Prairie,  Langham,  Pike  and  Beaver  creeks.  The  chief 
feeders  to  these,  which  have  recognized  names,  are  Rush,  Coon  and 
Pigeon  branches  ;  Miller's,  or  the  west  branch  of  Spring  creek  ;  Shave 
Tail,  or  Jefferson  ;  and  the  Ashkum  and  Gilrnan  ditches.  These 
streams  are  generally  sluggish  and  turbid.  The  Iroquois  river,  from 
Sugar  Island  (just  over  the  county  line)  to  its  mouth,  is  shallow  and 
rocky.  Along  this  whole  distance  silurian  limestone  abounds ;  but 
above  the  island  the  tide  is  deep  and  slack,  and  navigable  for  flat- 
boats  nearly  to  the  state  line.  Fish  are  tolerably  abundant  in  the 
river  and  larger  creeks,  but  less  so  than  a  few  years  ago.  Artificial 
obstructions  interfere  with  their  running.  The  most  common  kinds 
found  are  pike,  catfish,  bass,  suckers,  dogfish,  red-horse,  some 
buffalo  and  a  few  eel.  The  River,  Sugar,  Mud,  Spring,  Langham  and 
Beaver  creeks  are  skirted  by  considerable  timber  belts.  Some  of  the 
others  have  woodlands  near  their  mouths,  and  a  few  spontaneous 
groves  in  the  vicinity  of  watercourses  are  seen.  Planted  ones  are 
becoming  numerous  and  meet  the  eye  in  every  direction.  The 
choicest  part  of  the  natural  timber  has  been  cut  and  sent  to  market. 
In  some  places  the  land  has  been  entirely  cleared  to  improve  it  for 
pasture,  as  well  as  to  feed  the  saw-mills.  The  most  common  varieties 
of  timber  are  red,  white  and  burr  oak,  black  walnut,  butternut,  iron- 
wood,  wild  cherry,  swamp  beech,  ash,  sugar  maple,  soft  maple, 
hickory,  elm  and  honey  locust.  Crab  apple  and  plum  bushes  abound 
in  certain  localities. 

The  geological  facts  are  too  meager  to  furnish  much  popular 
information.  The  county  was  once  covered  by  the  waters  of  lake 
Kankakee.  It  is  supposed  that  this  lake  had  a  southeastern  outlet  into 
theWabash  valley  before  the  present  channel  of  the  Kankakee  river 
was  worn  through  the  sand  ridges  above  and  the  deposits  of  rock  below. 
The  ancient  southern  outlet  of  lake  Michigan  through  this  county 
was  grooved  out  by  the  glacier  which  crossed  the  present  route  of  the 
Kankakee  a  little  above  Momence,  and  whose  width  at  that  point 
has  been  set  down  at  seven  miles.  Continuing  not  far  from  the  state 
line,  the  glacier  bore  southwest  from  the  north  line  of  the  county, 
until  it  reached  the  Spring  Creek  valley,  where  its  course  was 
changed  again  to  a  more  southerly  direction.  No  rock  is  near  the 
surface,  and  no  other  minerals  of  any  value  exist.  In  boring 
for  water,  coal  has  been  found  on  several  occasions  in  the  eastern, 
central  and  northern  sections  of  the  county.  It  is  reported  that  in 
sinking  a  well  recently  near^the  mouth  of  Langham  creek,  a  vein  of 
coal  two  feet  thick  was  struck  at  a  depth  of  fifty-eight  feet ;  and 


HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  333 

twenty  feet  lower  another  three  feet  thick.  It  is  further  stated  that 
on  the  farm  of  Alexander  Sword,  Jr.,  in  Iroquois  township,  coal  was 
found  two  and  one-half  feet  in  thickness,  ninety-two  fe&t  below  the 
surface.  It  is  said  that  east  of  Watseka  coal  has  been  discovered, 
but  not  in  available  quantity. 

The  artesian  water  found  in  this  region  is  an  interesting  feature 
of  the  geological  formation  of  this  part  of  the  country.  Wells  are 
obtained  at  a  depth  varying  from  twenty-five  to  150  feet.  Though 
his  reasoning  concerning  the  water-supply  was  limited  to  a  compara- 
tively small  area,  Thomas  Lindsey,  of  Onarga  township,  was  the 
first  to  bore  with  an  intelligent  theory  and  distinct  purpose.  Until 
1854  none  but  surface  wells  were  made.  These  customarily  failed 
in  the  summer  season,  and  the  deprivation  suffered  was  always 
serious,  especially  as  cattle  had  to  drink  from  stagnant  pools,  and, 
swallowing  leeches,  were  attacked  with  what  people  called  ' '  bloody 
murrain,"  a  disease  which  popularly  covers  a  multitude  of  disorders. 
Much  stock  was  lost  every  year ;  and  more  than  this,  the  health  of 
the  country  was  greatly  affected.  Lindsey  bored  in  the  bottom  of  two 
wells  with  so  much  success  as  to  set  others  to  thinking  that  they 
could  get  water  by  boring  from  the  top.  The  first  to  experiment  in 
this  way  was  Solomon  Sturgis,  whose  farm  lies  just  west  of  Gilman. 
A  man  named  Hook,  from  Zanesville,  Ohio,  did  the  boring.  He 
obtained  water  at  a  depth  of  100  feet.  It  rose  to  the  top  of  the 
ground,  but  did  not  flow.  He  next  bored  in  the  railroad  well  at 
Onarga,  and  at  something  over  100  feet  a  vein  of  great  strength  was 
reached.  Samuel  Harper,  two  miles  east  of  Onarga,  not  long  after- 
ward got  the  tools  to  his  place,  and  obtained  a  stream  at  eighty-five 
feet.  This  was  the  first  flowing  well  in  Iroquois  county.  A  reser- 
voir was  excavated  eight  and  one-half  feet  deep,  and  five  feet  in 
diameter,  in  the  bottom  of  which  the  augur  was  sunk.  Mr.  Harper 
states  that  it  filled  in  eight  minutes.  The  roaring  of  this  well  intro- 
duced grateful  sounds  and  substantial  music  to  the  ears  of  the  family. 
It  was  regarded  with  curiosity  and  wonder,  and  attracted  people 
from  far  and  near,  by  stage  and  by  rail.  The  newspapers  spread 
word  of  it,  for  it  harbingered  not  relief  alone,  but  great  possibilities 
also.  The  tools  next  went  to  Hamilton  Jefferson's,  and  a  good  well 
was  made  on  his  farm.  The  third,  obtained  for  Addisoii  Harper, 
was  remarkable  for  its  force.  John  Oxford's,  in  the  same  neighbor- 
hood, was  also  very  strong,  "yielding,"  according  to  the  editor  of 
"Emery's  Journal  of  Agriculture,"  who  had  visited  it  during  the 
period  of  greatest  interest,  "some  five  or  six  barrels  per  minute." 
He  adds,  concerning  Addison  Harper's,  that  "  the  water  had  gradually 


334  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

found  its  way  up  the  outside  of  the  pipe,  coming  up  with  great  force, 
excavating  a  hole  some  thirty  feet  deep  and  wide,  the  pipe  sinking 
down  into  it.  So  threatening  was  it  that,  fearing  for  the  safety  of 
his  house  near  by,  he  removed  it  some  distance  off.  Its  fury  sub- 
sided, and  it  now  flows  quietly  as  usual  from  the  large  pool  made." 
All  this  occurred  in  the  summer  and  fall  of  1855.  Probably  there 
are  now  not  fewer  than  two  thousand  of  these  wells  in  the  county. 
The  artesian  region  is  about  twenty  miles  wide,  and  not  far  from 
forty  miles  long.  Its  direction  is  northwest  and  southeast,  and 
extends  from  Ford  county  across  Iroquois  into  Indiana. 

M.  H.  Messer,  Esq.,  ex-county  surveyor,  has  contributed  the  fol- 
lowing facts  in  regard  to  the  United  States  surveys  in  Iroquois 
county :  Townships  24,  25,  26  and  27,  except  range  10,  east  of  the 
latter,  were  surveyed  by  the  United  States'  surveyor  in  1822.  "Will- 
iam S.  Hamilton,  Elias  Rector,  and  Enoch  Steen  were  three  of 
the  surveyors.  Townships  28,  29,  and  range  10  in  27  were  sur- 
veyed in  1833  and  1834.  William  Lee,  D.  Ewing,  J.  B.  McCall, 
Edward  Smith  and  Dan  Beckwith  were  engaged  in  this  work.  Some 
of  the  townships  were  erroneously  surveyed  by  McCall,  and  he 
resurveyed  them,  erecting  new  corners,  but  neglecting  to  demolish 
the  first  ones,  though  he  had  been  directed  so  .to  do.  This  accounts 
for  the  double  corners.  Some  of  the  town  and  range  lines  were 
surveyed  twice,  resulting  in  the  discovery  that  many  of  the  corners 
were  not  properly  located,  but  no  corrections  were  made.  Range 
10  west,  along  the  state  line,  was  surveyed  by  Perrin  Kent,  in  1834 
and  1842.  The  state  line  was  surveyed  in  1834,  by  Sylvester  Sibley, 
and  resurveyed  in  1842  by  Julius  Hulanicki.  The  mile  mounds 
made  by  Sibley  were  found  by  the  last  survey  to  be  from  six  to 
twelve  rods  over  a  mile  apart.  Ewing  was  a  major  in  the  Black 
Hawk  war,  afterward  a  major-general  of  militia,  and  governor  of 
Illinois  during  the  last  fifteen  days  of  November,  1832. 

Iroquois  county  was  first  settled  in  the  winter  of  1821-2  by  Gur- 
don  S.  Hubbard,  an  Indian  trader,  then  in  the  employ  of  the  Ameri- 
can Fur  Company  (John  Jacob  Astor  &  Co.).  He  was  accompanied 
by  Noel  Vasseur,  who  was  in  his  service,  and  continued  so  to  be  for 
twelve  years.  Hubbard  came  from  Mackinaw,  coasting  Lake  Michi- 
gan in  a  batteau  of  ten  tons  burden,  and  ascending  the  Chicago  river, 
crossed  the  portage  to  the  DesPlaines.  Floating  down  this  and 
ascending  the  Kankakee  and  Iroquois  rivers,  he  reached  the  present 
site  of  Old  Middleport.  On  the  north  side  of  the  river,  about  one 
mile  above  this  point,  at  the  east  end  of  the  bend,  where  there  was 
a  small  Indian  village,  he  fixed  his  headquarters  and  established  a 


HISTORY    OF    IHOQUOIS    COUNTY.  335 

trading-post./  He  stopped  at  this  point  but  one  winter,  when  he 
removed  up  the  river  the  next  fall  to  a  place  afterward  called 
Bunkum,*  at  the  same  time  extending  his  operations  over  a  wide 
territory.  Besides  the  post  at  Bunkum,  he  had  one  on  the  Kan- 
kakee,  ten  miles  above  the  state  line,  one  on  the  Embarrass,  another 
on  the  head  waters  of  the  Little  Wabash,  and  two  others  still  farther 
south.  His  custom  was  to  open  his  trading  house  at  the  beginning 
of  the  hunting  season  —  about  the  first  of  October  —  and  to  close  it 
at  the  beginning  of  May.  The  Indians  hunted  on  the  Iroquois  and 
its  tributaries  during  October  and  November,  and  then  went  off 
south  on  the  Vermilion,  Okaw,  Embarrass  and  Wabash  rivers, 
where  otter,  bear,  mink,  deer,  beaver,  raccoon,  muskrat  and  panther 
were  more  plenty.  In  the  spring  they  returned.  With  Indian 
packing  horses  Hubbard  transported  his  furs  to  Chicago,  and  from 
that  place  by  boat  to  Mackinaw,  where  he  spent  the  summer,  return- 
ing in  the  fall  with  goods  for  traffic. 

As  early  as  1826  he  preempted  a  tract  of  land  at  Bunkum,  and 
inclosed  and  cultivated  80  acres.  This  he  entered  when  it  came 
into  market  in  1831.  It  is  now  known  as  the  Dunning  farm,  from 
the  next  owner,  and  was  the  first  one  improved  in  Iroquois  county. 
He  had  a  farmer  named  Allen  Baxter,  who  after  the  first  year  got 
married  in  Indiana.  His  wife  was  the  first  white  woman  who  settled 
the  county.  Hubbard  himself  wedded  an  Indian  princess  called  in 
Wach-e-kee,  the  daughter  of  a  Pottawatomie,  chief  of  the  Kankakee 
band  (name  unknown),  by  an  Indian  mother  of  Illinois  Indian 
descent,  named  Monoska.  She  was  a  niece  of  the  chief  Tamin. 
She  was  dignified  and  intelligent,  and  declined  to  mingle  with  the 
common  herd  of  red-skins,  and  was  anxious  to  learn  the  manners 
and  customs  of  her  more  favored  pale  sisters.  Her  complexion  was 
light,  and  her  form  small,  lithe,  slender  and  comely.  A  romantic 
story  is  told  of  how  she  became  endowed  with  royal  distinction, 
but  it  is  only  a  tradition.  By  this  union  Hubbard  greatly  strength- 
ened his  relations  with  the  Indians,  and  secured  their  favor  and  pro- 
tection. He  acquired  unbounded  influence  among  them,  and  it 
is  known  that  he  placed  more  reliance  on  the  fidelity  and  friendship  of 
the  Pottawatomie  chief,  Was-sus-kuk,  than  on  that  of  any  white  man. 
By  the  influx  o/  white  population  Hubbard  found  himself  confronted 
with  the  alternative  of  divorcing  his  Indian  wife  or  of  losing  caste 

*  In  a  letter  to  B.  F.  Shankland,  Esq.,  dated  December  21, 1878,  Mr.  Hubbard  said 
that  he  transferred  his  post  to  Bunkum  in  the  fall  of  1825.  This  was  probably  an 
inadvertence.  He  has  since  stated  to  the  writer,  and  repeated  the  same  in  a  letter  to 
M.  H.  Messer,  Esq.,  that  he  was  located  at  Middleport  but  one  winter. 


336  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

with  his  own  civilized  race.  He  could  but  choose,  and  his  choice  was 
such  as  most  men  would  have  made  under  the  circumstances.  He  has 
said  that  she  was  his  constant  delight,  and  that  it  was  not  done  without 
a  struggle  between  affection  and  expediency.  Sometime  after  their 
separation  she  became  the  wife  of  Noel  Vasseur.  Hubbard  had  some 
Frenchmen  in  his  service  at  Bunkum.  Tonssaint  Bleau  was  one,  and 
probably  Isadore  Chabert  another.  Bleau  displayed  in  a  marked  degree 
the  volatility  of  the  French  character.  He  married  a  daughter  of  Dr. 
Asa  R.  Palmer,  of  Danville,  and  sister  to  the  late  Rev.  Charles  R. 
Palmer,  so  long  a  resident  of  this  county.  Bleau  was  thrown  from  his 
carriage  near  the  old  McCormack  House  in  Danville  and  killed. 

Hubbard  followed  his  trafficking  as  described  until  1832,  when  he 
discontinued  all  his  posts  except  the  one  at  Bunkum.  He  had  a  store 
at  Danville  where  he  kept  an  assortment  of  goods,  mostly  for  the 
whites ;  but  in  1834  he  closed  up  his  business  at  both  places  and  set- 
tled permanently  in  Chicago,  where  he  is  now  living  in  full  health  and 
abundant  prosperity.  Hubbard's  pack-trains  made  a  standard  route 
(known  as  Hubbard's  trail)  from  Danville  to  Chicago,  which  gathered 
the  travel  for  many  miles  on  either  side,  as  far  south  as  Yincennes.  It 
entered  the  county  on  the  south  at  the  line  between  sections  34  and  35, 
town  24,  range  12  (Lovejoy  township),  and  kept  due  north  to  a  point 
one  mile  south  of  the  north  line  of  Milford  township  ;  there  it  made 
an  angle  and  bore  straight  to  Montgomery  (Bunkum)  ;  from  thence  it 
went  in  a  less  direct  line  to  Momence.  Speaking  of  this  himself  in  a 
letter  to  B.  F.  Shankland,  Esq.,  Mr.  Hubbard  says :  "  The  legislature 
of  Illinois  caused  a  state  road  to  be  laid  out  in  1834,  and  designated  by 
milestones,  from  Yincennes  to  Chicago.  The  commissioners  who  lo- 
cated it  and  planted  the  stones  tried  hard,  so  they  informed  me,  to  get 
a  straighter  line  and  better  ground  than  the  'Hubbard  trail,'  but  were 
forced  to  follow  with  slight  deviation  my  old  track,  which  was  on  the 
dividing  ridges  between  the  waters  flowing  into  the  Wabash  on  the  east 
and  the  Illinois  on  the  west.  Though  mile-stones  were  planted,  yet 
Hubbard's  trail  kept  the  principal  travel  until  both  it  and  the  state 
road  were  abandoned  and  fenced  in,  new  county  roads  being  laid  out  to 
take  their  place." 

'The  actual  permanent  settlement  of  Iroquois  county  was  simulta- 
neously begun  at  two  points — Milford  and  Bunkum — i«  the  spring  of 
1830.  The  Conrtright  brothers  (Isaac,  George  and  Richard)  and  John 
H.  Miller,  all  from  Fountain  county,  Indiana,  formed  one  party  and 
came  and  settled  at  Bunkum.  Hezekiah  Eastburn  came  from  Ohio. 
William  Hanan,  Elijah  Newcombe,  and  the  widow  McCulloch  came 
with  their  families.  Benjamin  Fry,  Benjamin  Thomas  and  James 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  337 

Crozier,  single  men,  came  with  the  Newcombes  and  McCullochs. 
Additions  were  made  to  the  community  in  the  fall.  Prominent  among 
those  who  came  the  next  year  were  John  Hougland  and  Reuben 
Critchfield.  A  tavern  \vas  kept  at  this  place  on  the  south  side  of  the 
river  by  Dr.  Timothy  Locy,  in  1831.  Probably  this  was  the  first  house 
of  entertainment  opened  in  the  county.  Montgomery  was  laid  out 
for  the  proprietor,  Richard  Montgomery,  May  9,  1835,  by  James  II. 
Rees,  who  was  deputized  by  Dan.  Beckwith,  county  surveyor  of  Ver- 
milion county.  It  was  situated  on  the  south  side  of  the  river.  Con- 
cord was  surveyed  also  by  Mr.  Rees  as  deputy  of  Jonas  Smith,  surveyor 
of  Iroquois  county,  in  May,  1836.  Henry  Moore  was  the  proprietor. 
Tin's  was  on  the  north  bank  opposite  Montgomery.  The  locality, 
including  these  two  places,  has  always  been  known  as  "Bunkum." 
The  origin  of  the  name  is  traced  to  nothing  better  than  an  insignifi- 
cant circumstance,  from  which  vulgar  designations  often  start,  and  by 
use  become  fixed  in  every-day  speech.7 

In  the  spring  of  1830  the  following  persons  settled  in  the  vicinity 
of  Milford  :  Samuel  Rush,  Hiram  Miles,  James  Singleton,  Daniel 
Barbee,  Abrain  Miller,  Joseph  Cox,  Joseph  Reading,  and  a  colored  man. 
Miles  and  Singleton  staid  but  a  short  time  after  the  departure  of  the 
Indians;  they  retreated  also  to  the  primeval  solitudes.  In  the  fall 
Anthony  Stanley  came  from  Ohio  with  a  family  of  four  sons  :  William, 
John,  Micajah  and  Isaac;  and  two  daughters:  Rebecca  and  Elizabeth. 
The  two  first  named  sons  were  married.  William  Cox  and  William 
Pickerell  arrived  with  their  families ;  these  and  the  Stanley's  were 
Quakers.  In  the  spring  of  1831  this  little  congregation  of  Friends  built 
the  first  house  of  worship  ever  erected  in  Iroquois  county.  It  was  a 
small  cabin  made  of  round  logs,  and  was  used  as  well  for  a  school-house 
as  for  a  meeting-house.  Jefferson  Mounts,  from  Indiana,  James  Osborne, 
John  Hunnel,  Jesse  Amos  and  Lydia  Parker,  a  widow,  with  herfamilv, 
came  also  in  the  fall.  A  few  new-comers  appeared  in  the  spring  of 
1831 ;  Samuel  McFall,  afterward  one  of  the  first  county  commissioners, 
being  of  the  number.  Shortly  after  his-arrival  Pickerell  built  a  corn- 
cracker,  dignified  with  the  name  of  mill,  and  until  laid  out  in  1836,  the 
place  was  called  Pickerell's  Mill — whence  the  name  of  Milford. 

Early  in  1834  a  new  settlement  was  begun  on  Upper  Spring  creek, 
in  the  vicinity  of  Del  Rev.  Jesse  Amos  moved  over  from  Su^ar 
creek,  and  was  soon  joined  by  John  Miller  from  Covington,  Indiana. 
In  the  fall  Ira  Lindsey,  James  Smith  and  Abram  Lehigh,  from  Virginia, 
the  latter  living  at  this  time  on  the  Wabash,  located  in  the  same  neigh- 
borhood. Lehigh  did  not  bring  his  family  till  the  beginning  of  the 
next  year.  Ash  Grove  was  settled  in  1834  by  Lewis  Roberts,  brother 
22 


338  HISTORY    OF    IKOQU01S    COUNTY. 

ot'Bisliop  Roberts,  and  his  son-in-law,  John  Nunamaker.  They  were  soon 
followed  by  John  Hunnel,  who  had  emigrated  to  Sugar  creek  in  1830. 

The  population  of  the  county  gathered  for  many  years,  even  down 
to  the  building  of  the  Illinois  Central  railroad  in  1853,  in  proximity 
to  the  timber.  On  the  west  side  of  Sugar  creek,  about  three  miles 
above  the  mouth,  was  the  Longshore  settlement.  Mahlon  and  James 
Longshore,  Samuel  Keene,  Alexander  Wilson,  William  Stanley  and 
David  Clanahan  were  some  of  the  early  settlers  in  this  neighborhood. 
The  Rush  settlement,  further  up  the  creek,  was  begun  by  Samuel  Rush 
in  1830.  Chauncey  Webster,  John  Body,  Samuel  Williams  and 
Fleming  located  in  that  vicinity.  On  the  Iroquois  river,  between 
Middleport  and  Bunkum,  Texas  became  a  place  of  some  importance 
because  of  the  crossing  at  that  point,  and  the  mill  erected  there  by 
Isaac  Courtright  at  a  later  day.  The  Pierce  settlement,  three  or  four 
miles  below  Middleport,  had  among  the  first  settlers  the  Pierce  broth- 
ers (William,  John  and  David)  Andrew  Layton  and  James  Wilson. 
The  Flesher  settlement  was  commenced  on  Lower  Spring  creek,  in 
the  spring  of  1835,  by  Levi  Thompson,  who  had  come  from  Indiana 
and  located  on  Sugar  creek,  below  Milford,  in  the  fall  of  1831.  Jede- 
diah  Darby  settled  there  a  little  later  in  the  season.  In  the  fall  John 
Flesher  came  with  his  family.  Next  year  William  Huckins,  Jacob  O. 
Feather,  David  Wright  and  Jefferson  Mounts, — the  latter  from  Sugar 
creek, — joined  the  advance  settlers.  Still  farther  down  the  river  the 
town  of  Plato  was  surveyed  and  platted  in  May,  1836.  This  was 
when  the  internal  improvement  craze  was  at  meridian  height.  Extrav- 
agant and  delusive  expectations  were  formed  concerning  this  enter- 
prise. It  was  advertised  in  glowing  colors  in  the  Chicago  and  La- 
Fayette  papers  ;  immense  maps  and  posters  were  distributed  in  eastern 
cities,  showing  the  whole  landing  at  "  Harbor  Creek"  lined  with  boats 
unloading  and  receiving  merchandise.  Lots  were  sold  at  fabulous 
prices;  many  persons  in  New  York  city  investing  in  them.  The  pro- 
prietors nearly  realized  their  ambition  to  secure  the  county-seat  when 
it  was  removed  from  Bunkum.  James  Smith,  an  accomplished  gentle- 
man, having  energy  and  capacity  of  a  high  order,  who  lived  on  Upper 
Spring  creek,  was  the  chief  promoter  of  this  scheme.  He  died  sud- 
denly in  September,  1839,  at  the  age  of  thirty-two.  The  death  of 
Smith  was  likewise  the  death  of  Plato. 

The  Jones  settlement,  in  the  south  angle  of  the  river  and  Beaver 
creek,  was  begun  in  183T  by  Henry  and  Seth  Jones.  These,  with 
Robert  Hester  and  family,  who  soon  joined  them,  were  from  Meigs 
county,  Ohio.  Shobar,  Elliott,  Peter  Lowe  and  Simon  Maybee  located 
afterward  in  that  section. 


HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY.  339 

A  colony  of  Norwegians,  consisting  of  some  thirty  families,  settled 
on  the  north  side  of  Beaver  creek  about  1835.  Their  cabins  extended 
three  or  four  miles  up  stream  from  section  22,  in  range  12.  The  lead- 
ing man  lived  and  died  on  the  J.  S.  Oxford  place.  Two  family  names 
were  Oleson  and  Waity.  They  not  being  seasoned  nor  careful  in 
their  habits,  sickness  broke  out  among  them  to  an  alarming  extent,  and 
before  two  years  as  many  as  fifty  had  died.  The  diseases  were  mostly 
ague  and  bilious  fever.  One  burying-place  was  near  Clark's,  on  the 
west  side  of  a  small  branch  running  south ;  and  the  other  in  a  round 
grove  a  mile  northeast  of  the  Vankirk  crossing.  Most  of  the  survivors 
moved  to  Fox  river,  Wisconsin. 

Before  passing  further  it  will  be  well  to  give  briefly  the  origin  of 
the  second  great  highway  which  traversed  the  county.  As  once  all 
roads  led  to  Rome,  so  in  the  early  history  of  this  county  all  roads  led 
to  Chicago.  In  1830  Ben  Butterfield,  living  on  Stony  creek,  near 
Danville,  went  by  way  of  Bunkum  to  Hickory  creek  and  the  Des- 
Plaines  river,  and  made  a  selection  for  a  home  near  Lockport,  just 
above  Joliet.  Two  families  had  recently  settled  in  that  section.  He 
returned  for  his  family,  and  in  company  with  the  two  men  living  on 
Hickory  creek,  who  had  come  back  to  Danville  for  supplies,  he  started 
December  7.  It  rained  and  snowed,  and  was  very  cold  during  the 
trip  of  nine  days.  He  sent  his  ox-teams  back  to  Danville  to  winter, 
keeping  only  a  horse  and  three  head  of  cattle ;  the  latter  he  wintered 
on  browse.  They  came  through  the  winter  in  very  poor  condition. 
The  next  April  he  went  back  for  his  stock,  this  time  trying  a  new 
route,  driving  a  yoke  of  oxen  and  accompanied  by  two  men  and  a  boy. 
At  Bourbonnais  Grove  he  was  advised  by  an  old  Indian  that,  as  the 
Iroquois  river  "  was  a  fool  river  that  did  not  know  enough  to  go  down 
when  it  was  once  up,"  to  go  around  it  till  he  struck  Spring  creek,  then 
to  follow  that  until  he  could  find  a  crossing.  Near  the  Barden  place, 
on  Lower  Spring  creek,  they  were  beset  with  a  severe  snow  storm.  The 
stream  was  high  and  they  could  not  cross  to  the  woods  beyond,  so  they 
lay  three  days  sheltered  by  the  bank  of  the  creek,  suffering  much  from 
cold  and  hunger,  waiting  for  the  storm  to  abate  and  the  water  to  sub- 
side. Finally  after  much  difficulty  they  got  over,  and  made  their  way 
to  Stony  creek  without  further  incident.  On  the  journey  back  he  kept 
the  same  way,  driving  six  yoke  of  oxen,  two  horses,  twenty-five  sheep, 
and  twenty  head  of  cows  and  young  cattle.  His  son  writes  that  "  this 
was  when  he  made  what  was  called  Butterfield's  trail."  When  the 
Sac  war  broke  out,  the  next  spring,  he  moved  back  to  Stony  creek, 
where  he  remained  till  the  following  spring,  when,  the  war  having 
ended,  he  returned  with  his  family  to  his  home  on  the  DesPlaines. 


340  HISTORY    OF    IKOQUOtS    COUXTY. 

The  track  thus  made  became  the  route  for  an  immense  travel  all  the  way 
from  the  Okaw  river.  This  trace  diverged  from  Hubbard's  at  Bicknel's 
Point,  and  crossed  the  south  line  of  this  county  at  a  point  some  three 
miles  west  of  Hoopeston.  It  passed  through  Pigeon  Grove  and  crossed 
Spring  creek  at  a  place  called  by  the  early  settlers  "  the  Gap,"  about 
two  miles  northeast  of  Buckley.  It  followed  the  general  course  of  the 
creek  to  a  point  half  a  mile  east  of  the  Barden  Farm,  where  it  turned 
north,  east  of,  but  nearly  on,  the  range  line;  then  proceeded  east  of 
north,  leaving  Plato  about  a  mile  to  the  right.  It  passed  Prairie  creek 
half  a  mile  west  of  L'Erable,  and  in  a  direction  nearly  north  from 
there  struck  Langham,  which  was  then  called  "  White  Woman."  On 
account  of  high  banks  it  followed  up  and  crossed  that  stream  near  the 
head  of  the  timber,  about  a  mile  east  of  the  Central  railroad.  From 
here  in  a  northeast  course  it  ran  to  Sammon's  Point,  a  mile  and  a  half 
below  the  county-line.  After  improvements  were  begun  at  Plato  a 
detour  was  made  to  that  place.  The  Kankakee  was  forded  at  Haw- 
kins',  which  corresponds  to  the  lower  end  of  Bourbonnais  Grove. 
From  here  it  went  to  Bloom's  Grove,  Twelve  Mile  Grove  and  Hickory 
creek ;  at  the  latter  point  it  forked,  both  trails  leading  to  Chicago,  one 
of  them  by  way  of  Cooper's  Grove  and  Blue  Island,  intersecting  Hub- 
bard's  trace;  the  other  by  way  of  Joliet.  Later  travel  made  several 
other  routes  from  the  Kankakee.  Butterfield  moved  to  Hadley,  and 
after  that  to  a  place  called  Bloom,  on  the  Chicago  and  Vincennes  state 
road,  where  he  kept  a  "  Hoosier  tavern  "  twenty-one  years.  He  died 
in  Franklin  count}7,  Iowa,  April  28,  1878,  aged  eighty-three. 

"In  May,  1832,  the  mail  carrier  from  Chicago,  when  this  side  of  the 
C  Kankakee,  saw  some  Indians  pursuing  him  (which  proved  afterward 
A  to  be  only  for  a  friendly  purpose),  and  being  prepared  by  the  hostilities 
^7  now  commenced  in  the  Rock  river  country  to  take  fright  on  the 
merest  occasion,  fled  to  Danville,  passing  through  Bunkum  and  Mil- 
ford.  He  dashed  into  the  latter  settlement  hatless  and  with  panting 
horse,  stopping  only  long  enough  to  get  something  for  himself  and 
animal  to  eat,  when  he  pressed  on  spreading  the  alarm  as  he  went. 
The  settlers  on  Sugar  creek  were  panic-stricken  and  started  at  once  for 
the  Wabash.  About  fifty  were  in  the  party.  When  they  had  gone 
two  or  three  miles  a  halt  was  made,  and  a  council  held  to  decide  on 
the  best  course.  It  was  near  night,  and  one  woman,  it  is  said,  more 
self-possessed  than  the  rest  of  the  crowd,  proposed  that  they  should 
wait  in  a  plum  thicket  near  by  until  morning,  when  they  could  know 
with  more  certainty  whether  Indians  were  really  in  pursuit,  and  have 
daylight  for  travel.  But  she  was  overruled,  and  the  journey  continued 
through  the  night.  After  they  passed  the  creek  at  the  regular  cross- 


HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  341 

ing,  four  miles  above  Milford,  the  darkness  seemed  to  accelerate  their 
flight.  A  limited  number  of  horses  and  wagons  were  in  the  company. 
The  sloughs  were  full  of  water,  the  ground  wet,  and  the  grass  tall  and 
tangled.  The  men  and  women  carried  the  smaller  children  in  their 
arms,  and  tried  hard  to  keep  their  families  together  as  they  hurried 
along  through  the  darkness;  but  there  was  a  good  deal  of  confusion, 
and  their  anxiety  was  greatly  excited  as  they  were  continually  getting 
separated.  There  were  ten  of  the  Webster  family.  The  oldest 
daughter,  giving  out  with  fatigue,  was  taken  on  behind  by  a  peddler 
who  had  abandoned  his  wagon  in  the  settlement.  Sometime  in  the 
night  it  was  discovered  that  the  Webster  family  were  missing,  except 
the  daughter  riding  with  the  peddler,  and  a  younger  child  carried  by 
Clement  Thomas.  It  was  easy  for  imagination  to  picture  them  massa- 
cred, and  that  became  the  general  belief  as  word  of  their  absence  was 
passed  around.  The  fleeing  party  reached  Parish's  "Grove  next  morn- 
ing early  ;  some  stopped  there,  some  went  to  Pine  creek,  others  to 
the  Wabash.  Mrs.  Webster  had  fainted,  and  while  the  family  tarried 
to  restore  her,  the  others,  not  knowing  what  had  transpired  went  on, 
so  they  became  separated.  Others  coming  up  the  Websters  fell  in 
with  them,  and  another  company  thus  formed  went  to  Williamsport. 
It  was  sometime  before  the  family  were  again  united. 

Micajah  Stanley,  then  a  single  man,  was  in  his  field  planting  corn. 
When  he  quit  work  at  night  and  went  into  the  settlement  he  found  it 
abandoned ;  the  cabin  doors  were  open  and  everything  gave  evidence 
of  a  hasty  departure.  Mr.  Stanley  met  one  of  the  neighbors,  and 
the  two  went  about  together  and  closed  the  doors  of  the  houses,  and 
let  the  calves  out  of  the  pens  to  the  cows.  Samuel  Rush  and  Samuel 
McFall  were  away  on  a  trip  to  Danville,  and  the  latter  on  returning 
followed  the  refugees  and  overtook  them  at  Pine  creek,  with  word  that 
there  was  no  occasion  for  their  flight.  The  men  returned  in  a  week 
to  give  attention  to  their  crops,  but  the  women  staid  about  two 
months. 

The  settlers  around  Bunkum  gathered  at  that  point  for  mutual  pro- 
tection. No  incursion  was  made  by  the  hostiles  into  the  county,  but 
a  party  of  Pottawatornies  taking  advantage  of  the  chance  to  commit 
depredations  when  they  would  be  charged  to  the  enemy,  entered 
the  dwelling  of  John  Hougland,  when  his  family  was  away,  and 
destroyed  the  bedding.  George  Courtright,  Henry  Endsley,  and  two 
other  young  men  discovered  their  work  and  reported  it  to  the  trading- 
post.  They  and  about  twenty  Pottawatomies  set  out  in  pursuit  of  the 
marauders.  They  followed  down  the  river  to  the  mouth  of  Pike 
creek — losing  the  trail  before  they  reached  there — and  crossing  the 


342  HISTORY    OF   IROQU01S    COUNTY. 

river  camped  for  the  night.  Next  day,  traveling  along  the  west  side 
to  Spring  creek  and  up  that  stream  to  the  site  of  Del  Rey,  they 
bivouacked  in  a  deserted  Indian  camp.  On  the  third  day  they  re- 
turned home,  having  had  no  sight  of  Indians  during  the  scout.  About 
this  time  Bunkum  was  made  a  rendezvous  when  the  troops  were  con- 
centrating to  march  to  the  Fox  river  country.  Col.  Moore's  Danville 
regiment  lay  there  a  few  days  until  joined  by  volunteers  and  a  few 
regulars  from  Indiana,  whence  the  command  went  directly  to  Hickory 

creek. 

. 
Up  to   1833  Iroquois  county  formed  a  part  of  Vermilion  county. 

At  that  time  the  latter  extended  as  far  north  as  the  Kankakee  river, 
which  was  the  dividing  line  between  Vermilion  and  Cook  counties. 
On  the  minutes  of  a  meeting  of  the  county  commissioners  court  at 
Danville,  on  the  first  Monday  of  September,  1830,  is. the  following 
entry  :  "  This  day  Gurdon  S.  Hubbard  presented  a  petition  of  sundry 
inhabitants  praying  for  an  election  district  for  one  justice  of  the  peace, 
and  for  one  constable ;  and  that  all  elections  therein  be  held  at  the 
house  of  Allen  Baxter.  Ordered,  that  Isaac  Courtright,  Allen  Baxter 
and  Isadore  Chabert  be,  and  they  are,  appointed  judges  of  the  above 
election  district,  and  that  an  election  be  held  in  said  district  on  the 
15th  day  of  November  next."  It  will  be  remembered  that  Allen 
Baxter  was  Hubbard's  farmer  and  lived  at  Bunkum. 

At  the  June  term,  1831,  of  the  commissioners  court  it  was  again 
"  Ordered,  that  all  that  tract  of  country  on  the  waters  of  Sugar  creek 
and  the  Iroquois,  and  their  tributary  waters,  be  an  election  district  to 
be  known  by  the  name  of  Iroquois;  and  that  elections  therein  be  held 
at  the  house  of  Toussant  Bleau.  Ordered,  that  Robert  Hill,  John 
Hougland  and  Hezekiah  Eastburn  be,  and  they  are,  hereby  appointed 
judges  of  election  in  Iroquois  district."  The  same  persons  were  again 
appointed  judges  of  election  for  Iroquois  district  at  the  June  term,  1832, 
of  the  county  commissioners  court.  This  was  for  the  general  August 
election.  The  polling  place  was  changed  to  the  house  of  Timothy 
Locy.  This  man  kept  an  inn  at  Montgomery.  Isaac  Courtright  served 
as  judge  in  place  of  Hill.  Jesse  Moore  and  Lemuel  John  were  the 
clerks  of  this  election.  On  the  first  Monday  of  November  of  this  year 
was  the  presidential  election  at  which  Andrew  Jackson  was  re-elected, 
and  Martin  Van  Buren  was  chosen  vice-president.  William  John, 
James  Cain  and  John  S.  Moore  were  the  judges,  and  Lemuel  John  and 
Jesse  Moore  the  clerks.  Judge  John  Pearson  and  Squire  James 
Newell,  of  Danville,  canvassed  the  Iroquois  district  in  the  interest  of 
"  Old  Hickory."  A  special  election  was  held  Monday,  August  5, 1833, 
for  one  justice  of  the  peace,  at  which  Robert  Hill  received  37  votes. 


HISTORY    OF    IKOQUOIS    COUNTY.  343 

It  is  said  that  a  year  or  two  before  this  an  election  had  been  held  for 
two  justices,  but  it  was  not  understood  at  the  time  that  more  than  one 
was  to  be  chosen.  Isaac  Courtright  and  Hill  were  the  candidates  ;  the 
former  received  the  larger  number  of  votes  and  qualified.  When  the 
latter  was  elected  as  above  stated  he  had  to  take  his  commission  dating 
from  the  first  election. 

In  1832  and  1833  Gurdon  S.  Hubbard  was  representative  in  the 
general  assembly  from  Yermilion  county.  At  that  session  he  procured 
the  passage  of  an  act,  approved  February  12, 1833,  establishing  Iroquois 
county  with  its  present  territory  and  that  part  of  Kankakee  county 
which  lies  south  of  the  Kankakee  river.  The  law  made  it  the  duty  of 
the  judge  of  the  circuit  court  of  Yermilion  county,  whenever  he  should 
be  satisfied  that  the  new  county  contained  three  hundred  and  fifty  in- 
habitants, to  grant  an  order  for  the  election  of  three  county  commis- 
sioners, one  sheriff,  and  one  coroner  to  fill  those  offices  until  successors 
should  be  chosen  at  the  next  general  election  ;  to  fix  the  day  and  place 
for  the  election,  and  to  designate  the  judges.  We  were  unable  to  find 
this  order  either  on  the  records  or  among  the  papers  in  the  offices  at 
Danville,  where,  if  extant,  it  ought  to  be  preserved. 

The  special  election  for  first  officers  was  on  Monday,  February  24, 
1834.  Samuel  M.  Dunn  had  thirty-three  votes  for  sheriff,  and  was 
chosen  over  Henry  Enslcn,  who  had  twenty.  For  county  commission- 
ers, John  Hougland  received  fifty-one  votes,  William  Cox  forty-seven, 
Samuel  McFall  thirty-one,  and  John  S.  Moore  twenty-four.  The 
first  three  were  elected.  Micajah  Stanley  had  forty-four  votes  for 
coroner.  On  March  17  the  county  commissioners  court  convened  at 
the  house  of  Robert  Hill,  below  Milford.  In  pursuance  of  the  act  to 
organize  the  county  they  fixed  the  temporary  seat  of  justice,  selecting 
their  present  meeting-place.  Hugh  Newell,  a  young  man  from  Yer- 
milion county,  son  of  James  Newell,  twent3T-four  years  of  age,  who 
had  served  under  Amos  Williams  in  all  the  offices  at  Danville,  was  on 
hand,  at  the  suggestion  of  Williams,  when  the  county  was  organ- 
ized, to  obtain  the  appointment  of  county  clerk.  He  possessed  first- 
class  business  talents,  and  by  his  special  training  was  well  qualified  for 
the  office.  He  forthwith  received  the  appointment,  gave  bond,  quali- 
fied, and  entered  upon  his  duties.  It  was  a  most  favorable  circum- 
stance for  the  county.  At  the  same  term,  Samuel  Rush  having  offered 
to  assess  the  taxable  property  of  the  county  for  the  year  1834  for  $5, 
he  was  appointed  assessor  and  treasurer  with  that  salary,  and  there- 
upon gave  the  necessary  bond.  He  had  the  same  office  the  next  year, 
and  was  allowed  $10.  The  county  was  then  divided  into  three  road 
districts.  The  first  embraced  all  that  part  lying  south  of  the  line 


344  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

between  townships  26  and  27,  which  runs  through  the  cities  of  Gilman 
and  Watseka.  The  second  contained  all  between  this  line  and  Beaver 
creek,  and  a  line  from  its  mouth  due  west  through  the  county.  The 
third  comprised  the  remainder  of  the  count}7  which  extended  to  the 
Kankakee  river.  At  the  June  term  in  1834  three  election  precincts 
were  established,  with  the  same  boundaries.  The  south  one  was  des- 
ignated "Sugar  Creek  Precinct,"  and  the  polling  place  was  fixed  ''at 
the  house  of  John  Nilson,  late  residence  of  Robert  Hill."  The  north 
one  was  called  "  Kankakee  Precinct,"  and  elections  were  to  be  held  at 
the  house  of  William  Baker,  near  Kankakee.  The  middle  one  was 
named  "Iroquois  Precinct,"  and  the  house  of  David  Meigs,  at  Mont- 
gomery, the  place  for  holding  the  elections.  The  bounds  of  the 
districts  and  of  the  precincts  did  not  long  remain  as  at  any  one  time 
established,  but  were  changed  or  subdivided  at  short  intervals  as  popu- 
lation increased.  At  the  general  election,  August  4,  1834,  the  same 
county  officers  were  elected  as  in  February,  except  that  William 
Thomas  displaced  Micajah  Stanley  as  coroner. 

By  an  act  approved  February  10,  1835,  William  Bowen  and  Joseph 
Davis,  of  Vermilion  county,  and  Philip  Stanford,  of  Champaign  county, 
were  appointed  commissioners  to  locate  the  permanent  seat  of  justice 
of  Iroquois  county,  and  to  give  it  a  name  ;  for  this  purpose  they  were 
to  meet  at  the  house  of  Col.  Thomas  Vennum ;  but  they  failed  to  per- 
form any  of  the  duties  required  of  them  by  this  law,  and  accordingly 
the  representative,  Isaac  Courtright,  who  lived  close  to  Bunkum,  and 
was  figuring  for  that  locality,  procured  new  legislation  on  the  subject. 
An  act  was  passed  naming  Noel  Yasseur,  of  Will  county,  and  George 
Scarborough  and  George  Barnett,  of  Vermilion  county,  as  commis- 
sioners to  make  a  selection.  In  case  their  choice  shoulo!  fall  on  pri- 
vate land  they  were  required  to  exact  a  donation  of  twenty  acres;  and 
in  the  event  of  refusal  they  were  then  to  locate  the  county-seat  on  the 
nearest  eligible  public  land,  and  to  purchase  a  quarter  of  a  section  for 
a  site.  Agreeably  to  the  act  Barnett  and  Yasseur  met  at  the  house  of 
William  Armstrong,  in  Montgomery,  April  11,  1837,  and  made  their 
report  to  the  county  commissioners  court  on  the  15th,  selecting  20 
acres  adjoining  Montgomery  on  the  southeast,  which  was  surveyed  and 
platted  for  the  commissioners  in  August,  by  James  Smith,  deputy 
county  surveyor,  assisted  by  Andrew  Ritchey,  Blewford  Davis  and 
Esock  Hecock,  all  under  the  superintendence  of  Henry  Enslen, 
county  agent.  In  consideration  of  the  location  of  the  county-seat 
thereon,  this  tract  was  conveyed  by  warranty  deed  to  the  county  com- 
missioners and  their  successors,  by  Amos  White  and  William  Arm- 
strong. The  locators  called  the  situ  u  Iroquois."  Yasseur  was  allowed 


HISTORY    OF    IKOQUOIS    COUNTY.  345 

compensation  for  ten-days  service,  and  Barnett  $28  for  fourteen 
days.  Isaac  Courtright,  a  stirring  and  influential  man,  having  an  eye 
to  his  private  interest,  had  been  maneuvering  from  the  beginning  to 
get  the  location  at  Montgomery,  and  when  at  last  it  was  done,  the 
count}'  commissioners  had  been  meeting  at  his  house,  three-fourths  of 
a  mile  south  of  Montgomery,  since  June  1,  1835 — nearly  two  years — 
having  at  that  date  transferred  their  sessions  from  Nilson's.  The 
seventh  term  of  this  court  was  held  at  Courtright's.  The  county-seat 
having  been  now  established,  after  much  anxiety  and  labor  on  the  part 
of  those  personally  concerned,  was  destined  by  the  location  itself  to  be 
of  short  continuance  in  that  place.  The  site  was  without  buildings  for 
the  use  of  the  county,  and  none  were  ever  erected ;  but  offices  were 
rented  in  Montgomery,  and  there  courts  were  held  and  business  trans- 
acted until  a  removal  became  imperative.  A  frame  building  on  lot  10, 
owned  by  William  Armstrong,  was  at  first  rented  for  the  clerk's  office, 
for  which  he  was  paid  $2  per  month,  but  afterward  Charles  M.  Thomas 
furnished  an  office  on  the  same  terms.  A  room  was  furnished  at  dif- 
ferent times  by  Benjamin  Lewis  and  by  John  and  Amos  White  for 
sessions  of  the  circuit  court.  One  of  the  Whites  kept  the  tavern. 

The  notable  event  in  the  judicial  history  of  this  period  was  the  first 
trial  for  murder,  and  the  hanging  of  Joseph  Thomason,  who  gave  the 
alias  Joseph  F.  Morris.  The  trial  took  place  on  the  16th,  17th  and 
18th  days  of  May ;  and  the  execution  on  June  10,  1836. 

On  December  20,  1836,  occurred  the  most  remarkable  change  of 
weather  ever  recorded.  Its  suddenness  and  severity  are  fully  attested 
by  many  living  witnesses.  The  water  that  everywhere  covered  the 
ground  froze  sufficiently  in  five  minutes  to  bear  a  man.  Many  assert 
that  the  change  was  even  more  sudden,  and  that,  improbable  as  it  may 
seem,  the  "strong  wind  threw  the  water  into  waves,  which  froze  as 
they  stood."  Early  in  the  day  nearly  a  foot  of  snow  lay  on  the  ground. 
The  air  turned  warm  and  a  slow  rain  set  in  and  continued  several 
hours,  causing  a  heavy  fog.  There  was  a  thaw  ;  in  a  little  while  a 
slush  was  over  all  the  surface,  and  the  streams  were  out  of  their  banks. 
Men  were  laboring  about  their  homes  with  left-off  coats.  About  four 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  a  black  cloud  appeared  in  the  west,  and  in  a 
few  moments  overspread  the  sky.  A  gale  of  wind,  sharp  and  piercing, 
came  sweeping  over  the  prairies,  and  almost  instantaneously  the  face 
of  the  country  was  a  solid  sheet  of  ice.  This  extraordinary  event  was 
rendered  more  signal  by  a  tragic  occurrence  which  was  discussed  at  the 
time  throughout  the  Northwest,  and  stirred  the  profoundest  sensibilities 
of  the  people.  Many  accounts  have  been  given  to  the  world  of  the 
painful  death  of  Thomas  Frame  by  freezing,  and  of  the  exquisite  suf- 


346  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

ferings  and  narrow  escape  of  his  companion,  James  H.  Hildreth  ;  but 
none  that  the  writer  has  seen  has  correctly  detailed  the  circumstances, 
and  few  spared  Ben  Burson,  a  man  wholly  innocent,  from  the  odium  of 
the  most  atrocious  heartlessness  that  could  ever  disgrace  our  humanity. 
Since  our  version  of  the  affair  is  to  some  extent  contradictory  of  what 
has  gone  before  through  the  press,  it  is  proper  that  we  should  state  the 
sources  of  our  information.  The  principals  are  dead,  but  if  actors  in 
the  later  events,  who  had  every  opportunity  to  learn  directly  from  the 
survivor  himself  all  the  earlier  facts,  are  trustworthy  and  authoritative, 
then  our  relation  cannot  be  wholly  devoid  of  credit.  Clement  Thomas, 
of  Ash  Grove,  whose  recollection  of  remote  history  is  not  excelled,  if 
equaled,  by  that  of  any  other  person  whom  we  have  met,  lived  at  the 
time  near  Milford,  and  was  one  of  four  young  me*n  who  removed 
Frame's  body  from -the  place  on  the  prairie  where  he  perished.  While 
Hildreth  was  under  care  at  Robert  Williams',  he  saw  him  nearly  every 
day  and  attended  him  frequently  at  night  for  several  weeks.  Dr.  A. 
M.  C.  Hawes,  of  Georgetown,  rendered  Hildreth  surgical  treatment. 
To  these  gentleman  we  are  indebted  for  the  personal  features  of  this 
narrative. 

Thomas  Frame  was  a  son  of  Col.  James  Frame,  who  lived  on 
Spring  creek  in  the  present  limits  of  Onarga  township,  about  five 
miles  northeast  of  the  village.  He  had  been  to  the  registrar's  office 
at  Danville,  where  he  entered  the  N.W.  ^  of  the  S.W.  \  of  Sec.  15, 
T.  26,  R.  14,  on  the  19th.  Returning  home  on  the  morning  of  the 
20th,  he  left  Bicknell's,  on  the  north  fork  of  the  Yermilion,  in  com- 
pany with  the  fellow-traveler  just  named.  The  latter  lived  near 
Georgetown  and  was  going  to  Chicago.  There  was  a  striking  con- 
trast in  the  amount  of  clothing  worn  by  these  two  men.  Frame  was 
thinly  clad — a  most  singular  circumstance,  considering  the  length  of 
his  journey  and  the  season  of  the  year.  Fortunately  for  Hildreth  his 
prudence  had  supplied  him  with  an  exceptionally  large  outfit  of  gar- 
ments. Both  rode  mettled  horses.  Frame's  had  some  reputation  for 
speed.  They  journeyed  along  during  the  day  through  the  misty  rain, 
imbibing  freely  from  a  flask  which  they  had  brought  with  them  to 
enliven  their  spirits  and  reduce  the  discomforts  of  their  travel.  They 
were  proceeding  on  the  Ash  Grove  road  when  the  change  already 
described  took  place.  They  urged  forward  with  all  possible  haste 
and  reached  Burson  (now  called  Fountain)  creek  about  sundown. 
The  banks  of  the  creek  were  overflown ;  the  stream  was  deep 
and  broad ;  and  much  ice  had  formed  along  the  sides.  Finding 
it  impossible  to  cross  the}7  decided  to  return  to  Bicknell's,  and 
began  to  retrace  their  way.  They  had  not  gone  far  when  darkness 


HISTORY    OF    IKOQUOIS    COUNTY.  347 

came  on.  The  cold  was  growing  more  and  more  intense.  They 
were  stupefied  by  their  potations  and  bewildered  by  their  situation. 
The  labor  and  difficulty  of  travel  kept  on  increasing,  and  the  prospect 
of  reaching  any  house  becoming  more  and  more  gloomy,  and  at  last 
altogether  hopeless,  they  turned  away  from  the  road,  leaving  it  to  the 
right,  and  wandering  off  a  short  distance,  halted  on  a  pond  in  the 
midst  of  the  prairie.  From  this  place  they  did  not  stir.  The  storm 
raged.  Increasing  cold  lashed  into  cutting  and  stinging  tongues  of 
frost  by  the  pitiless  blast,  to  be  endured  through  a  night  longer  than 
life,  was  an  extremity  to  make  the  stoutest  heart  quail.  The  fading 
out  of  hope  followed  close  upon  the  deepening  shades.  Shelter  must 
be  found  or  the  men  perish.  They  agreed  to  kill  their  horses.  Hild- 
reth  was  first  to  kill  Frame's,  and  when  that  became  cold  Frame  was 
to  kill  Hildreth's.  They  had  but  one  knife,  and  that  belonged  to 
Hildreth.  Accordingly  Frame's  horse  was  killed  by  severing  a  vein  in 
the  neck.  The  carcass  was  opened  but  not  disemboweled.  Frame  lay 
next  it  with  his  arms  and  legs  thrust  into  it,  and  Hildreth  "snug  be- 
hind him  with  his  hands  and  feet  also  inside.  As  the  night  wore  on 
Hildreth,  recovering  from  the  effects  of  the  strong  drink,  became  con- 
vinced that  Frame  must  perish,  and  began  to  reason  that  as  he  himself 
was  freezing,  he,  too,  would  perish  if  he  should  not  save  his  horse  to 
bear  him  to  a  habitation  when  the  morning  should  appear.  His  knife 
was  in  his  pocket  and  he  determined  not  to  sacrifice  his  horse.  At 
last,  the  carcass  becoming  cold,  Frame  suggested  that  the  other  horse 
be  killed.  Hildreth  inquired  what  he  had  done  with  the  knife,. and 
Frame  replied  that  it  was  not  about  him.  Hildreth  added  that  it 
must  be  lost.  After  this  Frame  lay  still  and  said  no  more.  About 
sunrise  he  expired  in  great  agony.  Hildreth,  now  badly  frozen,  after 
much  difficulty  succeeded  in  mounting  his  horse,  and  descrying  a  house 
distant  about  a  mile  and  three-quarters  to  the  northeast,  started  in  that 
direction.  The  place  where  they  had  passed  the  night  lies  between 
Burson  creek  proper,  and  a  branch  which  diverges  from  the  east  side 
about  two  and  one-half  miles  above  the  mouth.  Ben  Burson  lived  on 
the  east  bank  of  the  branch,  which  placed  this  tributary  between  his 
house  and  Hildreth,  who  was  approaching  from  the  southwest.  The 
stream  was  about  300  yards  wide ;  the  current  deep  and  running 
swiftly ;  and  the  sides  were  frozen  over.  Hildreth  rode  up  and 
hallooed.  Burson  came  out  but  was  powerless  to  assist  him.  The 
current  was  full  of  anchor-ice  and  forging  down  in  a  heavy  torrent. 
So  he  advised  him  to  try  to  get  to  Robert  Chess'  on  the  south  side  of 
Mud  creek.  Burson  creek,  which  had  turned  the  two  back  the  night 
before,  traversed  the  route  to  that  place.  On  reaching  it  he  searched 


348  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

along  up  the  stream  for  a  crossing  place,  which  he  at  last  found  where 
there  was  an  ice  jam,  over  which  he  forced  his  horse,  the  animal  being 
rough-shod.  Instead  then  of  striking  for  Chess',  he  followed  down- 
stream through  the  woods,  where  he  found,  some  distance  below  the 
junction  of  the  branch  with  the  main  stream,  another  ice  jam  on  which 
he  crossed  to  the  other  side.  He  had  by  no  means  now  far  to  go  to 
reach  Burson's  house.  Once  there,  Burson  helped  him  in,  and  then 
the  latter  rode  to  Asa  Thomas',  about  a  mile  south  of  Milford,  and 
gave  notice  of  what  had  transpired.  Clement  Thomas,  Daniel  and 
Benjamin  Mershon,  and  Levi  Williams,  all  young  men,  set  out  for 
Burson's.  Arrived  there,  they  found  the  creek  fro/en  clear  across. 
The  ice  was  not  strong  in  the  middle,  but  with  the  aid  of  a  slab  they 
got  over.  Taking  a  hand-sled  from  Burson's,  they  had  no  trouble  to 
follow  Hildreth's  track,  and  were  soon  at  the  spot  which  witnessed  the 
sufferings  of  that  terrible  night.  Frame's  body  was  taken  to  Burson's 
house;  next  day  word  was  sent  to  Col.  Frame,  and  on  the  second  day 
he  removed  it  home.  Robert  Williams,  living  near  Milford,  knowing 
that  Burson  had  no  conveniences  for  taking  care  of  Hildreth,  sent  a 
team  the  next  day  and  brought  him  to  his  house,  where  he  was  kept 
four  or  five  weeks.  His  mother  came  up  from  Georgetown  as  soon  as 
the  news  could  reach  her  by  mail.  Dr.  A.  M.  C.  Hawes,  of  the  same 
place,  amputated  all  his  toes,  and  all  his  fingers  and  thumbs,  except 
one  of  each  of  the  two  last  named  extremities.  The  locality  of  this 
event  is  in  the  northeast  corner  of  Fountain  Creek  township,  on  or 
near  section  1,  town  24,  range  13. 

Alvan  Gilbert,  from  Ligget's  Grove,  on  the  north  fork  of  the  Ver- 
milion, was  driving  hogs  to  Chicago.  When  the  storm  came  up  he 
was  about  four  miles  south  of  Milford,  or  near  the  place  since  known 
as  the  "  Old  Red  Pump."  He  left  his  drove,  and  with  his  hands  was 
able  to  reach  Asa  Thomas'.  Many  of  the  hogs  froze.  It  was  a  week 
before  he  could  resume  the  drive. 

In  1838  an  interesting  contest  occurred  for  representative  to  the 
general  assembly.  Isaac  Courtright  had  served  one  term,  having 
been  elected  in  1836.  Montgomery  being  within  three  miles  of  the 
county  line,  and  far  removed  from  that  section  whose  physical  fea- 
tures would  for  many  years  (and  as  was  then  supposed,  would  for- 
ever), make  it  the  center  of  population,  it  was  understood  from  the 
outset  that  a  removal  could  not  long  be  deferred.  This  year  the 
issue  was  made  by  the  people.  The  democrats  were  in  a  large 
majority.  Courtright,  next  to  Hugh  Newell,  was  the  chief  of  the 
party.  In  this  campaign  he  was  a  candidate  for  reflection.  But 
his  known  hostility  to  the  removal  of  the  seat  of  justice  to  any  other 


HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  349 

place  than  Texas,  where  lie  owned  property,  arrayed  his  political  asso- 
ciates generally  with  his  opponents  in  the  support  of  Squire  Lewis 
Roberts,  of  Ash  Grove,  who  was  a  whig,  and  deservedly  popular. 
The  latter  was  elected,  and  procured  an  enabling  act  for  the  reloca- 
tion of  the  county-seat.  As  there  will  be  no  further  occasion  to 
refer  to  Mr.  Roberts'  public  life,  an  incident  connected  with  his  serv- 
ice in  the  legislature  may  be  recorded  here.  At  the  session  of 
1836-7  an  internal  improvement  bill  was  passed.  To  satisfy  the 
counties  which  did  not  directly  share  the  benefits  of  the  measure  by 
having  a  canal  or  railroad  built  through  them,  an  appropriation  was 
made  to  such  counties,  to  be  paid  to  their  agents  by  the  fund  com- 
missioners. The  total  amount  credited  to  Iroquois  county  was 
$3,133,  a  handsome  sum  at  that  time  for  a  new  county.  Mr.  Rob- 
erts was  appointed  to  receive  the  money  and  execute  vouchers  for 
the  same.  On  March  22  he  paid  over  $2,833  of  these  funds,  leav- 
ing a  balance  of  $300  still  to  be  transferred.  He  was  asked  by  the 
fund  commissioners  to  draw  the  remainder,  and  he  did  so,  while  hav- 
ing yet  several  weeks  to  stay  at  the  capital.  For  want  of  a  better 
place  for  keeping  the  money  he  put  it  into  a  small  box  and  concealed 
it  under  his  bed,  from  which  place  it  was  stolen.  At  the  December 
term  of  the  commissioners  court,  he  not  having  accounted  for  the 
deficit,  the  clerk,  Hugh  Newell,  was  directed  to  employ  an  attorney 
to  bring  suit  against  him  for  the  recovery  of  the  money.  It  was 
finally  considered  that  he  was  not  liable  for  the  loss,  and  the  matter 
was  dropped. 

In  1836  the  people  lost  their  heads  in  the  rage  for  speculation., 
A  great  system  of  public  improvements  had  been  devised,  and  chi- 
merical private  schemes,  on  a  grand  scale,  were  pressed  and  adver- 
tised. Paper  towns  were  platted  upon  eligible  sites,  and  the  pro- 
prietors confidently  wrote  up  immense  fortunes.  All  this  prosperity 
was  only  apparent,  and  the  Hrst  contrary  breath  burst  the  bubble. 
Iroquois  county  did  not  escape  a  certain  development  of  this  lunacy. 
Much  enterprise  was  displayed  by  several  in  their  efforts  to  pocket 
the  county  town.  The  seat  of  justice  was  the  great  prize.  During 
the  year  eight  towns  were  laid  out,  and  in  the  following  spring  one 
other.  Two  of  these — Concord  and  Milford  —  had  a  prospect  for 
settlement ;  for  the  latter,  and  perhaps  the  former,  was  actually 
begun.  Plato,  Savanna,  Middleport,  Point  Pleasant  and  Iroquois 
( 'ity  were  laid  out  in  season  to  receive  the  golden  egg.  Elsewhere 
is  shown  the  location  of  Plato  and  the  ado  that  was  created  in  its 
name.  Savanna  was  situated  about  two  miles  north  of  Milford,  on 
the  state  road,  "'in  the  heart  of  a  tine,  rich  country."  and  (as  the 


350  HISTORY    OF    1ROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

term  'savanna'  imports)  "on  beautiful,  gently  rolling,  dry  and  rich 
prairie,"'  so  we  are  informed  by  the  certificate  attached  to  the  plat 
by  one  of  the  owners,  Hugh  Newell.  This  was  even  so  ;  but  with 
these  advantages  there  were  not  attractions  enough  to  build  a  city  in 
a  day  ;  nor  to  lay  a  stone  until  the  child  of  great  hopes  —  the  county- 
seat  —  should  first  be  rebaptized  011  that  spot.  Newell  was,  without 
doubt,  the  projector,  and  Solomon  Barbee  the  proprietor,  as  he 
owned  the  land  on  which  the  town  was  surveyed.  After  Middle- 
port  was  selected  for  the  county  town  this  plat  was  vacated  by  act  of 
the  legislature.  Burlington  fully  answered  the  description  of  what 
was  for  years  afterward  synonymous  in  the  east  with  any  project 
having  no  real  foundation,  but  conceived  in  fraud  —  a  "western 
enterprise."  James  Davis,  of  Indiana,  discovering  an  "eligible 
site"  about  two  miles  south  of  Milford,  on  land  belonging  to  Asa 
Thomas,  suggested  the  propriety  of  making  a  fortune  while  fortunes 
were  to  be  made,  seeing  it  was  so  easy  of  accomplishment  as  the  lay- 
ing out  of  a  town.  Accordingly,  it  was  surveyed  and  platted.  Davis 
went  to  New  York  and  sold  lots,  representing  that  the  town  was 
building  and  in  a  thriving  condition.  Afterward  some  of  the  pur- 
chasers came  to  view  their  western  property,  doubtless  reckoning 
high  on  its  advanced  value,  especially  such  as  held  "  corner  lots." 
Asa  and  William  Thomas  were  the  only  occupants  of  the  "  village." 
When  the  expectant  lot-owners  beheld  the  naked  area  of  this  "  peg 
town"  of  60  acres,  they  were  covered  with  stunning  surprise  and 
chagrin.  Waiting  just  long  enough  to  call  down  a  shower  of  anath- 
emas on  the  rascally  head  of  Davis,  they  returned  to  New  York 
"  wiser,  if  not  better  men."  Iroquois  City  was  an  heir-expectant  to 
the  county  town  ;  it  was  laid  oif  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Iroquois, 
opposite  Texas,  by  Hiram  Pearson.  When  the  proprietor  failed  of  a 
fruition  of  hope  the  plat  was  vacated.  Texas  was  also  a  competing 
point.  Point  Pleasant  was  laid  out  at  the  confluence  of  Spring  creek 
with  the  Iroquois  river,  in  the  acute  angle  formed  by  those  streams, 
by  Nelson  K.  Norton  and  Smith  Northrup.  Norton  was  the  "  solid  " 
man  in  this  venture  in  which  there  was  nothing  to  lose,  and  his  part- 
ner was  the  procurer.  At  that  time  it  was  impossible  to  see  that 
this  would  not  at  an  early  day  be  a  center  of  commerce  and  the  civ- 
ilized arts.  It  had  every  advantage  of  water  communication  ;  was 
below  Middleport  and  Bunkum,  and,  of  course,  would  take  the  cream 
of  every  thing  that  came  up  the  river.  It  was  fertile  with  aboriginal 
associations,  having  been  the  seat  of  an  Indian  village  ;  even  the 
rude  contrivances  over  the  graves  were  yet  in  complete  order  and 
preservation.  These,  however,  were  not  to  be  blindly  relied  on  for 


HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  o51 

drawing  a  teeming  population.  The  county-seat  was  also  coveted  by 
the  proprietors,  and  all  the  possibilities  of  this  paper  town  were 
staked  on  this  grand  object.  But  it  failed.  Middleport  was  more 
fortunate.  Hugh  Newell  having  his  attention  first  directed  to  the 
subject  by  Micajah  Stanley,  for  a  long  time  kept  this  point,  as  well 
as  the  adjacent  country,  an  object  of  deliberation  and  careful  per- 
sonal inspection.  He  entered  the  E.  \  N.E.  J  Sec.  31,  T.  27,  R.  12, 
August  27,  1836 ;  and  his  means  being  limited,  he  interested  Jacob 
A.  Whiteman  to  join  him  in  entering  the  N.W.  J  N.W.  J  Sec.  32, 
which  was  done  September  29.  Austin  Cole,  of  Danville,  had 
entered  on  the  21st  the  S.W.  J  of  the  same  quarter  section.  Some 
transfers  took  place  before  the  county-seat  was  removed  there.  It 
was  laid  out  by  Newell  and  Whiteman  in  December,  1836. 

As  before  related,  Lewis  Roberts  had  procured  the1  passage  of  an 
act  enabling  the  county  to  relocate  the  seat  of  justice.  Merritt  L. 
Covel,  John  Moore  and  Cheney  Thomas,  of  McLean  county,  were 
named  as  commissioners  charged  with  this  duty.  They  were  to 
meet  at  Middleport  on  the  first  Monday  in  June,  1839,  or  within 
thirty  days  thereafter,  and  to  fix  upon  .a  location.  If  they  .selected 
private  property,  they  were  required  to  obtain  from  the  owner  at  least 
2<>  acres  of  land  as  a  donation  to  the  county  ;  but  if  the  selection  was 
in  a  town  or  village,  then  not  less  than  fifty  lots  of  an  average  value 
with  the  remaining  ones,  for  which,  in  either  case,  they  should  take 
a  deed  in  fee-simple  to  the  county.  On  the  13th  Messrs.  Moore  and 
Covel  met  at  Middleport.  and  after  subscribing  the  required  oath, 
entered  upon  their  labors.  On  the  17th  they  rendered  their  report 
to  Jonathan  Wright,  Adam  Karr  and  Samuel  McFall,  county  com- 
missioners, declaring  the  county-seat  removed  from  Montgomery  and 
permanently  located  at  Middleport.  For  their  services  each  of  the 
commissioners  was  allowed  s33.  They  obtained  from  Hugh  Newell 
Jacob  A.  Whiteman.  Jacob  Troup  and  James  Smith  a  deed  to 
100  town  lots.  Most  of  these  were  subsequently  sold  and  conveyed 
by  Micajah  Stanley,  and  after  him  a  few  by  George  B.  Joiner,  for 
the  county,  at  prices  ranging  from  *5  to  s4<>.  They  furnished  a 
much  needed  revenue,  and  contributed  toward  the  erection  of  county 
buildings. 

The  growing  necessities  of  the  public  business  dictated  the  build- 
ing of  a  court-house- and  a  jail,  but  the  county  was  too  weak  finan- 
cially to  accomplish  much  in  that  direction.  The  commissioners 
decided  to  begin  the  jail  first,  as  that  was  more  urgently  demanded. 
Hugh  Newell  was  appointed  agent  to  let  the  contracts,  but  this  had 
not  been  done  when  he  died,  May  8,  1841,  and  his  place  as  agent 


352  HISTORY    OF    IEOQUOIS   COUNTY. 

was  supplied  by  the  appointment  of  Micajah  Stanley.  Meantime 
the  offices  had  been  removed  to  Middleport,  and  sessions  of  the  cir- 
cuit court  held  there.  The  last  term  of  this  court,  as  probably  that 
of  the  county  commissioners,  held  in  Montgomery,  was  in  Septem- 
ber, 1831).  A  frame  building  in  Middleport,  belonging  to  Newell, 
had  been  rented  by  the  county.  The  second  floor  was  used  for  a 
court-room.  Office  rooms  were  also  rented  of  Garrett  Eoff.  James 
Crawford  took  the  contract  for  building  the  jail.  It  was  a  hewed  log 
structure,  about  16x20  feet  square,  and  cost  $159.30  when  ready  for 
the  reception  of  occupants.  It  was  finished  in  the  winter  of  1842-3, 
nearly  two  years  having  transpired  from  the  letting  of  the  contract. 
The  door  was  fastened  on  the  outside  with  an  ordinary  padlock.  The 
floor  was  made  of  square  timbers  laid  together,  on  which  the  walls 
of  the  house  were  raised.  After  becoming  seasoned  some  of  them 
were  loose,  and  it  was  only  necessary  to  slip  one  either  way  to  have 
a  place  of  egress.  The  breaking  of  this  jail  was  rather  a  pastime. 
It  is  told  that  the  prisoners  used  facetiously  to  complain  that  the  swine 
worked  their  way  under  the  floor  after  the  crumbs  of  bread  that  fell 
through,  and  rooted  them  out  of  jail.  Pancake,  a  faithful  infractor 
of  the  law,  charged  "Garry"  Eoif,  the  keeper,  one  night  when  he 
was  leaving,  to  prop  the  door  well,  as  thje  hogs  were  in  the  habit  of 
rooting  it  open  and  getting  his  corn-bread.  It  is  not  said  which  this 
sarcasm  reflected  against  most — the  jail  or  the  bread.  No  other 
place  for  the  confinement  of  criminals  was  provided  in  Iroquois 
county  until  1858. 

At  the  March  term,  1843,  it  was  ordered  that  a  court-house  be 
built  on  the  public  square  in  Middleport.  Certain  dimensions, 
together  with  the  general  features  of  a  plan,  were  specified,  and  a 
committee  named  to  procure  a  plan  and  to  estimate  the  cost.  Acting 
on  the  report  rendered  that  day.  the  commissioners,  on  the  10th  of 
April,  appointed  Lorenzo  I).  Xorthnip.  Charles  Gardner,  Isaac 
( 'ourtright,  Samuel  Harper  and  .John  llarwood  a  building  commit- 
tee. The  dimensions  were  slightly  changed.  The  building  was  to 
be  37£  feet  square,  of  two  twelve-toot  stories;  and  the  committee 
was  limited  to  $1,506,  fifty-two  town  lots  in  Middleport,  and  the 
saline  land  in  Vermilion  county  for  its  inclosure.  The  town  lots 
included  those  which  had  already  been  sold.  s.SoO  were  appropri- 
ated from  the  treasury  to  begin  the  work.  The  house  was  of  brick, 
•4-0x40  feet,  with  a  square  roof,  surmounted  by  a  belfry,  which  was 
never  furnished  with  a  bell.  The  first  floor  was  laid  with  brick  and 
kept  covered  with  sawdust  to  render  it  noiseless;  this  was  the  court- 
room. The  offices  and  jury  rooms  were  up-stairs. 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  353 

By  the  fire  of  October  16,  1866,  a  part  of  the  county  records,  on 
which  we  have  thus  far  depended  for  information,  were  destroyed. 
The  hiatus  extends  to  September  23,  1861,  about  eighteen  and  one- 
half  years.  Through  this  period  we  are  as  a  traveler  that  wanders 
in  a  desert. 

The  saline  land  above  referred  to  was  a  part  of  the  salines  situ- 
ated in  Yermilion  county,  and  which  were  granted  to  the  two  coun- 
ties by  the  state  in  1837,  for  the  purpose  of  building  a  bridge  across 
each  the  Yermilion  and  Iroquois  rivers.  When  Illinois  was  a  terri- 
tory the  salt  springs  on  these  lands  were  considered  valuable  for  the 
manufacture  of  salt,  and  were  reserved  from  sale  and  leased  by  the 
government ;  but  the  management  of  them  proving  unprofitable  and 
troublesome,  the  lands  were  ceded  to  the  state.  Salt-making  at  these 
springs  was  abandoned  many  years  ago.  The  amount  of  land  appor- 
tioned to  Iroquois  county  we  have  not  been  able  to  learn,  but  it  was 
inconsiderable.  Mr.  Stanley  states  that  he  was  empowered  to  sell  the 
land,  and  that  he  went  to  Yermilion  county  and  exchanged -a  tract 
(either  40  or  80  acres)  for  a  horse,  which  was  disposed  of  in  Chicago, 
and  the  proceeds  arj^ed  on  the  court-house.  Joseph  B.  Dean  had 
the  first  contract  to  1^  the  brick.  In  June,  1845,  the  walls  had  been 
reared  about  four  feet;  all  the  funds  on  hand  had  been  expended, 
and  work  was  discontinued.  George  B.  Joiner  and  William  Pierce 
were  now  appointed  commissioners  to  superintend  the  further  con- 
struction. New  contracts  we*e  made,  and  it  is  thought  that  Aaron 
Hoel  and  his  son  burned  the  rest  of  the  brick,  and  that  Spencer  Case 
did  the  mason  work.  The  Hebrews  were  required  to  make  brick 
without  straw, — a  thing  scarc%y  Aore  difficult  than  this  committee 
had  to  do  when  it  was  forced  to  build  a  court-house  without  money. 
They  disbursed  county  orders  till  these  were  so  depreciated  toward 
the  close,  that  they  paid  them  out  at  half  their  face  value.  The  con- 
tractors who  accepted  them  were  compelled  to  negotiate  them  a^  75 
per  cent  discount. 

To  encourage  settlement,  public  lands  were  exempted  from  taxa- 
tion five  years  from  the  date  of  entry.  While  this  was,  no  doubt,  a 
judicious  course,  it  can  be  understood  t^at  the  resources  of  the  pub- 
lic treasury  were  so  disproportioned  t<ra  population  at  most  small 
in  number,  it  was  nearly  impossible  for  the  people  to  proceed  with 
public  improvements.  The  building  was  inclosed  in  184B,  and  near 
the  end  of  the  year  it  was  first  used  for  holding  court  ^JW  it  was  not 
completed  and  furnished,  and  the  offices  occupied  unt^Bl^fcext  sum- 
mer. It  would  be  interesting  to  note  the  difficmtie^MrcT  delays  by 
which  the  completion  of  the  first  court-house  was  retarjred  four  years , 
23 


354  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

were  the  facts  accessible,  but  it  can  now  only  be  said  that  it  cost  a 
patient  and  protracted  effort,  and  in  the  end  left  an  onerous  debt. 
A  special  act  was  passed  February  16,  1847,  authorizing  the  county 
commissioners  to  borrow  a  sum  of  money  not  to  exceed  $1,000,  to 
finish  the  court-house,  or  to  redeem  orders  issued  for  that  purpose, 
for  which  they  might  execute  notes  or  bonds  with  interest  at  a  rate 
not  over  12  per  cent.  In  1851  another  act  was  procured  empower- 
ing the  county  court  to  levy  a  special  tax  of  o-ne  mill  upon  every  one 
hundred  dollars'  worth  of  taxable  property,  which  was,  when  col- 
lected, to  be  kept  as  a  separate  fund  for  the  payment  of  debts  incurred 
in  building  the  court-house,  and  if  any  surplus  remained,  it  was  to 
be  applied  to  the  erection  of  a  jail. 

The  constitution  of  1848  did  away  with  probate  justices  and  county 
commissioners'  courts,  and  provided  for  county  courts.  The  general 
assembly,  at  its  first  session  after  the  adoption  of  the  constitution, 
enacted  a  law  (February,  1849)  establishing  county  courts  with  pro- 
bate jurisdiction,  and  providing  that  two  associate  justices  of  the  peace 
having  county  jurisdiction,  to  be  elected  by  each  county  at  large, 
should  sit  with  the  county  judge,  and  that  th^lcourt,  as  thus  organ- 
ized, should  possess  and  exercise  the  same  plwers  as  had  belonged 
to  the  old  commissioners'  court.  The  judge,  sitting  by  himself,  con- 
stituted a  court  for  the  transaction  of  probate  business.  These  officers 
were  to  be  elected  every  four  years. 

John  Chamberlain  was  the  first  county  judge  of  Iroquois  county, 
and  was  elected  to  that  office  in  November,  1849,  filling  it  three  con- 
secutive terms.  He  was  a  man  of  strongly  marked  personal  charac- 
ter ;  possessed  decided  convictiojis  ;^<  1  commanding  ability ;  and  as 
an  orator  and  lawyer,  superior  powers.  By  conferring  freely  with 
men  he  always  had  so  exact  a  knowledge  of  current  popular  feeling 
that  it  seemed  as  if  he  had  a  prescience  of  events.  His  habits  in 
this%  particular  were  remarkable  enough  to  require  mention.  With 
rare  subtlety  he  drew  from  others  what  they  would  conceal,  without 
compromising  his  own  information.  This  was  done  with  diplomatic 
art,  and  scarcely  left  a  sensible  impression  of  his  mastery.  The 
advantages  so  gained  he  dic^iot  fail  to  make  an  element  of  success  in 
objects  which  "forever  remamed  in  the  custody  of  his  own  conscious- 
ness. He  was  dark  and  difficult  to  fathom ;  mistrustful  of  men,  dili- 
gent in  detail,  long  headed,  slow  to  act,  but  eminently  energetic  and 
unshriiikiniji^ien  the  time  of  action  came.  His  sagacity  was  always 
equal  to  J^^Lcasion.  In  private  life  he  displayed  the  traits  and 
practiced  CT^^Brts%f  genuine  benevolence.  He  was  tall  of  stature, 
nnd  of  strikin^appearaiice.  When  he  undertook  the  control  of  the 


HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  355 

county  government  its  fiscal  affairs  were  in  a  deplorable  condition. 
County  orders  were  bringing  but  thirty-seven  and  a  half  cents  on  the 
dollar.  The  judge  addressed  himself  with  zeal  to  the  restoration  of  the 
county  credit.  In  less  than  four  years  under  his  administration  the 
whole  debt  was  redeemed,  and  orders  were  at  a  premium  for  taxes ; 
but  they  fell  again  somewhat  below  par,  when  the  liability  of  $50,000 
was  incurred  in  aid  of  the  Peoria  &  Oquawka  Eastern  Extension 
railroad, — a  measure  against  which  he  opposed  an  earnest,  vigorous, 
but  unavailing  remonstrance. 

In  1846  Micajah  Stanley  went  to  the  legislature  from  this  county. 
The  navigation  of  the  Kankakee  and  Iroquois  rivers  had  excited 
much  interest  and  been  warmly  discussed  and  advocated  since  any 
considerable  settlement  had  been  made  in  the  county.  The  feeling 
had  become  so  earnest  that  this  question  was  the  staple  of  thought 
and  conversation  —  the  single  idea  of  the  public  mind.  Mr.  Stanley 
brought  forward  a  bill  chartering  "The  Kankakee  and  Iroquois 
Navigation  and  Manufacturing  Company,"  which  was  passed  and 
approved  February  15,  1847,  granting  this  corporation  full  control 
of  the  improvement  of  the  two  rivers  for  navigation,  and  also  all 
the  use  and  control  of  the  water-power  thereon  for  the  term  of  fifty 
years.  Several  amendatory  acts  have  taken  effect,  but  none  of  them 
changing  the  original  powers  granted.  Fifty  thousand  dollars  were 
raised  by  stock  subscriptions  and  expended  on  a  dam  and  lock  at 
Wilmington,  which  was  swept  away  by  high  water  the  next  spring 
after  it  was  completed.  By  a  law  in  force  February  12,  1849,  the 
county  court  of  Iroquois  county  was  granted  power  to  levy  and 
cause  to  be  collected  a  tax  not  to  exceed  $1  upon  each  $100 
worth  of  taxable  property  for  the  purpose  of  improving  the 
Kankakee  and  Iroquois  rivers,  provided  that  upon  thirty-days 
notice  previous  to  a  general  election  a  majority  of  the  votes  cast 
upon  the  question  should  be  in  favor  of  the  tax.  We  do  not  know 
that  any  money  was  raised  in  this  way,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  the  ques- 
tion was  submitted  to  the  people,  Judge  Chamberlain,  though  favor- 
able to  the  improvement  of  these  streams,  and  taking  an  active  interest 
in  the  design,  being,  as  is  evidenced  by  other  acts  of  his,  opposed 
to  such  a  plan  for  raising  funds  in  the  then  exhausted  condition  of 
the  county,  and  the  low  state  of  its  credit.  The  company  made  the 
Kankakee  navigable  by  slack-water  to  Wilmington,  connecting  that 
city  with  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  canal.  Then  th,e  work  slum- 
bered some  time,  so  far  as  the  general  public  was  coJmrned.  Again, 
in  the  summer  of  1862,  fresh  interest  was  arouse(r^n  the  project, 
and  citizens  of  Troquois  and  Kankakee  counties,  and  delegates  from 


356  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

Newton  county,  Indiana,  held  a  public  meeting  at  Middleport,  on 
June  16,  at  which  business  committees  were  appointed,  one  of 
which  was  to  examine  and  report  on  the  subject  preparatory  to 
raising  stock.  This  was  composed  of  Dr.  C.  F.  McNeill,  chairman ; 
George  B.  Joiner,  Michael  Hogle  and  John  Wilson  of  Iroquois 
county ;  James  McGrew  and  E.  A.  Webster,  of  Kankakee  county ; 
G.  W.  Spitler,  of  Jasper  county,  Indiana,  and  A.  B.  Condit,  of 
Newton  county,  Indiana.  Condit  was  a  practical  engineer,  and  was 
appointed  by  GOT.  Wright,  of  Indiana,  in  1853,  to  do  the  engineer- 
ing for  the  draining  of  the  swamp  lands  in  White,  Jasper  and  New- 
ton counties.  It  is  stated  in  the  k'  Middleport  Press  "  of  that  date, 
that  he  explained,  by  diagrams  and  otherwise,  the  practicability,  at 
a  very  small  cost,  of  making  the  rivers  navigable  at  the  driest  sea- 
son of  the  year,  by  slack-water,  not  only  up  to  Middleport,  but 
to  Rensselaer,  Indiana,  by  making  a  reservoir  of  Beaver  lake. 
He  further  advocated  the  feasibility  of  a  navigable  eastern  outlet  by 
way  of  the  Pinkamink  and  a  seven-mile  canal  over  a  flat  surface  to 
the  head  of  the  Monon,  and  down  that  stream  and  the  Tippecanoe 
river  into  the  Wabash  and  Erie  canal.  At  the  meeting  of  July  2, 
the  chairman  read  an  exhaustive  report  showing  the  stage  of  the 
work,  and  also  what  was  further  required  to  be  done,  besides 
demonstrating  its  practicability  and  importance.  But  notwithstand- 
ing the  enthusiasm  of  the  hour,  the  absorbing  and  gigantic  demands 
of  the  war  coming  suddenly  in  the  form  of  calls  for  600,000  volun- 
teers, caused  this  local  enterprise  to  be  forgotten.  "  The  Kankakee 
Company,"  an  association  of  Massachusetts  capitalists,  of  which 
Gov.  Claflin  is  president,  purchased  the  franchises  and  property  of 
the  old  company,  and  are  slowly  prosecuting  the  extension  of  navi- 
gation on  the  Kankakee  toward  the  state  line.  For  a  while  after 
the  building  of  the  Chicago,  Danville  &  Yincennes  railroad  the 
question  of  improving  the  Iroquois  river  was  generally  thought  to 
be  forever  quieted,  but  in  the  winter  of  1879-80  the  agitation  was 
again  revived,  and  the  attention  of  Hon.  G.  L.  Fort,  representative 
from  the  eighth  congressional  district,  was  invited  to  the  subject 
with  a  view  to  bringing  it  before  congress ;  and  petitions  were  cir- 
culated asking  an  appropriation  for  the  work.  In  1878  Mr.  Fort 
introduced  a  bill  in  congress  appropriating  $50,000  for  the  survey 
and  improvement  of  the  Kankakee,  but  the  amount  was  reduced  to 
$10,000,  with  which  an  examination  was  made.  In  1879  there  was 
an  appropriatjfcn  of  $28,000,  and  in  the  fall  the  river  was  again  sur- 
veyed from  Wilmington  to  a  point  one  mile  and  a  half  above 
Momence,  under  the  direction  of  Maj.  Jared  A.  Smith,  of  the 
United  States  engineer  corps. 


HISTOKY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  357 

In  1851  an  attempt  was  made  to  form  the  county  of  Kankakee 
from  Will  and  Iroquois.  A  law  was  enacted  defining  the  boundaries 
and  establishing  the  new  county,  subject  to  a  vote  of  the  people 
of  the  two  counties  to  be  affected,  which  was  to  betaken  at  a  special 
election  on  the  first  Tuesday  in  April.  The  vote  in  Iroquois  county 
stood  192  for  and  554  against  the  proposition.  More  than  three- 
fourths  of  the  minority  vote  was  polled  in  Limestone  and  Polk  pre- 
cincts, which  were  situated  on  the  Kankakee  river.  The  attempt  was 
renewed  in  the  fall  of  1852,  when  petitions  were  again  circulated  and 
signed,  and  on  the  assembling  of  the  legislature  they  were  laid  before 
that  body.  The  law  relating  to  the  formation  of  new  counties 
required  notice  by  advertisement  and  otherwise  before  the  general 
assembly  should  act  upon  the  petition,  which  notice  it  was  charged 
had  never  been  legally  given.  It  further  required  that  the  lines  of 
division  or  curtailment  should  be  particularly  described  in  the  peti- 
tion. The  proposed  new  county,  with  the  metes  and  bounds  set  forth 
in  the  petition  not  meeting  with  favor  among  the  members  of  the 
legislature,  the  southern  boundary  was  changed  in  the  petition  and 
fixed  on  a  line  farther  north.  A  law  was  enacted  February  11,  1853, 
establishing  the  county  of  Kankakee  with  the  amended  boundaries, 
provided  that  a  majority  of  the  voters  of  each  of  the  counties  of  Will 
and  Iroquois  voting  on  the  question  should  vote  in  favor  of  the  meas- 
ure. William  Parish  and  James  Lamb,  of  Iroquois  county,  were 
designated  as  commissioners  to  receive  the  return  of  the  votes  of  their 
county.  A  special  election  was  held  on  Tuesday,  April  5,  1853.  At 
the  time  of  the  election  the  Illinois  Central  railroad  was  in  course  of 
construction,  and  a  great  force  of  laborers  were  employed  at  that 
point  in  excavating  and  quarrying.  This  floating  population  was 
used  at  the  polls  in  Limestone  precinct,  voting  in  phalanx  for  the  new 
county.  It  was  charged  that  irregularities  were  committed  in  the 
organization  of  the  election  board.  In  1851  this  precinct  had  cast 
65  votes  for  the  new  county,  and  27  against  it,  making  a  total  of  92, 
which  was  said  to  be,  and  probably  was,  the  full  strength.  At  this 
election  there  were  360  votes  polled,  and  all  in  favor  of  the  proposed 
county.  When  the  poll-lists  were  returned  it  was  found  that  the 
judges  and  clerks  had  made  no  certificate.  In  consequence  of  the 
invalidity  the  return  was  thrown  out  by  the  canvassers,  when  the  vote 
in  the  county  stood  367  against,  to  290  for,  the  new  county.  George 
W.  Byrns,  justice  of  the  peace,  who  returned  the  poll-book  and  was 
chosen  to  assist  in  the  canvass,  refused  to  sign  the  certificate  declaring 
the  result.  It  was  proposed  by  Byrns  and  others  to  procure  a  writ 
of  mandamus  to  compel  the  board  to  accept  the  return,  whereupon 


358  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

Judge  Chamberlain  and  the  associate  justice,  William  Pierce,  sued 
out  an  injunction  restraining  the  county  clerk,  Amos  O.  Whiteman, 
from  making  returns  of  the  election,  and  the  commissioners  from 
receiving  them.  The  regular  April  term  of  the  circuit  court  should 
have  begun  on  the  26th,  when  the  case  would  have  come  up  for  hear- 
ing ;  but  the  judge,  Hon.  Hugh  Henderson,  did  not  arrive,  and  so 
ordered  a  special  term  for  July.  May  9  was  the  time  fixed  by  law 
for  the  election  in  Kankakee  county  to  locate  the  seat  of  justice  and 
elect  officers,  in  case  that  the  county  should  be  established  by  the 
votes  of  the  people.  A.  O.  Whiteman,  writing  on  this  subject, 
says:  "After  the  issue  and  service  of  the  injunction,  Orson  Beebee 
(afterward  judge  of  Kankakee  county),  Dr.  Lyons,  S.  S.  Vale,  and 
several  others,  leading  men  of  Momence  and  vicinity,  came  to  Middle- 
port  and  examined  all  the  poll-lists  of  said  election  (including  what 
purported  to  be  a  poll-book  from  Limestone  precinct),  and  after  due 
deliberation  and  legal  advice  from  J.  A.  Whiteman,  S.  A.  Washing- 
ton, and  others  of  the  Iroquois  county  bar,  were  of  the  opinion  that 
all  would  be  right  if  they  should  proceed  to  organize  the  county  of 
Kankakee."  He  further  adds:  "In  May,  a  deputation  consisting 
of  Hon.  William  Pierce,  Hon.  Joseph  Thomas  and  others  whom  I 
do  not  now  remember,  visited  Springfield  for  the  purpose  of  an  in- 
terview with  the  attorney-general,  Governor  Joel  A.  Matteson,  and 
Hon.  T.  H.  Campbell,  secretary  of  state,  the  result  of  which  I  do 
not  know."  The  election  was  held  on  the  day  mentioned,  and 
Kankakee  county  was  fully  organized.  Taking  into  consideration  all 
the  circumstances,  and  the  excitement  having  cooled  off,  the  com- 
plainants thought  it  best  to  dismiss  the  injunction,  which  was  accord- 
ingly done  on  their  motion.  Through  the  informal  proceedings 
described,  a  part  of  Iroquois  county  was  detached  and  Kankakee 
finally  established  ;  and  the  people  of  the  latter  only  narrowly  suc- 
ceeding had  been  obliged  to  forego  the  attempt  to  get  a  larger  strip 
of  territory.  It  had  always  been  a  favorite  object  with  that  county 
to  get  the  remainder  of  township  29,  and  in  1867  an  act  was  procured 
attaching  it  to  Kankakee,  if  a  majority  of  the  voters  of  each  county 
should  consent.  Accordingly  an  election  was  held  May  14,  1867,  at 
which  the  result  in  Iroquois  county  was  513  votes  for  annexation, 
and  1,095  against,  thus  defeating  the  scheme. 

"The  first  efforts  seriously  made  to  construct  railroads"*  in  the 
state  of  Illinois,  was  in  the  winter  of  1832-3,  when  the  legislature 
passed  several  charters  to  incorporate  companies.  The  one  for  the 

*  Ford's  History  of  Illinois,  p.  166. 


HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY.  359 

Central  railroad,  which  was  to  extend  from  Peru  to  Cairo,  was 
granted  to  Darius  B.  Holbrooke,  a  friend  and  partner  of  Judge  Sid- 
ley  Breese,  by  which  latter  gentleman  this  undertaking  was  first 
wrought,  through  a  newspaper  publication,  into  public  notice.  No 
?tock  was  taken  in  this  company,  and  at  the  session  of  the  legisla- 
ture of  1836-Y  that  body  inaugurated  a  system  of  internal  improve- 
ments, which  was  made  to  include  the  Illinois  Central  railroad,  the 
>vhole  to  be  under  the  control  and  at  the  expense  of  the  state.  Mr. 
[lolbrooke's  charter  was,  consequently,  repealed.  Over  a  million 
lollars  were  spent  on  this  single  improvement  when  the  financial 
'evulsion  of  1837  came  on  and  bankrupted  the  state,  and  forced  an 
ibandonment  of  all  these  works.  Mr.  Holbrooke  asked  and  obtained 
i  renewal  of  his  charter,  by  which  was  granted  to  him  and  his  asso- 
2iates  all  the  work  that  had  been  done  on  the  line,  provided  that  he 
should  build  the  road.  Judge  Breese,  then  a  senator  of  the  United 
States,  from  Illinois,  brought  forward  a  bill  from  the  committee  of 
the  public  lands  of  the  senate,  conferring  exclusive  preemption  privi- 
leges on  Holbrooke  to  all  the  lands  on  each  side  -of  the  road  at 
$1.25  per  acre,  for  a  period  of  ten  years.  Mr.  Douglas  denounced 
it  as  a  gigantic  scheme  for  speculation,  and  demonstrated  that  it 
would  be  injurious  to  the  interest  of  the  state.  He  then  introduced 
in  the  senate  the  bill,  which  finally  passed,  granting  to  the  state 
every  alternate  section  within  six  miles  of  the  road  on  each  side  of 
the  main  track  and  branches,  designated  by  even  numbers,  to  aid  in 
its  construction  from  the  southern  terminus  of  the  Illinois  and  Mich- 
igan canal  to  Cairo,  with  a  branch  to  Chicago,  and  another  via 
Galena  to  a  point  on  the  Mississippi  river  opposite  Dubuque,  Iowa. 
For  any  lands  embraced  in  this  donation  which  might  have  been 
sold  or  preempted,  the  company  was  entitled  to  receive  an  equal 
amount  to  be  selected  from  the  public  lands  within  fifteen  miles  on 
either  side  of  the  line  by  agents  to  be  appointed  by  the  governor. 
The  lands  reserved  by  the  government  within  the  six-mile  limits 
were  not  to  be  sold  for  less  than  double  the  minimum  price  of  the 
public  lands.  The  road  was  to  be  commenced  simultaneously  at 
both  extremities  of  the  main  line,  and  continued  therefrom  until 
completed ;  and  if  not  completed  within  ten  years  the  grant  should 
be  forfeited.  The  inside  history  of  this  bill  in  detail,  as  related  by 
Mr.  Douglas  himself,  in  a  small  work  on  constitutional  and  party 
questions,  to  which  we  are  indebted  for  some  of  our  facts,  is  of  no 
little  interest ;  but  we  can  refer  only  to  a  single  incident.  When 
introduced  in  congress  it  met  with  sufficient  opposition  in  the  house 
to  defeat  it  by  two  votes,  which  proved  in  the  end,  and  to  the  great 


360  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

satisfaction  of  all  parties,  with  a  single  exception  perhaps,  a  fortu- 
nate circumstance,  owing  to  a  certain  fraudulent  proceeding,  prob- 
ably of  some  engrossing  clerk  of  the  Illinois  legislature,  acting  in 
the  interest  of  Holbrooke,  which  transaction  was  discovered  and 
exposed  by  Mr.  Douglas  himself.  He  then  procured  from  Hol- 
brooke a  release  of  his  charter  for  the  road,  which  the  recent  discov- 
ery had  shown  to  be  necessary,  and  had  it  recorded  in  the  office  of 
the  secretary  of  state  at  Springfield.  The  bill  had  received  the 
opposition  of  the  delegations  from  Alabama  and  Mississippi,  and  he 
felt  that  their  cooperation  was  necessary.  The  Mobile  railroad  was 
then  building,  but  had  failed  for  want  of  means,  and  Mr.  Douglas 
went  to  Alabama  and  held  a  conference  with  the  president  and 
directors,  proposing  to  obtain  for  them  a  grant  of  lands  by  making 
it  a  part  of  his  bill.  This  was  readily  accepted,  and  he  quietly 
departed  for  Washington,  desirous  of  not  being  seen  in  those  parts, 
lest  his  influence  upon  the  action  of  the  legislatures  of  Alabama  and 
Mississippi  should  be  revealed  to  the  senators  and  representatives  in 
congress  from  those  states.  Before  he  left  it  had  been  arranged  for 
the  directors  to  procure  from  those  legislatures  instructions  to  their 
congressional  delegations  to  support  the  bill.  When  the  instruc- 
tions reached  them  at  Washington  they  were  bewildered  and  in  no 
good  humor.  It  was  amusing  to  Douglas  when  they  came  to  him 
for  his  assistance.  Concealing  his  secret  gratification,  and  assuming 
an  attitude  of  independence  toward  them  till  he  could  seem  to  yield, 
he  at  length  consented  to  a  proposition  to  amend  his  bill  so  as  to 
make  a  grant  to  each  of  the  states  of  Alabama  and  Mississippi,  in 
the  same  manner  as  it  did  to  Illinois.  It  then  became  a  law,  Sep- 
tember 20,  1850.  It  had  been  ably  advocated  in  the  house  by  the 
representative  from  this  district,  the  Hon.  John  Went  worth.  This 
explains  how  the  two  southern  states  came  to  be  included  ;  as  it  also 
revives  the  memory  of  the  fact  that  Mr.  Douglas  was  the  author  and 
master-spirit  of  the  measure.  In  1859,  he  said  :  "If  any  man  ever 
passed  a  bill,  I  did  that  one.  I  did  the  whole  work,  and  was  de- 
voted to  it  for  two  entire  years.  The  people  of  Illinois  are  begin- 
ning to  forget  it.  It  is  said  Douglas  never  made  a  speech  upon  it." 
And  again:  "The  Illinois  bill  was  the  pioneer  bill,  and  went 
through  without  a  dollar,  pure,  uncorrupt,  and  is  the  only  one  that 
has  worked  well."  *  The  grant  was  accepted,  and  on  February  10, 
1851,  the  act  passed  by  the  Illinois  legislature  incorporating  the 
Central  company  was  approved  by  the  governor  and  became  a  law. 

*"  Constitutional  and  Party  Questions,"  p.  199. 


HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY.  3t>l 

The  incorporators  were  Robert  Schuyler,  George  Griswold,  Gouver- 
neur  Morris,  Franklin  Haven,  David  A.  Neal,  Robert  Rantoul,  Jr., 
Jonathan  Sturgis,  George  "W.  Ludlow,  John  F.  A.  Sanford,  Henry 
Grinnell,  Leroy  Wiley,  Joseph  W.  Alsop,  and  William  H.  Aspin- 
wall.  These  gentlemen,  exclusive  of  the  one  last  named,  were  the 
first  board  of  directors.  The  interest  of  the  state  was  protected  by 
appropriate  guarantees  that  the  road  would  be  built,  and  the  com- 
pletion of  the  main  line  limited  to  four  years.  Near  the  close  of 
this  period  the  time  was,  without  necessity,  extended  six  months. 
The  branches  were  to  be  finished  in  six  years.  All  the  work  that 
had  been  done  on  this  line  by  the  state,  and  all  the  rights  of  every 
nature  which  it  had  acquired,  were  transferred  to  this  company  by 
its  charter.  The  lands  granted  were  to  be  exempt  from  taxation  till 
sold  and  conveyed.  It  was  afterward  claimed  that  this  provi- 
sion of  the  law  was  retarding  the  development  of  the  country  wher- 
ever these  lands  were  situated,  as  purchasers,  instead  of  paying  for 
their  tracts  and  getting  deeds  from  the  company,  kept  renewing 
their  contracts,  thus  evading  taxation,  and  in  1873  a  law  was 
enacted  requiring  the  trustees  of  the  road  to  offer  all  unsold  lands 
at  public  auction  once  every  six  months.  The  lands  of  this 
company  were  sold  at  prices  ranging  from  $5  to  $25  per  acre, 
according  to  quality  and  location.  The  sale  of  lands  within 
the  six  and  fifteen-mile  limits  of  the  road  was  suspended  by  the 
commissioner  of  the  general  land  office,  September  20,  1850,  by 
order  of  President  Fillmore.  Those  granted  to  the  Central  Railroad 
Company  were  selected  by  David  A.  Neal,  assisted  some  of  the 
time  by  Col.  R.  B.  Mason,  the  chief  engineer,  and  the  whole  grant, 
save  an  inconsiderable  amount,  was  certified,  March  13,  1852 ;  and 
the  remainder  of  the  lands  within  the  railroad  limits,  which  had 
been  withdrawn  from  sale,  were  soon  after  placed  in  market  by 
executive  proclamation.  In  return  for  the  grants  and  franchises 
conferred,  the  company  was  required  to  pay  semi-annually  into  the 
state  treasury,  on  the  first  Mondays  of  June  and  December  of  each 
year,  a  sum  of  money  equal  to  seven  per  cent  of  the  gross  proceeds 
of  the  road,  which  revenue  was  to  be  applied  to  the  payment  of  the 
interest-bearing  indebtedness  of  the  state  until  it  should  be  extin- 
guished. The  constitution  of  1870  makes  this  a  perpetual  obliga- 
tion, and  provides  that  after  the  extinction  of  the  state  debt  the  rev- 
enue from  this  source  shall  be  used  to  defray  the  ordinary  expenses 
of  the  state  government.  The  amount  of  this  revenue  to  the  state 
of  Illinois  has  been,  to  the  end  of  1879,  over  $8,000,000. 

At  the  time  the  first  annual  meeting  of  the  company  was  held  — 


362  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

March,  1851  —  there  were  but  ninety-eight  miles  of  railroad  in  the 
state,  and  this  was  laid  with  strap  iron.  The  first  engineering  party 
was  organized  in  Chicago,  on  May  21,  1851,  and  commenced  pre- 
liminary surveys  of  the  Chicago  branch,  making  that  city  a  point  of 
departure,  and  by  the  middle  of  summer  seven  other  parties  had 
been  organized  and  were  in  the  field  :  at  Freeport,  La  Salle,  Blooming- 
ton,  Decatur,  Cairo  and  Urbana ;  and  the  whole  line  was  surveyed 
and  located  before  the  end  of  the  year.  The  work  of  construction 
was  begun  at  Cairo  and  La  Salle  about  Christmas.  The  first  con- 
tract for  grading  was  made  March  15,  1852,  for  the  division  between 
Chicago  and  Calumet,  and  that  section  was  opened  for  travel  by  the 
middle  of  May.  A  long  contest  ensued  with  the  city  of  Chicago  for 
the  privilege  of  entering  the  corporation  and  locating  its  line  along 
the  shore  of  Lake  Michigan ;  and  at  last,  on  June  14,  the  city  coun- 
cil passed  an  ordinance  granting  permission.  On  May  15,  1853,  the 
first  sixty  miles,  from  La  Salle  to  Bloomington,  was  opened,  arid  the 
company  commenced  operating  the  road  on  its  own  account.  In 
March  the  Chicago  branch  was  extended  to  Blue  Island,  from  which 
point  a  line  of  stages  were  run  by  Chipman  and  Wilcox  to  Middle- 
port  and  Danville,  furnishing  the  only  regular  communication  which 
the  county  then  had  with  the  metropolis.  The  railroad  was  rapidly 
extended  during  the  year,  and  just  at  its  close  was  finished  to  Del 
Rey,  which  point  the  cars  reached  but  little  in  advance  of  the  new 
year.  The  company  designed  building  machine-shops  there,  but 
land  could  not  be  obtained  on  liberal  terms,  and  so  they  erected 
them  at  Champaign.  We  subjoin  the  following  facts  relating  to 
the  completion  of  the  Chicago  branch,  which  were  first  published  in 
the  Chicago  "Daily  Press,"  of  November,  1856: 

"  Dates  of  opening  by  sections :  Chicago  to  Calumet,  14  miles, 
May  15,  1852.  Calumet  to  Kankakee,  42  miles,  July  14,  1853.  Kan- 
kakee  to  Spring  Creek,  31  miles,  December  2,  1853.  Spring  Creek 
to  Pera,  22  miles,  May  28,  1854.  Pera  to  Urbana  (Champaign),  20 
miles,  July  24,  1854.  Urbana  to  Mattoon,  44  miles,  June  25,  1855. 
Mattoon  to  Centralia,  77  miles,  September  27,  1856.  The  main  line, 
from  Cairo  to  La  Salle,  309  miles  in  length,  was  finished  January  8, 
1855.  The  Galena  branch,  from  La  Salle  to  Dunleith,  147  miles, 
was  completed  June  12,  1855."  The  total  cost  of  the  entire  line  was 
$36,500,000.  The  capital  stock  of  the  company  is  $29,000,000,  and 
the  debt  $10,500,000.  The  general  offices  are  at  No.  78  Michigan 
avenue,  Chicago.  This  road,  by  its  network  of  branches  and  by  its 
connections,  furnishes  direct  communication  with  both  the  south  and 
the  northwest.  Daily  passenger  trains  are  run  between  Chicago  and 


HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  363 

New  Orleans,  915  miles,  without  change  of  cars,  a  transfer  boat 
being  used  on  the  Ohio.  St.  Louis  has,  by  this  route,  direct  connec- 
tion south  as  well  as  north.  Between  Chicago  and  St.  Louis  through 
trains  are  run,  and  Peoria  and  Keokuk  also  are  reached  without 
change.  From  Cairo  connections  are  made  with  all  principal  points 
in  the  south.  The  company  controls,  by  lease,  the  route  to  Sioux 
City,  thus  providing  for  Dakota  travel  and  emigration.  This  is  one 
of  the  best  and  most  safely  managed  roads  in  the  country.  No 
other  public  improvement  in  Iroquois  county  has  done  so  much  for 
the  material  and  intellectual  advancement  of  her  people  as  the  Illi- 
nois Central  railroad.  It  was  opened  at  a  time  when  attention 
began  to  be  largely  awakened  in  the  east  to  the  subject  of  making 
western  homes,  and  the  rich  country  is  brought  into  com  mini  ication 
with  the  world,  invited  great  numbers  of  settlers  from  the  sterile 
lands  and  jostling  population  of  New  York  and  New  England.  The 
uniting  of  eastern  culture  with  western  sinew  has  produced  most 
positive  and  important  benefits  to  the  county. 

The  Peoria  &  Oquawka  Eastern  Extension  railroad  was  constructed 
east  from  Peoria.  In  1859  it  was  styled  Logansport,  Peoria  &  Bur- 
lington, a  few  years  later  Toledo,  Peoria  &  Warsaw,  which  name  it 
retained  until  the  transfer  early  in  the  present  year,  when  it  was 
changed  to  Toledo,  Peoria  &  Western.  The  charter  from  the  state 
bore  date  February  12,  1849,  and  has  been  several  times  amended. 
This  important  railway  was  built  and  put  in  operation  in  sections  at 
considerable  intervals,  and  its  present  line  and  connecting  branches 
were  not  completed  until  1871.  The  main  line  itself  was  not  finished 
between  Peoria  and  Warsaw  but  a  little  earlier.  The  citizens  of  this 
county  early  displayed  a  practical  interest  in  the  undertaking,  by 
voting,  under  the  law  of  1849  providing  for  a  general  system  of 
railroad  incorporations,  to  take  $50,000  of  stock  in  the  road.  The 
election  was  held  June  7,  1853,  and  the  question  was  decided  by  a 
majority  of  357.  Prior  to  this  the  individual  subscriptions  taken 
in  the  county  had  reached  the  same  amount.  As  soon  as  the  result 
of  the  election  was  known,  the  county  court  being  required  to  pay 
five  per  cent  of  the  stock  in  money  or  in  bonds,  issued  a  bond  for 
$2,500.  The  same  per  cent  was  also  collected  on  the  private  sub- 
scriptions. 

Col.  Richard  P.  Morgan  obtained  the  contract  for  grading  and 
furnishing  with  ties  all  that  portion  of  the  eastern  extension  located 
between  the  Chicago  &  Mississippi  (now  Chicago,  Alton  &  St.  Louis) 
railroad  and  the  town  of  Middleport.  By  this  contract,  made  in 
September,  1854,  the  company  assigned  to  him  all  the  proceeds  of 


364  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

subscriptions  obtained,  or  to  be  obtained,  in  Iroquois  county.  He 
then  entered  into  a  contract,  bearing  date  November  13,  1854,  with 
the  county  court,  by  which  he  was  to  receive  75,000  acres  of  swamp 
lands  at  seventy-five  cents  per  acre.  When  the  stock  was  voted  it 
was  generally  understood  that  it  was  to  be  paid  for  from  the  proceeds 
of  these  lands.  Morgan  bound  himself  to  procure  from  the  railroad 
company  certificates  of  the  full  paid  shares  of  stock,  to  be  transferred 
or  issued  to  the  county,  to  the  amount  of  the  estimates  by  the  com- 
pany's engineers  from  time  to  time,  and  as  such  estimates  should  be 
presented  the  county  court  was  to  pay  to  Morgan  an  amount  equal 
to  the  par  value  of  the  stock  so  presented,  in  cash,  or  by  a  deed  or 
a  bond  for  a  deed,  to  such  a  part  of  the  said  75,000  acres  of  swamp 
lands  as  should  at  that  time  be  unsold.  Seventy  thousand  acres  of 
these  lands  were  set  apart,  commencing  at  township  24,  range  10 
east,  and  proceeding  north  by  succession  of  numbers  in  each  range 
successively  until  the  complement  should  be  obtained,  and  the  other 
five  thousand  were  to  be  those  which  might  be  selected  in  any  part 
of  the  county  by  the  citizens  who  should  bid  them  off  at  public  auc- 
tion, at  a  price  exceeding  seventy-five  cents  per  acre.  The  selection 
was  to  include  all  lands  of  this  description  entered  at  the  land  office, 
and  Morgan  was  to  receive  the  proceeds  of  the  same.  He  was  also 
to  be  entitled  to  all  receipts  from  the  sales  of  swamp  lands  by  the 
county,  provided  that  he  should  expend  the  money  accruing  from 
the  sale  of  the  75,000  acres  on  the  railroad  within  the  limits  of  this 
county.  The  court  also  agreed  to  convey  to  him  all  the  remaining 
swamp  lands  after  the  sale  of  the  75,000  acres,  at  $1  per  acre,  when- 
ever he  should  give  satisfactory  evidence  that  he  could  command 
from  the  sale  of  the  residue  means  sufficient,  by  the  addition  of 
such  securities  as  should  be  due  from  the  company,  to  complete  his 
contract.  He  was  to  pay  for  these  lands  with  bonds  of  the  Peoria 
&  Oquawka  Railroad  Company,  secured  by  mortgage  on  a  portion 
of  the  road,  to  which  bonds  he  would  be  entitled  under  his  contract 
with  that  company.  Morgan  further  stipulated  that  he  would  en- 
gineer and  drain  the  lands  free  of  charge  before  demanding  a  title, 
and  also  that  all  previous  expenses  in  surveys  or  otherwise,  made 
according  to  law.  should  be  provided  for  from  the  proceeds  of  the 
lands.  He  was  to  receive  the  $2.500  bond  which  had  been  issued  to 
the  railroad  company,  and  the  lands  purchased  by  him  were  to  be 
exempt  from  county  taxes  for  three  years  from  the  date  of  this  con- 
tract. Owing  to  a  feeling  among  capitalists  that  the  title  to  these 
lands  was  uncertain,  Morgan  failed  to  obtain  means  to  prosecute  the 
work,  and  as  he  could  not  get  money  or  land  from  the  county  only 


HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS   COUNTY.  365 

as  that  should  be  completed  in  sections  and  estimates  made  of  the 
same,  a  lock  was  soon  produced,  leaving  neither  party  capable  of 
exercising  separate  power  over  the  lands.  The  demand  for  them 
seemed  to  increase  when  it  became  known  that  they  could  not  be 
sold.  Settlers  on  adjoining  tracts,  as  fast  as  they  could  accumulate 
means,  were  anxious  to  add  some  portion  of  these  lands  to  their 
farms.  The  jobbers  and  speculators  grew  disquiet,  for  once  a  pro- 
pitious circumstance,  for  their  interest  and  discontent  were  sure  to 
break  the  land  embargo,  if  that  were  possible.  Col.  Morgan,  self- 
willed  and  impracticable,  meanwhile  refused  to  give  any  satisfactory 
assurance  of  his  willingness  to  accede  to  an  accommodation.  Influ- 
ential persons  suggested  to  him  the  expedient  of  making  a  new 
contract  with  the  county.  Among  these  were  Joseph  Thomas  and 
George  B.  Joiner.  The  latter  finding  him  on  an  occasion  in  the 
right  humor,  pressed  the  matter  upon  his  favorable  notice,  and  the 
consequence  was,  that  on  the  18th  of  August,  1855,  Col.  Morgan 
surrendered  his  contract,  and  a  new  one  was  made.  The  county 
court  covenanted  with  Morgan  to  pay  the  monthly  installments  on 
the  $50,000  subscription  in  cash,  or  in  county  bonds  drawing  seven 
per  cent  semi-annual  interest,  principal  to  be  paid  in  fifteen  years, 
with  a  guaranty  on  the  back  of  the  bonds  pledging  the  proceeds  of 
the  swamp  lands  for  their  payment.  A  reservation  was  made,  by 
which  the  county  was  to  retain  a  sum  sufficient  to  defray  all  the 
expenses  of  the  survey  and  selection,  as  well  as  the  expense  of  quiet- 
ing the  contests  of  the  title  of  the  county  to  the  lands.  It  was  fur- 
ther agreed  that  the  county  should  take  steps  to  bring  them  imme- 
diately into  market,  and  to  pay  Morgan  the  installments  on  the 
county  subscription,  either  from  the  proceeds  or  with  bonds,  when 
he  should  procure  from  the  Peoria  &  Oquawka  company  certificates 
of  paid-up  stock  to  the  amount  of  the  installments. 

The  court  gave  immediate  public  notice,  through  the  columns  of 
the  "Middleport  Press,"  to  all  who  wished  to  purchase  any  of  the 
swamp  lands  to  make  application  to  the  county  clerk  by  the  15th 
of  September,  and  Monday,  October  15,  was  set  for  the  sale  to 
commence.  A  second  sale  was  held  on  May  6,  1856 ;  these  were 
the  only  public  sales  of  swamp  lands  in  Iroquois  county.  Up  to 
this  date  the  county  court,  which  was  vested  by  the  special  act  of 
February  14,  1855,  with  power  to  appoint  an  engineer  to  survey  the 
lands,  had  made  no  move  in  the  matter,  but  on  September  15, 
at  a  special  term,  they  appointed  Elkanah  Doolittle,  who  subscribed 
the  proper  oath,  and  then  nominated  as  his  assistants,  Robert  Nil- 
son,  Benjamin  F.  Masters,  George  B.  Joiner  and  Joseph  Thomas, 


366  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

who  were  confirmed  by  the  court.  The  lands  were  exainined  and 
classified  as  first,  second  and  third  class,  and  appraised  at  $1.25, 
$1  and  75  cents  per  acre  respectively.  It  will  be  necessary  now 
to  go  back  and  trace  up  the  history  of  the  swamp  land  grant. 
By  the  provisions  of  an  act  of  congress  approved  September  28, 
1850,  entitled  "An  act  to  enable  the  state  of  Arkansas  and  other 
states  to  reclaim  the  swamp  lands  within  their  limits,"  all  the  swamp 
and  overflowed  lands  in  the  several  states,  unfit  for  cultivation  at  the 
date  of  the  act,  were  granted  to  the  states  respectively.  Every 
legal  subdivision  of  land,  the  greater  part  of  which  was  "wet  and 
unfit  for  cultivation,"  was  to  be  considered  of  this  class.  The 
reader's  attention  is  invited  to  the  condition  upon  which  the  cession 
was  made,  as  expressed  in  the  act,  by  which  the  title  to  these  lands 
in  fee-simple,  vested  in  the  state,  viz:  "That  the  proceeds  of  said 
lands,  whether  from  sale  or  by  direct  appropriation  in  kind,  should 
be  applied  exclusively,  as  far  as  necessary,  to  the  purpose  of  reclaim- 
ing said  lands  by  means  of  the  levees  and  drains  aforesaid."  The 
legislature  of  Illinois,  by  an  act  in  force  June  22,  1852,  granted  to 
each  county  all  the  lands  of  this  description  within  its  boundaries  so 
donated  by  the  general  government,  and  annexed  the  same  condition 
as  congress  had  before,  "  For  the  purpose  of  constructing  the  neces- 
sary levees  and  drains  to  reclaim  the  same ;  and  the  balance  of  said 
lands,  if  any  there  be,  after  the  same  are  reclaimed  as  aforesaid, 
shall  be  distributed  in  each  county,  equally,  among  the  townships 
thereof,  for  the  purposes  of  education  ;  or  the  same  may  be  applied 
to  the  construction  of  roads  and  bridges,  or  to  such  other  purposes 
as  may  be  deemed  expedient  by  the  courts  or  county  judge  herein- 
after mentioned  desiring  so  to  apply  it."  The  control  and  disposi- 
tion of  these  lands  was  vested  in  the  county  courts.  By  an  act 
approved  March  4,  1854,  the  control  was  changed  to  the  board  of 
supervisors  in  counties  under  township  organization.  All  swamp 
tracts  which  had  been  sold  by  the  government  after  the  passage  of 
this  act  of  the  general  assembly,  were  to  be  conveyed  by  the  county 
in  which  they  were  situated  to  the  purchaser,  who  was  to  assign  all 
his  rights  in  the  premises,  and  as  such  assignee  the  county  was 
authorized  to  receive  the  .purchase-money  from  the  United  States. 
Likewise,  any  which  had  been  located  by  warrants  after  the  passage 
of  the  act  of  congress  were  to  be  conveyed  by  the  county,  when  the 
locator  was  to  assign  the  warrant  to  the  county  judge,  who  was  then 
to  be  regarded  as  the  assignee  of  the  state,  and  as  such  was  em- 
powered to  locate  the  same  on  any  of  the  public  lands.  In  case 
that  any  had  been  appropriated  in  any  other  manner  after  the  dona- 


HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  367 

tion  to  the  state,  the  county  was  authorized  to  locate  a  like  quantity 
elsewhere. 

The  grant  to  the  state  for  the  building  of  the  Illinois  Central 
railroad  was  made  September  20,  1850,  eight  days  anterior  to  the 
passage  of  the  swamp  land  act.  By  a  ruling  of  the  secretary  of  the 
interior  in  1855,  which  is  held  to  be  binding  on  his  successors,  the 
state  has  been  deprived  of  the  swamp  lands  lying  within  the  six-mile 
limit  of  that  thoroughfare,  the  title  to  which  remained  in  the  United 
States. 

"  The  history  of  the  operations  under  the  grant,  however,  reveal 
the  fact  that  in  the  years  of  land  speculation  immediately  following 
its  passage,  many  of  the  lands  conveyed  by  the  grant  were  entered 
with  cash  or  located  with  warrants  by  individuals.  As  a  result  of 
this,  contests  arose  as  to  the  actual  character  of  the  lands  thus  dis- 
posed of,  and  the  land  bureau  found  itself  overwhelmed  with  con- 
flicting claims  of  this  description.  The  process  of  adjusting  these 
conflicts  was  necessarily  slow,  and  congress  intervened  to  relieve  the 
department  and  at  the  same  time  relieve  the  individual  purchasers 
and  locators.  By  act  of  March  2,  1855,  all  sales  and  locations  made 
to  that  date  were  confirmed,  and  upon  presentation  of  proof  that 
the  lands  were  actually  swamp,  the  state  was  allowed  indemnity,  to 
be  paid  in  cash  where  cash  had  been  received,  and  in  other  lands 
where  the  swamp  lands  had  been  taken  by  warrant  locations.  Now 
it  cannot  be  gainsaid,  in  view  of  the  strong  array  of  judicial  decis- 
ions on  the  subject,  that  had  the  state  of  Illinois  chosen  to  contest 
the  right  of  the  government  to  thus  dispose  of  lands  previously 
granted  to  her,  she  could  have  successfully  done  so.  The  moment 
the  swamp  grant  was  approved,  the  title  to  the  lands  vested  in  the 
state,  and  were  as  much  beyond  the  power  of  the  government  to 
again  dispose  of  them  as  if  it  had  never  owned  them.  In  a  spirit 
of  accommodation,  however,  and  to  afford  relief  to  many  of  her  citi- 
zens who  had  ignorantly  purchased  these  lands,  the  state  of  Illinois 
acquiesced  in  the  plan  of  relief  embodied  in  the  act  of  1855,  and 
agreed  to  relinquish  her  claim  to  the  land,  and  accepted  the  proffered 
indemnity."* 

From  these  complications  have  arisen  a  mass  of  claims  which  are 
yet  unadjusted,  though  legislation  is  now  pending  in  congress  for 
their  settlement,  the  importance  and  magnitude  of  which  claims  will 
appear  farther  on. 

*  Report  of  Isaac  R.  Hitt,  state  agent  of  Illinois  for  the  adjustment  of  swamp  land 
claims  against  the  United  States,  p.  8. 


368  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOTS    COUNTY. 

The  general  law  of  1852,  granting  the  lands  to  the  counties  in 
which  situated,  was  not — adopting  Judge  Chamberlain's  own  lan- 
guage— satisfactory  either  to  Col.  Morgan  or  to  the  county  court,  as 
it  did  not  authorize  or  justify  the  application  of  the  lands  to  the  pay- 
ment of  bonds  used  in  constructing  that  part  of  the  railroad  lying 
without  and  beyond  the  limits  of  the  county.  Before,  then,  the 
avails  of  the  lands  could  be  pledged  to  the  payment  or  security  of 
the  bonds,  the  proceeds  of  which  were  to  be  expended  as  well  on 
that  part  of  the  Eastern  Extension  lying  without  as  within  the 
county,  the  law  had  to  be  changed.  It  therefore  became  expedient, 
if  not  necessary,  to  procure  a  special  act  applicable  to  this  new  state 
of  things.  Other  counties  had  set  the  example  of  getting  special  acts 
from  the  state  to  suit  existing  emergencies,  and  advance  certain 
objects.  Judge  Chamberlain  and  Col.  Morgan  attended  the  legisla- 
ture and  obtained  the  passage  of  a  law,  entitled  "An  act  to  expedite 
and  insure  the  thorough  drainage  of  the  swamp  lands  of  Iroquois 
county,  and  to  facilitate  the  sale  thereof,"  in  force  February  14, 
1855.  This  act  is  so  important  to  a  full  understanding  of  the  sub- 
ject that  we  shall  be  justified  in  giving  a  synopsis  of  the  principal 
portions.  The  county  court  of  Iroquois  county  was  authorized  to 
appoint  an  engineer,  with  assistants,  to  survey  the  swamp  lands, 
who  should  recommend  to  the  court  an  effectual  and  thorough  system 
of  drainage,  and  make  such  rules,  regulations  and  compensations  as 
would  insure  the  draining  of  the  lands.  From  the  maps  and  reports 
of  the  engineer  the  court  was  to  place  a  valuation  on  each  piece,  and 
to  fix  the  price  to  be  allowed  for  drainage ;  the  judge  was  empow- 
ered to  sell  the  same  at  public  or  private  sale  under  the  direction  of 
the  county  court,  either  in  large  or  small  tracts.  But  those  contigu- 
ous to  improved  farms  were  to  be  sold  at  public  vendue  after  thirty- 
days  notice  in  some  newspaper  in  the  county,  at  prices  not  below 
the  appraised  value.  The  surplus  arising  from  the  sales  over  and 
above  the  cost  of  drainage,  was  to  be  applied  by  the  county  court  in 
payment  for  the  capital  stock  of  the  Peoria  &  Oquawka  Railroad 
Company  on  that  part  of  the  Eastern  Extension  situated  between 
Middleport  and  the  Chicago  &  Mississippi  railroad  ;  also  in  payment 
of  such  other  securities  of  that  company  as  the  court  might  deem 
expedient ;  and  to  appropriate  such  portions  thereof  to  school  and 
other  purposes  as  they  might  think  advisable.  Payments  by  pur- 
chasers were  to  be  made  to  the  county  treasurer,  in  cash,  or  such 
securities  as  the  court  should  deem  sufficient,  on  the  day  of  sale  or 
the  succeeding  day,  the  cost  of  drainage  first  to  be  deducted  there- 
from. A  certificate  was  to  be  given  for  lands  sold  subject  to  drain- 


HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  369 

age,  and  whenever  the  drainage  should  be  completed  in  conformity 
with  the  system  which  the  county  court  should  adopt,  deeds  were  to 
be  executed.  The  balance  due  for  draining  each  tract  might  remain 
unpaid  by  the  purchaser  for  eight  months  after  the  day  of  sale ;  but 
if  the  estimated  cost  should  not  be  paid,  or  if  the  labor  of  draining 
should  not  be  performed  within  that  time,  the  land  should  revert, 
and  the  money  advanced  should  be  forfeited  to  the  county.  Authority 
was  given  to  receive  for  all  the  swamp  lands,  any  money,  scrip,  war- 
rant or  other  evidence  of  entry  which  should  be  issued  by  congress 
to  the  state  of  Illinois,  the  same  to  be  subject  to  the  order  of  the 
county  court.  Iroquois  county  was  exempted  from  all  the  provi- 
sions of  the  general  laws  enacted  to  fix  the  mode  of  draining  and 
selling  the  swamp  lands  which  conflicted  with  this  act. 

Only  a  little  while  now  elapsed  till  a  disagreement  arose,  Judge 
Chamberlain  says,  "Between  Col.  Morgan  and  the  county  court,  as 
to  the  policy  of  issuing  county  bonds  as  fast  as,  and  to  the  extent 
that  he  desired  ;  and  also  as  to  the  policy  of  giving  to  him  the  swamp 
lands  with  no  very  good  prospect  of  realizing  anything  for  them,  but 
with  the  strong  probability  of  losing  them  entirely."  Charges  and 
denunciations  were  freely  indulged  at  the  expense  of  the  court. 
Distrust  of  its  capacity  and  integrity  grew  apace,  until  it  had  deteri- 
orated so  much  in  public  favor  that  this  became  the  chief  argument 
in  support  of  township  organization.  "Writing  in  his  own  defense  in 
185T,  Judge  Chamberlain  used  the  following  language  in  regard  to 
Col.  Morgan,  which  is  an  authoritative  explanation  of  the  reasons 
for  resisting  his  importunities:  "His  extravagance  and  folly,  and 
utter  incapacity  to  take  care  of  any  financial  business  was  such 
that  there  was  not,  as  I  believe,  25  per  cent  worth  of  work  done, 
with  the  avails  of  the  bonds,  on  the  road.  The  bonds  were  literally 
squandered,  and  lost  both  to  him  and  the  county.  But  where  should 
we  have  been  now  if  Col.  Morgan  had  gotten  the  swamp  lands  ? 
Judging  by  the  estimates  of  work  he  obtained  and  presented  for 
the  bonds,  he  could  have  received  any  amount  of  certificates  and 
presented  for  the  lands.  It  was  not  the  business  of  the  court,  but 
of  the  railroad  company,  to  look  after  the  estimates.  Had  he  received 
the  lands,  it  is  fair  to  presume,  such  was  his  recklessness  in  other 
matters,  that  he  would  have  sold  them  for  a  slight  consideration." 

At  the  general  election  in  November,  1855,  the  township  system 
of  local  government  was  adopted.  Robert  Kilson,  Dr.  William 
Fowler  and  Foreman  Moore  were  commissioners  to  district  the 
county  into  political  townships.  The  original  number  was  eleven, 
as  follows :  Ash  Grove,  Beaver,  Belmont,  Concord,  Chebanse,  Crab 
24 


370  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

Apple,  Loda,  Milford,  Middleport,  Onarga  and  Wygant.  Let  us 
turn  again  to  the  Peoria  &  Oquawka  Eastern  Extension  railroad. 
The  grading  of  the  Middleport  division,  under  contract  to  Morgan, 
was  done  without  any  of  the  usual  energy  displayed  on  such  improve- 
ments, and  several  times  labor  was  wholly  remitted.  Work  on  the 
west  end  of  the  Middleport  division  was  continued  until  the  track 
was  laid  to  Gil  man.  That  portion  of  the  line  was  opened  for  busi- 
ness, and  the  first  train  ran  over  it  September  21,  1857.  At  the  close 
of  the  year  1853  a  sub-contract  was  taken  by  Sherman  &  Patterson, 
and  Chamberlain  &  Thomas,  of  Middleport,  who  graded  one  mile  of 
the  route  west  from  that  place.  This  lay  several  years  serving  no 
other  purpose  than  to  keep  in  memory  what  was  expressively  termed, 
after  the  bonds  had  all  been  issued  without  a  better  prospect  of  seeing 
the  work  completed,  the  "dead  horse"  railroad.  These  men  re- 
ceived three  of  the  county  bonds,  which  were  paid  by  the  county 
before  the  intervention  of  the  Tallman  arrangement. 

Conflicting  interests  concerning  the  location  of  the  route  at  Mid- 
dleport retarded,  in  some  degree,  the  construction  of  the  line.  It 
was  surveyed  to  the  Old  Town,  but  disagreements  occurring  in  regard 
to  depot  grounds,  and  a  proposition  on  that  point  being  entertained 
from  Micajah  Stanley,  it  was  laid  out  and  finally  built  on  the  present 
route.  These  cross-purposes  furnished  a  pretext  for  the  private  sub- 
scribers to  the  capital  stock  to  refuse  to  make  payment.  Fearing 
that  they  would  be  a  total  loss,  the  county  court  refused  to  issue  the 
bonds.  As  has  been  elsewhere  remarked,  Judge  Chamberlain  was 
from  the  first  strenuously  opposed  to  the  county's  taking  stock  in 
the  road,  and  exerted  all  his  influence,  by  making  speeches  and 
otherwise,  to  prevent  it.  In  May,  1856,  $19,000  of  bonds  were  out- 
standing. Some  of  the  first  had  been  taken  in  and  renewed  for 
reasons  not  ascertained,  nor  even  conjectured,  unless  because  of  the 
new  arrangement  made  by  which  Morgan  was  to  receive  the  bonds 
from  the  county.  These  bonds  were  executed  with  great  reluctance 
by  the  county  court,  but  the  pressure  of  public  opinion  was  irresist- 
ible. The  measure  was  warmly  advocated  by  such  leading  and  in- 
fluential men  as  Micajah  Stanley,  William  Pierce  and  Joseph 
Thomas.  At  the  second  session  of  the  board  of  supervisors,  May 
30  and  31,  a  special  meeting  convened  to  appoint  a  person  to  repre- 
sent the  interests  of  the  county  in  the  election  of  the  board  of 
directors  of  the  Peoria  &  Oquawka  railroad  for  the  ensuing  year, 
Joseph  Thomas  was  appointed  agent ;  and  the  county  treasurer  was 
directed  to  deliver  to  Col.  Morgan  on  the  presentation  of  certified 
full  paid  stock,  bonds  sufficient  to  cancel  the  same,  in  pursuance  of 


HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  371 

the  contract  existing  between  him  and  the  county.  The  bonds  were 
at  this  time  executed  and  held  by  the  treasurer.  On  June  3  follow- 
ing, the  contract  with  Tallman,  which  will  be  noticed  at  length 
hereafter,  was  made,  and  at  this  time  there  were  outstanding,  as 
shown  by  this  contract,  thirty-one  bonds,  an  increase  of  the  bonded 
indebtedness  in  two  weeks  by  $12,000. 

The  grading  between  Middleport  and  Gilman  was  well  advanced, 
and  the  bridges  on  the  principal  streams  were  raised.  Fresh  efforts 
were  made  by  Morgan  to  obtain  private  aid  for  the  road,  but  beyond 
getting  hold  of  the  county  bonds  he  accomplished  nothing.  The 
diverse  interests  which  were  operating  to  locate  the  line,  one  at 
Middleport  and  the  other  where  it  now  is,  brought  matters  to  a  crisis- 
between  Morgan  and  the  company.  He  decided  to  run  the  track  to- 
Middleport,  when  some  who  were  interested  in  the  New  Town,  among 
them  Mr.  Stanley,  the  proprietor,  who  donated  10  acres  for  a  station, 
appealed  to  the  company,  and  his  purpose  was  reversed  and  contract 
terminated.  This  resulted  in  litigation  in  wjiich  Morgan  recovered 
judgment  against  the  company  for  $50,000.  The  following  spring, 
1857,  this  division  being  extended  to  the  state  line  where  connection 
was  to  be  made  with  the  Toledo,  Logansport  &  Burlington  railroad, 
and  its  construction  in  new  hands — T.  C.  Field,  of  New  York,  and 
other  contractors — witnessed  a  renewal  of  interest  in  the  enterprise, 
and  private  subscriptions  secured  by  mortgage  on  real  estate,  amount- 
ing to  $47,000,  payable  on  completion  of  the  road  to  the  state  line, 
but  void  if  not  so  completed  by  January  1,  1859,  were  obtained  by 
George  B.  Joiner,  agent  for  the  company.  But  the  hope  raised  and 
confidence  inspired  by  the  new  energy  apparently  infused  into  the 
project  underwent  again,  as  grading  was  not  resumed  for  two  years, 
a  mortifying  transition.  Both  the  company  and  the  people  continu- 
ally realized  defeats  and  disappointments.  In  the  "Iroquois 
Kepublican,"  August  26,  1858,  Dr.  Blades  thus  alludes  to  this 
matter  :  "  For  years  the  company  have  struggled  with  counter  rail- 
road interests  and  schemes,  and  have  thus  far  defeated  them  ;  have 
struggled  with  enemies  within  its  own  organization,  and  have  exposed 
and  rid  themselves  of  such  enemies ;  have  struggled  beneath  pecu- 
niary depressions  that  would  have  completely  crushed  most  other 
enterprises,  yet  through  it  all,  in  spite  of  all,  they  have  built  180 
miles  of  the  road.  *  *  *  Our  people  have  waited,  and  wished, 
and  hoped,  and  wondered,  and  have  at  last  settled  down  into  a  kind 
of  apathetic  feeling  somewhere  between  indifference  and  despair." 
The  stock  subscriptions  taken  by  Mr.  Joiner  two  years  before  were 
forfeited. 


372  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

In  the  spring  of  1859  the  company  caused  it  to  be  made  known 
that  unless  the  people  should  aid  the  road  with  at  least  $25,000  its 
completion  would'  have  to  be  abandoned,  perhaps  for  years  ;  and  with 
this  announcement  was  coupled  the  intimation  that  in  such  an  event 
the  route  might  be  diverted  from  Gilman  to  some  new  point  on  the 
Wabash ;  but  if  such  aid  should  be  forthcoming  they  would  finish 
the  line  during  the  year.  Asa  B.  Roff,  as  agent,  made  a  strong 
effort  to  raise  the  amount  asked.  On  May  5,  1859,  he  had  secured 
$17,975.  With  only  this  amount  subscribed  the  company  resumed 
work  to  encourage  the  people  and  strengthen  their  faith  in  its  ulti- 
mate completion,  at  the  same  time  giving  assurance  that  it  would 
be  necessary  for  them  to  raise  an  additional  seven  or  eight  thousand. 
A  contractor  named  Doyle  laid  the  track  on  this  section  and  made 
connection  at  the  state  line  with  the  road  just  put  down  from  Monti- 
cello,  on  the  Wabash,  and  the  first  train  of  cars  ran  through  from 
Peoria  to  Logansport  but  a  day  or  two  before  the  ushering  in  of  the 
new  year,  1860.  This  result  was  mainly  achieved  by  the  indomitable 
will  and  energy  of  Charles  A.  Secor,  president,  and  W.  H.  Cruger, 
superintendent  of  the  road. 

We  have  given  an  account  of  the  swamp  land  question  so  far  as 
it  was  involved  with  the  railroad.  We  now  recur  finally  to  that 
subject.  At  the  December  term  of  the  county  court  in  1852  the 
surveying  and  selecting  of  the  swamp  lands  was  let  to  John  Wilson, 
George  B.  Joiner,  Benjamin  F.  Masters,  Robert  JSTilson,  Belva  T. 
Clark  and  Amos  O.  Whiteman.  Legislation  providing  for  this  was 
loose  and  indefinite,  and  the  lands  were  not  selected  with  nice  dis- 
crimination ;  some  of  the  work  was  done  in  the  spring  of  the  year, 
a  season  when  it  was  not  difficult  to  find  swamp  lands,  and  without 
any  excuse  at  all  some  of  the  finest  pieces  were  thus  condemned, 
and  so  the  result  was  that  much  was  designated  as  swamp  land  which 
was  not  of  that  description.  Representations  being  made  to  the 
commissioner  of  the  land  department  of  the  unfairness  of  counties 
in  making  selections,  he  rendered  and  published  a  decision  requiring 
certain  proofs  to  be  made  by  the  counties  that  the  lands  entered  at 
the  district  land  office  and  selected  as  swamp  lands  were  of  that 
character,  within  the  meaning  of  the  act  of  congress  of  1850,  which 
decision  opened  the  way  to  contests  and  endless  litigation.  To 
enable  contestants  to  enter  the  lands,  they  were  required  only  to 
make  proper  applications,  with  proof  that  the  tracts  applied  for  were 
not  swamp  lands,  within  the  meaning  of  the  law. 

The  country  swarmed  with  sharpers, —  a  class  who  never  wait  for 
.a  second  hint,  and  rarely,  if  ever,  need  the  first.  Citizens  of  the 


HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY.  373 

county  as  well  as  others  did  not  neglect  to  take  advantage  of  this 
state  of  affairs.  It  has  been  said  that  a  flood  of  applications  poured 
in  upon  the  department  from  this  county  ;  but  as  some  of  the  mate- 
rial, which  we  are  obliged  to  draw  upon,  was  the  stock  of  political 
campaigns,  the  narrow  line  which  divides  fact  from  tumid  campaign 
rhetoric  is  not  always  clear.  No  figures  are  at  command  by  which 
to  determine  this  question ;  the  defenders  of  the  county  court,  but 
more  especially  of  its  principal  member,  Judge  Chamberlain,  repre- 
sent the  number  extravagantly  large.  But  these  were  partisan  utter- 
ances on  the  eve  of  election  —  a  case  was  to  be  made  out.  One 
campaign  circular,  signed  by  nearly  a  dozen  prominent  citizens  who 
were  giving  a  loose  rein  to  assertion  for  the  ticket  which  had  to  find 
reasons  for  the  sale,  and  some  of  whom  were  agents  or  attorneys  for 
Tallman,  estimates  the  amount  at  "nearly,  or  quite,  one-half." 
After  the  partisan  ardor  of  the  hour  had  cooled,  the  same  persons 
would  likely  have  discounted  their  own  statement,  "nearly,  or  quite, 
one-half."  Another,  a  candidate,  touching  off  a  last  gun  of  the 
campaign,  thinks  ' '  all  the  lands  that  were  valuable,  to  say  the 
least,  were  under  contest."  Still  another,  soaring  high  in  imagina- 
tion, says  that  "application  upon  application  piled  in  upon  every 
piece  worth  contending  for."  Regarding  the  efforts  made  to  perfect 
the  title  to  these  lands,  Judge  Chamberlain  wrote:  "The  county 
court  of  our  county  had  exhausted  their  efforts  in  trying  to  get  a 
title  to  the  lands.  Messrs.  Thomas  and  Joiner  had  been  to  Wash- 
ington at  the  expense  of  the  county ;  Mr.  Norton,  too,  our  repre- 
sentative in  congress,  had  exerted  himself  strongly  throughout  in 
our  behalf,  keeping  us  well  posted  in  all  that  transpired  there  calcu- 
lated to  affect  us ;  the  governor,  Mr.  Matteson,  had  visited  Wash- 
ington in  person  concerning  these  lands  on  the  part  of  the  state, 
and  had  two  agents  through  one  session  of  congress  there,  to  wit : 
Judge  Scates,  of  the  supreme  court  of  the  state,  and  Mr.  Gilbert,  in 
the  hope  of  changing  the  mind  of  the  commissioner,  and  having  the 
order  granting  contests  revoked,  or  of  getting  congress  to  pass  an 
act  confirming  the  titles.  But  all  was  of  no  avail." 

The  county  had  $47,000  of  bonded  indebtedness,  on  which  there 
was  an  annual  liability  of  $3,290  for  interest,  and  it  owed  the  state 
$2,500  for  the  surveying  of  the  swamp  lands.  The  contests  and  the 
debt  served  the  useful  purpose  of  specters  to  make  it  appear  all  the 
more  probable  that  the  lands  would  be  lost,  by  showing  through  the 
magnifying  lens  of  alarm  the  appalling  extent  of  the  evil  in  such  a 
case.  June  3,  1856,  an  agreement  was  entered  into  by  the  county 
court,  and  George  C.  Tallman,  of  Utica,  New  York,  by  which  the 


374  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

court  agreed  to  sell,  or  issue  certificates  of  sale,  to  Tallman  for  10,000 
to  20,000  acres  of  the  swamp  lands,  for  which  the  latter  was  to  pay 
at  the  rate  of  $1  per  acre  on  an  average,  upon  the  following  terms : 
$1,000  when  the  certificates  of  sale  should  be  issued  to  him,  and  the 
balance  according  to  the  quantity  of  land  taken  (which  was  to  be 
selected  for  Tallman  by  Joseph  Thomas  within  thirty  days)  on  or 
before  the  first  day  of  September,  1857,  in  cash,  at  seven  per  cent 
interest,  or  in  county  bonds  at  par,  as  he  should  decide,  the  interest 
to  be  payable  from  the  first  day  of  September,  1856.  He  agreed  to 
drain  the  lands  at  his  own  expense,  which  was  to  be  over  and  above 
the  price  at  $1  per  acre.  His  selections  were  to  embrace,  first,  all 
the  vacant  swamp  lands  on  the  west  side  of  the  Central  railroad  ;  he 
was  to  take  none  adjoining  improved  farms  on  the  east  side  of  that 
road,  and  also  none  under  contest  at  the  time  of  making  the  con- 
tract, of  which  the  court  had  received  written  notice.  He  cove- 
nanted, besides,  to  procure  at  his  option  a  valid  title  to  one-half  of 
the  lands  which  he  should  select  by  the  first  day  of  September,  1857, 
or  to  defray  at  his  own  expense,  when  called  upon,  one-half  of  the 
cost  of  defending  the  contests,  which  might  be  made  of  any  of  the 
lands  purchased  by  him.  In  case  of  failure  on  his  part  to  perform 
one  or  the  other  of  these  stipulations,  he  was  to  forfeit  $1,000 
advanced  on  the  certificates,  and  the  county  court  was  to  have  power 
to  determine  the  contract.  The  certificates  to  be  issued  to  Tallman 
were  to  be  unassignable,  and  the  lands  not  subject  to  sale  by  him 
until  the  county  had  obtained,  or  the  court  was  satisfied  it  would 
obtain,  a  title  to  them.  On  receiving  title,  the  lands  having  first 
been  drained,  or  the  court  being  satisfied  that  they  would  be  drained, 
a  deed  was  to  be  executed  to  Tallman  for  the  same.  In  case  of  fail- 
ure of  the  county  to  get  title  to  the  lands,  or  to  any  part  of  them,  a 
corresponding  deduction  was  to  be  made  from  the  amount  mentioned 
to  be  paid  for  them,  or  others  might  be  selected  by  him,  as  he 
should  choose.  In  the  event  of  his  making  payment  in  county 
bonds,  he  was  limited  to  those  outstanding  at  the  date  of  the  con- 
tract, the  highest  number  being  thirty-one.  When  made,  it  was  left 
to  the  discretion  of  Judge  Chamberlain  whether  this  contract  should 
ever  take  effect.  One  of  the  conditions  was  that  if  he  should  decide 
to  accept  it,  it  was  to  be  entered  upon,  and  become  a  part  of,  the 
swamp  land  record.  Accordingly,  on  the  17th,  the  court  ordered 
that  it  be  ratified  by  placing  it  upon  the  record  to  date  from  that 
day,  whereupon,  agreeably  to  the  contract,  Tallman  decided  to  take 
20,000  acres. 

On  the  16th  he  was  engaged  by  the  county  court,  and  authorized 


HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  375 

to  employ,  at  his  own  expense,  such  assistance  as  he  should  think 
best  to  obtain  such  a  reversal  or  modification  of  the  opinion  of  the 
commissioners  of  the  general  land  office,  as  would  enable  the  county 
to  receive  the  proceeds  of  the  lands  entered  and  selected  as  swamp 
lands,  and  approved  as  such  by  the  surveyor-general.  On  condition 
of  his  success,  and  as  a  result,  if  Iroquois  county  should  come  into 
possession  of  the  avails,  without  further  trouble  or  expense,  he  was 
to  receive,  as  compensation,  $1,000  in  money  or  swamp  lands  at 
their  appraised  value,  according  to  the  choice  of  the  county.  On 
the  following  day  an  order  was  entered  to  pay  Tallman  the  money, 
' '  Upon  the  condition  that  he  should  procure  from  fhe  commissioner 
of  the  land  office  at  Washington,  within  six  months,  a  good  and  valid 
title  to  the  swamp  lands  of  the  county  by  having  the  same  patented 
to  the  state,  excepting  that  the  said  George  C.  Tallman  is  not  by 
this  order  required  to  obtain  title  to  any  lands  already  gone  into  con- 
test where  evidence  has  been  taken  in  said  contest  by  the  parties 
therein,  or  where  the  right  to  contest  has  been  granted  to  contest- 
ants and  notice  of  said  contest  served  upon  the  county  judge." 

A  question  existed  in  the  minds  of  most  people  as  to  which  of 
the  two  bodies,  the  county  court  or  the  board  of  supervisors,  had 
jurisdiction  of  the  swamp  lands.  The  administration  of  this  interest 
by  the  county  court  had  engendered  a  dissatisfaction  so  general  that 
refuge  had  been  sought  from  the  evils,  real  or  fancied,  which  the 
people  imagined  afflicted  them,  in  a  different  form  of  county  govern- 
ment ;  and  the  adoption  of  township  organization  was,  to  a  certain 
extent,  an  arraignment  of  the  court  and  a  disavowal  of  confidence  in 
it,  however  much  they  lacked  of  being  well  grounded.  As  the  peo- 
ple would  reorganize  the  board  once  a  year,  it  was  believed  they 
would  secure  to  themselves  direct  and  perfect  control  of  the  lands. 
A  law  was  passed,  in  1854,  giving  the  management  of  the  swamp 
lands  to  the  board  of  supervisors,  in  counties  under  township  organ- 
ization, to  harmonize  with  the  growth  of  the  republican  idea  in  the 
northern  half  of  the  state,  because  the  original  act  invested  county 
courts  with  that  responsibility.  As  before  stated,  Judge  Chamber- 
lain and  Col.  Morgan  obtained  from  the  state,  at  the  regular  session 
of  the  legislature  in  1855,  a  special  act  granting  to  the  county  court 
of  Iroquois  county  entire  control  of  the  swamp  lands  in  the  county, 
for  particular  purposes.  Foreseeing  that  a  conflict  of  views  concern- 
ing the  proper  tribunal  to  dispose  of  them  would  arise,  now  that 
township  organization  had  been  adopted,  in  January,  1856,  the 
county  court  procured  from  the  lion.  Ur_i  Osgood,  of  Joliet,  a  lawyer 
of  reputation,  an  opinion  relative  to  the  question.  He  held  that  the 


376  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

board  of  supervisors  would  have  no  supervision  over  the  swamp 
lands,  or  the  sale  of  them,  or  over  the  proceeds  of  the  lands  when 
sold.  In  a  controversy  upon  this  subject,  between  John  "W.  White, 
of  Pike  Creek,  and  Judge  Chamberlain,  in  the  spring  of  1857,  this 
point  was  urged  with  much  pertinacity  and  no  little  seeming  cogency 
by  Mr.  White,  he  taking  the  ground,  without  doubt  erroneously, 
that  the  board  of  supervisors  and  not  the  county  court  was  the  law- 
ful custodian  of  this  immense  interest. 

Judge  Chamberlain  determined  upon  the  sale  of  the  swamp  lands 
to  Tallman.  At  just  what  time  is  not  known,  nor  is  it  material ;  but 
his  sentiments  in  regard  to  the  matter  cannot  be  better  and  more  fairly 
represented  than  in  his  own  language  when  a  candidate  for  reelection 
in  1857:  "The  issuing  of  the  bonds  by  the  county  has  created  a 
large  debt  against  it ;  to  pay  off  that  debt  with  the  swamp  lands  and 
their  proceeds  has  been  the  uniform  and  expressed  intention  of  the 
county  court."  Pertinent  in  this  connection  is  the  fact  that  seems 
to  have  been  understood  in  that  period  of  sharp  discussions,  that 
John  Wilson  at  one  time  proposed  on  behalf  of  Elijah  Huntley  and 
James  Culbertson,  both  responsible  capitalists,  to  pay  the  bonded 
indebtedness  of  the  county  for  one-half  of  the  swamp  lands,  $20,000 
to  be  paid  down.  This  was  charged  to  Judge  Chamberlain's  account 
in  the  campaign  of  1861,  when  the  contest  for  his  place  was  between 
Samuel  Williams  and  Charles  Rumley,  and  which,  we  believe,  was 
never  publicly'  denied ;  though  he  had  been  careful  enough  on  a 
former  occasion  to  contradict  the  truth  of  a  similar  charge,  embody- 
ing a  kindred  proposition.  It  is  said  that  he  promised  to  accept 
Wilson's  proposal,  or  at  least  to  take  it  under  advisement,  but  always 
declined  definite  action.  What  reasons  the  judge  could  have  brought 
forward  to  excuse  his  course  in  preterrnitting  so  handsome  a  sale  we 
have  no  means  of  knowing,  and  can  only  express  our  surprise. 
John  Wilson  and  Charles  Rumley  are  authority  for  this  statement. 
That  it  was  his  uniform  purpose  to  extinguish  the  county  debt  with 
the  lands  is  a  fact  resting  upon  his  own  assertion.  It  appears  that 
he  had  decided  to  sell  to  Tallrnan  in  preference  to  anybody  else. 
They  were  friends;  he  well  understood  Tallman' s  character  and 
financial  ability,  and  knew  that  his  word  was  at  all  times  as  good  as 
his  bond,  though  Judge  Chamberlain  was  not  the  man  to  omit  any 
man's  bond  for  his  unsupported  oral  obligation.  The  contract 
jointly  consummated  between  the  county  court  and  board  of  super- 
visors on  the  one  part  and  Tallrnan  on  the  other,  bearing  date  Octo- 
ber 16,  1856,  was  a  sacrifice  of  the  county's  interests  which  public 
sentiment  has  never  been  charitable  enough  to  excuse.  Tallman 


HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  377 

anticipating  that  some  dispute  might  arise  as  to  the  authority  of  the 
county  court  to  make  a  valid  sale,  preferred  to  have  the  two  bodies 
cooperate  in  making  the  contract.  The  substance  of  this  was  that  by 
virtue  of  the  grants  of  congress  and  of  the  state  the  county  sold  and 
agreed  to  convey  "all  the  lands  now  remaining  not  sold  in  the 
county,  obtained  under  said  grants,  amounting  to  40,000  acres  or 
thereabouts,  subject  to  drainage,"  for  which  Tallman  agreed  to  pay 
$30,000  in  the  bonds  of  Iroquois  county,  with  interest  from  Septem- 
ber 1,  1856,  $20,000  of  which  bonds  were  to  be  delivered  in  three 
months,  the  remaining  $10,000  whenever  Tallman  should  see  fit,  by 
his  providing  for  the  interest  on  the  same  from  the  date  mentioned ; 
his  performance  of  this  stipulation  to  be  secured  by  bond  with  two 
good  securities,  upon  delivery  of  which  to  the  county  court,  the  clerk 
thereof  was  to  issue  certificates  of  sale.  As  fast  as  ascertained  that 
any  of  the  lands  had  been  sold  by  the  government,  Tallman  was  to 
be  entitled  to  a  conveyance  of  them.  The  consideration  for  his  pay- 
ment of  the  $30,000  of  bonds  was  increased  by  "all  the  money, 
being  the  proceeds  of  the  lands  sold  by  the  county  up  to  this  time, 
with  the  interest  thereon,"  the  county  reserving  the  right  to  withhold 
the  money  until  it  should  be  ascertained  what  amount  might  have  to 
be  repaid  to  purchasers  of  lands  already  sold,  which  might  be  con- 
tested away ;  also  to  deduct  the  amount  required  to  meet  incidental 
expenses  and  to  defend  contestants  [contests],  besides  other  legal 
fees.  The  consideration  was  further  increased  by  granting  to  Tall- 
man "all  the  remaining  interest  of  the  county  which  they  have  to 
the  land  or  the  proceeds  of  the  same,  which  have  been  sold  by 
the  general  government  at  the  land  office  at  Danville,  which  were 
embraced  in  the  selections  of  this  county  as  swamp  lands,  inside  of 
six  miles  as  outside  of  the  six  miles  on  each  side  of  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral railroad,"  and  he  was  empowered  to  receive  the  avails.  He  was 
still  further  entitled  to  receive  "the  benefit  and  the  proceeds  or 
otherwise  that  might  be  obtained  by  any  new  act  of  congress  touch- 
ing said  lands,  and  all  and  every  benefit  that  might  be  derived  from 
the  same,  either  in  warrants  or  money,  under  the  present  law ;  and 
in  every  way,  directly  or  indirectly,  the  same  shall  become  the  prop- 
erty "  of  Tallman,  upon  condition  that  he  should  deliver  to  the 
county  court  ten  bonds  of  the  county  at  any  time-  before  they  should 
become  due,  and  should  provide  for  the  interest  on  the  same  from 
September  1,  1856.  He  was  allowed  nine  months  to  decide  whether 
he  would  accept  this  last  provision.  The  consideration  was  even 
further  enlarged  by  the  agreement  that  the  $50,000  of  stock  owned 
by  the  county  in  the  Peoria  tfc  Oquawka  Eastern  Extension  railroad 


37#  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

should  be  sold  and  transferred  to  him,  provided  he  should  pay  seven 
remaining  and  outstanding  bonds  in  like  manner  and  time  as  the  $10, 000 
of  bonds  last  above  referred  to,  with  the  interest  thereon  from  the  same 
date.  Tallman  was  grwn  nine  months  "  in  which  to  make  up  his 
mind  to  accept  of  the  same,"  and  if  accepted  the  county  clerk  was 
authorized  to  issue  to  him  certificates  of  sold  stock  under  a  resolu- 
tion of  the  board  of  supervisors  passed  October  15,  1856.  The  stock 

was  to  be  delivered  to  Tallman,  who  was  to  leave  it  in  the  hands  of 

i 

the  county  court,  to  be  by  them  delivered  to  him  if  they  saw  fit, 
when  he  should  execute  a  bond,  with  approved  security,  guarantee- 
ing that  the  seven  bonds  should  eventually  be  redeemed  and  restored 
to  the  county.  The  contract  of  June  3d  was  canceled,  and  the 
$1,000  paid  upon  it  by  the  county  was  made  the  consideration  for 
Tall  man's  performance  of  this,  which  sum  was  to  be  repaid  when 
any  of  the  county  bonds  should  first  be  delivered  to  the  county  court. 
The  county  was  "to  pay  out  of  other  funds  than  those  arising  from 
the  sal6  of  the  swamp  lands  the  interest  due  on  all  or  any  of  the 
bonds  of  the  county  up  to  September  1,  1856 ;  and  also  all  sums  of 
money  due  the  state  for  surveying  and  selecting  said  swamp  lands." 
It  was  also  "to  procure,  if  possible,  a  repeal  or  modification  of  the 
law  requiring  said  lands  to  be  drained  within  eight  months  from  the 
sale  of  the  same."  It  was  understood  and  so  expressed  in  the  con- 
tract that  the  bonds  in  question  were  only  those  at  that  time  out- 
standing and  issued  for  railroad  stock.  The  instrument  was  signed 
by  John  Chamberlain,  county  judge-;  Samuel  M.  Ayres  and  Thomas 
M.  Pangborn,  associate  judges ;  R.  W.  Andrews,  Samuel  Williams 
and  Thomas  Maggee,  on  behalf  of  the  board  of  supervisors,  and 
George  C.  Tallman. 

This  transaction  was  Judge  Chamberlain's,  and  the  credit  or  re- 
sponsibility, whether  it  be  approved  or  condemned,  belongs  to  him. 
By  his  zealous  championship  it  was  accomplished,  and  for  several 
years  his  overmastering  will,  ingenuity  and  prestige  were  constantly 
employed  to  keep  the  tide  of  opposition  from  breaking  over  its 
banks  in  proceedings  either  to  nullify  the  sale  or  to  test  its  validity. 
The  committee  of  the  board  had  been  previously  appointed  to  con- 
fer with  the  county  court  and  Tallman  on  the  subject.  Their  delib- 
erations occupied  two  days.  The  report  of  the  committee  recom- 
mended making  the  contract,  but  Mr.  Williams  voted  against  its 
adoption,  not  being  satisfied  with  the  scheme,  —  but  after  it  was  done 
supported  the  sale.  The  same  committee  was  instructed  to  complete 
the  bargain  jointly  with  the  county  court.  This  sale  was  unknown 
to  the  general  public  for  some  time,  but  when  it  was  published  there 


HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  379 

was  deep  agitation.  Some  indorsed  it ;  many  shook  their  heads  in 
grave  doubt  of  its  expediency  and  soundness,  while  others  were 
outspoken  in  their  denunciation. 

We  quote  from  an  editorial  in  the  Iroquois  "Republican,"  of 
May  21,  1857,  by  Dr.  Blades,  in  which  he  says:  "Whether  it  be 
correct  or  not,  there  is  an  impression  pervading  the  public  mind  of 
this  county,  that  the  county  has  had  its  interests  badly  financiered  in 
disposing  of  the  swamp  lands,  under  the  contract  to  Mr.  Tallman. 
There  are  but  few  who  believe  that  the  board  of  supervisors  and  the 
old  county  court  had  any  other  view  in  the  matter  than  for  what  they 
deemed  for  the  best  interests  of  the  county.  But  a  considerable 
portion  of  our  citizens  believe  they  have  made  a  bad  job  of  it,  not- 
withstanding "  ;  and  "a  large  number  believe  that  the  contract  was 
made  without  sufficient  consideration,  and  that  it  is  not  a  valid  one. 
And  they  demand  that  if  the  contract  is  not  a  good  one,  the  board 
should  repudiate  it."  Again  :  "  The  people  want  this  matter  satis- 
factorily explained,  and  they  are  determined  it  shall  be,  from-  what 
indications  we  can  gather."  He  then  urges  the  board  to  publish 
the  facts  upon  which  it  is  assumed  that  the  sale  is  for  the  best  inter- 
ests of  the  county,  and  was  at  the  time  it  was  effected  ;  and  also 
that  an  able  attorney  be  employed  to  investigate  the  subject  and  pass 
an  opinion  upon  it,  out  of  respect  to  the  demands  of  the  people. 

Owing  to  the  scantiness  of  authentic  material  we  cannot  under- 
take to  follow  this  important  question  in  detail  to  the  time  it  ceased 
to  engross  attention  and  be  a  factor  in  the  politics  of  the  county. 
Like  Banquo's  ghost,  it  would  never  down.  The  reason  was,  that 
the  sale  was  not  believed  by  many  to  be  certainly  completed  in  law 
until  some  years  afterward.  There  was  continual  uneasiness,  a 
strong  disposition  to  overturn,  if  possible,  what  had  been  done  ; 
repeated  threats  concerning  such  an  intention ;  and  prophetic  decla- 
rations as  to  the  issue,  should  it  once  be  tried.  The  board  of  super- 
visors could  not  but  be  in  a  feverish  state,  and  the  subject  was  often 
warmly  debated.  Tallman  was  present  during  several  of  these  ses- 
sions, at  which  all  his  art  and  persuasion,  as  well  as  those  of  his 
friends,  including  Judge  Chamberlain,  were  required  to  appease  the 
high  state  of  feeling  and  subdue  the  determination  to  take  such 
steps  as  would  ultimately  have  made  it  a  matter  of  judicial  investi- 
gation. 

We  have  often  to  recur  to  the  fact  that  the  people  were  beaten  in 
their  ulterior  object  in  adopting  township  organization,  and  we  have 
already  stated  how  the  contingency  of  such  an  event  had  been  fore- 
stalled by  a  special  act  procured,  conferring  on  the  county  court  full 


380  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

powers  for  the  control  of  the  swamp  lands.  The  people  certainly 
were  not  looking  for  so  surprising  a  thing  as  the  sale  of  those  lands 
on  such  terms  by  the  first  board  of  supervisors.  Having  had  enough 
of  that  business  with  Morgan,  and  lost  faith  in  the  efficiency  of  the 
county  court  to  manage  that  interest,  had  they  not  adopted  town- 
ship organization  to  take  the  control  of  it  into  their  own  hands 
through  a  board  elected  every  year  ?  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at 
that  they  were  sorely  displeased,  if  they  were  not  amazed,  at  so 
irresolute  a  proceeding.  All  they  could  do,  then,  was  to  possess 
themselves  in  patience  until  a  new  board  was  elected.  As  soon  as 
this  was  done  notice  was  given  convening  the  supervisors  on  May 
18,  1857,  for  the  purpose  principally  of  making  an  appropriation  to 
investigate  the  swamp  land  business.  No  record  of  this  meeting  is 
in  existence,  we  believe,  so  it  is  impossible  to  outline  the  proceed- 
ings, but  from  collateral  sources  we  are  able  to  state  that  the  ques- 
tion got  an  airing,  which  called  out  the  editorial  by  Dr.  Blades,  from 
which 'we  have  made  extracts.  The  board  adjourned  till  June  16. 
The  situation  must  have  been  felt  to  be  critical,  for  Tallman  was 
sent  for  to  be  present,  to  defend  his  interest.  This  subject  was  made 
the  special  order  for  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  An  effort  was 
made  to  obtain  an  order  rescinding  all  former  orders  pertaining  to 
the  contract.  Tallman  was  invited  to  explain  how  he  became  pos- 
sessed of  the  lands,  and  did  so  in  a  lengthy  speech,  giving  a  history 
of  the  sale.  He  held  that  the  county  had  no  title  of  any  value ; 
that  it  was  unable  to  procure  it,  and  that  he  and  his  friends  stood  a 
better  chance  of  doing  so  through  congress.  Joseph  Thomas  and 
Judge  Chamberlain  followed  him  with  substantially  the  same  argu- 
ment. The  latter,  also,  took  occasion  to  justify  his  motives  and  to 
defend  himself  against  the  aspersions  of  those  who  were  trying  to 
break  the  contract.  James  Fletcher,  then  the  acknowledged  head 
of  the  Iroquois  bar,  was  employed  to  reply,  which  he  did  in  an  able 
manner,  showing  up  the  whole  transaction.  Then  the  board  engaged 
in  a  full  discussion,  when  a  vote  was  taken,  and  the  proposition  lost 
by  nine  to  three.  Following  is  a  record  of  the  vote  :  Ayes  —  B.  F. 
Brady,  Chebanse  ;  Dr.  E.  K.  Farmer,  Milford  ;  Dr.  William  Miller, 
Crab  Apple.  Nays  —  Samuel  Williams,  Belmont ;  George  West, 
Middleport ;  William  Smith,  Concord  ;  William  B.  Lyman,  Beaver ; 
Thomas  Maggee,  Wygant ;  Michael  B.  White,  Ashkum ;  R.  W. 
Andrews,  Onarga ;  Wesley  Harvey,  Ash  Grove  ;  James  H.  Major, 
Loda.  The  board  then  passed  a  resolution,  by  an  exactly  similar 
vote,  indorsing  in  every  particular  the  contract  with  Tallman.  This 
was  the  third  ratification  of  the  sale  by  the  supervisors.  Messrs. 


HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  381 

Brady,  Farmer  and  Miller  entered  a  formal  protest  against  it.  The 
spirit  was  bitter  and  the  session  stormy.  The  board  continued  its 
sitting  well  into  the  night,  a  sharp  struggle  going  on  in  the  endeavor 
to  expunge  the  protest.  Early  the  next  morning  Tallman  called  on 
Brady  to  learn  the  grounds  of  his  hostility.  He  informed  him, 
among  other  things,  that  he  was  standing  by  the  sentiment  of  his 
town  ;  that  the  people  who  sent  him  believed  the  sale  was  an  iniquity  ; 
that  the  county  was  getting  comparatively  nothing  for  this  magnifi- 
cent land  grant ;  and  that  the  county,  besides,  was  in  debt  several 
thousand  dollars  for  expenses  incurred  on  account  of  the  lands. 
Tallman  simulated  surprise  at  this  last  fact,  and  said  at  once  that  he 
would  pay  the  amount  (some  $6,000)  and  clear  the  county  from  debt. 
In  good  faith  he  bound  himself  by  contract  with  the  supervisors 
(dated  the  16th)  to  do  it.  This  contract  was  lost  in  the  fire  of  1866, 
and  all  we  know  of  it  is  what  we  learn  from  another,  between  Tall- 
man and  the  county  court,  dated  the  22d,  and  preserved  in  the 
swamp  land  record,  ratifying  it  and  engaging  to  fulfill  all  its  require- 
ments. Tallman  agreed  to  pay  the  indebtedness  due  by  the  county 
to  the  state  for  the  expense  of  selecting  the  swamp  lands,  some 
$2,500  ;  and  also  to  pay  certain  coupons  due  upon  the  county  bonds 
previous  to  the  first  of  September,  1856,  amounting,  according  to 
reasonable  inference,  to  $1,500  or  $1,600,  but  not  in  excess  of  the 
latter  sum.  *  The  board,  in  this  agreement,  authorized  the  county 
court  to  carry  out  fully  all  contracts  made  or  to  be  made  with  Tall- 
man respecting  the  sale  of  the  swamp  lands,  and  to  execute  the 
necessary  conveyances  ;  ' '  and  to  do  all  and  every  other  act  by  which 
said  Tallman  shall  enjoy  the  full  benefit  of  his  purchase  and  con- 
tracts. ' ' 

The  grounds  on  which  the  board  held  the  sale  to  be  advantageous 
to  the  county  at  the  time  it  was  made,  are  stated  by  Dr.  Blades 
(who  was  opposed  to  the  sale),  in  the  issue  of  the  "Republican  "  of 
May  28.  He  says:  "They  set  out  with  the  proposition  that  the 
county  was  $50,000  [$47,000]  in  debt  for  stock  in  the  Eastern  Exten- 
sion of  the  Peoria  &  Oquawka  railroad ;  that  the  people  of  the 

*  This  will  not  make  the  $ 6,000.  We  are  not  able  to  account  for  that  sum,  and 
doubt  if  the  amount  was  more  than  $4,000  ;  though  all  our  information  (not  purport- 
ing to  be  exact)  puts  it  at  $6,000,  and  we  have  so  stated  it.  We  subjoin  this  addi- 
tional suggestion  :  When  the  surveyor-general,  under  the  direction  of  the  secretary  of 
the  interior,  listed  the  swamp  and  overflowed  lands  to  the  governor,  the  state  was 
charged,  contrary  to  the  law,  with  the  cost  of  the  lists  and  plats,  which  amount  the 
governor  paid  under  protest.  The  proportion  which  fell  to  Iroquois  county  was 
$3,814.50.  This  may  have  been  included  in  Tallman's  contract,  in  which  case  the 
aggregate  reached  about  $7,000. 


382  HISTORY    OF    IROQUO1S    COUNTY. 

county  were  induced  to  assume  that  debt  on  account  of  the  prospect 
that  we  should  be  able  to  pay  that  stock  with  the  proceeds  of  the 
swamp  lands  ;  that  it  came  shortly  to  appear  that  as  a  large  majority 
of  those  lands  were  contested,  which  necessarily  put  the  county  to 
considerable  expense  in  defense,  in  many  instances  absorbing  the 
value  of  the  land,  and  in  others  the  lands  would  be  wholly  lost ;  that 
the  commissioner  of  public  lands  had  decided  that  every  separate 
tract  must  be  re-surve}^ed  and  proved  up  by  at  least  two  witnesses  in 
person  at  the  land  office  at  Springfield,  all  of  which  tended  strongly 
to  show  that  the  lands  would  not  only  be  worse  than  valueless,  but 
that  in  the  end  the  county  would  be  left  with  the  onerous  debt 
of  $50,000  hanging  over  it  with  no  other  resource  than  that  of 
special  taxation  wherewithal  to  meet  that  debt ;  they  very  plausibly 
maintain  that  they  were  making  a  bargain  which  certainly  appeared 
to  be  for  the  best  interest  of  the  county."  We  continue  to  quote 
from  the  same  candid  authority,  in  an  article  published  more  than  a 
year  earlier  (May  8,  1856),  being  a  notice  of  the  first  meeting  of 
the  board  of  supervisors  held  on  the  2d  and  3d,  and  before  the  first 
contract  was  entered  into  with  Tallman.  "The  question  as  to  the 
proper  authorities  to  control  the  county  swamp  lands  occupied  much 
of  the  time,  some  members  of  the  board  being  of  the  opinion  that 
they  had  the  legal  right  exclusively  to  manage  the  swamp  lands  as 
well  as  any  other  interest  of  the  county,  and  that  the  interests  of  the 
county  require  the  postponement  of  the  coming  land  sale  [May  6]  ; 
that  the  lands  are  daily  becoming  more  valuable,  and  that  if  sold  on 
credit,  or  partly  on  credit  with  interest,  the  accruing  interest  could 
be  used  to  meet  the  interest  we  are  bound  to  pay  semi-annually  on 
our  railroad  bonds.  A  motion  to  apply  for  a  bill  of  injunction  on 
the  former  court  or  upon  Judge  Chamberlain,  to  prevent  the 
approaching  sale  of  such  lands,  was  discussed  and  finally  lost." 
The  actual  situation  in  regard  to  these  lands  before  Tallman  pur- 
chased them,  was  not  nearly  so  alarming  as  it  was  made  to  appear 
when  the  sale  had  been  accomplished,  and  "reasons"  were  in 
demand  to  excuse  it.  He  got  the  lands  and  all  the  benefits  accruing 
from  them,  which  would  indicate  that  the  difficulties  were  either 
greatly  magnified,  or  that  his  business  ability  was  scarcely  less  in 
degree  and  far  more  practical  and  conspicuous  than  the  combined 
wisdom  of  the  county  court  and  board  of  supervisors.  Starting 
with  the  result  and  running  back  from  eifect  to  cause,  the  impolicy 
of  this  sale  and  the  puerility  of  the  reasons  assigned  are  so  apparent 
that  he  who  runs  may  read. 

We  must  now  go  back  a  few  months  in  our  relation  to  note  some 


HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  383 

transactions  of  essential  interest.  At  the  January  term  of  the  county 
court  Tallman  presented  twenty  county  bonds,  together  with  his 
personal  bond  with  three  good  sureties  —  J.  B.  Warner,  Samuel 
Stocking,  of  Oneida  county,  New  York,  and  W.  P.  Swift  &  Co.,  of 
Chicago  —  for  the  delivery  of  ten  other  bonds,  in  pursuance  of  his 
contract,  and  an  order  was  entered  to  issue  certificates  for  the  lands. 
On  the  following  day  another  order  was  made  countermanding  the 
first,  together  with  the  certificate  of  sale  annexed  on  the  record, 
another  contract  (marked  B)  having  in  the  meantime  been  executed 
between  Tallman  and  the  county  court.  In  substance  the  stipulations 
of  this  were  that  the  contract  of  October  16,  1856,  was  "based  on  the 
condition  that  time  should  be  given  said  Tallman  in  which  to  drain 
said  lands  [no  such  condition  appears  in  the  contract],  inasmuch  as 
many  of  the  lands  were  under  contest;  and  it  being  impossible  to 
ascertain  what  lands,  or  how  many,  the  county  was  entitled  to  by 
reason  of  an  x>rder  issued  by  the  commissioner  of  the  land  office  at 
Washington,  permitting  parties  to  contest  away  any  of  such  lands," 
it  was  agreed  that  this  should  form  a  part  of  the  above  mentioned 
contract,  and  that  the  county  court  should  get  an  amendment  to  the 
law  extending  the  time  for  draining  the  lands  as  the  law  then  stood, 
with  the  express  understanding  that  the  court  should  convey  the 
lands  to  Tallman,  conditioned  that  if  it  should  be  unable  to  procure 
such  amendment,  Tallman  should  pay  over  the  expenses  of  draining 
the  lands,  which  expenses  were  to  be  estimated  by  the  county  engi- 
neer ;  or  he  might  drain  them  after  it  should  be  found  what  lands 
were  not  under  contest.  In  case  there  should  be  any  informality  in 
the  conveyance  the  court  guaranteed  a  perfect  future  one.  The  cer- 
tifica'e  of  the  county  engineer  or  surveyor  was  to  be  the  only  evi- 
dence required  as  to  the  proper  draining  of  the  lands,  and  upon  the 
production  of  such  certificate  he  was  thereupon  to  be  discharged  from 
any  further  liability  in  that  regard.  But  no  advantage  was  to  be 
taken  of  him  even  if  the  lands  sold  to  him  by  the  contract  of  Octo- 
ber 16  should  not  be  drained  within  the  time  required  by  law. 

A  quit-claim  was  this  day — January  3,  1857 — executed  to  Tallman 
for  44,029  acres  for  $30, 000,  covered  by  the  thirty  bonds  of  $1,000  each. 
At  the  same  time  he  made  choice  of  the  remaining  interest  of  the  county 
in  the  lands  sold  by  the  government,  including  those  within  six  miles 
on  either  side  of  the  Central  railroad,  or  the  proceeds  of  the  same,  and 
also  the  $50,000  of  railroad  stock  for  which  he  was  to  deliver  the 
seventeen  remaining  and  outstanding  bonds.  On  the  5th  he  deposited 
his  personal  bond  with  two  good  securities  (William  P.  Swift  &  Co. 
and  A.  J.  Galloway),  guaranteeing  the  delivery  of  the  bonds. 


384  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

In  fulfillment  of  the  contract  just  cited,  Judge  Chamberlain, 
seconded  by  Joseph  Thomas  and  others,  did  secure  an  amendment 
to  the  law  extending  the  time  of  drainage,  which  law  took  effect 
February  16,  1857.  We  will  turn  aside  to  remark  that  for  the  first 
two  years  the  proceedings  of  the  board  of  supervisors  were  not  pub- 
lished. The  county  papers  at  that  day  were  conducted  for  more 
general  objects,  and  the  editorial  department  received  greater  atten- 
tion than  is  bestowed  on  similar  publications  now,  and  while  they 
surpassed  their  successors  in  these  features,  they  exhibited  less  local 
enterprise  than  is  to  be  found  in  the  press  of  to-day.  This  explains 
why  even  a  synopsis  of  the  official  transactions  of  the  county  court 
and  of  the  board  of  supervisors  was  never  published.  It  is  not  sur- 
prising, then,  that  the  sale  to  Tallman  should  not  have  come  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  general  public  until  the  contract  was  copied  from 
the  records  by  Spottswood  A.  Washington,  and  published  in  the 
"Iroquois  Republican"  January  1,  1857",  when  the  scheme  was  well 
matured  and  nigh  accomplished  for  the  legalizing  of  the  sale  in  the 
act  of  February  16,  already  noticed. 

The  circumstances  attending  the  passage  of  this  act  were  such  that 
they  cannot  be  passed  without  notice.  Franklin  Blades  was  repre- 
sentative from  Iroquois  county  in  the  general  assembly  at  the  time, 
and  it  was  well  known  that  he  did  not  favor  the  sale,  though  he  was 
by  no  means  extreme  in  his  opposition.  In  getting  the  law  amended 
on  the  point  of  drainage  the  occasion  was  taken  to  encompass 
another,  if  not  the  principal,  object,  which  was  carefully  concealed. 
Artful  and  gradual  approaches  were  necessary  not  to  awaken  the  sus- 
picions of  representative  Blades.  Joseph  Thomas  got  Uri  Osgood, 
of  Joliet,  to  draft  the  bill  "in  an  ambiguous  and  circuitous  manner 
on  purpose  to  escape  detection,"  and  assured  Blades  "that  the  only 
end  sought  in  having  the  bill  passed  was  merely  to  extend  the  time 
of  drainage."  A  letter  from  Judge  Chamberlain  to  Blades,  the 
burden  of  which  was  drainage,  contained  this  clause  :  ' '  We  want  an 
act  amending  the  special  law,  already  passed,  with  reference  to  the 
swamp  lands  of  Iroquois  county,  extending  the  time,  and  also  with 
regard  to  some  other  points  of  less  importance."  This  feinting  had 
the  eifect  to  call  off  Blades'  attention  from  the  "points  of  less  im- 
portance," and  in  the  hurry  of  business,  as  he  afterward  admitted  in 
a  published  explanation,  he  "took  the  bill  and  read  it  (we  are  now 
convinced  too  carelessly),  and  not  detecting,  through  a  mass  of  gar- 
bage and  meaningless  tautology  and  ambiguity,  the  clandestine  clause 
legalizing  the  swamp  land  sale,  we  introduced  it.  We  are  certain 
that  not  one  single  member  of  either  the  house  or  the  senate  ever 


HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  385 

suspected  the  legal  effect  of  that  bill."  In  the  running  controversy 
between  John  "W.  White,  of  Pike  Creek,  and  Judge  Chamberlain, 
the  former  indirectly  charged  that  the  bill  was  got  through  by 
"trickery  or  ledgerdemain,"  whereupon  the  judge  replied  by  assert- 
ing that  Blades  knew  all  about  it,  and  referred  to  the  fact  of  their 
having  had  correspondence  on  the  subject.  This  brought  Blades  out 
in  astonishment  that  the  judge  should  charge  that  he  "did  know  all 
about  the  passage  of  the  bill,"  which  charge  itself  was  cautiously 
worded  and  perhaps  literally  true,  without  his  knowing  "all  about" 
the  contents  of  the  bill.  Judge  Chamberlain  is  entitled  to  the  ben- 
efit of  everything  that  can  be  said  to  his  credit  or  in  his  defense. 
We  aim  to  keep  this  object  in  view.  In  a  published  communication 
in  answer  to  Mr.  White  he  stated  that  he  did  not  know  that  the  bill 
contained  the  legalizing  clause  until  he  received  a  copy  of  it  from 
Springfield.  We  have  sought  to  find  if  Judge  Chamberlain  explained 
away  the  shadow  of  dark  doings  in  this  matter,  but  without  success. 

This  discussion  transpired  in  the  campaign  of  1857,  when  he  was 
a  candidate  for  reelection.  On  November  3  he  received  758  votes,  to 
472  for  his  opponent,  H.  C.  Bryant,  which  majority  of  286,  while 
being  an  apparent  indorsement  of  the  policy  he  had  championed  from 
the  beginning,  reflected  not  the  less  a  nervous  but  groundless  appre- 
hension that,  if  elected,  Bryant  would  involve  the  county  in  costly 
litigation.  This  was  the  superior  harping-string  of  the  canvass,  as  it 
was  among  the  leading  ones  four  years  later.  This'  dread  of  going 
to  law  was  co-extensive  with  the  dissatisfaction  prevailing  ;  and  the 
most  violent  opposers  of  the  sale  shrunk  from  it ;  even  as  prominent 
and  outspoken  a  man  of  that  number  as  John  W.  White  said  in  one 
of  his  communications  :  "I,  as  a  citizen  of  the  county,  am  opposed 
to  going  to  law  in  this  matter  if  it  can  be  possibly  avoided  ;  it  would 
be  ruinous  to  the  county."  The  student  who  has  observed  in  the 
history  and  practical  workings  of  politics,  instances  of  a  popular 
dread  of  unsettling  or  burdening  the  business  interests  of  a  com- 
munity or  state,  not  subject  to  fluctuations  of  danger  and  security, 
must  have  been  struck  with  the  uniformity  with  which  the  candidates 
who  were  looked  upon  in  the  light  of  disorganizes  have  been  de- 
feated. Of  the  very  large  class  who  doubted  the  wisdom  of  the 
financiering,  but  few  thought  anything  could  be  gained  by  trying  to 
abrogate  the  proceedings  of  the  court  and  the  board. 

Continuing  to  quote  from  the  same  authority  as  before  in  a  careful 

and  exceedingly  liberal  editorial  after  the  election  :  "  We  are  satisfied 

that  when  the  terms  of  the  sale  of  the  swamp  lands  to  Mr.  Tallman 

first  became  known,  there  was  a  large  majority  of  the  people  of  this 

25 


386  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

county  who  were  decidedly  opposed  to  it.  There  were  but  very  few, 
indeed,  even  among  the  warmest  political  friends  of  Judge  Chamber- 
lain, who  were  so  bold  as  to  come  out  in  approbation  of  the  sale. 
But  it  seems  that  a  great  reaction  has  taken  place,  and  we  are  inclined 
to  impute  that  reaction  to  a  fuller  knowledge  of  all  the  circumstances 
connecting  with  the  contesting  of  those  lands  and  the  uncertainty  of 
ever  obtaining  a  title  to  them.  We  are  not  sure  that  the  majority 
are  yet  convinced  that  the  sale  was  the  beSt  thing  that  could  have 
been  done  with  them ;  but  having  been  made,  they  were  strongly 
opposed  to  meddling  with  it."  From  this  postulate  Dr.  Blades  pro- 
ceeded to  draw  a  conclusion  that  the  result,  induced  by  "  a  nervous 
apprehension,  which  was  kept  alive  and  increased  by  unscrupulous 
misrepresentation  ;  that  in  case  Mr.  Bryant  should  be  elected  county 
judge,  he  would  proceed  at  once  to  involve  the  county  in  an  expen- 
sive lawsuit,  by  contesting  the  validity  of  the  sale,"  was  a  "  handsome 
indorsement  by  the  people,"  and  "that  the  people,  by  an  emphatic 
vote,  have  made  it,  with  its  good  or  bad  policy,  their  own,"  and  that 
"  their  decision  should  be  cheerfully  and  without  cavil  submitted  to." 
If  the  people  had  known  that  they  still  possessed  an  equitable  right 
to  the  lands,  it  would  have  been  a  "handsome  indorsement,"  and 
further  cavil  should  have  ceased  ;  but  as  the  impression  was  growing 
that  they  were  conveyed  out  of  reach,  and  the  fear  of  a  chancery 
contest  was  made  an  element  of  the  canvass,  and  consequently  of  the 
vote,  it  is  just  as  clear  that  it  was  deemed  best  to  permit  Judge 
Chamberlain  to  complete,  according  to  his  own  design,  the  policy 
which  he  had  inaugurated,  as  that  he  was  elected. 

We  have  omitted  thus  far  to  chronicle  that  Col.  Morgan,  in  June, 
1857,  commenced  an  injunction  suit  in  the  United  States  district 
court,  at  Chicago,  to  assert  his  rights  under  the  original  contract  he 
made  with  the  county,  alleging  the  later  one  to  be  fraudulent  and 
void ;  and  to  set  aside  the  contract  with  Tallman  and  restrain  the 
county  from  selling  the  lands  to  him.  On  his  own  motion,  Tallman 
bore  one-half  the  expenses  incurred  by  the  county,  and  retained  the 
Hon.  I.  N.  Arnold,  of  Chicago,  as  one  of  the  attorneys  in  the  case. 
The  county  employed  James  Fletcher  and  George'  B.  Joiner.  An 
answer  was  filed  to  Morgan's  bill,  and  the  case  was  thrown  out  of 
court.  The  surface  of  public  feeling  was  kept  in  a  troubled  state  by 
the  smoldering  fires  within,  and  every  little  while  there  would  be  an 
eruption  when  the  board  met.  Tallman  was,  at  least  once,  before 
this  body  in  1858,  explaining  and  defending  his  course.  He  could 
well  afford  an  occasional  tilt ;  the  stake  he  was  at  this  time  playing 
for  was  no  mean  forfeit.  Meanwhile  he  was  addressing  himself  to 


HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY.  387 

the  matter  of  perfecting  the  title  to  the  swamp  lands  by  getting 
them,  or  as  many  as   had  been  approved  by  the  surveyor-general, 
patented  to  the  state.     A  six-months-  sojourn  in  Washington  with 
the  agent  for  the  state  sufficed  for  that  purpose.     In  course  of  time 
another  special  act  touching  the  swamp  lands  was  regarded  as  indis- 
pensable to  the  closing  up  of  this  vexed  patchwork.     It  was  forth- 
coming, and  was  accordingly  obtained  from  the  state,  February  18, 
1859 — Judge  Chamberlain  and  Ray  W.  Andrews  attending  the  legis- 
lature for  this  and  other  purposes.     George  B.  Joiner  was  employed 
by  the  county  court  to  lobby  this  bill,  for  which  he  was  allowed  $50 
from  the  swamp  land  fund.     Nothing  was  left  to  petition  for  again, 
nothing  left  for  a  future  subject  of  legislation — it  was  sweeping  in 
every  provision.     The  county  court  was  given  as  full  discretion  in 
regard  to  selling  and  draining  as  an  individual  has  in  the  disposition 
of  his  private  property ;  and  this  was  a  release  from  all  obligation 
to  drain  the  lands.     A  new  article  of  agreement  was  drawn  up  April 
22,  to  which  the  county  court  and  Tallman  were  the  parties,  resell- 
ing the  entire  swamp  land  grant,  the  net  proceeds  of  all  the  lands 
which  had  ever  been  sold  by  the  county  to  other  parties  than  Tall- 
man himself,  and  the  proceeds  of  all  such  lands  in  the  county  which 
had  been  sold  by  the  government,  including  whatever  remote  or  con- 
tingent interest  the  county  had  or  ever  should  have  in  the  lands 
within  six  miles  of  the  Central  railroad,  and  also  a  like  interest  in 
any  land  warrants  or  money  arising  from  the  grant  to  which  the 
county  had  or  ever  should  have  any  right.     The  consideration  was 
twenty-three  $1,000   bonds,   which  Tallman  had  already  delivered 
under  his  contract  of  October  16,  1856,  and  his  guaranty,  with  two 
good  sureties,  to  pay  and  deliver  the  remaining  twenty-four  $1,000 
bonds  at  any  time  before  maturity,  with  the  coupons  ;  including,  also, 
his  guaranty  to  pay  the  state  for  selecting  the  lands,  which  were  at  this 
time  sold  to  him  subject  to  drainage,  Tallman  agreeing  to  sell  them 
as  soon  as  practicable,  and  to  require  purchasers  to  drain  them  when 
they  required  it  and  were  susceptible  of  drainage.     This  guaranty „ 
with  the  delivered  bonds,  constituted  the  whole  consideration  and 
purchase  price  of  the  lands,  and  every  interest  or  benefit  accruing  at 
any  time-  from  them.    Tallman  presented  his  bond,  wi  h  B.  D.  Hurl- 
bnrt  and  I.  R.  Warner,  of  Oneida  county,  New  York,  as  sureties. 
Judge  Chamberlain  was  then  directed  by  the  court  to  execute  to 
Tallman  a  deed  of  conveyance  in  fee-simple  for  the  lands,  and  to 
carry  out  every  part  of  thu  agreement.     This  deed  was  of  concr.rrent 
date  with  the  contract,   and  conveyed  45,527  acres,  "and  a  so  all 
other  .lands,  not  heretofore  described,  that  said  county  of  Iroquois, 


388  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

obtained  a  title  to  by  means  of  the  laws  aforesaid,  or  any  of  them." 
All  the  old  contracts  were  canceled  and  restored  to  him,  and  he 
returned  the  $50,000  of  railioad  stock,  being  released  from  his  obli- 
gation to  pay  for  the  same.  This  he  made  a  pretense  of  giving  to 
the  county,  all  of  which  was  for  effect,  and  to  have  material  in  hand 
for  defense  and  to  keep  down  clamor,  when  in  fact  it  \vas  nearly 
worthless.  In  1864  the  county  obtained  a  reissue  of  this  stock,  and 
four  years  alterward  sold  it  to  William  H.  Cruger,  vice-president  of 
the  comp  ny,  for  $4,000. 

At  the  annual  meeting  in  September,  1860,  A.  B.  Ives,  a  noted 
real-estate  lawyer,  of  Bloomington  (having  been  employed  by  a 
committee  previously  appointed),  read  a  report  to  the  board  of 
supervisors  concerning  the  validity  of  the  sale  by  the  court  and 
board  jointly,  October  16,  1856.  Having  reviewed  the  contracts 
with  Tallman,  and  the  several  acts  of  the  legislature,  he  held  that 
the  county  court  had  never  been  divested  of  jurisdiction  of  the 
swamp  lands  ;  that  the  joint  sale  was  consequently  void  or  voidable ; 
and  that  the  one  made  April  22,  1859,  by  the  court,  the  only  compe- 
tent authority,  was  binding  in  law. 

A  few  scattered  details  and  items  of  information  is  all  that  re- 
mains to  complete  the  account  of  this  once  engrossing  theme  and 
fruitful  source  of  controversy.  From  October  15,  1855,  to  February 
25,  1858  (the  first  and  last  dates  of  sale),  there  were  sold  by  the 
county,  exclusive  of  the  sales  to  Tallman,  16,155  acres,  for  which  it 
received  $18,360.69;  and  there  were  due  November  1,  1861,  from 
purchasers  holding  certificates,  $1,282.40.  Under  the  act  of  Feb- 
ruary 14,  1855,  the  county  sold  14,490  acres  of  these  lands.  On 
April  22,  1859,  when  the  sale  was  renewed  to  Tallman,  the  court 
passed  an  order  declaring  that  where  the  purchasers  of  swamp  lands 
complied  with  the  law  of  1859  they  were  entitled  to  deeds,  and  the 
judge  of  the  court  was  directed  to  execute  clear  conveyances,  requir- 
ing the  lands  to  be  drained  when  they  were  intended  to  be  put  to 
cultivation.  By  virtue  of  this  order  deeds  were  given  under  the 
provisions  of  the  act  of  1859  for  the  lands  sold  under  the  act  of 
1855.  The  court  becoming  satisfied  that  these  deeds,  not  being 
authorized  by  the  law  of  1859,  were  invalid,  at  the  October  special 
term,  ordered  new  ones  executed.  At  a  special  term,  November 
1,  1861,  the  court  instructed  Judge  Chamberlain  to  make  a  deed 
in  fee-simple  to  Tallman  for  all  the  swamp  and  overflowed  lands 
4 'donated  to  this  county,  .  .  .  whether  all  or  any  part  of  thorn 
have  been  patented  or  certified  to  the  state  or  county  or  not.  ex- 
cepting, however,  out  of  such  deed  any  of  the  lands  heretofore 


HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  389 

duly  sold  by  the  general  government,  or  by  this  county,  and  also 
those  heretofore  conveyed  to  said  Tallman  by  John  Chamberlain  as 
such  county  judge. "  There  were  smaller  deeds  to  Tallman,  convey- 
ing in  the  aggregate  about  1,000  acres.  The  act  of  1857  authorized 
the  county  judge,  whenever  he  should  be  satisfied,  either  by  report  of 
the  swamp  land  engineer  "  or  by  other  evidence,  that  any  portion  of 
the  swamp  lands  which  have  been  sold  are  thoroughly  drained,"  to 
convey  the  same  by  deed  in  fee-simple.  One  of  these  minor  deeds 
to  Tallman  recites  that  he  had  furnished  satisfactory  evidence  to  the 
court  and  to  the  county  judge  that  the  lands  were  thoroughly  drained. 
This  is  the  only  one  in  which  any  pretense  whatever  is  made  that 
the  lands  had  been  drained,  and  it  is  a  notorious  fact  that  neither 
spade  nor  implement  of  any  other  kind  ever  broke  the  sod  to  drain 
them,  except  as  it  was  done  by  actual  cultivators  upon  them.  The 
act  of  1855  required  the  lands  to  be  drained  within  eight  months 
from  the  date  of  sale ;  before  the  expiration  of  the  contract  of  Octo- 
ber 16,  1856,  the  act  of  1857,  by  which  the  time  for  drainage  was  ex- 
tended to  two  years  in  the  judgment  of  the  county  court,  took  effect ; 
at  the  end  of  two  years  the  act  of  1859  became  a  law,  investing  the 
court  with  an  absolute  discretion  in  this  matter.  The  sole  intention 
of  the  grant  was  the  drainage  and  reclamation  of  the  lands  for  the 
health  of  the  people  and  the  development  of  the  country.  Never 
was  a  thing  more  "provided  for"  in  laws  and  contracts,  and  yet 
more  completely  legislated  out  of  existence.  There  have  been  pat- 
ented to  the  state,  of  swamp  and  overflowed  lands,  (about)  63,580 
acres ;  and  the  number  concerning  which  proofs  are  on  file  in  the 
general  land  office,  showing  the  character  of  the  lands  entered  with 
cash  and  land  warrants,  and  which  are  unadjusted,  is  32,000,  making 
a  total  of  this  class  of  lands  in  Iroquois  county  of  95,580  acres.* 
Tallman  realized  from  this  bargain  in  swamp  land  funds  of  the 
county,  which  were  paid  over  to  him  by  the  treasurer  on  the  order  of 
the  county  court,  $10,427.10.  The  cash  indemnity  which  he  received 
from  the  land  office  for  swamp  lands,  entered  with  cash  and  land 
warrants,  by  virtue  of  his  contract  witli  the  county,  amounted  to 
$15, 664. 56.  f  The  amount  of  land  which  passed  to  Tallman  was 
about  47,000  acres.  It  was  sold  by  him  at  prices  ranging  from  $1.50 
to  $5.50  per  acre.  Tallman  acquired  the  equitable  rights  of  the 
county  in  the  32,000  acres  of  unadjusted  swamp  lands  which  lie 
along  the  Central  railroad.  Legislation  is  pending  in  congress  to 
dispose  of  the  claims  of  states  against  the  government,  growing  out 
of  this  subject. 

*  Hitt's  Report,  p.  11.  t  Hitt's  Report,  p.  35. 


390  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

It  would  be  curious  to  know  what  these  lands  cost  Tallman,  and 
it  will  be  expected  that  some  statement  on  this  point  will  be  made, 
but  it  is  not  our  province  to  speculate  ;  nevertheless,  there  are  some 
facts,  though  dimly  preserved,  bearing  on  this  topic,  which  are 
legitimate  history  and  ought  not  to  be  omitted.  There  is  an  indi- 
rect allusion  in  one  of  White's  articles  to  Morgan's  having  sued  the 
county  for  interest  on  some  of  the  bonds  ;  and  also  for  bonds  claimed 
under  his  contract.  Until  forced  to  do  so  by  public  opinion,  Cham- 
berlain refused  to  deliver  them,  or  some  part  of  them,  on  his  esti- 
mates. Those  outstanding  at  the  date  of  the  sale  to  Tallman  were 
nearly  all  of  recent  issue.  We  are  not  well  favored  with  informa- 
tion on  this  head,  even  after  diligent  research,  but  prefer  to  believe 
that  they  were  about  thirty-five  per  cent  below  par,  though  common 
report  makes  the  discount  considerably  greater.  We  remember  hav- 
ing seen  a  newspaper  published  about  the  time  of  which  we  write, 
which  stated  that  the  bonds  were  worth  sixty-four  cents  on  the  dol- 
lar. As  some  confirmation  of  this,  at  the  June  (1857)  special  term 
of  the  county  court,  a  bond  was  presented  by  S.  M.  Ayres,  and  as 
Tallman  was  bound  to  pay  it,  and  the  swamp  fund  belonged  to  him, 
the  court  ordered  it  received,  and  that  Ayres  be  credited  on  the  note 
held  against  him  for  borrowed  swamp  funds,  the  sum  of  $650. 

It  is  interesting  to  know  something  of  the  history  of  the  manage- 
ment of  the  swamp  land  grant  in  other  counties.  "Of  sixty-eight 
counties  interested  in  the  swamp  land  acts,  but  five  have  sold  out 
their  interest  to  speculators,  the  remaining  counties  have  been  judi- 
cious in  the  disposal  of  their  swamp  lands.  Most  of  these  lands 
have  been  drained  and  the  country  has  been  made  healthier,  and  the 
revenues  of  the  state,  as  well  as  the  health  of  the  counties  largely 
increased."*  In  taking  leave  of  this  topic  we  may  be  excused  for 
adding,  that  if  wisdom  could  have  controlled  in  the  management  of 
this  rich  interest,  Iroquois  county  might  have  had  a  source  of  rev- 
enue for  many  years  to  come  ;  at  least  it  might  now  have  been  free 
from  debt.  This  is  to  be  modified  by  the  condition  that  the  same 
wisdom  which  was  lacking  in  1856  should  not  afterward  have  been 
wanting  to  resist  the  many  temptations  to  prodigality  through  which 
our  country  has  since  passed.  But  with  the  experience  of  the  past 
twenty  years  vividly  before  us,  we  have  the  most  solemn  doubt  if 
prudential  action  would  have  held  the  ascendency  and  made  the 
most  of  this  magnificent  donation ;  and,  after  all,  perhaps  it  ought 
not  to  be  regretted  that  it  went  at  the  time  and  in  the  manner  that 
it  did. 

*Hitt's  Report,  p.  11. 


HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  391 

ATTEMPT    TO    DETACH    A    PART    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY    TO    FORM    FORD. 

A  strong  effort,  begun  in  1856  and  maintained  till  1859,  was  made 
to  detach  the  southwest  corner  of  Iroquois  county,  and  unite  it  with 
that  part  of  Vermilion  county  which  is  now  Ford.  The  leading  men 
of  Loda,  chief  among  them  Adam  Smith  (deceased  April,  1880),  con- 
ceived the  scheme  of  detaching  a  part  of  Iroquois,  and  making  their 
village  the  county  town  of  the  new  county.  If  they  could  secure  the 
division,  there  was  no  doubt,  owing  to  the  peculiar,  chance-shape  of 
the  proposed  county,  that  they  could  succeed  in  this  purpose.  The 
petition  that  was  laid  before  the  legislature  from  these  movers  con- 
tained about  150  names  of  residents  in  the  southwest  corner,  and  sev- 
eral hundred  of  the  citizens  of  Vermilion.  A  county  was  to  be  formed 
in  any  event;  the  only  opposition  was  to  the  dismemberment  of  Iro- 
quois, and  this  was  exerted  from  two  opposite  quarters.  James  Mix 
was  interested  in  Prospect  City  (Paxton),  and  wanted  the  seat  of 
justice  at  that  place.  This  was  enough  to  make  him  an  opponent  of 
the  Loda  movement.  There  was  little  following  in  the  county  outside 
of  Loda  township.  Meetings  were  held  in  various  places,  and  vigor- 
ous efforts  made  on  both  sides.  At  an  adjourned  meeting  held  at  the 
Loda  hotel  December  20,  1856,  a  verbal  report,  designating  the  bound- 
aries of  the  new  county,  was  made  by  Capt.  J.  M.  Hood  and  David  S. 
Crandall,  committee.  It  was  voted  to  embody  the  suggestions  in  a 
petition  to  be  submitted  to  the  citizens  of  Iroquois  and  Vermilion 
counties,  and  these  gentlemen,  with  E,.  D.  Foster  and  I.  O.  Butler, 
were  appointed  to  draft  it,  with  power  to  change  the  north  line  of 
division  indicated  by  the  committee.  Addison  Goodell,  George  Shat'er 
and  Moses  Walker  were  appointed,  with  power  to  increase  their  num- 
ber, to  circulate  the  petition  for  signatures  in  the  limits  of  the  pro- 
posed new  county.  Messrs.  Hood  and  Crandall  were  unanimously 
elected  to  carry  the  petition  to  Springfield,  and  lobby  in  the  interest 
of  the  petitioners.  A  committee  on  finance,  consisting  of  Addison 
Goodell,  I.  O.  Butler,  C.  O.  Barstow,  Adam  Smith  and  R.  D.  Foster, 
was  appointed,  with  the  privilege  of  adding  to  their  number.  On  the 
23d  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Onarga  was  held,  to  remonstrate 
against  the  proceedings  at  Loda,  and  to  organize  for  effective  resistance 
to  the  project.  E.  W.  Andrews,  "W.  P.  Pierson,  E.  Knight,  W.  H. 
Skeels,  Dr.  J.  L.  Parmalee  and  Joseph  Thomas  were  chosen  a  commit- 
tee to  draw  up  a  remonstrance  against  any  portion  of  Iroquois  county 
being  taken  to  form  a  new  one.  The  following  persons  were  selected 
to  canvass  the  county :  W.  P.  Pierson  and  Capt.  E.  Doolittle,  Onarga ; 
Thomas  Magee,  Wygant ;  "W.  B.  Young,  Chebanse ;  Alonzo  Taylor, 
Ash  Grove;  Dr.  E.  K.  Farmer,  Milford ;  W..  B.  Lyman,  Beaver; 


392  HISTORY    OF   IEOQUOIS   COUNTY. 

• 

"Winslow  "Woods,  Crab  Apple;  J.  Strickler,  Concord,  and  Samuel 
Williams,  Belmont.  Dr.  A.  K  Crawford,  E.  Knight,  William  A. 
Davis  and  W.  P.  Pierson  were  named  to  correspond  on  this  subject 
with  the  three  county  papers:  "Iroquois  Republican,"  "Middleport 
Press,"  and  "  Garden  State,"  the  latter  published  at  Loda.  Meetings 
were  held  subsequently  ;  but  the  account  is  carried  far  enough  to  afford 
a  view  of  the  thorough  preparations  by  each  party  to  canvass  the  sub- 
ject. The  petition  and  the  remonstrance  were  presented  to  the  legis- 
lature, and  a  bill  was  introduced  to  carry  out  the  object  of  the  former. 
Mix  attended  the  session  and  used  his.  influence  against  it.  The  repre- 
sentative, Franklin  Blades,  harmonized  with  a  large  majority  of  his 
constituents  in  opposition  to  it,  and  when  a  motion  was  made  to  sus- 
pend the  rules  and  take  up  the  bill,  he  announced  his  determination  to 
resist  its  passage.  The  motion  did  not  prevail,  and  afterward  the  bill 
was  stolen,  and  so  never  came  to  a  vote.  Not  having  been  able  to 
enlist  Blades'  support,  and  the  measure  having  failed  ingloriously 
through  theft  of  the  bill,  as  it  would  likely  have  done  had  it  reached  a 
vote,  Crandall  came  home  and  assailed  Blades  with  caustic  vehemence 
through  the  columns  of  his  paper,  the  "Garden  State,"  charging  that 
he  had  promised  his  influence  in  favor  of  the  project ;  whereupon 
Blades,  replying  through  his  own  organ,  the  "Republican,"  denied 
the  accusation  in  the  same  withering  style  and  bitter  spirit.  On  Sep- 
tember 13,  1858,  the  republican  convention,  for  the  selection  of  a  can- 
didate for  representative,  was  held  in  Middleport,  and  Capt.  Hood,  of 
Loda,  was  nominated  by  one  vote  over  his  competitor,  C.  F.  McNeill. 
This  was  understood  to  be  a  triumph  for  the  division  of  the  county. 
Hood  was  elected.  The  work  of  getting  up  petitions  and  remon- 
strances was  repeated.  Judge  Chamberlain  and  Ray  Andrews  were  at 
this  time  in  attendance  on  the  general  assembly  to  influence  swamp 
land  legislation,  and  James  Mix  was  also  there  to  lobby  the  bill  estab- 
lishing Ford  county.  These  men  killed  Hood's  bill,  which  was  the 
end  of  the  whole  question. 

PUBLICATION    OF    THE    PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE    BOARD    OF    SUPERVISORS,   ETC. 

At  the  May  (1858)  special  term  of  the  board  of  supervisors  two 
important  measures  were  passed.  On  these  points  there  had  arisen  a 
general  demand.  One  provided  for  the  publication  of  the  current 
proceedings  of  the  supervisors,  accompanied  by  a  resolution  that  "the 
board  approve  of  the  copying  or  searching  for  the  purpose  of  publish- 
ing a  general  synopsis  of  the  transactions  of  the  county  courts  and 
boards  of  supervisors  previous  to  this  meeting  of  the  board."  This 
last  was  only  permissive  and  amounted  to  nothing  but  a  gerrymander 


HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  393 

to  rid  the  board  of  an  attempt  of  Ray  Andrews  to  create  influence  for 
himself,  besides  preventing  expense  to  the  county.  The  "Republican  " 
had  teemed  with  appeals  in  this  matter.  At  this  session  both  that  and 
the  "Press"  came  forward  with  propositions  to  publish  the  proceed- 
ings free  of  charge  if  furnished  by  the  county  clerk.  Up  to  this  time 
there  had  been  no  such  publication,  and  of  course  the  people  could 
have  little  knowledge  of  how  the  public  business  was  managed,  or  of 
the  condition  of  their  aifairs.  Ray  Andrews  had  been  the  central 
figure  in  all  the  proceedings  of  the  board.  It  is  surprising  that  he 
should  have  had  so  much  influence,  and  it  seems  paradoxical  that,  well 
known  to  be  without  principle,  and  corrupt,  his  support  of  any  measure, 
or  his  antipathy  to  it,  was  nearly  certain  to  bring  it  to  successful  issue 
in  the  one  case,  or  to  be  fatal  to  its  chances  in  the  other.  It  is  hard  to 
believe  that  those  in  whose  nostrils  his  reputation  was  inodorous 
should  not  have  firmly  opposed  him.  He  was  energetic,  insinuating, 
unscrupulous.  His  push  and  manners  made  him  agreeable  to  a 
large  class  with  whom  it  was  an  easy  matter  for  him  to  become  a 
hail-fellow  on  short  notice.  It  long  has  been,  and  likely  long  will  be, 
that  a  vigorous,  unprincipled  character,  capable  of  much  harm,  will 
inspire  a  certain  degree  of  timidity  and  passivity.  In  all  bodies,  too, 
a  few  men  of  strong  character  rule,  while  the  majority  are  either 
echoes  or  gaping  spectators. 

The  other  matter  referred  to,  which  had  also  been  well  ventilated 
in  the  "  Republican,"  was  the  repair  of  the  court-house  and  the  furnish- 
ing of  a  jail.  An  undisguised  prejudice  existed  against  Middleport, 
which  detracted  from  the  disposition  to  improve  this,  or  to  erect  new 
buildings.  While  the  walls  were  substantial  and  sufficient,  they  did 
not  inclose  enough  space,  being  but  forty  feet  square;  the  inside  of 
the  building  was  dilapidated  and  crowded  ;  there  were  no  vaults  for 
the  records,  and  they  were  liable  to  destruction  at  any  time  by  fire ; 
the  treasurer  had  no  depository  for  the  safe-keeping  of  funds,  and 
large  amounts,  when  there  were  such,  had  to  be  taken  to  Chicago  and 
placed  on  deposit.  The  old  log  jail  had  long  since  been  abandoned  as 
utterly  unfit  for  use,  and  prisoners  were  confined  at  Kankakee.  This 
was  an  unavoidable  expense,  for  the  board  had  early  devoted  its  atten- 
tion to  the  purchase  of  a  poor-farm  and  the  building  of  bridges,  which 
had  diverted  most  of  the  county  funds  from  other  objects.  A  serious 
obstacle,  besides,  was  the  lack  of  building  material  within  easy  trans- 
porting distance.  But  at  the  meeting  in  question,  A.  0.  Mantor, 
D.  B.  Gardner  and  M.  Hogle  were  appointed  to  examine  the  court- 
house and  ascertain  what  repairs  were  necessary,  and  whether  it  were 
better  to  build  offices  entirely  disconnected  from  that  building,  with 


394  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

instructions  to  report  a  plan  and  the  cost  at  the  sitting  in  June.  They 
reported  in  favor  of  an  addition  of  twenty-five  feet  to  the  east  side, 
which  would  make  the  court-house  40x65  feet,  and  also  proposed  the 
erection  of  prison  apartments  in  the  basement.  The  suggestions  of 
the  committee  were  concurred  in,  except  that  the  addition  was  made 
on  the  west  side,  and  vaults  were  constructed  in  the  court-house  instead 
of  erecting  a  separate  building  for  the  records.  Inside,  the  house  was 
entirely  remodeled  and  refitted.  The  circuit  court  room  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  upper  floor  and  all  the  offices  were  removed  below,  where 
the  cells  and  the  vaults  were  arranged. 

C.  R.  Brown,  A.  C.  Mantor  and  George  B.  Joiner  were  the  com- 
mittee appointed  by  the  board  to  supervise  the  improvement.  On  July 
19  they  let  the  contract  to  M.  and  J.  Hogle.  The  job  was  to  be  turned 
over  by  the  contractors  by  the  first  day  of  December.  The  heavy 
rains  of  the  season  interfered  with  the  progress  of  the  work,  and  de- 
layed the  completion  of  the  contract  till  the  latest  moment.  On  the 
22d  the  board  closed  its  December  session,  and  on  that  day  the  same 
building  committee  was  continued  and  authorized  to  contract  with  the 
Hogle  brothers  "  for  the  completion  of  the  jail  and  cells,  the  furniture, 
shelving,  and  the  recess  for  the  vaults,  seating  the  court  room,  and 
making  the  judge's  stand  and  desk."  The  jail  consisted  of  three  cells, 
inclosed  on  the  south  and  west  sides  with  oak  studding,  spiked  or 
bolted  together,  on  the  inside  of  which  was  another  row  of  the  same 
device  lined  on  both  sides  with  No.  16  iron;  the  north  wall  of  the 
cells  was  four  or  five  feet  from  the  brick  wall  of  the  court-house,  leav- 
a  narrow  corridor,  and  that  and  the  east  side  were  made  in  the  same 
manner,  and  lined  on  the  inside  also  with  iron.  The  floor  was  laid  of 
joists,  edgewise,  covered  with  iron  in  the  cells,  and  overlaid  with  floor- 
ing. The  ceiling,  too,  of  the  cells  was  likewise  sheeted  with  iron. 
The  whole  expense,  including  commissioners'  fees  and  cost  of  plan  and 
specifications,  was  $7,218.58.  When  this  improvement  was  completed 
the  court-house  had  cost  the  county  a  sum  estimated  from  §10,000  to 
$16,000.  The  county  offices  were  occupied  February  1, 1859.  The  vaults, 
wanting  ventilation,  turned  out  altogether  worthless,  and  the  records 
were  never  kept  in  them.  It  was  early  found  that  the  jail  would  not 
answer  expectations  concerning  its  security.  Before  the  close  of  the 
year  it  became  necessary  to  strengthen  the  cells  and  increase  the  safety 
of  the  prisoners  by  an  additional  wall  on  the  north  side,  composed  of 
heavy  plank  spiked  together  transversely ;  the  insertion  of  a  strong 
grate  window  in  the  partition  between  the  corridor  and  the  sheriff's 
office;  an  additional  door  made  of  heavy  plank  placed  inside  the  hall 
door,  to  be  well  secured  by  locks,  and  the  apartments  to  be  ceiled  over- 


HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  395 

head  with  two-inch  plank  placed  crosswise.  A  month  before  this  the 
prisoners  had  almost  effected  their  escape  by  digging  through  the  wall. 
But  these  improvements  did  not  keep  pace  with  the  enterprise  and 
industry  of  the  criminals.  Between  May  1  and  the  middle  of  Septem- 
ber, 1860,  the  jail  was  three  times  broken,  and  eleven  prisoners 
escaped.  The  board  of  supervisors  was  in  session  when  the  last  lot 
got  away,  on  the  night  of  the  llth,  and  they  promptly  comdemned  the 
jail  and  ordered  that  the  criminals  of  the  county  be  taken  to  Kankakee 
and  confined.  But  at  the  November  meeting  this  was  rescinded,  and 
orders  were  given  for  securing  the  locks  and  fastenings  of  the  doors. 
En  the  winter  of  1861-2  Miles  Williams  and  Henry  Davis  were  con- 
fined for  larceny,  and  indicted  by  the  grand  jury  at  the  February  term 
of  court.  With  an  auger  and  a  saw,  which  had  been  passed  in  at  the 
»rate,  Williams  made  a  hole  in  the  ceiling,  through  which  he  climbed 
up  into  the  grand  jury  room,  from  which  he  escaped  by  lowering  him- 
self to  the  ground  with  a  cord  made  from  his  bed  clothing.  After  this 
the  corridor  was  sheeted  with  iron  overhead.  Davis  was  tried  on  the 
20th,  and  sentenced  to  the  penitentiary  for  three  years.  On  the  25th 
:;ourt  adjourned  till  the  following  morning,  and  that  night  he  under- 
took to  break  jail.  Contrary  to  custom,  he  had  not  been  locked  in  his 
sell,  and  this  circumstance  gave  him  opportunity  to  attempt  escape. 
Not  knowing  that  the  hall  door  was  irou  lined,  he  built  a  fire  against 
it,  designing  to  burn  through  into  the  passage,  when  he  could  get  out 
by  way  of  the  window.  The  heavy  joists  beneath  the  pine  flooring 
bad  once  before  been  burned  partly  through  in  the  same  place  by  Matt 
Lynch.  They  had  now  shrunk  from  seasoning,  and  when  the  fire 
penetrated  the  overlying  boards  a  current  of  air  sucked  the  flames 
through  the  interstices,  when  they  were  at  once  beyond  the  prisoner's 
control,  and  the  dry  material  was  swiftly  lapped  up  by  the  devouring 
slement.  The  fire  was  discovered  about  2  o'clock  in  the  morning. 
Some  person  broke  in  the  window  in  the  west  end  of  the  jail,  but  the 
lames  poured  out  so  that  no  entrance  could  be  made.  There  was 
barely  time  to  remove  the  records,  which  were  in  the  east  end,  and 
the  building  was  in  ruins.  Davis'  body  was  found  on  the  floor  of  his 
sell  lying  upon  the  breast  with  the  head  and  limbs  totally  consumed. 
His  mattress,  burned  off  at  both  ends,  covered  the  charred  trunk.  The 
3ourt-house  was  insured  in  the  Hartford  and  Plxunix  Insurance  Com- 
panies. 

COUNTY    SEAT    CONTEST. 

The  rivalry  between  the  old  and  new  towns  now  waxed  hot.  The 
friends  of  South  Middleport  wanted  the  court-house  at  that  place,  and 
though  the  old  town  people  would  not  acknowledge  it,  and  made  a 


396  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

gallant  fight,  it  was  a  foregone  conclusion  that  a  removal  must  take 
place ;  for  wherever  the  thoroughfares  of  travel  thread,  the  public  con- 
venience requires  the  establishment  of  every  accommodation,  and  never 
waits  long  to  have  the  need  supplied.  The  people  of  the  old  town  at 
first  maintained  that  the  seat  of  justice  had  been  permanently  located 
there,  and  that  the  county  had  accepted  100  town  lots  as  a  considera- 
tion, and  that  in  equity  they  were  entitled  to  its  continuance  in  that 
place.  Its  removal  would  entail  on  property-holders  a  loss  which  men 
of  little  means  could  ill  afford,  and  which  none  ought  to  be  compelled 
to  suffer.  The  hardship  was  apparent ;  but  the  location  of  the  railroad 
had  made  it  inevitable  that  it  should  be  borne;  for  no  voting  popula- 
tion were  ever  known  to  have  any  scruples  on  such  a  point.  Discov- 
ering at  last  that  it  would  be  next  to  impossible  to  prevent  a  removal, 
they  then  strove  earnestly  for  a  compromise  location,  which  had  strong 
supporters,  Judge  Chamberlain  being  of  the  number.  The  contest  is 
to  be  admired  for  the  ingenuity,  energy  and  game  spirit  displayed  by 
the  two  factions,  but  a  too  close  view  of  all  the  details  might  detract 
measurably  from  any  hastily  conceived  admiration  ;  for  this  reason,  and 
want  of  time  and  space,  we  shall  only  briefly  outline  it,  believing  that 
there  is  always  much  that  should  be  forgotten,  as  well  as  much  that 
ought  to  be  preserved. 

At  the  March  term  of  the  board  of  supervisors,  held  on  the  4th, 
Charles  H.  Wood,  Joseph  Leonard  and  John  Paul  were  appointed  to 
settle  with  the  insurance  companies,  and  were  given  full  power  of 
adjustment,  with  authority  to  receive  the  funds  and  receipt  for  the 
same.  This  committee  procured  an  assessment  of  the  damages  to 
the  building  by  three  disinterested  appraisers,  who  reported  it  to  be 
$4,385.84 ;  but  as  other  parties  had  made  proposals  to  rebuild  for  a 
less  sum,  the  companies  refused  to  pay  that  amount.  They  proposed 
to  the  committee  to  pay  $4,000,  which  was  accepted,  and  drafts  were 
promptly  drawn  in  favor  of  the  county.  The  committee  reported  their 
doings  at  the  May  term,  and  were  directed  to  deposit  the  money  safely 
in  Chicago,  which  they  did  as  follows:  $2,000  in  the  bank  of  Solo- 
mon Sturgis  <fe  Son,  bearing  four  per  cent  interest,  and  $2,000  in  the 
bank  of  the  Western  Marine  and  Fire  Insurance  Company,  drawing 
six  per  cent.  A  resolution  offered  by  Daniel  Fry,  and  adopted  by  a 
vote  of  8  to  7,  proposed  "that  a  court-house  be  built  within  the  incor- 
porate limits  of  Middleport,  as  near  the  railroad  as  a  suitable  location 
can  be  obtained ;  provided  that  land  sufficient  for  all  necessary  county 
buildings  be  furnished  the  county  free  of  charge,  and  that  a  committee 
be  appointed  to  examine  locations,  and  report  to  the  board  the  most 
eligible  site  at  the  earliest  moment."  The  chair  appointed  Kendall 


HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  397 

Shankland,  John  Paul  and  Daniel  Fry.  The  record  shows  no  report, 
but  the  board  in  committee  of  the  whole  selected  lots  9,  10,  11  and  12 
in  block  2  in  South  Middleport,  and  recommended  that  the  court- 
house be  permanently  located  on  them.  The  report  was  adopted,  and 
$8,000  appropriated,  in  addition  to  the  $4,000  of  insurance  money,  for 
the  purpose  of  erecting  a  court-house  on  the  lots  designated,  on  condi- 
tion that  they,  together  with  "twelve  other  lots  in  South  Middleport 
of  an  average  value  of  unsold  lots  in  said  South  Middleport,  should  be 
conveyed  to  the  county  by  good  and  sufficient  deed,  in  consideration 
of  the  permanent  location  of  said  court-house ;  and  provided,  also,  that 
the  citizens  should  donate  the  further  sum  of  $1,000,  to  be  paid  in 
money  on  the  completion  of  the  same."  Daniel  Fry,  John  Paul  and 
Joseph  Leonard  were  appointed  to  procure  a  deed  to  the  lots,  and 
besides,  to  procure  plans  and  specifications,  and  to  receive  bids  for 
building  the  court-house.  A  proposition  was  then  submitted  by  James 
Fletcher,  attorney  for  the  citizens  of  Middleport,  to  rebuild  the  court- 
house on  the  old  site,  to  be  in  all  respects  like  the  one  burned,  except 
the  jail,  provided  the  supervisors  would  let  them  have  the  insurance 
money,  $1,000,  in  county  orders,  and  the  old  material  to  be  found  in 
the  ruins.  They  offered  to  erect  the  house  during  the  year,  and  to 
enter  immediately  into  contract  and  bond,  with  good  security,  to  per- 
form their  engagement.  Fry  moved  to  adopt,  which  was  lost  by  the 
following  vote:  Ayes  —  D.  Fry,  J.  L.  Martin,  E.  S.  Hamilton,  Alvin 
Harroun,  Thomas  Stump,  —  5.  Nays  —  K.  Shankland,  J.  H.  Jones, 
E.  K.  Farmer,  P.  Gendron,  C.  K.  Wood,  Isaac  Beyea,  Joseph  Leonard, 
A.  G.  Willard. — 8.  John  Paul  and  W.  H.  Shotwell  were  absent. 

The  Wilson  House  was  rented  at  $200  per  annum,  to  be  used  for 
offices  and  storing  the  records.  The  old  school-house  in  Middleport, 
owned  by  William  Frees,  was  leased  for  terms  of  the  circuit  court,  and 
was  declared  to  be  the  court-house  of  Iroquois  county  during  the  same. 
The  original  plat  of  Middleport  was  enlarged  May  9,  1859,  and  two  of 
the  lots  (9  and  10)  selected  by  the  board  for  a  court-house  site  lay 
within  that  corporation.  As  soon  as  it  was. known  what  action  had 
been  taken,  the  president  and  trustees  passed  an  ordinance,  on  May  6, 
reducing  the  corporate  limits  to  the  original  boundaries,  leaving  the 
new  site  wholly  without  the  town  of  Middleport,  where  the  seat  of 
justice  was  located  by  the  commissioners  in  1839.  It  had  been  located 
there  in  pursuance  of  law,  and  the  constitution  provided  that  "no 
county  seat  should  be  removed  until  the  point  to  which  it  is  proposed 
to  be  removed  shall  be  fixed  by  law,  and  a  majority  of  the  voters  of 
the  county  shall  have  voted  in  favor  of  its  removal  to  such  point." 
An  injunction  was  sued  out  to  restrain  the  board  from  completing  the 


398  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

proposed  removal  and  erecting  a  court-house,  or  spending  any  funds  of 
the  county  for  that  purpose  on  the  lots  which  they  had  selected.  McNeill, 
Chamberlain,  Fletcher  and  Joiner  were  solicitors  for  the  complainants; 
and  Randall,  Roff,  Clark  and  Walser  for  the  defendants.     This  case 
was  heard  at  the  June  term,  but  no  decree  was  entered  on  the  records 
of  the  court,  and  it  is  a  reasonable  inference  that  the  injunction  was 
sustained.     This  issue  was  made  a  prominent  feature  of  the  local  cam- 
paign of  that  year.     There  were  two  tickets  in  the  field  and  three 
candidates  for  representative :  the  republican  ticket,  on  which  Addison 
Goodell  was  the  nominee  for  the  legislature ;  and  the  people's  ticket, 
so-called,  selected  from  both  political  parties  somehow  without  a  con- 
vention, on  which  James  Fletcher,  a  war  democrat,  was  candidate  for 
the  general  assembly.    Charles  Sherman  was  announced  just  before  the 
election   as  a  democratic  candidate  for  representative,  not  with  the 
hope  of  being  elected,  but  to  draw  oif  votes  from  Fletcher  and  secure 
the  success  of  Goodell  —  all  in  the  interest  of  the  removal.     Fletcher 
was  the  champion  of  the  mediate  locality.     Goodell,  in  a  published 
card,  thus  defined  his  position  :  "  It  is  my  opinion  that  a  large  number 
of  citizens  desire  the  privilege  of  testing  the  wishes  of  the  voters  of 
the  county  as  to  whether  the  county  seat  shall  remain  where  it  is  or  be 
removed  to  the  village  of  South  Middleport;  and  should  I  be  elected 
a  member  of  the  state  legislature,  I  will  use  my  influence  to  secure 
the  passage  of  a  bill  enabling  the  voters  of  the  county  to  change  the 
county  seat  from  Middleport  proper  to  the  village  of  South  Middle- 
port."     Goodell  was  elected.     A  delegation  of  the  principal  citizens, 
both  from  the  old  town  and  the  new,  attended  the  legislature  at  its 
sitting  in  the  winter  of  1862-3,  James  Fletcher,  C.  F.  McNeill   and 
Judge  Chamberlain  for  the  former  and  Micajah  Stanley,  A.  B.  Roff, 
Dr.  William  Fowler  and  Ray  W.  Andrews  for  the  latter.     Each  went 
before  the  senate  committee  on  counties  with  a  bill  embodying  their 
respective  aims.    That  urged  by  the  first  party  proposed  to  make  all  of 
section  32  and  that  part  of  section  31  east  of  the  river  the  seat  of  jus- 
tice.    Commissioners  friendly  to  the  old  town  were  named.     If  a  re- 
moval was  voted,  they  were  to  select  a  site  about  half  way  between 
the  two  places,  taking  into  consideration  the  interest  of  the  two  towns, 
its  nearness  to  the  railroad,  and   the  consequent  convenience  to  the 
people  of  the  county.     The  second  party  proposed  to  the  committee, 
and  to  Fletcher  and  McNeill,  who  were  present,  to  withdraw  their  own 
bill  and  accept  the  one  described,  if  they  would  amend  it  so  that  either 
the  commissioners  to  locate  the  site  for  the  county  buildings  should  be 
elected  by  the  people,  or  that  the  supervisors  to  be  elected  in  the  fol- 
lowing April  should  be  authorized  to  make  the  selection ;  in  either 


HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  399 

case  the  choice  to  lie  between  South  Middleport  and  the  point  be- 
tween the  towns.  This  proposition  was  not  accepted  by  Fletcher  and 
McNeill.  The  intermediate  location  insisted  on  by  the  old  town  rep- 
resentatives was  on  the  N.E.  £  of  S.W.  £  Sec.  32,  close  by  the  residence 
of  S.  G.  Bovie. 

The  bill,  which  was  approved  February  11,  was  drafted  by  A.  B. 
Roff,  and  declared  that  if  a  majority  of  all  the  votes  cast  should  be 
"for  removal,  then  the  said  town  of  South  Middleport  (consisting  of 
South  Middleport  and  Stanley's  addition  thereto)  shall  be  and  remain 
the  permanent  seat  of  justice  of  said  county."  March  17  was  fixed  for 
the  election.  This  satisfied  both  sides;  the  one  because  they  were  not 
aware  of  the  fatal  defect  in  it,  and  the  other  because  they  were  aware 
of  it,  and  could  secure  no  better  advantage  on  which  to  hang  their 
hopes, — and  nothing  but  tire  blunder  of  the  other  party  had  given  them 
this.  The  legislature  adjourned  until  June,  and  the  lobbyists  came 
home  to  engage  in  the  short  but  heated  canvass  which  was  to  follow. 
The  act  did  not  require  a  donation  of  the  court-house  site  if  the  vote 
should  be  for  removal,  an  unusual  omission  in  such  a  case.  An  attempt 
to  make  capital  out  of  this  led  Micajah  and  Rebecca  Stanley  to  give  to 
the  county  a  bond  of  $1,000,  binding  themselves  to  convey  "four  full- 
sized  lots  or  their  equivalent  in  quantity  of  selected  land  not  laid  off  in 
lots,"  provided  the  county  seat  should  be  relocated  at  South  Middleport. 
This  campaign  document  was  offset  by  another  of  similar  kind  signed 
by  G.  B.  Joiner,  C.  R.  Brown,  E.  Bowman,  M.  V.  B.  Harwood,  W.  S. 
Kay,  Mary  A.  Troup,  William  Frees,  "W.  F.  Keady,  J.  L.  Horton, 
Lewis  Troup,  C.  F.  McNeill  and  George  King,  binding  themselves  to 
rebuild  the  court-house  in  the  old  town  in  every  respect  as  good  as  the 
one  destroyed,  upon  payment  to  them  of  the  insurance  money  collected, 
provided  that  the  county  seat  should  be  permitted  to  remain.  Then 
Stanley  renewed  his  obligation,  increasing  the  donation  to  eight  lots. 
As  the  discussion  advanced,  and  quibbles  were  raised  and  flaws  pro- 
fessed to  be  found,  both  parties  were  driven  to  amend  their  bonds,  to 
keep  even  before  the  voting  public.  Twenty-eight  of  the  principal 
citizens  of  Middleport  filed  another  bond,  binding  themselves  to  sub- 
scribe for  $5,000  of  stock  in  the  Kankakee  and  Iroquois  River  Slack- 
water  Navigation  Company.  The  last  periodical  movement  in  this 
matter  had  occurred  only  the  summer  before.  The  advantages  of  such 
improvement  to  the  county  had  always  been  given  roseate  colors,  and 
it  was  now  regarded  as  only  necessary  to  incur  an  obligation  to  aid 
this  enterprise  to  be  a  piece  of  effective  campaign  capital,  though  it  is 
not  apparent  what  benefit  could  have  been  derived  from  this  work  by 
the  general  public,  in  which  the  new  town  would  not  have  been  equally 


400  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

interested.  The  contest,  as  waged  by  the  two  places,  was  evidently 
enough  a  game  of  blntf.  The  new  town  followed  with  a  bond  also  to 
aid  the  same  project  with  a  like  subscription.  It  was  charged  that  by 
a  removal  the  county  would  become  liable  for  damages,  as  certain  par- 
ties had  paid  for  the  locating  of  the  seat  of  justice  at  Middleport  with 
town  lots,  and  to  prevent  this  from  influencing  taxpayers  a  bond  was 
made  by  ten  citizens  of  the  new  town  to  guarantee  and  indemnify  the 
county  against  all  damages  on  this  account,  resulting  from  the  transfer. 
Eight  of  the  leading  townsmen  also  executed  a  bond,  binding  them- 
selves in  the  sum  of  $20,000  to  erect  and  finish  the  court-house  in 
every  respect  as  good  as  the  old  one,  and  in  addition,  to  pay  the  county 
$500  on  the  completion  of  the  same,  with  which  to  furnish  it,  and  thus 
save  the  people,  as  they  said,  from  being  taxed  for  this  purpose,  pro- 
vided that  the  county  seat  should  be  removed  to  South  Middleport, 
and  the  obligors  should  be  permitted  to  use  the  $4,000  of  insurance 
money.  Middleport  having  filed  an  agreement  to  pay  the  county 
$2,000  in  case  the  site  should,  remain  and  the  county  build  the  court- 
house, the  new  town  filed  another  bond,  agreeing  to  pay  a  like  sum  if, 
on  removal  to  South  Middleport,  that  place  should  also  be  released 
from  its  obligation  to  erect  it.  Numerous  points  were  raised,  and 
other  agreements  of  less  importance  made.  Every  electioneering  de- 
vice was  brought  into  requisition.  Statements  and  affidavits  were  ban- 
died about,  and  forfeits  freely  offered ;  the  validity  of  the  bonds  was 
denied  by  the  rival  interests,  and  the  old  town,  to  disprove  the  charge 
against  theirs,  submitted  the  one  obligating  them  to  build  the  court- 
house to  Judge  Drummond,  of  the  United  States  district  court,  and  to 
Judge  Manierre,  of  the  Cook  county  circuit  court,  for  their  opinion, 
both  of  whom  pronounced  them  good  and  sufficient.  Circulars  and 
addresses  were  issued  broadcast,  and  all  the  trash  which  could  be  man- 
ufactured in  connection  with  this  subject  was  made  to  cumber  the  can- 
vass. It  is  but  just  to  observe  that  the  new  town  discussed  the  main 
issue  and  the  cognate  questions  with  superior  candor  and  sincerity. 
The  old  town,  conscious  of  its  feebler  prospects,  strove  with  the  spirit 
of  desperation.  As  the  question  was  to  come  before  the  people,  stump 
orators  from  both  places  traversed  the  county  on  foot  and  on  horseback, 
wading  through  mud  and  swamps  and  sloughs,  holding  forth  at  every 
school-house  where  a  knot  of  listeners  could  be  collected,  with  as  much 
earnestness  and  vehemence  as  if  a  mighty  fate  was  suspended  over  the 
people,  and  would  be  decided  by  the  coming  verdict  at  the  polls.  If 
it  seem  strange  that  the  old  town  people  should  make  such  prodigious 
exertions  when  they  knew  that  the  site  could  not  be  relocated  under  an 
unconstitutional  law,  it  is  explained  by  this  fact,  that  this  canvass  would 


HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY.  401 

be  the  real  battle,  without  regard  to  the  imperfections  of  the  law ;  for 
if  the  result  should  be  against  them,  the  record  of  the  prevailing 
wishes  of  the  county  would  give  their  opponents  a  prestige  which 
would  certainly  be  fatal  to  their  future  prospects.  So  every  energy 
and  resource  which  one  party  brought  to  their  aid  spurred  the  other  to. 
redouble  their  vigor.  The  last  echo  of  the  conflict  came  from  the  new 
town  in  a  bond,  which  in  gaming  parlance,  as  well  as  in  the  language 
of  the  agreement  itself,  was  "a  hundred  dollars  better."  We  quote  it 
almost  entire,  as  a  curiosity  and  reminiscence  of  this  struggle.  The 
obligors,  Charles  Sherman,  Micajah  Stanley,  A.  Dalton,  A.  B.  Roff,  C. 
Secrest,  William  Fowler,  John  Fagan  and  A.  Munson,  "  propose  and 
agree,  inasmuch  as  George  B.  Joiner  and  other  citizens  of  the  town  of 
Middleport  have  filed  their  agreement  to  pay  the  county  of  Iroquois 
$2,000  toward  building  the  court-house  in  case  it  remains  at  Middle- 
port,  and  inasmuch  as  the  undersigned  have  filed  their  agreement  to 
pay  the  county  of  Iroquois  $2,000  toward  building  the  court-house  in 
South  Middleport  or  Stanley's  addition  thereto,  and  as  we  understand 
said  parties  intend  to  make  an  additional  offer  of  several  hundred 
dollars  just  on  the  eve  of  the  election, -to  prevent  us  having  the  oppor- 
tunity to  compete  with  them,  therefore  we  propose  and  agree  to  pay 
to  the  county  of  Iroquois  a  sum  of  money  (in  addition  to  the  $2,000 
filed  by  us)  equal  to  whatever  sum  may  be  pledged  and  secured  by 
good  and  responsible  parties  and  persons,  and  filed  by  said  parties  or 
any  person  or  persons  on  behalf  of  the  town  of  Middleport  in  the  Iro- 
quois county  court  before  March  17,  1863,  in  addition  to  the  $2,000 
already  pledged  by  them.  And  we  do  hereby  agree  and  bind  ourselves 
to  do,  pay  and  perform  whatever  said  parties  may  or  will  become  obli- 
gated to  do,  pay  or  perform  by  virtue  of  any  bonds,  notes,  agreements 
or  other  instruments  that  may  be  filed  in  the  Iroquois  county  court  be- 
fore the  day  of  the  election,  to  wit,  March  17,  1863,  by  them,  for  the 
purpose  of  building  a  court-house  and  saving  the  people  from  taxation, 
and  we  agree  to  be  bound  by  the  same  obligation  they  may  file,  save 
and  except  that  ours  shall  be  payable  on  condition  that  the  county  seat 
be  removed  to  South  Middleport  or  Stanley's  addition  thereto,  by  vote 
of  the  people,  on  March  17,  1863.  And  we  further  agree  to  pay  to  the 
county  of  Iroquois,  on  the  same  conditions  of  the  above  agreement, 
the  sum  of  $100  over  and  above,  and  in  addition  to  all  such  sum  or 
sums  of  money  that  we  have  agreed  to  pay,  and  making  the  amount 
$100  better  to  the  county  than  the  said  parties  of  and  on  behalf  of 
Middleport  have  or  may  be  obligated  to  pay  before  March  17,  1863." 
The  election  took  place  at  the  stated  time.  The  "  South  Middle- 
port  ticket  —  for  removal,"  received  1,138  votes  ;  and  the  "  Old  Town 
26 


402  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

ticket  —  against  removal,"  810.  The  immediate  impression  was  that 
the  matter  was  now  settled,  and  that  nothing  could  hinder  the  board 
of  supervisors  from  proceeding  with  the  erection  of  the  public  build- 
ings. A  call  for  a  meeting  was  promptly  made  by  one-third  of  the 
members,  and  on  the  23d  the  board  assembled  "  for  the  purpose  of 
selecting  a  site  for  the  court-house  in  the  town  of  South  Middleport, 
in  pursuance  of  a  special  law  passed  by  the  legislature  entitled  '  an  act 
to  enable  the  people  of  Iroquois  county  to  vote  for  the  removal  of  the 
county  seat,'  approved  February  11,  1863,  and  in  accordance  with  a 
vote  of  the  people  had  on  March  17,  1863."  Having  resolved  into 
committee  of  the  whole,  the  board  adjourned  to  make  the  selection. 
They  did  not  reassemble  till  the  next  morning,  when  their  only  pro- 
ceeding, except  to  adjourn  again,  was  an  order  fixing  1  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  as  the  time  at  which  they  would  have  read  the  injunction 
filed  in  the  circuit  court  against  the  board  of  supervisors,  the  county 
and  circuit  clerks,  and  the  treasurer.  This  injunction  was  sued  out 
the  day  before  by  W.  F.  Keady,  C.  B.  Barnes  and  Lewis  Troup.  In 
the  bill,  among  other  things  set  forth,  it  was  represented  that  the  act 
of  February  11  was  unconstitutional,  for  the  reason  that  "  the  said  act 
was  not  read  in  either  the  senate  or  house  of  representatives  composing 
the  general  assembly,  on  three  different  days,  as  is  required  by  the 
constitution  of  the  state,  there  being  no  emergency  declared  in  either 
house.  Under  the  constitution,  no  public  act  could  take  effect  until 
the  expiration  of  sixty  days  from  the  end  of  the  session  at  which  the 
same  had  been  passed,  unless,  in  case  of  emergency,  the  general  assem- 
bly should  otherwise  direct.  Consequently,  this  act  had  not  become  a 
law  at  the  date  of  the  election.  The  legislature  had  adjourned  till 
June.  Supervisor  Fry  submitted  resolutions,  the  preamble  to  which 
affirmed  that  "  whereas  the  people  of  Iroquois  county  have  decided  by 
their  votes,  by  320  majority,  that  the  county  seat  of  said  county  shall 
be  removed  to  South  Middleport ;  and  whereas,  there  is  an  injunction 
pending  in  the  circuit  court  of  said  county  by  which  it  is  sought  to  set 
aside  the  expressed  will  of  the  people;  and  should  said  injunction  not 
be  tried  before  the  June  term,  it  will  be  too  late  to  apply  to  the  legis- 
lature (in  case  that  should  be  necessary)  for  two  years  to  come,  there- 
fore "  it  was  resolved  to  petition  Judge  Charles  E.  Starr,  of  the  twen- 
tieth judicial  circuit,  to  hold  a  special  term  of  court  to  try  the  injunction, 
and  thus  enable  the  people  to  apply  to  the  general  assembly  in  June 
for  further  legislation,  if  found  to  be  necessary.  A  committee  was 
appointed  to  employ  good  counsel  for  the  county.  The  injunction 
was  not  tried  until  the  November  term,  when  it  was  made  perpetual. 
The  case  went  to  the  supreme  court  on  appeal,  and  the  law  was  de- 


HISTORY   OF   IEOQUOIS   COUNTY.  403 

clared  unconstitutional.  All  this  time  that  the  old  town  was  waging 
a  hopeless  contest  the  county  was  at  growing  inconvenience,  and  the 
papers  and  records  exposed  to  constant  risk,  for  want  of  suitable  build- 
ings. There  was  no  disposition  shown  by  the  supervisors  to  rebuild 
on  the  original  site,  and  much  less  since  the  voice  of  the  county  had 
pronounced  for  removal.  So  an  enforced  delay  until  the  assembling  of 
the  legislature  in  1864-5  succeeded.  At  that  session  both  factions, 
were  again  promptly  represented  by  lobbyists,  the  old  town  sending; 
this  time  but  one  person — R.  K.  Mclntyre.  Some  of  the  chief  defend- 
ers of  the  place,  who  had  been  furnishing  the  brains  in  the  controversy^ 
having  now  acquired  some  interest  in  Watseka  (the  name  had  been 
changed  from  South  Middleport,  September  17,  1863),  had  lapsed  into- 
inactivity.  An  act.  which  was  approved  and  became  a  law  February 
6,  1865,  was  obtained,  designating  Watseka  "  as  laid  out  and  platted 
on  the  entire  southeast  quarter  of  section  32  *  *  as  the  point 

to  which  the  county  seat  of  said  county  may  be  removed  from  the 
town  of  Middleport."  The  first  Tuesday  in  April  (4th),  1865.  was 
fixed  for  the  election,  and  in  the  event  that  the  county  seat  should  be 
established  at  Watseka,  the  board  of  supervisors  were  constituted  com- 
missioners to  select  a  site  for  the  erection  of  public  buildings ;  and  it 
was  made  their  duty  to  remove  the  records  and  offices  of  the  county 
within  ten  days  after  the  election.  At  the  appointed  time  the  issue 
was  decided  in  favor  of  removal  by  a  majority  of  831  votes.  The 
supervisors  convened  at  the  county  clerk's  office  on  Monday,  the  10th, 
and  a  committee  of  their  number,  consisting  of  Franklin  Blades,  C.  F. 
McNeill  and  Kendall  Shankland,  were  appointed  to  superintend  the 
removal  of  the  county  offices.  The  board  then  adjourned,  "  to  meet 
at  9  o'clock  to-morrow,  in  the  lower  room  of  the  building  occupied  as 
a  school-house,  situate  on  lot  No.  11,  in  block  No.  20,  in  the  town  of 
Watseka."  This  building  was  declared  to  be  the  court-house  of  Iro- 
quois  county,  and  the  first  floor  was  used  for  the  county  clerk's  and 
treasurer's  offices,  and  the  county  court  and  supervisors'  room.  The 
office  procured  for  the  circuit  clerk  was  on  lot  6,  block  27.  This  officer 
moved  perhaps  not  fewer  than  half  a  dozen  times. 

BUILDING    OF    THE    PRESENT    COURT-HOUSE. 

At  the  May  meeting,  begun  on  the  2d,  C.  F.  McNeill,  A.  S.  Palmer 
and  K.  Shankland,  previously  appointed  to  receive  and  examine  the 
different  propositions  for  the  location  of  a  public  square,  reported,, 
recommending  lots  4  to  13,  inclusive,  in  block  29,  which  were  offered 
to  be  partly  donated  and  partly  sold,  about  $1,600  being  demanded  for- 
them.  The  recommendation  of  the  committee  was  adopted  and  war- 


404  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

ranty  deeds  procured.  Lots  4  and  13  on  the  east  side  of  this  purchase 
were  set  off  for  a  public  street  named  Lincoln,  and  the  remainder  were 
declared  to  be  the  permanent  public  square  of  the  county  seat  upon 
which  to  erect  the  court-house  and  offices.  Micajah  Stanley  donated 
and  conveyed  to  the  county  eight  lots,  in  pursuance  of  a  prior  agree- 
ment. Watseka  had  given  bond  to  erect  temporary  county  offices  in 
case  of  removal.  A  proposition  was  now  received  from  citizens  of  the 
town  to  exchange  for  that  obligation  a  subscription  of  $2,500,  on  con- 
dition that  it  be  applied  to  the  immediate  construction  of  a  permanent 
court-house.  This  was  accepted,  and  a  written  agreement,  made 
May  26,  1865,  with  the  provision  that  one-half  be  paid  when  the  brick 
for  the  edifice  should  all  be  burned;  and  the  giving  of  this  sum  was 
declared  to  be  a  release  from  all  other  obligations  to  furnish  temporary 
buildings  for  the  use  of  the  county.  Franklin  Blades,  C.  F.  MaNeill 
and  A.  S.  Palmer  were  appointed  a  building  committee,  and  authorized 
to  contract  for  the  burning  of  400,000  brick;  to  advertise  for  and  re- 
ceive sealed  proposals  to  build  a  court-house  either  of  stone  or  of  brick, 
to  be  50x70  feet:  the  lower  story  twelve  and  the  upper  twenty  feet 
high,  with  suitable  rooms  for  the  circuit  and  county  courts  and  board 
of  supervisors,  the  circuit  and  county  clerks  and  treasurer;  also 
grand  and  petit-jury  rooms,  and  two  fire-proof  vaults.  The  building 
was  required  to  be  completed  and  ready  for  use  by  November  1,  1866. 
The  committee  was  further  authorized  to  adopt  all  the  details  of  the 
plan  and  to  let  the  contract.  These  and  other  instructions  were  given 
at  different  meetings  of  the  board  as  occasion  demanded.  They  were 
directed  to  offer  in  payment  one  half  of  the  contract  price  on  March  1, 
1866,  and  the  other  on  March  1,  1867,  with  the  privilege,  if  they 
found  it  expedient  to  use  county  orders,  to  require  the  clerk  to  issue 
the  whole  or  any  part  of  them.  At  the  August  meeting  it  was  re- 
solved that  the  whole  cost  of  the  "  court-house  and  jail "  should  not 
exceed  $25,000,  and  subsequently  the  building  committee  were  in- 
structed to  sell  "  the  town  lots  lately  donated  to  the  county  by  the 
citizens  of  Watseka."  C.  B.  Leach,  architect,  furnished  plan  and 
specifications,  for  which  the  board  allowed  him  $300.  On  August  23 
the  committee  opened  the  sealed  bids  in  the  presence  of  the  county 
clerk  and  president  of  the  board.  Strother  Moore,  of  Lafayette,  Indi- 
ana, was  the  lowest  bidder  for  the  contract,  which  was  awarded  to  him 
for  $22,700.  Charles  O.  Gorman,  of  Peoria,  having  made  a  bid  to  Moore 
for  a  portion  of  the  building,  upon  request,  it  was  agreed  to  make  the 
contract  with  both  of  them.  On  November  24,  when  the  board  were 
again  in  session,  the  contract  and  bond  not  having  been  signed  by  the 
contractors,  the  committee  were  instructed  to  notify  Moore  to  attend 


HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  405 

to  that  by  January  1,  at  the  expiration  of  which  time,  if  that  should 
not  be  done,  the  committee  would  relet  the  contract.  They  were 
furthermore  authorized  to  enlarge  the  contract  so  as  to  include  a  base- 
ment and  jail  under  the  court-house,  the  total  cost  of  the  structure  not 
to  exceed  $28,000. 

On  January  2,  1866,  the  contract  was  relet  to  Amzi  C.  Mantor,  of 
Iroquois  county,  who  was  to  furnish  all  the  materials  and  labor  neces- 
sary, and  to  have  the  building  completed  by  November  1,  "  except  the 
seating  and  railing  and  judge's  desk  within  the  circuit  court  room,  and 
the  inside  painting  of  the  entire  building,  and  that  said  court-house 
and  jail  should  be  entirely  completed  on  or  before  February  1,  1867." 
He  was  to  receive  $28,000  in  installments,  as  follows  :  $10,000  March  1, 
$4,000  June  1, 1866  ;  and  $14,000  March  1,  1867.  In  lieu  of  the  last 
payment  he  was  to  take,  at  his  option,  county  orders  as  the  work  pro- 
gressed, but  for  no  greater  amount  than  the  value  of  the  labor  and 
materials  furnished,  the  committee  to  determine  the  amount.  Mantor 
gave  bond,  with  W.  B.  Fleager,  Benjamin  Fry,  Jesse  Eastburn,  C. 
Secrest,  Charles  Sherman,  Micajah  Stanley  and  Putnam  Gaffield  as 
sureties.  In  May,  a  new  board  having  assembled,  E.  C.  Hall,  of 
Onarga,  was  appointed  on  the  building  committee  in  place  of  A.  S. 
Palmer,  not  returned  this  year.  The  edifice  wras  completed,  and  full 
settlement  made  agreeably  to  the  contract,  and  at  the  May  meeting  in 
1867  the  board  tendered  Mr.  Mantor  their  cordial  thanks  for  the 
fidelity  with  which  he  had  "  in  every  respect  and  under  all  circum- 
stances "  fulfilled  his  engagements.  A  portion  of  the  basement  was 
fitted  and  furnished  by  the  committee  for  apartments  to  be  occupied 
by  the  jailor's  family. 

In  May,  1867,  $1,546.25  had  been  paid  by  the  citizens  of  Watseka 
on  their  individual  subscription,  leaving  an  unpaid  balance  of  $953.75. 
At  this  time  J.  A.  Koplin,  A.  S.  Palmer  and  J.  W.  Williams  were 
appointed  to  ascertain  if  it  could  be  collected;  and  none  of  it  having 
been  paid,  at  the  annual  meeting  in  September  the  list  was  placed  in 
the  hands  of  a  committee,  consisting  of  A.  G.  "Willard,  K.  Shankland 
and  Thomas  Stump,  with  instructions  to  enforce  the  collection  of  the 
same.  A  year  later  A.  Honeywell  and  A.  J.  Alexander  were  added 
to  the  committee,  and  at  the  May  term,  1869,  this  special  committee 
was  directed  to  bring  immediate  suit,  in  their  discretion,  on  any  unpaid 
amounts.  A  report,  submitted  by  Blades  &  Kay,  collection  attorneys, 
to  the  December  meeting  in  1871,  shows  only  a  very  small  portion 
collected.  Here  the  matter  rests. 


406  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

BURNING    OF   THE    COUNTY    OFFICES   AND    PARTIAL    LOSS    OF    RECORDS. 

At  two  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  October  16,  1866,  the  buildings 
occupied  for  county  offices  were  destroyed  by  fire.  The  school-house 
already  mentioned  as  situated  on  lot  11,  block  20  (where  Bishop's 
furniture  store  now  stands),  was  occupied  below  by  the  county  judge, 
county  clerk  and  county  treasurer,  as  previously  described,  and  the 
upper  story  was  used  for  the  public  school.  The  fire,  supposed  to  be 
incendiary,  originated  in  this  building,  and  the  wind  blowing  strongly 
from  the  northeast  at  the  time,  communicated  the  flames  to  the 
wooden  structure  adjoining  on  the  west,  in  which  the  circuit  clerk's 
office  was  then  situated.  Regarding  the  loss  of  books  and  records  and 
the  damage  to  them,  Judge  MdSTeill  wrote,  in  answer  to  the  request 
of  the  editor  of  the  "Republican":  "All  the  following  records  were 
preserved  complete :  All  the  books  and  papers  pertaining  to  the  office 
of  the  clerk  of  the  circuit  court,  and  also  the  following  records  belong- 
ing to  the  county  clerk's  office,  to  wit,  the  land  book,  the  swamp  land 
record,  the  probate  claim  dockets,  running  back  to  January  4,  1859 ; 
the  executors,  administrators  and  guardians'  records  since  1860,  and 
the  railroad  tax  book.  In  addition  to  the  above,  most  of  the  impor- 
tant records  were  dug  out  of  the  fire,  only  partly  burned,  and  it  is 
hoped  that  we  shall  be  able  to  decipher  most  of  the  important  matters 
belonging  to  the  county  court.  By  the  assistance  of  those  interested 
in  the  estates,  and  perhaps  some  necessary  legislation,  the  county  court 
will  be  able  to  straighten  up  most  all  of  the  important  matters  of  that 
court.  All  executors,  administrators  and  guardians  will  be  required  to 
file  new  bonds,  and  render  just  accounts  of  all  estate  matters  in  their 
hands,  as  soon  as  practicable.  Perhaps  the  most  serious  loss  of  the 
whole  is  the  destruction  of  the  will  records,  as  many  of  our  land  titles 
are  derived  from  that  source.  If  those  interested  take  immediate 
steps,  by  proper  legal  proceedings,  to  quiet  their  titles  while  the  neces- 
sary evidences  to  do  so  are  attainable,  most  of  this  evil  may  be  avoided. 
.  .  .  The  orders  and  decrees  of  the  county  court  in  all  administrators' 
and  executors'  sales  of  real  estate  are  preserved  in  full  in  the  deeds 
made  on  such  sales."  Fortunately,  in  January,  1865,  the  board  of 
supervisors  had  appropriated  $300  to  assist  Judge  McXeill  in  making 
an  abstract  of  the  land  titles  in  the  county.  As  the  abstract  was  to  be 
used  by  the  judge  in  his  private  business,  this  occasioned  some  com- 
plaint ;  but  this  fire  proved  the  foresight  of  the  board,  and  justified 
their  action.  In  addition  to  those  mentioned  as  destroyed,  the  record 
of  the  proceedings  of  the  board  of  supervisors,  and  the  assessors'  and 
collectors'  books  were  lost.  The  former  was  restored  from  September 


HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  407 

23,  1861,  by  reference  to  newspaper  files,  supervisors  Honeywell  and 
McNeill  being  appointed  by  the  board  and  charged  with  that  impor- 
tant duty.  The  county  clerk,  under  instructions  of  the  board,  made 
new  assessors'  books,  and  those  township  officers  copied  and  returned, 
at  the  expense  of  the  county,  the  assessment  of  their  several  towns.  A 
committee,  consisting  of  C.  F.  McNeill,  chairman,  Samuel  Williams 
and  Alba  Honeywell,  was  appointed  to  prepare  a  bill  to  be  presented 
to  the  legislature  for  passage,  to  aid  in  restoring  the  records  and  tax 
levies,  and  to  legalize  the  same.  This  trust  they  performed,  and  the 
act  was  approved  and  became  a  law  January  30,  1867.  We  have  once 
before  alluded  to  the  destruction  of  the  commissioners'  record,  the 
journal  of  the  county  court  and  the  supervisors'  record  to  the  date 
above  mentioned,  as  having  entailed  upon  us  a  heavy  task  in  the  prep- 
aration of  some  portion  of  these  pages,  and.  we  dare  not  hope  that  for 
the  want  of  information  which  they  would  have  furnished  we  have 
not  fallen  into  some  errors. 

POLITICAL    HISTORY. 

The  political  or,  more  strictly,  partisan  history  of  the  county  was 
comparatively  uneventful  and  uninteresting  till  the  organization  of  the 
republican  party,  and  the  presidential  campaign  of  1856.  Anterior  to 
this  time  Iroquois  county  had  been  uniformly  democratic.  Passing 
the  many  active  members  of  that  party,  we  can  find  room  to  mention 
only  the  most  prominent:  Hugh  Newell,  Isaac  Courtright,  Micajah 
Stanley,  Samuel  M.  Ayres,  Major  John  Strickler,  Samuel  McFall, 
Samuel  Harper,  Sr.,  John  Chamberlain,  Joseph  Thomas,  Aaron  M. 
Goodnow  and  John  Wilson.  Courtright  served  two  terms  in  the 
legislature,  and  Stanley  and  Thomas  one  each.  As  the  early  presiden- 
tial votes  show,  the  whigs  were  greatly  in  the  minority.  Robert  Hill, 
Edward  D.  Boone,  James  Smith,  Ira  Lindsey,  Lewis  Roberts  and  Col. 
Thomas  "Vennnm  were  the  leading  men  of  this  party. 

In  May,  1856,  the  "Iroquois  Republican"  was  started  by  J.  A. 
Graham  and  D.  T.  Lindley,  with  Jesse  Bennett  and  Franklin  Blades 
as  editors.  The  former,  though  the  senior,  was  only  an  occasional  con- 
tributor. Blades  was  a  young  physician,  animated,  as  most  young 
men  are,  by  a  high  purpose,  a  pure  devotion,  and  an  ardent  attachment 
to  the  principles  of  political  unity  and  universal  freedom.  Closing  his 
salutatory,  which  was  a  vigorous  announcement  of  the  position  the 
paper  would  maintain,  with  this  terse  and  manly  avowal,  "Here  we 
stand,  God  help  us,"  which  gave  token  of  the  strength,  courage  and 
earnestness  with  which  he  would  do  battle  for  human  rights,  he  mod- 

rs        * 

estly  accepted  the  visible  leadership  of  his  political  associates,   and 


408  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

marshaled  them  for  the  conflict.  Throughout  that  memorable  cam- 
paign the  fiery  and  enthusiastic  notes  of  a  dashing  championship  rang 
out  in  all  the  utterances  of  the  "Republican."  Owen  Lovejoy  was 
the  candidate  for  congress  from  this  district.  On  August  7  a  mass 
meeting  was  held  at  Middleport,  which  was  a  notable  event  in  connec- 
tion with  the  change  in  the  tide  of  politics  in  this  county.  It  was  in 
every  way  a  county  affair,  and  the  first  really  distinctive  outpouring 
that  had  ever  been  awakened  in  Iroquois  county.  Because  of  the 
general  and  permanent  interest  which  will  always  attach  to  it,  we  sub- 
join almost  entire  the  account  given  of  it  by  Dr.  Blades.  "  Thursday 
last  inaugurated  a  new  epoch  in  the  politics  of  our  county.  In  years 
agone,  while  nearly  the  whole  country  was  ablaze  with  partisan  heat 
and  strife,  our  county  hibernated  on,  and  gave  back  no  response  to,  the 
enthusiasm  that  thrilled  the  nation  in  heart  and  limb.  But  the  long 
to  be  remembered  7th  ignited  the  very  soul  of  the  county,  and  made  it 
vibrate  to  all  its  extremities  with  the  deep,  fervent  throbbings  which 
have  pulsated  throughout  the  nation.  That  gathering  may  be  surpassed 
in  numbers  at  some  future  day,  when  the  county  shall  have  become 
more  densely  populated,  but  it  will  never  be  surpassed  in  earnest  en- 
thusiasm. We  had  not  doubted  that  the  convention  would  be  well 
attended  ;  but  when  we  saw  the  immense  delegations  which  at  an  early 
hour  commenced  pouring  into  town  from  every  township,  we  felt 
ashamed  that  we  had  so  greatly  underrated  the  spirit  and  enterprise  of 
Iroquoisans.  The  first  large  delegation  came  into  town  from  Onarga 
and  the  Longshore  neighborhood,  the  two  having  united  a  half  mile 
out  of  town,  and  were  escorted  in  by  the  Momence  brass  band,  who 
did  their  dusty,  tiresome  labors  on  that  day  cheerfully  and  creditably 
to  themselves,  and  much  to  the  grateful  entertainment  of  the  occasion. 
Then  came  in  the  Concord  and  Milford  delegations,  which  united  a 
short  distance  out  of  town,  and  were  also  gallantly  escorted  in  by  the 
band.  Next,  the  Ash  Grove  delegation  was  escorted  in  by  the  band. 
Right  nobly  did  Ash  Grove  do  her  dut}',  considering  that  the  main 
part  of  Ash  Grove  township  is  twenty  miles  off".  Hundreds  came  in 
'on  their  own  hook.'  Altogether,  Middleport  was  never  so  gloriously 
overwhelmed  as  on  that  day.  Never  within  the  memory  of  the  oldest 
citizen  has  there  been  so  large  and  enthusiastic  a  gathering  as  literally 
poured  out  to  greet  with  warm  hearts,  and  with  countenances  lit  at  the 
altar-fire  of  liberty,  that  noble  hearted,  glorious  man,  Lovejoy.  It  is  a 
fair  estimate  to  place  the  number  who  were  in  attendance  at  4,000. 
And  .when  we  consider  that  they  were  nearly  all  residents  of  the 
county,  it  is  an  illustration  of  how  profoundly  the  'great  deep'  of  the 
popular  heart  has  been  moved  by  the  wrongs  and  calamities  which 


HISTORY    OF    IKOQUOIS    COUNTY.  409 

their  brethren  in  Kansas  have  endured,  and  how  it  swells  with  terrible 
indignation  at  the  bloody  hand  of  tyranny  which  sways  the  scepter  of 
the  direst  despotism  over  that  doomed  territory.  After  forming  into 
procession  under  the  efficient  marshalship  of  our  friend  Mark  Ayres, 
assisted  by  Messrs.  J.  C.  Bryant,  D.  B.  Gardner  and  F.  Blades,  the 
company  proceeded  to  the  tables,  where  were  spread  out,  in  bounteous 
profusion,  the  good  things  prepared  and  furnished  by  fair  hands  from 
every  part  of  the  county.  .  .  .  Dr.  Fithian,  the  elector  for  this  district, 
first  addressed  the  meeting  with  force  and  point  for  nearly  an  hour; 
but  his  voice  failing — he  is  in  feeble  health — he  was  obliged  to  desist. 
After  a  soul-stirring  glee  or  two  by  the  Onarga  glee  club,  and  a  spirited 
air  by  the  band,  Owen  Lovejoy  ascended  the  stand,  and  for  over  two 
hours  poured  forth  the  charming  eloquence  of  his  musical  soul  to  an 
audience  as  spell-bound  as  was  ever  transfixed  by  the  magic  tongue  of 
eloquence.  We  do  not  wish  to  praise  or  express  admiration  by  rote, 
but  we  will  say  that  we  never  heard  that  speech  surpassed.  He  moved 
the  hearts  of  the  great  throng  as  we  never  saw  them  moved  before,  and 
the  upturned  eyes,  oft  filled  with  tears,  told  in  language  stronger  than 
mere  utterance  that  humanity  has  its  instinctive,  spontaneous,  irresist- 
ible sympathies  for  human  woe  and  bondage,  in  whatever  of  its  protean 
horrors  it  presents  itself.  Owen  Lovejoy  is  this  day  more  secure  in  the 
affections  of  the  people  than  any  other  man  may  soon  hope  to  attain 
to.  He  is  a  noble,  generous,  glorious,  frank-hearted,  good  man.  It  was 
luxurious  to  witness  how  completely  and  triumphantly  he  vindicated 
his  past  life  from  the  aspersions  and  slanders  that  have  been  heaped 
upon  him.  Most  of  all,  his  irresistible  defense  of  his  position  as  a 
national  man,  in  every  true  sense  of  that  term,  was  grand  and  soul- 
stirring  in  the  highest  degree.  Said  he,  'If  we  succeed  in  electing  a 
president,  we  will  neither  dissolve  the  Union  ourselves,  nor  let  any 
other  party  do  it.'  To  which  we  said  in  our  hearts,  Amen !  and  all 
the  people  said,  Amen  !  Amen  ! !  His  apostrophe  to  the  constitution 
we  expect  never  to  hear  surpassed  in  patriotic  eloquence." 

Dr.  Blades  was  nominated  one  of  the  republican  candidates  for  rep- 
resentative to  the  general  assembly  from  this  district,  and  was  elected 
over  his  competitor,  Micajah  Stanley,  by  a  majority  of  162  votes,  the 
total  number  cast  for  both  being  1,302.  The  county  went  republican 
by  majorities  ranging  from  154  to  290, — the  first  time  in  its  history  of 
twenty-two  years  that  it  disavowed  faith  in  the  shibboleth  of  democra- 
cy. No  man  contributed  more  to  this  result  than  Dr.  Blades.  For  a 
few  years  following  this  triumph  the  county  alternated  between  the 
supremacy  of  the  two  parties.  In  1857  the  democrats  were  successful 
at  the  polls,  Judge  Chamberlain  heading  the  ticket  for  reelection.  The 


410  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

total  vote  was  1,269,  as  against  1.318  the  year  before.  The  one  reflected 
the  views  on  local  and  the  other  on  national  issues.  In  1858  the 
county  gave  a  republican  majority,  and  again  in  1860.  A  union  and  a 
republican  ticket  was  in  the  field  in  1861.  This  year  the  swamp-land 
question  was  once  more  a  topic  of  discussion.  A  public  fear  of  litiga- 
tion was  to  some  extent  excited  by  those  interested  in  the  union  nomi- 
nations. Some  of  the  most  respectable  republicans  gave  their  active 
influence  to  this  ticket.  The  republicans  generally  were  desirous  of 
uniting  all  in  a  hearty  support  of  the  war,  and  to  that  end  were  anxious 
to  testify  their  magnanimity  by  sharing  the  offices  with  their  opponents. 
Samuel  Williams  was  candidate  for  county  judge  on  the  union  ticket, 
and  being  an  old  citizen,  enjoying  the  full  confidence  of  the  people, 
was  elected.  The  full  ticket  was  successful. 

During  the  early  stage  of  the  war  Judge  McNeill  conducted  the 
"  Republican."  He  forecasted  events  with  uncommon  clearness,  and 
by  his  radical  and  steadfast  sentiments  contributed  largely  toward 
educating  and  unifying  the  war  feeling.  Scarcely  could  a  man  have 
so  good  a  monument  from  other  material.  For  many  years  since  that 
time,  as  a  few  before,  he  exercised  a  controlling  and  creating  influence 
in  the  republican  party  of  this  county.  No  hands  have  done  more 
toward  its  upbuilding.  Others  planted,  but  he  has  weeded  and  watered 
and  trained  with  an  unselfish  and  sacrificing  devotion.  From  that 
time  to  this  the  county  has  been  strongly  republican  on  questions  of 
national  debate.  In  local  politics,  however,  since  1873  there  has  been 
nearly  an  even  division  of  success  between  the  republican  and  inde- 
pendent parties.  We  attempt  only  a  brief  account  of  the  two  salient 
political  events  in  the  history  of  the  county.  The  revolution  of  1873 
and  the  good  results  following  it  mark  a  distinct  epoch.  The  reforms 
introduced  by  the  constitution  of  1870  were  everywhere  reluctantly 
accepted  by  the  office-holders,  whose  ideas  of  compensation  had  been 
gradually  formed  by  the  powerful  influence  of  the  fees  and  perquisites 
of  the  old  system.  Under  that  had  been  produced  a  set  of  unwritten 
maxims,  and  practices  not  more  real,  disorganizing  in  their  moral 
effects,  but  cohesive  otherwise,  which  had  originated  in  every  shire 
town  a  central  authority  styled  "  the  ring."  When  by  the  altered 
circumstances  the  incumbents  were  constrained  to  take  smaller  pay  in 
salaries,  which  were  not,  unlike  the  former  pay,  adequate  to  lay  the 
foundations  of  respectable  fortunes,  they  naturally  felt  that  it  was  an 
effectual,  if  not  ingenious,  scheme  of  oppression.  That  they  did  not 
promptly  come  forward,  upon  the  inception  of  the  new  system,  and 
offer  zealous  suggestions  how  to  put  the  machine  in  motion  and  keep 
it  in  running  order,  so  as  to  secure  the  most  effective  results,  ought 


HISTORY   OF   IBOQUOIS   COUNTY.  411 

not  to  create  astonishment,  though  it  did  provoke  criticism.  It  would 
have  been  expecting  too  much  to  think  that  they  could  be  conspicuous 
sympathizers  with  the  new  plan.  It  was  not  enough  that  a  remote 
decision  had  been  pronounced  in  adopting  the  constitution.  A  radi- 
cally curative  effort  by  the  people,  displayed  in  tearing  away  from  old 
affiliations  and  assuming  independent  fellowship,  in  which  they  should 
remove  their  own  positive  sanction  solemnly  given  at  the  polls,  was 
necessary.  To  have  indorsed  the  same  men, —  in  other  words,  the  old 
means  of  perpetuating  power,  would  have  defeated  the  object.  Until 
they  could  raise  themselves  to  this  plane  of  a  better  manhood  and  citi- 
zenship, it  were  but  putting  new  wine  into  old  bottles.  Incorrigible 
education  unfitted  the  old  vessels  for  the  active  virtues  of  the  new 
compound.  A  new  system  required  new  men.  The  occasion  for 
obtaining  them  was  not  long  wanting.  It  was  of  no  consequence  that 
the  popular  agitation  was  incited  by  a  wholly  extraneous  cause,  or  a 
<?ause  combining  with  it  many  lesser  ones.  The  people  were  ripe  for 
the  occasion  when  it  came.  Abuses  in  office  and  out  of  office,  in  busi- 
ness and  out  of  business,  in  private  and  in  public, — abuses  everywhere, 
touching  the  financial  affairs  and  operations  of  men, — had  produced  in 
the  public  mind,  more  especially  of  the  "bone  and  sinew  "  of  the  land? 
patronizingly  so  called,  a  just  sense  that  the  burdens  of  government 
and  of  society  were  unequally  distributed.  Being  hard  pressed  from 
every  side,  it  is  not  surprising  that  in  the  general  ferment  they  often 
struck  wildly,  and  perhaps  with  too  little  moderation.  But  an  impor- 
tant work  was  to  be  done,  and  it  took  blows  to  do  it.  It  was  unfor- 
tunate personally  for  those  of  the  opposition  upon  whom  devolved  the 
leadership.  In  this  county  a  long  tenure  of  power,  whose  insecurity 
was  never  suspected,  had  made  the  dominant  party  remiss.  The  man- 
agers saw  in  the  supremacy  of  their  organization  only  spoils  for  division 
among  themselves.  The  suffrage  of  the  people  was  a  public  means  to 
private  ends.  The  overshadowing  prominence  of  national  measures 
took  all  their  attention,  and  the  local  politicians  were  prosperous  when 
the  eyes  of  their  constituents  were  turned  away.  Pains  were  not  taken 
to  inform  the  people  of  the  state  of  county  affairs,  but  rather  there  was 
a  careful  effort  to  withhold  such  knowledge.  The  system  of  account- 
ing showed  either  a  misconception  of  the  law,  or  an  evasion  of  it,  and 
the  fiscal  statements  confused  instead  of  enlightening  those  who  were 
entitled  to  know  the  condition  of  public  business ;  indeed,  it  has  been 
truly  said  that  even  the  treasurer  was  not  often  able  to  furnish  very 
definite  information.  The  treasury  was  run  in  the  interest  of  a  few 
individuals.  County  orders  sold  at  from  twenty-five  to  fifty  per  cent 
discount.  With  a  change  of  power,  however,  came  a  sudden  improve- 


412  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

ment  of  affairs.      The  augean  stables  were  cleaned  out.      Care  and 
economy  succeeded  waste   and    extravagance.      County  orders   were 
honored  at  the  desk  of  the  treasurer.     The  public  interests  shot  into 
the  ascendant.     About  January  16,  1873,  a  convention  of  the  farmers 
of  Illinois  was  held  at  Bloomington,  pursuant  to  a  call,  by  a  convention 
of  a  few  clubs  held  at  Kewanee,  Henry  county.     A  large  representa- 
tion from  clubs  and  granges,  together  with  prominent  men  from  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  state,  assembled  to  inquire  into  the  cause  for  unpaid 
labor,  and  to  deliberate  upon  a  remedy.     The  chief  subject  of  discus- 
sion was  the  extortionate  tariffs  of  railroad  monopolies,  and  the  defiance 
by  such  monopolies  of  the  lawful  authority  of  the  state.     An  associa- 
tion was  organized,  and  the  farmers  of  Illinois  were  advised  to  form 
clubs  auxiliary  to  the  same,  for  the  agitation  of  questions  affecting 
their  interests.      At   this  time  the  grange  organization   was   almost 
universally  unknown.     In  this  state  not  a  dozen  were  in  existence, 
and  these  were  limited  to  Lee  and  "Whiteside  counties.    A  few  persons 
from  Iroquois  county  were  present  at  the  state  convention ;  the  only 
ones  now  remembered  were  A.  J.  Alexander,  of  Oilman  ;  George  B. 
Fickle,  of  Onarga;  and  R.  G.  Campbell,  of  Loda.     Fickle  was  a  dele- 
gate from  the  Onarga  Horticultural   Society.     Campbell  represented 
the  Farmers'  Protective  Association,  of  which  he  was  president.     This 
was  organized  at  Loda,  and  incorporated  under  the  laws  of  the  state, 
November  30,  1871;  and  was  the  first  farmers'  club  in  the  county,  and 
the  only  one  of  the  kind.     On  his  return,  a  meeting  was  advertised  to 
be  held  at  Loda  on  the  25th,  to  ratify  the  action  of  the  Bloomington 
convention,  and  to  organize  under  the  state  association.    It  \vas  largely 
attended,  and  earnest  addresses  were  delivered.     A  similar  meeting 
was  held  on  the  same  day  at  Onarga,  and  about  the  same  time  another 
at  Gilman,  called  by  Mr.  Alexander,  who  had  been  appointed  to  attend 
to  the  organizing  of  Iroquois  county.     Permanent  clubs  were  formed 
at  all  these  places.     Others  rapidly  followed,  and  the  press  at  once 
teemed  with  their  proceedings.     The  whole  country  was  soon  ablaze. 
This  was  the  secret  of  the  wonderful  spread  of  the  order  of  Patrons  of 
Husbandry,  which  was  wholly  distinct  from  the  Illinois  State  Farmers' 
Association.     For  a  while  there  was  a  little  rivalry  between  the  two 
grand  organizations,   but  on   the  whole   they   worked    harmoniously 
together  for  the  same  general  objects.     Iroquois  county  was  soon  well 
organized.     In  eighteen  months  about  fifty  of  these  bodies  were  meet- 
ing regularly,  nearly  three-fourths  being  granges. 

On  the  assembling  of  congress,  after  the  presidential  election  of 
1872,  the  credit  mobilier,  which  had  been  unearthed  during  the  cam- 
paign, was  investigated  and  thoroughly  exposed.  Following  close 


HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS   COUNTY.  413 

upon  this  came  the  salary  grab  by  congress,  approved  by  the  president. 
The  public  mind  was  deeply  affected  by  these  events.     Added  to  the 
grinding  extortion  practiced  by  the  railroad  corporations,  these  moral 
forces  engendered  a  state  of  feeling  that  very  early  in  the  year  took 
positive  political  form.     High  protective  tariff  and  other  causes  added 
their  full  share  to  the  result.    The  evils  complained  of  as  heavily  borne 
were  understood  to  run  through  every  branch  of  the  public  service 
from  the  national  administration  down  to  the  lowest  office.     "  These," 
said  the  "  Gilman  Star,"  of  that  date,  "  are  the  causes  that  make  men 
forget  their  differences  and  labor  for  each  other's  welfare."     Indeed, 
the  grievances  were  real  and  deep-rooted,  and  like  true  men  whom  a' 
common  danger  threatened,  the  people  dropped  all  contention.     The 
press  throughout  the  country,  with  great  unanimity,  applauded  the 
movement,  and  welcomed  it  as  a  sign  of  coming  good.     Notably  in 
some  cases  the  attempt  was  undertaken  to  make  it  turn  the  old  party 
mills,  but  with  signal  failure.     Never  did  men  set  about  the  accom- 
plishment of  an  object  with  a  firmer  purpose,  nor  a  more  rational  con- 
.ception  of  their  aims  and  duties.     The  "Iroquois  Times,"  "Gilman 
Star"  and  "Onarga  Review"  supported  the  farmers'  cause  politically, 
while  the  "  Watseka  Republican,"  advocating  the  railroad  reforms  de- 
manded by  the  new  movement,  chose  to  labor  for  them  within  the 
party.     On  July  14  the  republican  central  committee  met  at  Watseka 
for  consultation.     Several  of  the  principal  men  of  the  party,  not  mem- 
bers of  the  committee,  were  present  by  invitation,  and  freely  advised 
concerning  the  best  course  of  action.     A  contrariety  of  views  were 
entertained.     A  "people's  anti-monopoly  convention  "  was  called  for 
August  26,  to  nominate  candidates  for  county  offices.    This  was  a  clear 
abandonment  of  the  party  name ;  but  not,  as  was  shrewdly  suspected 
and  finally  developed,  a  sincere  abandonment  of  the  party  organization. 
That  this  was  a  mistake,  no  well-informed  republican  will  now  deny. 
Whatever  the  motives  for  this  change  may  have  been,  we  regard  them 
now  as  of  little  moment ;  still  the  decision  was  disastrous  to  the  integ- 
rity of  the  organization,  if  at  that  time  that  was  worth  a  consideration. 
The  chairman,  Z.  Beatty,  was  a  partisan  of  the  inflexible  type,  whose 
spirit  was  such  in  this  business  that  it  was  not  necessary  for  him  to 
make  a  special  effort  to  give  the  proceeding,  which  he  did  not  indorse, 
such  an  odor  as  to  make  it  seem  perhaps  worse  than  it  really  was  — 
even  disingenuous.     His  name  appended  to  any  political  call   deter- 
mined its  absolute  character.     The  only  question  from  first  to  last  for 
the  farmers  to  decide  was  whether  they  should  undertake  to  accom- 
plish their  desires  within  the  republican  party,  to  which  a  large  ma- 
jority of  them  belonged,  or  whether  it  should  be  attempted  by  a  new 


414  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

and  distinct  organization.  The  action  of  the  republican  committee- 
was  interpreted  to  have  been  the  result  of  temporizing  motives,  and 
hence  when  the  hour  for  a  new  departure  came  there  was  scarcely  a 
breath  of  controversy,  and  the  opposition  that  was  made  was  so  want- 
ing in  strength  as  not  to  command  even  respectful  consideration.  It 
was  soon  clearly  seen  that  the  committee  had  missed  the  popular 
chord,  for  expressions  denoting  a  different  wish  were  becoming  numer- 
ous. This  dissatisfaction  was  first  made  known  by  the  Sheldon  Club,, 
and  afterward  by  those  of  Milford,  Oilman,  Iroquois  and  Middleport,. 
the  two  last  of  which  separately  issued  calls  for  a  farmers'  convention,, 
to  be  held  in  Watseka  on  August  8,  "  for  the  purpose,"  as  expressed 
by  the  last  club,  "of  taking  into  consideration  the  propriety  of  going 
into  the  people's  anti-monopoly  convention,  already  called,  or  to  deter- 
mine under  existing  circumstances  whether  it  is  expedient  to  call  a 
farmers'  convention,  and,  if  found  to  be  expedient,  to  call  such  a  con- 
vention and  apportion  the  delegates  to  the  same."  The  8th  of  August 
brought  together  fifty-seven  representatives  of  twenty-one  organizations* 
A.  J.  Alexander  was  made  president,  and  Henry  Phelps  and  George  T. 
Metzger,  secretaries.  An  interchange  of  views  on  the  question  which 
the  convention  had  been  called  to  decide  took  place.  There  was  great 
unanimity.  Only  four,  of  whom  the  writer  was  one,  advocated  turn- 
ing out  to  the  primaries,  and  sending  delegates  of  our  own  to  the  anti- 
monopoly  convention  to  control  it  in  our  interest.  The  sentiment  in 
favor  of  holding  an  independent  convention  was  so  strong  that  the 
majority  were  impatient  of  opposition  so  slight,  and  had  it  not  been 
for  the  extreme  fairness  of  the  president  the  minority  would  not  have 
been  fully  heard.  A  central  committee  of  twenty-four,  one  from  each 
club  and  grange,  was  appointed,  and  instructed  to  issue  a  call  for  a  con- 
vention ;  this  they  did  before  the  adjournment,  fixing  the  representation 
at  three  from  each  organization,  and  naming  the  25th  as  the  day  for 
holding  the  convention.  This  was  one  day  earlier  than  the  anti- 
monopoly  convention,  and  was  so  ordered  to  take  a  fearless  and  inde- 
pendent departure.  This  new  plan  of  representation  had  a  powerful 
effect  in  promoting  the  organization  of  farmers'  clubs.  The  interval 
was  improved  by  such  as  were  intent  on  party-making  and  had  a 
malady  for  office. 

On  the  25th,  38  clubs  and  granges  sent  106  delegates,  entitled  to  114 
votes.  A.  B.  Caldwell,  of  Sheldon,  was  elected  chairman  ;  EL  A.  But- 
zow,  of  Iroquois  township,  secretary,  and  Oeorge  T.  Metzger,  of  Onarga, 
assistant  secretary.  On  the  first  regular  ballot  Manliff  B.  "Wright,  a 
young  and  rising  attorney  of  Watseka,  was  nominated  for  county  judge. 
This  nomination  was  not  unexpected.  Mr.  Wright  had  canvassed  the 


HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  415 

county  in  his  own  interest,  and  made  a  good  many  friends.  He  stood 
well  in  his  profession,  and  it  wras  understood  that  he  was  the  preference 
of  the  bar.  His  antecedents  were  democratic,  and  this  was  pleasing  to 
one  wing  of  the  convention.  After  events  proved  this  to  be  a  fortunate 
choice,  not  more  for  his  ability  as  a  politician  than  for  his  merit  as  a 
judicial  officer.  For  all  the  offices  except  that  of  county  clerk  announce- 
ments had  been  made.  On  account  of  his  superior  qualifications,  and 
personal  popularity,  S.  C.  Munhall,  who  had  been  a  deputy  in  that 
office  seven  or  eight  years,  was  regarded  as  the  only  candidate.  Not 
until  after  the  calling  of  the  independent  convention  was  any  other 
person  thought  of;  but  when  events  had  gone  so  far  that  the  new 
departure  began  to  look  around  for  untrammeled  men,  Henry  A. 
Butzow,  a  German  citizen,  of  Iroquois  township,  was  mentioned  by 
his  friends.  On  the  informal  ballot  109  votes  were  cast,  of  which  he 
received  45,  and  Munhall,  59.  The  next  vote  revealed  a  tie  of  57. 
From  a  graphic  history  of  the  political  events  of  this  period,  published 
in  the  "Times"  a  year  or  two  since,  we  quote:  "At  this  moment 
there  was  intense  excitement.  If  Mr.  Munhall  had  been  willing  to 
rest  his  chances  of  election  on  this  single  nomination  it  would  have 
been  his.  A  dozen  delegates  pressed  around  him  for  an  instant  to  hear 
what  he  had  to  say.  When  they  returned  to  their  places  his  defeat 
was  certain."  He  was  momentarily  paralyzed.  The  supreme  situation 
burst  suddenly  upon  him  and  was  gone.  The  second  formal  ballot 
gave  Butzow  77,  to  32  for  his  opponent ;  and  this  "  short,  sharp  and 
decisive"  contest  was  closed.  Continuing  to  quote  from  the  same 
source  concerning  Munhall :  "It  was  probable  that  his  sympathies  were 
warmly  enlisted  on  the  side  of  the  people  among  whom  he  lived. 
Perhaps  the  objection  felt  to  him  was  that  he  was  allied  with,  and  was 
the  candidate  of,  the  men  whose  manipulations  of  county  affairs  it  was 
hoped  to  defeat.  The  democrats  of  the  convention  doubtless  remem- 
bered that  he  had  always  been  a  republican,  yet  on  the  informal  ballot 
he  had  more  votes  than  any  of  his  opponents."  And  in  regard  to 
Butzow  :  "  This  nomination  proved  most  fortunate.  The  nominee 
was  little  known  at  the  time  outside  of  his  own  town,  but  he  developed 
unlooked  for  ability,  and  made  a  spirited  and  successful  canvass.  He 
was  thoroughly  in  sympathy  with  the  movement."  On  the  third 
formal  ballot  George  T.  Metzger,  of  Onarga,  was  nominated  for  treas- 
urer, and,  on  the  fourth,  David  Kerr,  of  Gilman,  for  school  superin- 
tendent. The  committee  on  resolutions,  W.  E.  Knibloe,  O.  H.  Bales, 
J.  F.  Good,  D.  Brumback  and  R.  Caldwell,  reported  a  set  which  are  of 
more  than  transient  value.  They  were  widely  commented  on,  and 
elicited  many  expressions  of  approval  from  the  country  and  metropoli- 


416  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

tan  press.    Their  "  eternal  fitness  "  will  justify  us  in  reproducing  them 
entire: 

THE    FARMEKS'    PLATFORM. 
PREAMBLE. 

We,  the  people  of  Iroquois  count}',  who  are  opposed  to  monopolies, 
regardless  of  former  political  opinions  or  party  affiliations,  do  hereby 
ratify  and  confirm  the  following  resolutions,  as  an  honest  expression  of 
our  opinions  and  the  basis  of  our  future  political  action  : 

Resolved,  That  every  man  should  earn  the  pay  he  receives  and 
receive  the  pay  he  earns,  and  that  every  contest  between  labor  and 
capital  should  be  settled  upon  this  principle ;  that  we  are  desirous  of 
political  reform,  and  of  honesty,  economy  and  purity  in  all  official 
administration.  To  secure  this  is  the  duty  of  every  citizen,  and  that 
to  this  end  every  good  man  should  feel  bound  to  participate  in  politics 
and  make  an  end  of  bad  men  forcing  their  election  by  securing  a  party 
nomination.  We  declare  it  the  duty  of  every  citizen  to  oppose  the 
election  of  a  bad  and  incompetent  official,  whether  on  our  own  or  any 
other  ticket ;  that  we  demand  the  strictest  economy  in  national,  state 
and  county  affairs,  and  absolute  responsibility  in  all  official  relations, 
deprecating  every  violation  and  departure  from  the  strictest  official  in- 
tegrity, and  insisting  that  every  such  violation  shall  at  once  be  brought 
to  the  attention  of  the  county  courts,  and  that  the  salaries  of  officers 
shall  be  reduced  and  fixed  so  as  to  give  fair  compensation  for  services, 
but  the  same  shall  not  be  excessive ;  that  we  are  opposed  to  all  class 
legislation,  either  state  or  national ;  that  we  are  opposed  to  monopolies 
of  any  kind ;  that  a  law  compelling  one  man  to  pay  tax  to  support  the 
business  of  another  is  nothing  less  than  legalized  robbery  ;  that  a  pro- 
tective tariff  is  the  basis  of  all  monopolies,  and  that  we  are  in  favor  of 
free  iron  and  steel,  salt  and  lumber,  sugar,  coffee,  tea,  woolen  and  cotton 
fabrics,  and  if  a  tariff  is  justifiable  at  all  it  should  be  for  revenue  pur- 
poses only;  that  agriculture  is  the  basis  of  wealth  and  power;  that  all 
other  branches  of  business  depend  on  the  success  of  the  farmer;  there- 
fore we  believe  that  the  farmer  should  be  represented  in  every  branch 
of  the  government,  legislative,  judicial  and  executive,  and  that  we 
pledge  ourselves  to  support  for  office  men  who  are  interested  in  the 
prosperity  of  the  farmer,  and  none  others ;  that  we  recognize  the  great 
benefits  to  be  derived  from  railroads  in  the  transportation  of  freight 
and  passengers,  and  in  developing  sections  of  country  that  would  be 
almost  useless  without  them,  we  yet  deny  that  the  corporations  con- 
trolling them  are  superior  to  the  power  that  gave  them  existence,  but 
that  they  are  subject  to  legislation,  as  much  so  as  individuals ;  that  our 
member  of  the  board  of  equalization  be  and  he  hereby  is  instructed  to 


HISTORY    OF    1ROQUOIS    COUNTY. 


417 


use  his  influence  to  assess  railroads  and  railroad  property  at  as  near  its 
cash  value  as  real  estate  and  other  property  has  been  assessed  in  this 
state;  that  we  denounce,  in  unqualified  terms,  the  act  of  congress  in- 
creasing their  pay,  commonly  known  as  "  the  salary-grab,"  and  pledge 
ourselves  not  to  vote  for  nor  support  any  man  for  office  who  voted  for 
the  bill  or  accepted  the  unjust  pay. 

No  other  convention  has  been  held,  since  the  republican  party  ob- 
tained undisputed  power  in  the  county,  which  has  furnished  so  important 
a  lesson  or  been  attended  with  so  valuable  results.  On  the  following 
day  the  antimonopoly  convention  met.  The  party  labored  under  the 
weight  of  a  great  mistake.  In  trimming  to  catch  the  breeze  it  had 
parted  with  the  symbol  of  its  strength,  and  courted  a  crushing  defeat 
for  despising  the  banner  of  many  victories. 


In  a  spiritless  manner  the  convention  went  through  the  formality 
of  making  nominations.  R.  K.  Mclntyre,  of  Middleport,  an  old  and 
respected  member  of  the  Iroquois  bar,  was  nominated  for  county 
judge;  S.  C.  Murihall  for  county  clerk;  B.  F.  Price,  a  one-armed  vet- 
eran soldier,  of  Loda,  for  treasurer,  and  John  A.  Holmes,  of  Milford, 
for  superintendent  of  schools.  The  resolutions  were  a  complete  trav- 
esty— churlish,  puerile,  ambiguous,  a  reflection  of  the  melancholy, 
confused  sense  which  had  fallen  upon  the  convention  when  they  found 
themselves  forced  to  battle  on  a  false  and  disadvantageous  ground. 
The  canvass  was  carried  on  with  spirit  by  the  new  party,  which  con- 
tinued to  have  the  support  of  the  papers  before  mentioned.  The 
"  Republican  "  having  labored  with  faithful  zeal,  before  the  unfortunate 
action  of  the  central  committee,  to  preserve  the  integrity  of  its  party, 
.now  made  but  feeble  effort  to  maintain  the  unequal  contest.  The 
27 


418  HISTOKY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

election  occurred  November  4.  Wright's  majority  was  1,260 ;  But- 
zow's,  300 ;  Metzger's,  320,  and  Kerr's,  487.  The  highest  number  of 
votes  cast  was  3,118. 

CHICAGO    &    EASTERN    ILLINOIS    RAILROAD. 

Although  this  is  a  comparatively  new  road,  it  must  not  be  presumed 
that  consequently  it  should  be  placed  among  the  list  of  unimportant 
lines,  for  just  the  very  opposite  is  the  fact.  However  much  older 
roads  have  assumed  in  the  credit  of  opening  up  and  developing  this 
part  of  the  state,  no  less  can,  in  justice,  be  said  of  the  line  under  con- 
sideration. Let  any  one  take  a  map  of  eastern  Illinois  published  prior 
to  1870,  and  he  will  observe  that  much  of  what  is  now  known  as  the 
most  desirable  portions  of  the  state  was  entirely  without  railroad  facil- 
ities. Some  places  through  which  this  line  now  passes  were  forty 
miles  from  a  railroad  station.  It  will  therefore  be  seen  under  what 
disadvantages  this  part  of  the  country  labored,  and  a  good  reason  will 
easily  be  discovered  for  its  tardy  development.  Then,  also,  the  coun- 
try including  the  eastern  part  of  this  county,  and  much  more  valuable 
country,  was  cut  off  entirely  from  communication  with  the  great  me- 
tropolis of  the  west,  Chicago.  It  is,  therefore,  not  surprising  that  so 
complete  and  prosperous  a  road  as  the  Chicago  &  Eastern  Illinois 
railroad  should  be  built  up  in  eight  years,  for  its  construction  was  an 
urgent  necessity,  and  it  takes  no  philosopher  to  comprehend  that  the 
causes  which  led  to  the  building  of  the  road  will  ultimately  make  it 
the  most  important  line  passing  through  this  section.  While  number- 
less roads  have  been  projected,  and  many  built,  in  different  portions  of 
the  state,  wherever  local  pride  or  an  itching  for  speculation  could 
secure  the  needed  aid,  with  few  exceptions  they  have  not  only  proved 
failures,  but  have  bankrupted  and  disgusted  their  patrons.  This  line, 
however,  unlike  nearly  all  born  under  the  peculiar  law  passed  by  the 
Illinois  legislature  but  a  short  time  before,  has  gradually,  from  the  first, 
gained  in  public  favor,  and  though  it  received  donations  from  the 
townships  through  which  it  was  built,  there  are  few  persons,  and  per- 
haps none,  who  regret  having  aided  so  worthy  an  enterprise. 

The  Illinois  Central  railroad  had  not  long  been  built  when  its  ap- 
parent advantages  stimulated  thoughts  of  a  parallel  route  from  Paris, 
in  Edgar  county,  through  Georgetown,  Danville  and  Mornence,  to 
Chicago.  A  proposition  to  this  effect  took  tangible  shape  in  1857, 
when  the  Paris  and  Chicago  Railroad  Company  was  chartered.  Many 
of  the  projectors  living  along  the  line  were  men  whose  names  are  dis- 
tinctly associated  with  a  past  day,  among  them,  Dr.  William  Fithian, 
Judge  Joseph  Peters,  Hiram  Sandford  and  William  A.  Chatfield. 


HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  419 

The  road  was  never  built.  In  1865  William  D.  Judson,  Joseph  E. 
Young,  James  M.  Walker,  Joseph  Peters,  John  C.  Short,  Alvan  Gil- 
bert, C.  A.  Lake,  James  K.  Ritchie  and  William  Kile  incorporated  the 
Chicago,  Danville  &  Yincennes  Railroad  Company.  The  route  defined 
in  the  charter  was  "from  a  point  in  Lawrence  county,  on  the  Wabash 
river,  opposite  Vincennes,  in  the  state  of  Indiana,  upon  the  most  eli- 
gible route  to  and  into  the  city  of  Chicago,  by  way  of  Paris  in  Edgar 
county,  and  Danville  in  Vermilion  county."  When  in  1867  had  been 
inaugurated  the  vicious  system  of  railroad  construction,  whereby  the 
people  graded  the  roads,  and  donated  them  to  penniless  and  "  soulless  " 
corporations,  this  act  was  found  not  to  answer  the  improved  methods 
that  had  come  into  use.  It  gave  power  to  the  directors  only  "  to  take 
and  receive  subscriptions  to  their  capital  stock,"  except  that  they 
might  "acquire  by  donation,  stock  subscription  or  purchase,  and  dis- 
pose and  convey,  as  they  might  deem  expedient,  real  estate  and  coal 
and  mineral  lands,  not  exceeding  $1,000."  It  was  originally  intended 
to  run  the  road  through  the  towns  of  Concord  and  Sheldon,  and  the 
survey  was  made  on  that  route,  the  company  having  the  right  of  way. 
But  when  Watseka  began  to  show  a  lively  disposition  to  secure  the 
road  at  that  place,  the  design  was  conceived  of  locating  it  on  the  line 
which  would  contribute  the  most,  the  company  not  being  very  partic- 
ular which  should  be  chosen,  but  likely  preferring  the  Sheldon  route, 
as  that  was  a  little  shorter.  Watseka,  always  strategic,  thwarted  the 
purpose  of  the  company  to  profit  by  this  rivalry,  as  also  any  sincere 
intention  which  it  may  have  had  as  to  the  first  survey.  An  amenda- 
tory act,  to  enable  the  company  to  obtain  contributions,  was  an  imme- 
diate and  pressing  want  of  that  corporation.  Watseka  interested  John 
L.  Tincher,  state  senator,  through  whose  influence  the  charter  was 
originally  obtained,  and  Capt.  George  E.  King,  representative,  to  de- 
feat the  legislation  they  were  seeking,  unless  they  should  consent  to 
locate  the  road  through  that  place.  This  being  arranged,  they  obtained 
"an  act  to  authorize  cities,  towns  or  townships  lying  within  certain 
limits  to  appropriate  moneys  and  levy  a  tax  to  aid  the  construction  " 
of  the  road,  approved  March  7,  1867.  This  provided  that  the  dona- 
tions should  not  be  paid  till  after  the  road  was  located  and  built 
through  the  town  or  city  making  the  donation,  and  not  till  it  had  first 
been  authorized  by  a  vote  of  the  people.  The  authorities  were  em- 
powered to  levy  a  tax  to  pay  any  contribution  voted.  The  legislature 
passed  another  act  in  1869  to  aid  in  the  building  of  this  road,  which 
permitted  the  corporate  authorities  (the  appropriation  having  first  been 
voted  by  the  people)  to  levy  taxes  to  meet  any  such  donations,  or  to 
borrow  money  and  issue  bonds  in  payment  of  them,  provided  that  the 


420  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

road  should  first  be  completed  through  or  opposite  to  any  town  so 
contributing  aid.  The  towns  lying  along  the  route  voted  aid  to  this 
company  at  different  times  from  1867  to  1870  as  follows: 

On  May  14,  1867,  Milford  voted  $20,250.  Afterward  Lovejoy  was 
set  off,  and  on  April  24,  1868,  the  authorities  of  the  two  towns  made 
an  apportionment  of  this  liability,  Milford  taking  $14,242.87.  On 
July  10,  1868,  the  town  voted  an  additional  $4,500,  making  a  total  of 
$18,742.87.  The  supervisor  and  town  clerk  issued  bonds  of  the  town 
to  the  amount  of  20,617.15.  In  addition  to  the  share  accepted  by  Love- 
joy,  on  July  3,  1868,  that  town  held  an  election  and  voted  the  sum  of 
$3,000,  making  the  total  aid  granted  $9,007.13.  John  B.  Wilson,  su- 
pervisor, and  Joseph  Galloway,  town  clerk,  issued,  March  31, 1871,  ten 
bonds  of  $1,000  each.  Three  of  them  were  made  payable  July  1, 
1879 ;  three  in  one  year  from  that  date,  and  four  in  two  years.  The 
Bank  of  Warsaw,  New  York,  owns  eight ;  John  Powjers,  of  Buffalo, 
one,  and  Allen  Gilmore,  of  Ogdensburg,  the  other.  On  June  5,  1867, 
the  city  of  Watseka  voted  $5,000,  to  be  paid  on  condition  that  the 
company  should  make  that  place  a  point  on  the  road.  On  May  23, 
1870,  another  election  was  held,  and  $6,000  more  were  voted.  The 
city  council  directed  the  mayor  and  the  clerk  to  issue  $11,000  of  bonds, 
which  were  dated  February  1,  1871.  On  June  8,  1867,  an  election 
was  held  in  the  town  of  Middleport  for  a  "  tax  of  $15,000,"  on  condi- 
tion that  the  road  should  be  built  through  Watseka.  Bonds  amount- 
ing to  $16,500  were  issued  February  20,  1871.  On  the  13th  a  contract 
was  made  between  the  supervisor  and  the  town  clerk  of  the  first  part, 
and  the  railroad  company  of  the  second  part,  and  George  C.  Tallman, 
of  Brooklyn,  New  York,  as  trustee  of  the  third  part,  by  which  agree- 
ment the  bonds  were  delivered  to  Tallman,  to  be  by  him  delivered  to 
the  company,  if  the  track  should  be  laid  to  the  crossing  of  the  Toledo, 
Peoria  and  Warsaw  railroad  by  June  1, 1871.  These  were  placed  with 
Tallman  to  get  them  out  of  the  state,  so  the  issuing  of  them  could  not 
be  enjoined.  At  the  request  of  the  company  these  bonds  were  taken 
up  and  destroyed,  and  others  issued  to  the  amount  of  $15,000,  dated 
March  24,  1871.  About  the  middle  of  July  the  supervisor,  by  order 
of  the  town  board  entered  in  April,  paid  J.  E.  Young,  contractor, 
$1,500,  in  lieu  of  the  extra  bonds  which  had  before  been  issued.  The 
fifteen  bonds  were  delivered  to  the  company  by  Tallman  on  June  21. 
The  first  coupons  (fifteen  of  $100  each),  due  June  1,  he  detached  and 
returned  to  the  supervisor.  By  a  vote,  taken  June  10,  1867,  Belmont 
donated  $9,000 ;  and  again,  on  June  2,  1868,  at  an  election  held 
for  that  purpose,  voted  an  additional  $9,000.  In  September,  1868, 
the  town  of  Crescent  (then  Grenard)  was  detached.  On  March  23, 


HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  421 

1871,  the  supervisors  and  assessors  of  the  two  towns  divided  the 
indebtedness,  Belmont  taking  $14,400,  and  Crescent,  $3,600.  The 
supervisor  and  town  clerk  of  Belmont  then  issued  $14,000  of  bonds  of 
that  date,  and  delivered  to  Tallman,  to  be  held  in  trust  and  delivered 
to  the  company  if  the  road  should  be  completed  to  the  south  side  of 
the  township  before  January  1,  1872,  otherwise  to  be  returned.  They 
were  made  payable  July  1,  1881,  at  the  American  Exchange  National 
Bank,  of  New  York,  the  town  reserving  the  privilege  to  pay  them  any 
time  after  two  years  from  their  issue.  On  April  5,  the  same  town 
officers  issued  another  bond  similar  to  the  others,  which  they  put  into 
the  hands  of  C.  Secrest  for  a  like  purpose  as  those  deposited  with  Tall- 
man. The  bonds  were  all  delivered  to  the  company  about  the  last  of 
June  for  ninety  per  cent  of  their  face  value ;  and  on  March  26  the 
supervisor  paid  the  company  $702.72,  and  Crescent  assumed  the  further 
sum  of  $36,  included  in  that  amount.  The  bonds  were  sold  in  New 
York  city,  and  are  now  owned  by  the  ^Etna  Life  Insurance  Company. 
On  March  23  the  supervisor  and  town  clerk  of  Crescent  issued  $4,000 
of  bonds  to  pay  the  $3,600.  These  were  made  payable  July  1, 
1881.  Martinton,  by  a  vote  of  55  to  42,  June  13,  1868,  granted  the 
aid  of  that  town  for  $10,000.  In  the  latter  part  of  August,  1872,  the 
supervisor  issued  eleven  $1,000  bonds,  dated  July  1,  1872,  payable  in 
ten  years ;  and  also  paid  the  company  $175.  By  a  vote  of  67  to  44, 
on  August  4,  1870,  Papineau  donated  $6,350.  On  April  13,  1871, 
John  M.  Burton,  supervisor,  and  P.  Laplante,  town  clerk,  issued  six 
$1,000  bonds,  one  payable  March  1  of  each  year,  beginning  with  1875. 
The  principal  and  interest  were  payable  at  the  Mechanics  National 
Bank,  of  Chicago.  Concord  voted  aid  on  the  condition  that  the  road 
should  be  constructed  through  that  town  where  first  surveyed.  Not- 
withstanding the  route  was  afterward  diverted  to  Watseka,  the  super- 
visor issued  bonds  for  $25,000,  dated  June  1,  1871,  and  due  in  ten 
years.  Bonds  of  Sheldon  were  issued  the  same  day  to  the  amount  of 
$25,000,  and  made  payable  also  in  ten  years.  The  bonds  of  Stockland 
for  $6,750  were  issued  in  August  of  the  same  year.  They  have  all 
been  paid.  Prairie  Green  held  an  election  July  3,  1868,  and  appro- 
priated $6.000,  to  be  paid  when  the  track  should  be  laid  through  Love- 
joy.  About  September  1,  1871,  six  $1,000  were  issued,  and  one  for 
$600,  to  make  good  any  discount  in  negotiating  them.  These  were 
due  July  1,  1879.  They  were  held  by  persons  in  Brunswick,  Cum- 
berland county,  Maine.  Ash  Grove  voted  $3,000,  August  12,  1868. 
In  September  a  part  of  this  town  was  detached,  and  Fountain  Creek 
created.  In  the  division  the  parent  town  retained  $1,892,  and  the  new 
town  acquired  $1,408.  The  two  towns  issued  bonds  bearing  date  July 


422  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

1,  1871.  The  Ash  Grove  issue  fell  due  July  1,  1876,  at  which  time 
new  bonds  were  given.  The  Fountain  Creek  bonds  mature  ten  years 
from  date.  When  a  part  of  the  latter  town  was  taken,  in  1875,  to 
form  Pigeon  Grove,  this  new  town  accepted  $365.24  of  the  bonded 
indebtedness. 

All  of  these  bonds  bore  ten  per  cent  interest,  payable  annually. 
Where  an  amount  was  given  in  excess  of  that  voted,  it  was  to  make 
good  the  discount  in  negotiating  them.  They  were  registered  in  the 
office  of  the  auditor  of  public  accounts,  pursuant  to  the  provisions  of 
"an  act  to  fund  and  provide  for  paying  the  railroad  debts  of  counties, 
cities  and  towns,"  passed  in  1869.  On  September  17,  1868,  the  board 
of  supervisors  being  in  session,  Mr.  Honeywell,  supervisor  from  Stock- 
land,  offered  a  resolution,  which  was  adopted,  loaning  to  the  Chicago, 
Danville  &  Yincennes  Railroad  Company  the  credit  of  the  county  to 
the  amount  of  $35,000  for  five  years.  The  conditions  were  that  the 
county  should  issue  bonds  drawing  ten  per  cent  interest,  to  be  deliv- 
ered to  the  company  when  the  road  should  be  completed  and  in  run- 
ning order  from  Chicago  to  the  south  line  of  the  county,  if  it  should 
guarantee  the  payment  of  the  principal,  and  the  delivery  of  the  bonds 
to  the  county  at  maturity,  by  mortgages  on  real  estate.  An  additional 
supposed  security  for  the  refunding  of  the  bonds  was  required  if 
thought  to  be  advisable  by  the  committee  to  be  appointed,  in  an  issue 
to  the  county  of  stock  equal  to  the  amount  of  the  bonds,  which  stock 
was  to  be  returned  on  their  surrender.  The  interest  was  to  be  paid 
annually  by  the  county.  The  benefit  to  the  company  was  the  loan  of 
the  county's  credit  for  the  gross  sum  and  the  aggregate  interest  which 
would  accrue  thereon,  and  be  paid  in  the  term  of  five  years.  Before 
the  final  adjournment  of  the  board  the  loan  was  increased  to  $42,000. 
This  was  legalized  by  the  legislature,  as  also  the  aids  voted  by  the 
cities,  towns  and  townships  along  the  road,  by  an  act  approved  Febru- 
ary 26,  1869.  Action  relating  to  this  matter  was  taken  by  the  board 
at  various  times.  At  the  May  term,  1871,  the  committee,  consisting 
of  C.  F.  McNeill,  A.  Honeywell  and  Samuel  Williams,  previously 
appointed  to  act  on  behalf  of  the  board,  submitted  their  report,  accom- 
panied by  a  bond  of  the  company,  in  the  penal  sum  of  $100,000,  to 
secure  the  final  return  of  the  railroad  bonds.  They  announced  that 
they  had  caused  the  bonds  to  be  prepared  in  denominations  of  $1,000 
each,  and  had  deposited  them  in  the  First  National  Bank  of  Watseka, 
to  be  re-deposited  in  the  city  of  New  York  in  trust,  and  that  they  had 
decided  to  take  the  stock  as  additional  security.  On  motion  of  A.  S. 
Palmer,  this  stock  was  refused.  The  bank,  and  the  stockholders 
therein,  in  their  individual  capacity,  were  required  to  give  bonds, 


HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  423 

making  them  liable  for  the  return  of  the  county  bonds  at  the  proper 
time.  Apprehension  was  ultimately  excited  concerning  the  security 
of  the  county  against  payment  of  the  principal  of  the  loan,  and  at  the 
annual  meeting  in  September,  Mr.  Koplin  offered  a  resolution,  which 
was  adopted,  proposing  to  turn  over  to  the  railroad  company  an  amount 
of  the  bonds  held  in  trust  by  the  bank,  equivalent  to  the  interest  on 
$42,000  for  five  years,  and  thus  make  an  end  of  all  doubt  and  prevent 
any  risk  being  incurred  beyond  the  obligation  voluntarily  assumed. 
Consent  of  the  company  to  this  proposition  having  been  obtained,  at 
the  October  meeting  Hon.  C.  F.  McNeill,  chairman  of  the  committee, 
was  directed  to  go  to  New  York  and  receive  the  bonds,  which  had 
been  deposited  in  the  Ninth  National  Bank,  and  to  make  delivery  to 
the  railroad  company  of  sixteen  of  them,  and  also  a  county  order  for 
$382.28,  these  bonds  and  this  order  releasing  the  county  from  any 
further  obligation  to  the  company.  This  duty  he  discharged,  and 
made  a  report  of  his  doings  to  the  adjourned  session  in  November. 
These  bonds  were  dated  July  1, 1871,  and  were  due  in  five  years.  By 
a  mistake  in  making  the  record,  it  was  made  to  appear  that  they  were 
payable  a  year  earlier.  The  effect  of  this  will  be  noticed  farther  on. 

This  line  was  completed  through  the  county  and  put  in  operation 
to  Danville  in  the  summer  of  1871.  Joseph  E.  Young,  of  Chicago, 
one  of  the  corporators,  was  the  contractor,  and  built  the  road.  The 
following  year  a  branch  from  Bismarck,  in  Vermilion  county,  was  con- 
structed to  Brazil,  Indiana,  giving  the  company  direct  access  to  the 
celebrated  coal  fields  of  Fountain  county,  in  that  state.  By  lease  of 
another  route  the  company  was  enabled  to  discontinue  the  use  of  this 
coal  branch  in  the  summer  of  1879,  avoiding  by  this  means  the  great 
expense  (owing  to  the  number  of  bridges)  of  keeping  it  in  running  order. 
There  is  hardly  a  more  important  north  and  south  line  of  travel  in  the 
west  than  this  road,  and  its  location  through  the  heart  of  a  fine  farming 
region,  which  had  hitherto  remained  comparatively  undeveloped,  has 
added  millions  to  the  value  of  property  within  marketing  distance  along 
its  course.  From  1867  to  1873  railroad  building  degenerated  into  a 
mammoth  and  reckless  speculation,  and  great  stretches  of  country  were 
banded  with  these  iron  tracks  of  commerce  far  in  advance  of  any  demand 
for  them.  But  this  road  was  a  conspicuous  exception.  Most  of  those 
people  to  whom  it  gave  a  ready  market  were  situated  many  miles  —  in 
some  places  as  far  as  forty  —  from  railroad  accommodations.  A  single 
thought  upon  this  subject  will  convince  any  one  that  a  total  want  of 
transportation  facilities  practically  barred  settlement,  the  extension  of 
agriculture,  and  the  increase  of  wealth.  By  the  wisdom  of  the  inhab- 
itants this  road  was  favored  with  liberal  aid  in  this  county,  as  already 


424  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

shown,  as  it  also  was  upon  other  portions  of  the  route,  and  there  has 
not  been,  and  never  can  be  so  long  as  the  people  shall  adhere  to  and 
exercise  their  right  of  control  over  corporations,  any  cause  to  regret 
that  they  gave  it  encouragement. 

The  officials  of  this  company  have  set  a  commendable  example  in 
listening  and  making  reasonable  concessions  to  the  demands  of  their 
patrons.  The  road  was  originally  bonded  for  $5,000,000,  but  by  the 
shrinkage  of  values  in  the  past  few  years  it  has  sustained  some  decrease 
in  like  manner  as  other  species  of  property.  In  1874  the  company 
failed,  and  the  business  passed  into  the  hands  of  a  receiver,  in  the  per- 
son of  Gen.  A.  Anderson,  and  so  continued  until  April  17,  1877,  when 
the  road  was  bought  by  a  new  corporation  for  $1,450,000,  and  the  name 
changed  to  Chicago  &  Eastern  Illinois.  The  machine  shops  are  located 
at  Danville,  and  the  general  offices  are  at  123  Dearborn  street,  Chicago. 
The  chief  officials  are,  F.  "W.  Huidekoper,  of  Meadville,  Pennsylvania, 
president;  O.  S.  Lyford,  superintendent;  A.  S.  Dunham,  general  pas- 
senger agent,  and  Robert  Forsythe,  general  freight  agent.  Mr.  Dunham 
has  been  connected  with  the  road  ever  since  the  formation  of  the  h'rst 
company.  This  is  known  as  the  "  Danville  route,"  and  furnishes  the 
best  communication  over  the  safest  connections  and  through  the  finest 
and  most  picturesque  scenery  to  the  far-famed  everglades,  the  land  of 
the  sun  —  Florida. 

BOUNTY  ORDERS  AND  COUNTY  BONDS. 

We  had  purposed  to  give  a  full  account  of  the  vast  outpouring  of 
treasure  during  the  war,  but  being  now  on  the  "ragged  edge"  of  "the 
last  days"  granted  us  by  the  patient  and  indulgent  publishers,  we 
must  omit  it,  having  no  doubt  that  as  we  have  dealt  so  much  with 
figures,  this  compulsion  will  draw  from  the  reader  a  sigh  of  relief. 
Iroquois  county  did  her  whole  duty  in  the  late  war,  with  money  as 
well  as  with  men.  She  spent  large  sums  in  the  support  of  volunteers' 
families ;  she  paid  recruiting  officers  liberally ;  and  she  voted  more  than 
$135,000  in  bounties  to  soldiers.  All  honor  to  her  powder-burned 
sons !  All  praise  to  the  true  hearts  at  home  !  On  February  15,  1870, 
the  last  bounty  orders  fell  due.  The  amount  at  that  time,  less  the 
bounty  fund  in  the  treasury,  was  $51,926.41.  An  act  had  been  pro- 
cured in  1869  authorizing  the  county  to  issue  bonds  not  exceeding 
$50,000  to  refund  this  interest-bearing  debt.  At  the  annual  meeting 
in  September,  1869,  John  A.  Koplin,  A.  J.  Alexander  and  F.  J.  Sears 
were  appointed  to  negotiate  the  loan.  They  effected  the  sale  of  the 
bonds  to  George  C.  Tallman  at  ninety  cents  on  the  dollar.  These  were 
payable  February  15,  1875.  The  bonded  indebtedness  now  amounted 


HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS   COUNTY.  425 

to  $66,000.  It  has  been  shown  that,  by  an  error  in  the  record,  the 
board  were  led  a  few  years  later  to  suppose  that  the  railroad  bonds 
would  become  due  July  1,  1875.  This  body  gave  timely  attention  to 
the  maturing  liability,  and  at  the  November  election  in  1874  sub- 
mitted to  the  people  the  question  of  replacing  the  old  with  a  new 
issue.  This  was  authorized  by  a  large  majority.  At  the  December 
meeting  Mr.  Alexander  presented  a  plan  for  an  issue  to  accomplish  the 
gradual  extinction  of  this  debt.  He  had  taken  the  principal  interest 
in  the  refunding,  and  was  unanimously  selected  as  one  of  a  committee 
of  three,  the  other  members  of  which  he,  as  chairman  of  the  board, 
was  to  appoint,  whose  duty  it  should  be,  after  causing  the  bonds  to  be 
prepared,  to  negotiate  them  to  the  best  advantage.  About  the  begin- 
ning of  the  year  they  placed  the  entire  issue  with  D.  K.  Pearsons  & 
Co.,  of  Chicago,  at  par  in  New  York  exchange.  Judge  Wood  was 
employed  to  draft  the  bonds  in  approved  form,  and  to  attend  to  their 
lithographing.  On  February  15  the  $50,000,  with  accrued  interest 
of  $5,000,  became  due,  and  was  paid  at  the  American  Exchange  Na- 
tional Bank,  New  York,  and  the  remaining  $11,000  was  deposited  in 
the  First  National  Bank  of  Chicago.  The  time  approaching  when  it 
was  supposed  that  the  railroad  bonds  would  be  due,  a  remittance  was 
made  to  the  Ninth  National  Bank  of  New  York ;  but  the  time  came 
and  passed  without  presentation  of  the  bonds.  The  existence  of  this 
error  was  first  learned  on  addressing  one  of  the  holders.  They  refused 
to  surrender  them  until  due,  and  the  committee  withdrew  the  money 
and  deposited  it  with  the  First  National  Bank  of  Watseka  at  six  per 
cent  interest.  The  committee  declined  all  compensation  for  their  valu- 
able services  in  making  this  loan,  and  received  the  unanimous  thanks 
of  the  board  for  their  successful  labors.  When  the  time  for  the  pay- 
ment of  the  bonds  was  near  at  hand  there  was  discovered  one  of  those 
complications  of  circumstances  which  foresight  sometimes  cannot  prevent, 
nor  correct  intentions  remove.  Before  this  juncture  had  been  advanced, 
the  statement  that  the  township  and  county  bonds,  issued  in  aid  of  the 
Chicago,  Danville  &  Vincennes  railroad,  were  unconstitutional  and 
void,  and  proceedings  had  been  begun  in  the  Iroquois  circuit  court  to 
test  their  validity.  Certain  persons  had  also  sought  to  buy  the  county 
railroad  bonds  at  a  speculation,  and  to  advance  this  object  would  have 
alarmed  the  holders  with  information  and  threats  of  this  nature,  had 
the  latter  been  susceptible  to  such  influence.  Mr.  Alexander  had  not 
been  returned  by  his  town  at  the  spring  election,  and  as  there  had 
been  no  session  of  the  new  board  he  still  retained  his  place  on  the 
commmittee,  though  he  was  in  doubt  as  to  his  right  to  serve.  The 

/  o  o 

board  would  meet  July  10,  only  ten  days  after  maturity  of  the  bonds, 


426  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

and  he  decided  not  to  act  at  that  time.  Mr.  Hitchcock  also  preferred 
to  await  the  action  of  the  board ;  but  Mr.  Secrest  was  in  favor  of  tak- 
ing the  responsibility  of  making  payment,  although  many  lawyers 
thought  the  bonds  were  illegal.  When  the  supervisors  convened  they 
unanimously  instructed  the  committee  to  surrender  the  certificate  of 
deposit  which  they  held,  and  the  First  National  Bank  of  Watseka  was 
directed  to  pay  the  bonds,  which  now  amounted  to  $17,600.  Immedi- 
ately the  bank,  the  county  clerk  and  the  treasurer  were  enjoined  not  to 
make  payment  to  the  bondholders.  The  latter  had  official  information 
that  the  money  had  been  in  abeyance  a  year  for  the  purpose  of  settle- 
ment, and  being  thus  assured  that  there  was  no  thought  of  attempting 
to  repudiate  the  obligation,  the  injunction  failed  of  the  anticipated 
effect.  November  24,  the  injunction  having  been  withdrawn,  the 
bonds  were  paid,  with  interest,  up  to  the  time  when  they  fell  due,  and 
indorsements  of  the  sums  made.  The  holders  presented  their  claim 
of  $706  for  interest  from  July  1  to  the  date  of  payment,  but  uncertain 
action  prevailed,  indicating  the  quandary  of  the  board,  until  the  May 
term,  1878,  when  states  attorney  Harris  was  directed  to  commence 
proceedings  for  possession,  and  they  were  recovered  and  canceled. 

Following  is  the  outstanding  bonded  indebtedness  of  the  county, 
showing  the  principal,  and  the  amount  falling  due  each  year:  1880  — 
principal,  $6,000,  amount,  $11,200;  1881— principal,  $7,000,  amount, 
$11,600  ;  1882— principal,  $8,000,  amount,  $11,900 ;  1883— principal, 
$9,000,  amount,  $12,100  ;  1884— principal,  $10,000,  amount,  $12,200  ; 
1885  — principal,  $12,000,  amount,  $13,200. 

TOWNSHIP    BOND    CASES. 

The  later  proceedings  regarding  the  township  bonds  issued  in  aid 
of  the  Chicago,  Danville  &  Yincennes  railroad  require  some  mention. 
Without  going  into  details  of  the  judicial  proceedings  in  each  case,  it 
will  be  sufficient  if  we  state  that  all  of  those  towns  having  a  debt 
incurred  in  aid  of  this  road,  except  Fountain  Creek  and  Pigeon  Grove, 
enjoined  further  payment  on  their  bonds  between  1876  and  1878, 
excepting,  also,  as  to  time,  the  town  of  Concord.  Stockland  paid  her 
bonds.  The  city  of  Watseka  paid  $4,500.  Ash  Grove  compromised 
for  fifty  cents  on  the  dollar,  and  paid  the  costs  of  the  injunction. 
Fountain  Creek  and  Pigeon  Grove  did  not  enjoin.  Concord  was  the 
first  to  lead  off  in  the  attempt  to  establish  the  illegality  of  these  bonds. 
In  1873  New  Hampshire  sued  for  the  interest  on  twenty  of  the  bonds 
which  it  held,  and  the  case  was  tried  before  Judge  Blodgett,  and 
decided  against  the  township.  An  appeal  was  taken  to  the  United 
States  supreme  court,  and  heard  at  the  October  term,  1875,  and  in 


HISTORY    OF    1ROQUOIS    COUNTY. 


427 


May,  1876,  the  decision  was  rendered  by  Justice  Strong,  who  pro- 
nounced the  bonds  void,  on  account  of  conflicting  with  the  state  con- 
stitution. This  was  the  first  case  ever  decided  against  the  holders  of 
railroad  bonds.  The  Middleport  suit  was  made  a  test  case  before  the 
supreme  court  of  this  state,  and  the  bonds  were  held  to  be  null  and 
void,  for  the  principal  reason  that  the  act  of  1867,  under  and  by  virtue  of 
which  the  aid  was  voted,  provided  that  the  appropriation  should  be 
paid  by  taxation,  and  conferred  no  authority  to  issue  bonds ;  and  that 
the  constitution  has  intervened  to  prevent  the  enlarging  or  changing 
of  the  obligations  assumed  prior  to  its  adoption.  Most  of  these  towns 
have  obtained  perpetual  injunctions,  but  the  United  States  supreme 
court  has  recently  decided  that  a  decree  rendered  in  a  case  where  ser- 


vice is  by  publication,  as  it  was  in  these  cases,  is  not  a  bar  to  the  recov- 
ery or  collection  by  the  defendant.  It  is  not  impossible,  then,  that 
they  may  be  reopened.  The  obligation  of  these  towns  to  pay  their 
bonds  is  clear.  If  there  are  any  exceptions  they  are  in  the  cases  of 
Concord  and  Sheldon.  All  voted  aid  for  a  single  consideration  —  the 
building  of  the  road.  They  have  received  it,  and  are  deriving  the 
benefits  which  a  railroad  gives,  and  will  continue  so  to  do.  Taking 
advantage  of  irregularities,  and  the  change  of  the  organic  law,  they 
could  not  have  directed  a  more  effective  blow  at  their  honor  and  credit, 
if  the  purpose  had  been  to  tarnish  the  one  or  impair  the  other.  The 
sober  judgment  and  just  convictions  of  men  will  stamp  it  as  a  viola- 
tion of  faith  in  which  there  is  naught  to  extenuate.  It  ought  to  serve 
as  a  lesson  that  all  political  issues  which  are  made  upon  the  validity  of 
obligations,  for  which  a  consideration  has  been  received,  tend  only  to 
corrupt  the  popular  conscience  and  undermine  the  foundations  of  pub- 
lic virtue. 


428  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

CINCINNATI,  LAFAYETTE    AND    CHICAGO    RAILROAD. 

The  Illinois  company  of  the  Cincinnati,  Lafayette  &  Chicago  rail- 
road was  organized  in  May,  1870,  and  the  Indiana  company  a  year 
later.  The  road  was  built  in  1871  and  1872,  and  put  into  operation 
the  latter  year,  at  a  cost  of  $3,778,216.  Its  length  is  seventy-five  miles. 
Lafayette  and  Kankakee  are  the  termini.  By  connecting  the  Indian- 
apolis, Cincinnati  &  Lafayette  and  the  Illinois  Central  railroads  it 
forms  an  important  link  in  the  through  line  from  Cincinnati  to  Chi- 
cago. When  opened,  this  road  took  an  advanced  position  in  regard  to 
tariffs,  and  its  course  toward  its  patrons  has  been  so  just  and  liberal, 
and  its  management  so  conscientious,  that  it  has  always  enjoyed  the 
good-will,  and  received  the  commendation  of  the  business  public. 

GILMAN,  CLINTON    AND    SPRINGFIELD    RAILROAD. 


The  Gilman,  Clinton  &  Springfield  Railroad  Company  was  char- 
tered in  1867.  Two  amendments  to  its  charter  were  obtained  before 
work  was  begun  in  1870.  It  was  put  into  operation  in  September, 
1871.  The  road  is  one  hundred  and  eleven  and  one-half  miles  long. 
It  traverses  one  of  the  most  fertile  and  highly  cultivated  portions  of 
the  state.  The  construction  of  this  road  was  a  gigantic  speculation, 
and  some  of  the  practices  connected  with  it  partake  so  much  of  a  darker 
nature  that  they  might  well  be  characterized  by  a  different  name.  Like 
many  others  built  about  the  same  time,  and  by  the  same  methods,  it 
shortly  went  into  bankruptcy.  In  November,  1873,  F.  E.  Hinckley, 
of  Chicago,  was  appointed  receiver  by  the  McLean  county  circuit  court, 
and  he  kept  possession  of  the  road  until  August,  1875.  Until  June 
of  the  next  year  it  was  operated  by  the  trustees  of  the  first  mortgage 
bonds.  On  the  10th  of  that  month  the  property  was  sold  by  order  of 
the  Circuit  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  southern  district  of 
Illinois,  and  afterward  managed  by  George  Bliss  and  Charles  S.  Sey- 
ton,  trustees  for  the  purchasers.  The  amount  of  the  purchase  was 
$1,500,000  in  first  mortgage  bonds.  It  is  now  owned  and  controlled 
by  the  Illinois  Central  company.  The  general  offices  are  in  Springfield. 

THE    COUNTY    POOR    FARM. 

The  county  poor  farm  was  purchased  about  the  beginning  of  the 
year  1857.  It  was  an  improved  tract  of  230  acres,  40  of  which  were 
woodland,  and  was  obtained  for  $3,100.  H.  B.  Coberly  was  the  owner. 
For  many  years  only  a  small  rental  was  derived  from  the  investment, 
and  at  length  the  supervisors  looked  with  so  little  favor  on  it  that  they 
would  have  sold  the  farm  if  they  could  have  found  a  purchaser.  For- 


HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  429 

tunately  they  did  not  succeed  in  the  endeavors  made,  and  now  the 
county  has  a  well-managed  and  valuable  asylum  for  this  unhappy  class 
of  our  humanity.  Not  having  had  time  for  a  personal  examination 
we  extract  from  the  Report  of  the  Board  of  Public  Charities  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  premises  :  "  The  farm  needs  underdraining.  A  good  gar- 
den, five  acres ;  orchard  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  trees ;  red  barn  across 
the  road.  There  are  two  buildings :  one  frame,  for  the  keeper  and  the 
female  paupers ;  the  other  of  brick,  for  male  paupers  and  the  insane. 
The  house  occupied  by  the  keeper,  built  in  1871-2,  contains  sixteen 
rooms.  The  insane  department  was  built  in  1877.  It  is  a  brick  struct- 
ure, 25x48  feet,  two  stories  in  height,  with  a  cupola  and  a  bell.  The 
insane  occupy  the  lower  floor;  nine  cells,  seven  feet  wide  and  ten  feet 
long ;  brick  partitions ;  doors  paneled,  with  iron  rods  across  each  panel ; 
wooden  shutters  to  windows,  the  same  ;  iron  bedsteads,  not  fastened  ; 
no  privy  seats ;  heated  by  furnace,  and  by  a  stove  in  the  hall ;  the  cor- 
ridor between  the  cells  is  used  as  a  sitting-room  by  male  paupers.  This 
department  is  clean  and  quite  comfortable ;  the  keeper's  office  is  in  the 
same  hall.  Thirty-seven  pauper  inmates  were  inspected,  of  whom  eight 
were  insane ;  eight  children  under  ten  years  of  age.  Saw  pauper 
children  playing  croquet  in  the  yard.  The  keeper's  contract  extends 
over  four  j^ears ;  his  salary  is  $600,  and  all  bills  are  paid  by  the  county. 
The  premises  are  clean  and  sufficiently  well  furnished,  but  the  dining- 
room  is  too  small.  There  is  an  artesian  well  in  the  yard." 

Until  the  present  manager  was  employed  the  custom  had  been  to 
rent  the  place  for  cash,  and  pay  the  lessee  a  stipulated  sum  for  the  care 
of  each  pauper.  A  strict  account  is  kept  of  everything  raised,  bought 
and  sold  —  vegetables,  cereals,  merchandise,  provisions,  live  stock; 
amount  of  the  latter  slaughtered  and  consumed ;  quantity  of  work 
done  and  help  employed ;  prices  paid,  and  extent  and  cost  of  improve- 
ments. Under  the  careful  supervision  of  the  committee  of  the  board 
of  supervisors  annually  appointed,  and  the  able  management  of  Mr. 
Cast,  the  present  keeper,  who  reports  to  the  committee,  and  they  in 
turn  to  the  board,  this  institution,  which  merits  the  fostering  care  it 
receives,  has  attained  a  high  state  of  efficiency  in  providing  for  the 
unfortunate  poor  and  afflicted.  The  keepers  of  this  farm  have  been 
Samuel  Porter,  Thomas  Mason,  Joseph  Moore,  John  Ash  and  Isaac 
Cast.  The  latter  has  been  on  the  place  since  the  spring  of  1875. 

THE    LAKE    SURVEY. 

We  are  indebted  to  M.  H.  Messer,  Esq.,  for  the  following  concerning 
the  lake  survey :  In  1879  the  lake  survey  was  extended  from  Lake 
Michigan  near  to  the  mouth  of  the  Wabash  river.  For  points  of  obser- 


430  HISTORY    OF    IBOQUOIS    COUNTY. 

vation,  four  towers,  eighty-five  feet  high,  were  erected  in  this  county, 
one  at  Clifton,  about  one-third  of  a  mile  northwest  of  the  depot ;  one 
about  fifty  rods  southwest  of  J.  R.  Louden's  dwelling,  on  Sec.  6,  T.  25, 
R.  14  (Onarga  township);  one  on  section  11,  in  Crescent  township,  and 
the  other  on  the  KE.  £  of  Sec.  35,  T.  25,  R.  12,  in  Milford  township. 
The  object  of  this  work  is  to  connect  the  lake  survey  with  the  Atlantic 
coast  survey,  which  has  been  extended  up  the  Mississippi  river.  It  will 
be  used  to  determine  the  length  of  an  arc  of  a  meridian  for  astronomical 
purposes,  to  determine  the  topography  on  the  line,  and  for  other  scien- 
tific questions. 

ABSTRACT   OF    VOTES    IN    THE    COUNTY,    PRESIDENTIAL   YEARS. 

Annexed  is  a  statement  of  votes  cast  at  presidential  elections,  show- 
ing the  electoral  strength  of  the  county  at  the  different  times:  In  1836 
the  democratic  vote  was  96,  whig,  22 ;  1840,  Yan  Buren,  175,  Harrison, 
154;  1844,  Polk,  281,  Clay,  204;  1848,  John  Wentworth,  democratic 
candidate  for  congress,  333,  J.  Y.  Scammon,  whig,  267,  Owen  Lovejoy, 
abolitionist,  7 ;  1852,  Pierce,  482,  Scott,  387,  Hale,  abolitionist,  22 ; 
1856,  Fremont,  750,  Buchanan,  460,  Filmore,  know-nothing,  108 ;  1860, 
Lincoln,  1,429,  Douglas,  955,  Breckenridge,  8 ;  1864,  Lincoln,  1,777. 
McClellan,  843;  1868,  Grant,  2,764,  Seymour,  1,326;  1872,  Grant, 
3,081,  Greeley,  1,761 ;  1876,  Hayes,  3,768,  Tilden,  2.578. 

MICAJAH  STANLEY'S  ACCOUNT  OF  EARLY  DAYS. 

I  came  here  in  1830,  from  the  state  of  Ohio,  Clinton  county.  We 
arrived  here  in  the  fall  of  1830.  In  September  we  got  to  the  Wabash 
river,  and  stopped  three  weeks  on  the  Wee-haw  Prairie.  We  found 
that  country  almost  without  inhabitants.  There  were  some  Indians 
and  a  few  settlers,  some  six  or  eight  families.  We  left  there  and  set- 
tled near  Milford,  then  Vermilion  county,  the  same  fall.  We  found 
here  Samuel  Rush,  Robert  Hill,  Daniel  Barbee,  Jefferson  Mounts, 
Hiram  Miles  and  his  father,  and  Joseph  Cox.  There  were  also  two  men 
named  Singleton,  two  named  Miller,  and  one  named  Reading,  and 
also  one  negro,  all  living  with  the  Indians,  and  left  with  them,  and 
hence  are  not  counted  settlers.  I  came  with  my  father's  party,  which 
consisted  of  my  mother,  Hannah  Stanlej7 ;  my  oldest  brother,  William 
Stanley,  and  his  wife  Judith ;  my  second  brother,  John  Stanley,  and 
his  wife  Agnes ;  my  youngest  brother,  Isaac,  and  two  sisters,  Rebecca 
and  Elizabeth.  With  us  came  from  Wee-haw  William  Pickerel,  an 
old  Quaker,  who  was  the  founder  of  Milford,  having  laid  out  the  town. 
He  built  a  mill,  hence  the  name  Milford.  Pickerel  was  a  remark- 


HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  431 

able  man;  he  was  a  blacksmith,  a  miller  and  a  farmer — jack  of  all 
trades  and  master  of  all  arts;  as  honest  and  industrious  as  the  day  was 
long. 

That  winter  we  witnessed  the  hardest  I  ever  experienced  in  my  life. 
We  were  destitute  of  almost  everything.  We  came  here  with  eight 
head  of  horses,  fifteen  head  of  cattle,  and  a  flock  of  sheep ;  and  we 
expected  to  get  hay  of  the  people  that  were  here,  but  the  fire  had  des- 
troyed it  all.  We  had  to  haul  our  corn  from  the  Wabash  :  we  hauled 
what  we  expected  would  do  us.  In  the  early  part  of  the  winter,  in 
December,  a  snow  fell  ten  inches  deep ;  that  was  increased  through  the 
winter  until  it  became  eighteen  inches  deep  on  the  level,  and  then  there 
came  a  rain  and  formed  a  crust  on  that.  It  created  such  a  crust  that  a 
dog  could  run  anywhere  over  it.  The  snow  in  places  was  drifted  until 
it  was  six  or  seven  feet.  That  fall  we  had  plenty  of  wild  turkeys,  but 
the  winter  was  so  severe  they  all  froze;  and  we  had  plenty  of  deer; 
the  dogs  and  wolves  killed  a  great  many  of  them;  we  could  find  plenty 
of  deers'  carcasses  afterward.  The  deer  were  not  all  killed,  and  we 
soon  had  plenty  of  them  again,  but  we  had  no  more  wild  turkey  after 
that. 

In  1831  we  had  a  pretty  hard  time  making  a  crop ;  with  the  rains 
we  had,  our  streams  were  filled  up  very  high,  I  may  say  tremendously 
high.  In  the  spring  we  commenced  farming.  We  began  to  plow  and 
break  prairie,  and  put  in  ten  acres  that  had  been  in  cultivation  in  the 
spring  before. 

That  fall  (1830)  Mr.  Hubbard  was  living  here  at  Bunkum,  and  had 
his  trading-house  where  Benjamin  Fry  lived.  He  moved  that  year  to 
Danville,  and  opened  a  store.  He  employed  me  and  some  other  men 
to  go  to  Chicago  for  goods.  He  engaged  four  teams.  I  took  five  yoke 
of  oxen.  We  went  a  little  too  soon,  and  had  to  stay  there  three  weeks 
before  the  boat  came  in  with  the  goods.  At  that  time  there  was  noth- 
ing between  here  and  Chicago  in  the  shape  of  a  white  family.  We 
stayed  all  night  at  his  trading-house,  and  the  next  morning  we  started 
for  Chicago.  We  went  up  and  crossed  the  Kankakee  river  where 
Robert  Hill  formerly  kept  hotel,  above  Momence.  When  we  got 
there  the  river  was  bank  full.  We  had  to  ride  on  the  middle  cattle  and 
drive  the  head  ones,  and  the  water  ran  into  our  wagon-boxes.  When 
we  got  to  Chicago  we  found  no  goods  there,  «o  we  had  to  stay  three 
weeks  before  the  schooner  came  in.  Inside  of  old  Fort  Dearborn  there 
were  two  or  three  persons  doing  business.  Mr.  Dole  was  there,  and 
another  gentleman  was  keeping  a  boarding-house  there.  Mark  Beau- 
bien  was  up  the  river  in  a  little  one-story  house,  keeping  "  tavern  like 
hell,"  as  he  expressed  it.  Mr.  Kinzie  was  up  in  the  forks  of  the  river, 


432  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

and  one  of  the  Merricks  lived  at  the  old  Merrick  stand,  near  the  pres- 
ent Douglas  monument.  There  was  a  little  dry  land  along  the  beach, 
and  I  do  not  blame  Mr.  Fry  for  taking  the  horse  instead  of  the  land 
that  was  oifered  him.  We  left  Chicago,  and  in  three  days  we  got  to 
the  Calumet  river.  Sometimes  we  had  to  hitch  ten  yoke  of  oxen  to 
one  wagon  to  haul  it  through  the  quick-sand.  We  were  between  three 
and  four  weeks  getting  home.  We  ran  out  of  provisions  on  the  way 
back,  and  Henry  Hubbard  met  us  at  Beaver  creek  with  a  basket  of 
provisions.  When  we  got  home  we  rested  about  three  weeks,  then 
took  the  goods  on  to  Danville.  This  is  my  experience  on  that  trip. 

After  that  the  country  began  to  settle  up  a  little  more.  After  the 
Black  Hawk  war  there  were  two  settlements  made.  My  father-in-law, 
John  Moore,  settled  four  miles  southeast  of  Watseka,  where  some  of 
the  family  still  stay.  About  that  time  a  report  came  to  our  settlement 
in  the  evening  by  the  mail-carrier,  who  carried  the  mail  from  Danville 
to  Chicago  on  horseback,  that  the  Indians  had  followed  him  until  he 
got  to  the  Iroquois  river.  He  was  all  dirty  and  his  horse  was  all  dirty, 
and  he  was  afraid  to  take  his  supper  at  the  hotel ;  and  we  had  another 
assurance  from  some  men  that  went  out  to  Hickory  creek  to  look  at 
the  country.  They  came  riding  in  in  the  afternoon,  and  said  the 
Indians  had  followed  them  all  day  and  were  close  upon  them.  My 
mother  was  in  the  house,  and  the  rest  of  us  were  in  the  field  planting 
corn.  We  thought  it  all  a  farce.  The  rest  of  them  went  away,  but  I 
stayed  until  dark,  and  when  I  went  through  the  settlement  they  were 
all  gone  except  George  Hinshaw,  an  old  bachelor,  who  was  living 
there.  I  found  him,  and  when  we  went  through  that  settlement  we 
found  the  calves  shut  up  in  rail  pens,  and  we  tore  the  pens  down  and 
let  them  out.  Such  had  been  their  haste  that  they  left  them  in  that 
condition.  The  next  day  we  went  to  Parish's  Grove,  and  I  said  to 
Hinshaw,  "  We  had  better  go  back ;  if  the  Indians  had  been  so  near 
they  would  have  been  here  before  this  time."  The  greater  part  of  the 
settlers  stayed  down  on  the  Wabash  until  fall,  so  we  almost  lost  that 
crop.  This  was  in  1832. 

I  was  in  Bunkum  in  1832.  There  had  been  a  report  of  Indians 
scouting  through  the  country.  Mr.  Yasseur  and  Benjamin  Fry  had 
been  out  to  look  after  the  matter.  When  I  saw  them  their  horses  were 
dirty ;  that  was  the  firs£  time  I  ever  met  those  gentlemen ;  I  have  been 
acquainted  with  them  ever  since  until  the  death  of  Mr.  Fry. 

In  1833, 1  think  it  was,  we  held  an  election  for  a  justice  of  the  peace 
in  Vermilion  territory;  there  were  two  precincts;  Milford  was  entitled 
to  one  and  Bunkum  to  one ;  but  we  failed  to  know  that  we  were  en- 
titled to  two  justices,  so  Bob  Hill  and  Ike  Courtright  were  the  candi- 


HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 


433 


dates.  There  was  a  spirited  contest  between  the  rival  candidates,  Hill 
representing  the  Milford  settlement  and  Courtright  the  Bunkum  set- 
tlement. Each  wanted  the  justice  in  his  precinct;  but  the  election 
was  held  at  Bunkum,  and  this  gave  Courtright  the  advantage,  and  he 
beat  Hill  two  or  three  votes.  Courtright  went  to  Danville  and  got  his 
commission,  and  executed  all  the  legal  business  for  the  whole  of  this 
county.  But  two  years  afterward  Hill  was  elected,  and  he  went  to 
Danville  after  his  commission,  and,  lo  and  behold,  he  was  presented 
with  one  two  years  old,  and  might  have  had  it  when  Courtright  got 
his,  as  we  were  entitled  to  two  justices  all  the  time.  I  was  not  twenty- 
one  when  I  came  here,  but  was  in  the  next  February,  so  I  was  entitled 
to  a  vote,  and  that  was  the  first  time  I  ever  voted  in  my  life.  Mr. 
Courtright  made  a  very  prominent  justice  of  the  peace.  Mr.  Hill  was 
also  a  very  prominent  man.  We  had  no  need  of  justices  then,  only  to 
take  notice  of  the  estrays.  The  first  business  I  had  was  to  take  a  notice 
of  a  steer,  and  I  had  Mr.  Singleton  come  up  as  a  witness  to  the  marks 
on  that  brute. 


WOODWORTH    &    MILLER  S   BLOCK,    MILFORD. 

When  the  citizen  came  to  our  county  then  we  met  him,  as  we  do  to- 
day, with  open  arms  and  a  hearty  shake  of  the  hand.  Then  we  would 
go  eight  and  ten  miles  to  help  build  a  cabin.  And  you,  my  old  friends 
who  are  here  to-day,  still  have  the  same  feeling  as  you  did  in  the  early 
days  of  the  settlement.  When  a  man  came  into  the  county,  and  we 
found  he  wanted  to  be  a  citizen,  we  turned  out  to  help  him  build  his 
cabin,  because  they  were  honest  and  true  men,  almost  all  of  them. 
There  were  but  very  few  men  that  partook  of  the  intoxicating  cup  to 
excess.  In  1835  I  moved  to  the  place  where  I  now  live.  I  located  three 
miles  from  any  other  house.  There  were  plenty  of  Indians,  and  they 
were  as  honest  as  any  men  I  ever  lived  among.  They  would  not  suffer 
28 


434  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

their  dogs  to  kill  a  pig  or  a  sheep,  and  if  they  did  kill  any,  they  would 
hunt  the  man  up  and  pay  him  for  it.  That  is  not  the  habit  of  men  to- 
day. I  used  to  leave  everything  out  where  I  worked,  and  never  lost 
anything.  T  settled  in  Watseka  in  March,  1835,  where  my  house  is 
now,  and  I  made  a  farm  there.  My  friends  came  around  rne  occasionally, 
and  I  used  to  spend  from  a  day  to  a  week  showing  men  the  county. 
They  would  come  there  and  tell  me  they  wanted  to  buy  land  to  make 
a  home,  but  not  many  of  those  men  -ever  came  back.  Mr.  Beckwith 
was  our  surveyor,  and  a  very  fine  man.  The  land  was  surveyed,  and 
we  could  find  any  of  the  corners  we  wanted,  and  locate  a  man  any- 
where. That  was  the  situation  of  our  county  up  to  1835. 

Micajah  Stanley,  Watseka,  was  born  in  Highland  county,  Ohio, 
February  2,  1810,  and  is  the  son  of  Anthony  and  Hannah  (Hobbs) 
Stanley,  his  father,  a  native  of  North  Carolina,  having  moved  to  High- 
land county  in  about  1805.  About  1813  they  moved  to  Clinton  county. 
Mr.  Stanley  has  held  several  offices  of  public  trust:  coroner,  four  years, 
one  of  the  first  of  Iroquois  county ;  constable,  two  years,  1836  and  1837 ; 
justice  of  the  peace,  two  years;  sheriff  of  the  county,  about  eight 
years;  member  of  the  legislature,  1846-7;  mayor  of  Watseka,  first 
mayor  of  the  city  ;  1879  he  was  reflected  mayor,  which  office  he  now 
fills.  These  offices  he  has  filled  with  honor  and  credit.  He  married, 
January,  1833,  Rebecca  Moore,  of  Ohio,  by  whom  they  have  six  chil- 
dren, living. 

LARCH   FARM. 

This  beautiful  farm  is  located  on  the  line  of  the  Illinois  Central 
railroad,  about  a  mile  north  of  Onarga,  and  is  the  property  of  Allan 
Pinkerton,  the  renowned  detective. 

Mr.  Pinkerton  is  a  native  of  Scotland.  He  was  born  in  1819,  in 
Gorbaes,  Glasgow,  and  in  1842,  when  twenty-three  years  of  age,  he 
came  to  the  United  States,  locating  in  the  state  of  Illinois.  Of  his 
detective  experience  it  is  not  necessary  to  speak.  His  principal  agen- 
cies, established  in  Chicago,  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  are  conducted 
upon  a  strict  system  of  discipline  and  honor,  which  invariably  insure 
success  in  the  numerous  operations  with  which  his  name  may  be  iden- 
tified. In  the  year  1864  Mr.  Pinkerton  purchased  the  tract  of  land  in 
question,  which  then  contained  about  254^^-  acres,  but  for  many  years 
thereafter  it  received  no  attention,  and  remained  in  its  original  condi- 
tion of  a  raw  prairie.  Subsequently  Mr.  Pinkerton  disposed  of  several 
smaller  pieces  of  his  land,  among  which  were  about  25  acres  to  an  asso- 
ciation of  individuals,  who  selected  this  site  on  account  of  its  adapta- 
bility for  the  purpose  of  holding  thereon  the  Iroqnois  county  fair. 

In  1870  the  remaining  portion,  which  contains  210  acres,  was  rented 


HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  435 

to  a  farmer  in  the  vicinity,  who  cultivated  the  land  to  some  extent,  and 
he  was  in  turn  succeeded  by  others.  But  in  1873  Mr.  Pinkerton  deter- 
mined upon  the  carrying  out  of  an  idea  which  had  long  occupied  his 
mind,  and  to  cultivate  a  prairie  farm  which  would  be  the  acme  of  west- 
ern rural  development.  Accordingly,  Mr.  Pinkerton  took  the  property 
into  his  own  hands,  at  once  began  active  operations,  and  after  seven 
years  of  labor  and  a  lavish  expenditure  of  money,  "Larch  Farm"  has 
become  the  "model "farm  of  Iroquois  county.  The  dwelling-house 
which  has  been  erected  is  a  large,  commodious,  one-story  square- 
structure,  surmounted  by  a  cupola,  with  an  addition  attached  to- 
the  north  side.  In  appearance  the  house  resembles  very  touch  the 
residences  which  graced  the  plantations  of  the  south  before  the  rebellion 
spread  its  desolating  effects  over  that  region  of  our  country.  The 
interior  is  supplied  with  every  modern  improvement  for  comfort, 
while  the  furniture  and  adornments  combine  all  the  ideas  which 
wealth,  refinement  and  luxury  can  suggest. 

The  progress  in  the  cultivation  of  the  land  is  indeed  a  marvel  of 
agricultural  ability,  and  evinces  in  a  marked  degree  the  results  which 
may  be  accomplished  by  good  taste,  untiring  energy  and  a  liberal,  but 
wisely  directed,  expenditure  of  money.  Through  the  operation  of  these 
influences  the  prairie  desert  has  been  made  to  blossom  as  the  rose. 

The  entire  farm,  which  is  nearly  rectangular  in  shape,  is  inclosed 
with  a  luxuriant  close-trimmed  hedge  of  osage  orange  trees,  while  in- 
side of  this  hedge  there  have  been  planted  seven  rows  of  larch  trees 
(from  which  the  farm  takes  its  name),  set  at  the  distance  of  four  feet 
apart.  The  railroad  intersects  the  land  from  north  to  south,  and  on  each 
side  of  this  the  same  arrangement  of  osage  orange  and  larch  trees  has 
been  observed.  Two  broad  driving  avenues  have  been  laid  out  across 
the  farm  from  north  to  south  and  from  east  to  west,  and  along  these 
urives  are  planted  innumerable  evergreen  trees,  set  in  a  double  row 
upon  each  side,  while  immediately  behind  these  are  ranged  the  seven 
rows  of  larch  trees,  set  at  the  distance  above  mentioned.  The  edges  of 
these  avenues  are  ornamented  with  a  bordering  of  bright  blooming 
flowers  from  end  to  end,  the  eifect  of  which  is  beautiful  to  behold. 

Some  idea  of  the  magnitude  of  this  labor,  all  of  which  has  been 
done  under  Mr.  Pinkerton's  direction,  may  be  obtained  from  the  fact 
that  over  1,000  evergreens  and  85,000  larch  trees  have  been  planted 
by  the  energetic  owner  of  "  Larch  Farm."  Along  the  main  roads  and 
those  leading  to  the  house  there  have  also  been  planted  rows  of  maple 
trees,  whose  bright  green  foliage  considerably  enhances  the  beauty  of 
the  place.  The  lawn  immediately  surrounding  the  house,  which  contains 
more  than  four  acres,  has  been  most  beautifully  and  tastefully  arranged. 


436  HISTORY  or  IROQUOIS  COUNTY. 

Serpentine  walks  of  graceful  curvings,  with  their  firm  beds  of  coal  cin- 
ders, which  have  been  brought  from  a  great  distance,  and  their  brilliant 
borderings  of  blooming  flowers,  numerous  flower-beds  of  most  varied 
and  beautiful  shapes,  and  a  liberal  distribution  of  marble  and  terra-cotta 
vases  of  unique  designs,  filled  with  brilliant-hued  flowers  and  rare 
plants,  all  contribute  to  the  production  of  a  scene  of  beauty  which  is 
the  theme  of  universal  admiration  and  a  source  of  pleasure  and  delight 
to  their  liberal-minded  owner.  The  beauty  of  the  lawn  is  further  en- 
hanced by  an  artificial  lake,  100  feet  long,  immediately  in  rear  of  the 
house,  which  glistens  in  the  morning  sun,  or  in  which,  during  the  long 
evenings,  the  rays  of  the  moon  are  brightly  reflected.  A  dainty  white 
boat  which  sails  upon  its  surface  affords  amusement  to  the  numberless 
visitors  to  the  farm. 

The  outbuildings  evince  the  same  regard  for  beauty  and  durability. 
The  greenhouse,  which  already  contains  over  2,000  plants  of  unlimited 
variety,  and  which  is  to  be  immediately  supplemented  by  another  of 
the  same  capacity,  is  a  source  of  wonderment  and  pleasure  to  the  visitors 
from  the  surrounding  neighborhood,  to  whose  inspection,  as  well  as  the 
entire  grounds,  they  have  been  opened  by  the  courtesy  of  Mr.  Pinker- 
ton.  The  barns,  stables,  corn-crib  (probably  the  largest  in  the  county) 
and  ice-house  are  in  perfect  accord  with  their  surroundings,  and  are 
remarkable  for  their  neatness,  strength  and  durability.  There  is  also 
to  be  erected  a  fruit-house  of  large  dimensions  during  the  summer. 

An  artesian  well  has  been  sunk  upon  the  premises  to  the  depth  of 
one  hundred  and  thirty  feet,  which  is  surmounted  by  a  wind-mill  thirty- 
seven  feet  high,  of  the  most  recent  invention,  and  which  furnishes  the 
house  with  a  supply  of  water  amply  sufficient  for  drinking,  washing  and 
culinary  purposes,  and  for  the  bath-rooms  contained  within  the  dwelling. 
Mr.  Pinkerton  has  also  set  out  about  2,000  apple  trees,  all  of  which 
give  evidence  of  thrift  and  of  abundant  yields  in  the  very  near  future, 
and  in  addition  to  these  orchards  there  are  a  great  number  of  pear, 
quince  and  cherry  trees,  all  giving  sure  indications  of  fruitfulness. 

The  fruit  and  vegetable  gardens  contain  almost  every  known  vari- 
ety, and  receive  the  careful  attention  of  an  experienced  gardener.  The 
fields  have  been  confined  to  the  production  of  corn  and  oats,  and  have 
thus  far  yielded  abundant  harvests. 

Disconnected  from  the  farm  proper,  but  in  close  proximity  thereto, 
is  another  tract  of  land  belonging  to  Mr.  Pinkerton,  which  contains  a 
strawberry  bed  of  large  dimensions,  and  fruit  trees  in  great  number 
and  variety.  In  order  to  accomplish  this  gigantic  labor  Mr.  Pinker- 
ton  employs  the  services  of  ten  men  during  the  entire  year,  while 
during  the  spring  this  force  is  augmented  to  double  that  number,  and 


HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 


437 


the  result  of  this  labor  is  manifest  in  the  growing  beauty  of  the  place 
and  the  luxuriant  harvests  which  are  annually  gathered. 

Altogether,  "  Larch  Farm  "  is  one  of  the  great  features  of  Iroquois 
county,  and  its  owner  one  of  the  most  energetic,  tasteful  and  liberal 
gentlemen  of  the  community. 

The  subjoined  list  of  officers  of  Iroquois  county,  though  not  quite 
complete,  is  given  as  furnished  by  the  secretary  of  state,  with  such  cor- 
rections as  we  have  been  able  to  make : 


Name. 

Date  of  Commission. 

Office. 

March  25   1834  

Sheriff. 
Coroner. 
Commissioner. 
Commissioner. 
Commissioner. 
Surveyor. 
Judge  of  Probate. 
Recorder. 
Commissioner. 
Commissioner. 
Commissioner. 
Sheriff. 
Coroner. 
Judge  of  Probate. 
Recorder. 
Coroner. 
Recorder. 
Sheriff. 
Coroner. 
Sheriff. 
Coroner. 
Probate  Justice. 
Recorder. 
Surveyor. 
Sheriff. 
Coroner. 
Recorder. 
Coroner. 
Sheriff. 
Recorder. 
Surveyor. 
Sheriff. 
Coroner. 
Sheriff. 
Coroner. 
Surveyor. 
Recorder. 
Coroner. 
Circuit  Clerk. 
Sheriff. 
Public  Administrator. 
County  Judge. 
County  Clerk. 
Survevor. 
Sheriff. 

Micaiah  Stanley  

March  25   1834  

William  Cox     

March  25   1834  .  .  .  :  

Samuel  McFall  

March  25   1834  

March  25   1834  

John  G  McDonald  * 

June  2   1834  

P   P  Hunter 

June  27   1834  

p   p  Hunter                .  . 

June  29   1834  

John  Hougland  

August  7   1834  

William  Cox  

August  7   1834  

Samuel  McFall     

August  7   1834  

August  25   1834  

August  25   1834  

Hugh  Newell             

December  13   1834  

Hugh  Newell  

February  21,  1835  

James  Cain    

April  1    1835  

Hugh  Newell    

August  20  1835  

Benjamin  Scott  

August  29   1836  

Henry  D  Strickler              . 

August  29   1836  

September  5   1838  

\Vlliiam  Fowler     .               . 

August  23   1838  

September  9   1839  

Hugli  Newell  

August  19,  1839  ;  

John  Wilson  

August  19,  1839  

MicRiah  Stanley  

August  22,  1840  

William  Fowler  

August  22,  1840  

John  Harwood  ... 

August  21,  1841  

Adam  Egbert  • 

August  18,  1842  

Micaiah  Stanley.  .  .'.  

November  24,  1842  

John  Harwood      

August  28,  1843  

Amos  0.  Whiteman  
Micaiah  Stanley  

August  28,  1843  

September  1(5,  1844  

Henry  Kellener                .  . 

November  16,  1844  

Thomas  Sammons  

August  27,  1846  

Benjamin  Brackney  

August  27,  1846  

Robert  Nilson  

August  20,  1847  

John  F   ^V'agner  

August  20,  1847  

Jonathan  Griffin  

August  23,  1848  

Jesse  Bennett  

Elected  September  4,  1848  

Leander  Hogle 

September  7   1848  

William  Pierce  

October  23,  1848  

November  23   1849  

John  F   W^agner  

November  23,  1849  

Robert  Nilson                  .... 

November  23   1849  

Michael  Hoa-le  .  . 

November  20,  1850.  . 

*  Nominated  to  the  Governorship  by  the  county  commissioners  at  their  first  term, 
but  never  qualified.  Jonas  Smith  was  the  first  county  surveyor;  date  of  election  or 
appointment  not  known. 


438 


HISTORY    OF   IKOQUOIS    COUNTY. 


Name. 

Date  of  Commission. 

Office. 

Samuel  Boyd    

November  20  1850  

Coroner 

Robert  Nilson  

November  18   1851  

Surveyor 

Jolin  F   \Vi4gner               .  •  • 

November  17   1852                 

Sheriff 

A  (liiiii  Burr  

November  17   1852  

Coroner 

Amos  0  ^Vhiteman    

November  17  1852  

County  Clerk 

Jesse  Bennett  

November  17   1852  

Circuit  Clerk 

G  F  M   Wilson  

February  2  1853  

Public  Administrator 

Daniel  Fry     .  .             

November  22  1853  

County  Clerk 

John  Chamberlain  

November  22  1853  

County  Judge 

John  Google    

November  22  1853  

School  Commissioner 

May  17,  1853  

Surveyor 

Asa  B  RofF  

November  21   1854  

Sheriff 

John  A   Strickler  

November  21   1854  

Coroner 

November  19   1855  

Surveyor 

James  H  I\  urr  

November  13  1856  

Sheriff 

John  Strean  

November  13   1856  

Coroner 

November  14,  1856  

Circuit  Clerk 

James  P  Martin  

July  22  1857    

Public  Administrator 

John  Chamberlain  

December  1   1857  

County  Judge 

Daniel  Fry  

December  1,  1857  

County  Clerk 

George  King  

December  1   1857  

County  Treasurer 

George  King  

School  Commissioner. 

Elkanah  Doolittle  

February  12.  1858  

Surveyor 

Theodore  Ayres  

November  26   1858  

Sheriff 

H.  0.  Henry  

December  14  1858  

Coroner 

Moses  H.  Messer  

November  16,  1859  

Surveyor. 

John  L.  Donovan  

1859  

Treasurer 

Nelson  M.  Bancroft  

1859  

School  Commissioner 

Luther  T.  Clark  

November  26   1860  

Sheriff 

Thomas  Vennum  

November  26,  1860  

Circuit  Clerk. 

H.  0  Henry  

December  8  1860  

Coroner 

Samuel  Williams  

November  25  1861  

County  Judge 

George  A.  Woodford  

November  25,  1861  

County  Clerk. 

George  King  

November  25   1861  

Treasurer 

Moses  H.  Messer  

November  25,  1861  '.   ... 

Surveyor 

Harrison  0.  Henry  

November  14  1862  

Sheriff 

Oliver  L.  Clark  

November  14   1862  

Coroner 

Moses  H.  Messer  

December  19  1863 

Surveyor 

George  King  

Treasurer 

N.  M.  Bancroft  

School  Commissioner. 

Thomas  Vennum  

November  23,  1864  

Circuit  Clerk 

James  P.  Martin  

November  23,  1864  

Sheriff 

Wm.  F.  Keady  

November  23,  1864  

Coroner 

C.  F.  McNeill  

November  28,  1865  

County  Judge 

James  W.  Kay  

November  28,  1865  

County  Clerk 

Pierce  T.  Rhodes  

November  28.  1865  

Treasurer 

E.  W.  Dodson  

November  28,  1865  

Surveyor 

N.  M.  Bancroft  

November  28   1865  

Supt  of  Schools 

Ezekiel  B.  Sleeth  

November  29   1866  

Sheriff 

Joseph  W.  Kay  

November  29,  1866  

Coroner. 

E.  W.  Dodson  

December  16  1867  

Surveyor 

Iven  L.  Bailey  

December  16.  1867  

Treasurer. 

Henry  T.  Skeels  

November  17   1868       

Circuit  Clerk 

Alexander  H.  South  ..... 

November  25   1868  

Sheriff 

John  D.  Leland  

December  4  1868      

Coroner 

Samuel  Williams  

March  4  1869     

Public  Administrator 

Cornelius  F.  McNeill  .... 

December  7   1869      

County  Judge 

Alba  Honeywell  

December  7   1869  

County  Clerk 

Austin  W.  Hogle  

December  7   1869  

Treasurer 

Benjamin  F.  Masters  

December  7   1869    

Surveyor 

Levi  T.  Hewins  

December  7   1869  

Supt  of  Schools 

A.  H.  South  .  . 

December  28.  1870  .  . 

Sheriff. 

HISTOKY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 


439 


Name. 


Date  of  Commission. 


Office. 


I.  L.  Bailey 

John  M.  Burton 

John  W.  Riggs 

A.  H.  South  

Daniel  Parker 

John  A.  Holmes 

M.  B.  Wright 

Henry  A.  Butzow  . . . 
George  Metzger .... 

David  Kerr 

Thomas  Pierson 

Andrew  J.  Harwood 
John  L.  Hamilton  . . , 

Fabien  Langdoc 

John  M.  Burton 

Jacob  C.  Shear 

Fabien  Langdoc [November  22,  1876 

John  L.  Hamilton December  1,  1877 

David  Kerr 

John  T.  Pierson 
L.  W.  Critser  . . 
John  L.  Hamilton 


December  4,  1871  . . 
December  4,  1871  . . 
November  29,  1872. 
November  29,  1872. 
November  29,  1872. 
September  12,  1873 . 
November  17,  1873. 
December  3,  1873  . . 
December  3,  1873  . . 
December  3,  1873  . . 
November  25,  1874. 
November  25,  1874. 
November  26,  1875. 
November  26,  1875. 
N«vember  26,  1875. 
November  22,  1876. 


December  1,  1877 
December  2,  1878 
December  2,  1878 
December  1,  1879 
J.  M.  Burton iDecember  1,  1879 


Treasurer. 

Surveyor. 

Circuit  Clerk. 

Sheriff. 

Coroner. 

Supt.  of  Schools. 

County  Judge. 

County  Clerk. 

County  Treasurer. 

Supt.  of  Schools. 

Sheriff. 

Coroner.* 

County  Treasurer. 

Coroner. 

Surveyor. 

Sheriff. 

Coroner. 

Treasurer. 

Supt.  of  Schools. 

Sheriff. 

Coroner. 

Treasurer. 

Surveyor. 


CIRCUIT   JUDGES. 


Name.  Date  of  Commission. 

Thomas  Ford January  19,  1835. 

John  Pearson February  4,  1837. 

H.  F.  Dickey December  4,  1848. 

Hugh  Henderson April  4,  1849. 

S.  H.  Randall October  31,  1854. 

S.  H.  Randall June  25,  1855. 

Charles  R.  Starr March  19,  1857. 

Charles  R.  Starr July  1,  1861. 


Name.  Date  of  Commission. 

Charles  H.  Wood March  8,  1867. 

Charles  H.  Wood June  7,  1867. 

Nathaniel  J.  Pillsbury.  June  16,  1873. 

Owen  T.  Reeves March  6,  1877. 

Franklin  Blades August  20,  1877. 

Franklin  Blades June  16,  1879. 

Nathaniel  J.  Pillsbury. June  16,  1879. 
Owen  T.  Reeves June  16,  1879. 


The  following  named  persons  were  elected  from  Iroquois  county,  at 
the  time  specified,  to  represent  in  the  lower  honse  of  the  general 
assembly  of  Illinois  the  district  to  which  it  was  attached : 


Name.  Elected. 

Isaac  Courtright August  1,  1836. 

Lewis  Roberts August  6,  1838. 

Isaac  Courtright August  1,  1842. 

Jacob  Wagner August  5,  1844. 

Micajah  Stanley August  3,  1846. 

Joseph  Thomas November  2,  1852. 

Erastus  Hillf November  7,  1854. 

Franklin  Blades November  4,  1856. 

J.  M.  Hood November  2,  1858. 

Franklin  Blades November  6,  1860. 

Addison  Goodell November  4,  1862. 


Name.  Elected. 

Charles  H.  Wood November  8,  1864. 

George  E.  King November  6,  1866. 

Addison  Goodell November  8,  1870. 

Thomas  Vennum November  8,  1870 

E.  B.  Collins November  5,  1872. 

George  W.  Parker November  3,  1874. 

Conrad  Secrest November  7,  1876. 

Conrad  Secrest November  5,  1878. 

M.  H.  Peters November  5,  1878. 

A.  S.  Palmer,  senator,  1872. 


*  Removed  from  office. 

tThis  has  the  appearance  of  an  error.    There  were  several  in  the  list  of  represen- 
tatives, but  it  is  believed  that  they  have  all  been  corrected,  except,  it  may  be,  this  one. 


440  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 


BIOGRAPHICAL. 

Experience  Lehigh,  whose  portrait  appears  in  this  work,  was  born 
in  Genesee  county,  New  York,  November  28,  1801.  Her  father, 
William  Guild,  emigrated  from  Vermont  to  that  county,  and  married 
Abigail  Streetor.  Miss  Streetor  was  born  in  Connecticut.  Her  sec- 
ond husband,  Eusebius  Fargo,  was  also  a  Vermonter.  He  had  lived 
some  years  in  Canada  before  their  marriage.  In  1814  they  emigrated 
to  West  Virginia.  Reaching  the  Alleghany  river  at  Olean,  they  pro- 
cured two  skiffs,  which  he  lashed  together,  and  in  them  the  family 
descended  the  river  to  Wheeling,  where  they  embarked  in  a  keel-boat 
to  the  Kanawa  river,  and  settled  on  its  banks.  Farming  was  his  occu- 
pation in  New  York,  and  he  pursued  the  same  calling  here.  Like 
many  others,  they  depended  upon  their  daily  labor  for  their  daily  bread. 
The  family  was  large,  and  Experience,  as  soon  as  of  suitable  age, 
earned  her  livelihood  away  from  home,  and  in  November,  four  days 
before  she  was  sixteen,  married  Abram  Lehigh.  Mr.  Lehigh  was  born 
in  Vermont ;  had  lived  most  of  his  early  life  in  Canada,  and  was  called  a 
Canadian.  He  was  a  hard-working,  industrious  man,  and  well  liked 
by  his  neighbors.  From  1817  to  1829  they  toiled  on  the  banks  of 
that  river  to  make  the  hard  soil  yield  more  than  a  living  for  themselves 
and  little  flock  of  six  children,  and  it  became  necessary  to  secure  a 
home  of  their  own.  Gathering  together  their  small  possessions,  with 
a  team  of  three  horses  and  a  large  wagon,  they  started  for  the  Wabash 
in  the  fall  of  1829.  At  this  time  her  half-brothers  and  sisters  were : 
Viletty,  who  married  William  Hall,  now  a  resident  of  Onarga  ;  Irene ; 
Henrietta ;  La  Halt,  now  living  in  Kentucky  ;  Adelia,  wife  of  T.  A. 
Norvell,  of  Gil  man  ;  Amanda;  Luna;  John;  Nancy;  Lucinda,  wife 
of  Nelson  Skeels,  of  Montana;  and  Abigail;  all  of  whom,  with  her 
father  and  mother,  were  left  behind.  William  Guild  Lehigh,  their 
eldest  child,  named  for  her  father,  was  eleven  years  old;  Mary  was 
nine;  John,  seven;  Irene  Maria,  four;  Alvira,  two;  and  Benjamin, 
the  baby,  five  months.  The  journey  across  the  states  of  Ohio  and 
Indiana  was  accomplished  in  a  month,  including  a  few  days'  stopping 
on  the  route,  on  account  of  the  sickness  of  Mrs.  Lehigh.  Perrysville 
was  their  destination.  There  they  lived  five  years,  and  two  children, 
Nancy  and  Lucinda,  were  added  to  the  family.  Mr.  Lehigh  being  a 
man  of  feeble  health,  more  than  the  usual  duties  of  a  wife  devolved 
upon  her.  The  burden  of  their  anxiety  and  effort  was  the  home  for 
which  they  left  Virginia  to  secure,  and  in  the  fall  of  1834  he  made  a 
selection  of  land  on  Spring  creek,  and  moved  here  in  the  following 
winter.  In  the  spring  of  1836  Mr.  Lehigh  died,  leaving  the  subject  of 


HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  441 

this  sketch  a  widow,  with  eight  children,  the  eldest  eighteen  years  old, 
and  the  youngest,  Frederick  Abram,  born  August  14,  1835,  eight 
months.  This  was  the  time  of  trouble  which  brought  out  the  noble 
qualities  of  this  woman,  and  developed  her  ability  to  manage  business 
and  succeed  where  many  men  would  have  failed.  They  were  possessed 
of  194  acres  of  timber,  and  a  claim  on  120  acres  of  prairie,  a  team  of 
oxen,  the  usual  household  goods  and  farming  implements  of  new  set- 
tlers in  a  wild  country.  A  living  was  to  be  secured  by  their  own 
effort,  the  prairie  land  paid  for,  and  the  children  educated.  To  these 
responsible  duties  she  gave  her  energies.  William  and  John  did  the 
work  of  men  ;  broke  up  the  prairie,  raised  the  crops,  and  under  her 
direction,  attended  to  the  out-door  farm  duties ;  while  she,  with  the 
girls,  kept  the  cabin  in  order,  spun  and  wove  the  cloth  for  the  family's 
clothing,  and  exercised  the  controlling  influence  over  the  whole  house- 
hold. William,  being  the  eldest  son,  was  his  mother's  main  assistant 
till  he  married.  After  this  John  took  the  place  made  vacant  by  that 
event.  She  found  a  way  to  give  the  children  educational  advantages 
equal  to  those  of  any  of  her  neighbors,  and  when  the  elder  ones  were 
married,  the  remainder  of  the  family  moved  to  Middleport  for  that 
purpose.  After  three  years  she  returned  to  the  farm.  While  in  Mid- 
dleport, Benjamin,  then  twenty-one  years  old,  went  with  a  large  com- 
pany of  men  overland  to  California..  He  returned  after  an  absence  of 
about  a  year,  and  died  in  a  few  days — March  21, 1851.  Now  her  farm 
help  was  her  youngest  son,  Frederick,  about  sixteen  years  old.  About 
this  time  the  farm  was  divided  with  John,  he  taking  one-half  and  she 
retaining  the  other.  A  part  .of  the  timber  was  sold,  and  the  remainder 
divided  among  the  children,  she  sharing  equally  with  them.  In  1856 
she  bought  a  house  and  lot  in  Onarga,  where  she  lived  till  the  fall  of 
1857,  and  then  returned  to  the  farm.  She  was  liberal  and  generous 
with  her  children,  and  bore  patiently  any  sacrifice  for  their  benefit, 
and  in  return  was  honored  and  Ipved  by  them.  For  many  years  before 
there  was  a  physician  in  the  settlement  she  kept  the  common  medical 
remedies  in  her  house,  and  quite  well  knew  their  use,  and  in  sickness 
was  a  most  excellent  nurse,  as  her  neighbors  could  testify.  She  always 
lent  a  helping  hand  to  those  in  distress  when  it  was  in  her  power  to 
do  so.  This  woman,  born  and  bred  in  the  humbler  walks  of  life, 
where  hard  labor  and  great  care  was  her  lot,  showed  traits  of  character 
superior  to  many  whose  advantages  were  much  better.  The  rearing 
of  a  large  family  in  a  new  county,  where  the  nearest  mill  was  thirty 
miles,  the  only  market  eighty-five,  no  doctor  nearer  than  twenty 
miles,  and  all  the  inconveniences  of  pioneer  life  surrounding  her,  was 
the  situation  she  was  placed  in ;  but  she  never  shrank  from  her  plain 


442  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

duty  —  never  pined  about  her  condition,  but  with  true  philosophical 
resignation  made  the  most  she  could  with  life,  and  in  being  cheerful 
and  happy  made  others  so.  She  lived  to  see  all  her  living  children 
settled  in  life:  William  G.,  with  his  family,  in  Iowa;  Mary,  the  wife 
of  Samuel  H.  Harper ;  John,  on  one-half  the  old  farm ;  Irene  Maria, 
the  wife  of  Forest  Lindsey  ;  Lucinda,  the  wife  of  M.  H.  Messer,  and 
Frederick  A.,  on  the  home  farm  with  her.  After  a  life  of  industry 
and  constant  effort,  she  died  March  28,  1860,  mourned  by  all  who 
knew  her. 

Father  Joseph  Elzeard  Michaud,  Catholic  priest,  Watseka,  was  born 
in  St.  Andrew,  province  of  Quebec,  Kamouraska  county,  Canada,  June 
20,  1831.  He  received  his  principal  education  at  the  Quebec  Sem- 
inary, graduating  in  1851.  He  was  ordained  priest  in  1855,  and  was 
first  stationed  as  vicar,  at  Riviere  du  Loup,  Temiscouata  county,  Canada. 
In  1857  he  was  parish-priest  at  Notre  Dame  du  Portage  ;  in  1858,  parish- 
priest  at  St.  Anne  des  Monts ;  in  1861,  parish-priest  at  Notre  Dame  du 
Mont  Carmel.  He  was  sick  for  two  years.  In  1864  he  was  parish- 
priest  at  St.  Onesime.  In  1872  he  was  sent  to  the  United  States  for 
the  French  Canadians  at  Lawrence,  Mass.  In  1874  he  was  employed 
by  the  Canadian  government  for  four  years  to  return  his  compatriots 
to  Canada,  and  at  the  same  time  he  was  parish-priest  of  Windsor 
Mills.  In  1879  he  came  to  Watseka,  and  here  he  has  been  engaged  in 
building  churches  at  Watseka,  Sheldon  and  Hoopeston. 

Hon.  Franklin  Blades,  circuit  judge,  Watseka,  is  perhaps  one  of  the 
best  known  and  most  highly  respected  men  of  Iroquois  county.  He 
was  born  in  the  old  Hoosier  State,  in  Rush  county,  Indiana,  November 
29,  1830,  and  is  the  son  of  James  and  Mary  (Harcourt)  Blades.  His 
father  was  a  country  physician,  who  died  when  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  in  the  sixteenth  year  of  his  age,  leaving  him  with  an  imper- 
fect common-school  education,  and  with  only  good  parental  training 
for  an  inheritance.  Soon  after  his  father's  death  he  was  taken  into  the 
employment  of  Dr.  James  Ford,  a  learned  physician,  at  Wabash,  Indi- 
ana, with  whom  he  remained  until  the  fall  of  1849,  meanwhile  study- 
ing the  science  of  medicine  with  him.  He  attended  medical  lectures  at 
the  Indiana  Central  Medical  College  in  1849  and  1850.  In  1851  he  was 
taken  under  the  patronage  of  the  late  William  Fowler,  M.D.,  in  the 
little  hamlet  of  Concord,  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  and  was  by  him 
put  into  active  practice.  A  part  of  his  professional  education  was 
had  at  Rush  Medical  College,  of  Chicago,  from  which  institution  he 
graduated  in  February,  1852.  The  young  physician  now  changed  his 
place  of  residence  to  the  shire  town  of  Iroquois  county,  then  known  as 
Middleport,  now  as  Watseka,  where  he  lias  since  resided,  witnessing 


HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  443 

time's  mutations  in  that  community,  the  coming,  the  going,  the  grow- 
ing up  and  the  passing  away  ;  always  a  trusted,  honored  member  of  the 
society  of  that  quiet  little  village.  With  a  view  to  increasing  his  skill 
in  the  healing  art,  after  graduating  he  attended  clinical  lectures  in 
Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  also  matriculated  both  in  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania  and  Jefferson  Medical  College.  But  Dr. 
Blades'  tastes  were  not  met  in  a  country  physician's  life,  accordingly  he 
entered  the  office  of  George  B.  Joiner,  Esq.,  in  1855.  as  a  law  student, 
and  began  the  practice  of  law  three  years  later,  having  been  admitted 
to  the  bar.  As  a  practitioner  he  was  always  successful.  Being  a 
fluent,  merry  speaker,  his  addresses  to  juries  were  almost  irresistible,  and 
with  all  his  mind  took  strong  hold  upon  principles  of  law,  lifting  him  to 
the  front  rank  in  the  profession.  As  far  back  as  1864,  Wilson  S.  Kay, 
a  very  able  lawyer,  of  the  Iroquois  county  bar,  became  his  law  partner, 
and  the  firm  of  Blades  &  Kay  was  not  dissolved  an  til  the  senior  mem- 
ber was  transferred  from  the  bar  to  the  bench.  During  those  long 
years  there  existed  between  the  two  men  a  professional  and  personal 
confidence  that  is  rarely  seen.  Since  his  admission  to  the  bar,  Judge 
Blades  has  had  but  little  of  strictly  private  life,  in  one  capacity  or  an- 
other, much  of  the  time  filling  some  responsible  office.  In  1856,  and 
for  two  years  afterward,  he  edited  the  Iroquois  "  Republican,"  and  he 
has  been  heard  to  say  that  no  work  was  more  congenial  to  him.  The 
republican  party  was  then  in  its  infancy,  the  editor  was  in  the  lusty 
strength  of  early  manhood,  and  the  moving  events  of  those  hot  years 
lent  zeal  to  his  crisp  and  pungent  talent,  and  the  products  of  his  pen 
went  flying  through  the  republican  press  of  the  country.  In  1856  the 
republican  convention,  held  at  Joliet,  for  the  legislative  district  com- 
posed of  Will,  Du  Page,  Kankakee  and  Iroqnois  counties,  nominated 
him  for  member  of  the  state  legislature.  He  was  elected,  and  again 
in  1861.  In  1862  he  was  commissioned  by  Gov.  Yates  surgeon  of  the 
76th  reg.  111.  Inf.,  and  went  to  the  front,  doing  service  at  the  siege  and 
fall  of  Yicksburg,  and  elsewhere  in  the  southwest.  At  Jackson,  Mis- 
sissippi, then  occupied  by  the  rebel  Gen.  Johnson,  he  was  violently 
attacked  with  dysentery,  from  which  he  did  not  recover  in  eighteen 
months,  and  was  forced  to  resign  in  the  spring  of  1864.  For  months 
his  health  was  so  precarious  that  his  death  would  not  have  occasioned 
surprise.  In  1864  he  was  chosen  a  Lincoln  elector,  but  infirm  health 
prevented  his  taking  a  part  in  the  canvass.  In  1868  he  was  a  candi- 
date for  congress,  being  defeated  by  Gen.  J.  H.  Moore  in  the  nomina- 
tion convention.  In  1869  he  was  appointed  assessor  of  internal  revenue 
by  President  Grant,  and  held  the  office  four  years.  In  1877  he  was 
elected  one  of  the  judges  of  the  eleventh  judicial  district,  and  at  the 


444  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

recent  election  was  again  chosen  for  a  term  of  six  years.  Judge  Blades 
is  a  man  of  strong  CQnvictions,  of  the  utmost  candor,  and  a  lover  of 
books.  He  possesses  the  natural  and  acquired  qualifications  to  sit  in 
judgment  between  men,  and  between  the  people  and  individuals.  He 
is  one  who  will  hold  the  scales  of  justice  with  steady  hand,  and  as  one 
who,  unmoved  by  passion  or  prejudice,  will  bring  experience  and  learn- 
ing to  bear  in  joining  law  with  equity.  Judge  Blades  was  married  in 
1854  to  Miss  Jennie  King,  of  Illinois,  and  by  this  union  they  have 
three  children. 

Edward  Matthews,  biographical  writer,  Papineau,  emigrated  from 
Kingston  county,  Canada,  to  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  in  1864.  He 
was  born  in  the  former  place  August  20,  1839.  His  parents  were 
Adam  and  Harriet  (David)  Matthews,  and  with  them  he  spent  his 
youth,  engaged  in  the  duties  of  the  farm  and  attending  school.  In  the 
latter  pursuit,  though  his  advantages  were  quite  limited,  he  yet,  by  an 
extensive  general  reading,  obtained  a  good  practical  education,  which 
to  one  with  sound  judgment  and  a  quick  perception  of  the  realities  of 
life  is  equivalent  to  that  usually  obtained  in  the  best  high  schools  and 
colleges.  In  December,  1861,  he  married  Miss  Mary  Knox,  a  native 
of  Canada.  He  then  engaged  in  farming  for  himself.  In  1864,  his 
wife  dying,  he  came  on  a  trip  to  Illinois,  and  after  a  stay  of  a  few 
months,  liking  the  country,  he  decided  to  make  this  his  future  home. 
Accordingly,  in  the  spring  of  1865,  of  he  arranged  with  an  insurance 
company  of  Freeport  to  act  as  their  agent  for  the  counties  of  Kanka- 
kee  and  Iroquois.  and  in  this  business  he  contined  until  October  31, 
1866.  At  the  date  last  named  he  married  Mrs.  Maria  Jones,  widow  of 
Mr.  Henry  Jones,  whose  portrait  appears  in  this  work,  and  daughter 
of  Thomas  Sammons,  Esq.,  one  of  the  early  sheriffs  of  Iroquois  county. 
She  was  born  in  Montgomery  county,  New  York,  February  10,  1833, 
and  came  with  her  parents  to  this  county  in  1836  or  1837.  After  the 
marriage  of  Mr.  Matthews  to  Mrs.  Jones  he  engaged  in  farming  and 
stock-raising,  which  business  he  followed  until  the  death  of  his  wife, 
which  sad  event  occurred  March  4,  1876.  Mrs.  Matthews  was  one  of 
the  truly  great  and  noble  women,  and  her  loss  was  to  him  the  severest 
affliction  of  his  life.  He  has  one  child :  Maxwell  Adam,  born  Septem- 
ber, 1873.  After  the  death  of  his  wife  Mr.  Matthews  rented  his  farm 
to  others,  and  engaged  in  more  congenial  business.  He  is  engaged  at 
present  as  indicated  at  the  head  of  this  article,  and  with  what  success 
the  readers  of  the  townships  of  Papineau,  Beaver  and  Martinton  will 
be  able  to  judge.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  to  Mr.  Matthews  the  editors  of 
this  work  acknowledge  their  obligations  for  the  very  complete  and 
painstaking  manner  in  which  the  work  has  been  done. 


HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY.  445 

Isaac  Amerman,  real  estate  and  collection  agent,  Onarga.  In  the 
seventeenth  century  three  brothers  named  Amerman  came  from  Hol- 
land with  the  early  Dutch  colonists  and  settled  at  New  Amsterdam. 
The  maternal  ancestors  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  were  descended 
from  John  Alden,  who  -came  over  in  the  Mayflower.  His  mother, 
Charlotte  Peck  Knapp,  was  a  native  of  Martha's  Vineyard.  Mr.  Amer- 
man was  born  in  New  York  city,  February  23,  1822.  When  seven 
years  old  he  went  to  live  with  an  elder  brother  in  Montgomery  (now 

'Fulton)  county,  New  York.  He  attended  the  Johnstown  Academy 
until  fourteen,  when  he  returned  to  the  city  and  was  apprenticed  to 
the  harness  maker's  trade.  After  serving  four  years  at  this  he  went 
into  the  wholesale  grocery  business  as  a  clerk,  which  he  followed  until 
his  marriage  with  Margaret  B.  Conklin,  March  23, 184.3.  At  this  time 
he  formed  a  partnership  with  Francis  Hobbs — firm  of  Hobbs  &  Amer- 
man— in  the  wholesale  butter  trade.  After  three  years  he  engaged  alone 
in  the  harness  business,  and  a  few  years  subsequently  was  employed  as 
a  clerk  in  the  office  of  Morton  &  Bremner,  manufacturers  of  spring  bal- 
ances and  steel  ornaments.  In  1855,  quitting  this  last  situation,  which 
he  had  held  six  years,  he  emigrated  west  and  settled  in  St.  Joseph,  Ber- 

.  rien  county,  Michigan.  His  residence  of  three  years  there  was  spent 
in  running  a  saw-mill  and  in  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to  clear  a  farm 
out  of  the  forest,  in  both  which  occupations  he  met  with  several  acci- 
dents, narrowly  escaping  fat#l  injuries.  His  strength  not  being  equal 
to  such  muscular  employments,  in  1858  he  removed  to  Onarga,  in  this 
county,  and  located  on  a  farm  six  miles  southeast  of  the  village.  In 
1865  he  opened  the  "Amerman  Collection  Agency"  in  Onarga.  The 
business  transacted  by  this  agency  has  made  it  widely  known,  and  Mr. 
Amerman's  promptness  and  skill  in  the  discharge  of  all  his  duties  have 
been  rewarded  with  the  confidence  of  the  public.  He  has  been  justice 
of  the  peace  since  January,  1866,  notary  public  ten  years,  tax  collector 
seven  or  eight  years,  secretary  of  the  agricultural  society  the  first  ten 
years  after  its  organization,  and  was  several  years  secretary  of  the  Iro- 
quois  County  Bible  Society  and  of  the  Onarga  Auxiliary  Bible  Society. 
Since  1861  he  has  been  in  communion  with  the  Presbyterian  church, 
and  for  several  years  a  member  of  the  Masonic  and  Good  Templar 
lodges  of  Onarga.  In  politics  he  was  first  a  whig,  but  on  the  disap- 
pearance of  that  party  joined  the  republicans.  His  family  has  num- 
bered eleven  children,  six  sons  and  five  daughters :  William  C.,  Erne- 
line  S.,  Margaret  A.,  Peter,  Albert  M.,  Eichard  M.  (dead),  Charlotte 
M.,  Helen  D.,  Francis  G.,  Philip  M.  and  Charles  (dead).  William 
enlisted  in  Co.  D,  113th  111.  Vol.,  in  August,  1862.  He  was  severely 
wounded  in  the  head  at  Arkansas  Post.  Mr.  Amerman  was  a  captain 


446  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

in  the  famous  New  York  Seventh  Regiment,  and  commanded  his  com- 
pany in  the  noted  Astor  Place  riot,  May  10,  1849. 

John  B.  Robinson,  president  of  Grand  Prairie  Seminary,  Commer- 
cial College,  and  Conservatory  of  Music,  Onarga,  was  the  youngest 
child  of  Adin  and  Jane  (Anderson)  Robinson,  and  was  born  at  Osceola, 
Warren  county,  Ohio,  April  11,  1834.  His  parents  were  of  Scotch 
descent;  his  father  was  born  in  Maryland  in  1787,  and  his  mother  in 
Carlisle,  Pennsylvania,  in  1792.  They  moved  to  Clark  county,  Ohio, 
and  settled  on  a  farm  near  New  Carlisle  when  he  was  four  years  old.' 
At  the  age  of  twenty  he  prepared  for  college  at  the  new  Carlisle 
Academy,  and  entered  the  Ohio  Wesleyan  University,  at  Delaware,  in 
the  sophomore  class,  early  in  1858;  graduated  from  both  the  classical 
and  biblical  schools  in  1860.  This  was  an  eventful  year  in  his  per- 
sonal history.  He  was  licensed  to  preach ;  became  principal  of  the 
Mount  AVashington  Seminary,  near  Cincinnati,  and  celebrated  his  mar- 
riage with  Miss  Emily  A.  Morris,  daughter  of  Judge  David  H.  Morris, 
of  Miami  county,  Ohio.  Her  mother's  name  was  Elizabeth  Reyburn. 
In  1865  he  was  elected  president  of  Willoughby  College,  then  in  the 
bounds  of  the  Erie  conference.  In  1869  he  accepted  the  like  position 
in  Fort  Wayne  College,  Indiana.  In  1871  he  was  called  to  the  presi- 
dency of  the  New  Hampshire  Conference  Seminary  and  Female  Col- 
lege, Tilton,  New  Hampshire,  and  in  1877  became  president  of  Grand 
Prairie  Seminary,  Commercial  College,  and  Conservatory  of  Music,  at 
Onarga,  Illinois.  During  his  residence  in  New  England  he  was  a 
member  of  the  New  Hampshire  Lecture  Bureau,  and  traveled  and  lec- 
tured extensively  in  that  state,  and  in  Yermont  and  Massachusetts. 
He  continues  to  lecture  on  scientific  and  educational  subjects  in  con- 
nection with  his  labors  as  an  instructor.  In  1875  he  published  "  Infi- 
delity Answered";  in  1876,  "Vines  of  Eschol,"  and  the  same  year, 
"  Erneline ;  or,  Home,  Sweet  Home,"  a  poem.  On  the  same  day,  in 
the  year  1879,  two  universities,  the  Indiana  Asbury  and  the  Illinois 
Wesleyan,  conferred  on  him  the  degree  of  doctor  of  divinity.  Dr. 
Robinson's  father  was  an  authorized  minister  in  the  Baptist  church, 
and  was  distinguished  for  his  piety  and  benevolence.  The  doctor  has 
a  family  of  five  beautiful  daughters.  Since  he  reached  man's  estate 
his  pen  and  voice  have  found  constant  employment  in  aiding  to  direct 
public  opinion  on  religions,  political,  and  other  general  questions,  as 
well  as  to  encourage  a  love  for  the  finer  and  nobler  qualities  which 
bless  and  adorn  the  lives  of  humanity. 

Lucas  Emory  Pearce,  physician  and  surgeon,  Onarga,  was  born  in 
Champaign  county,  Ohio,  March  31,  1835.  He  was  the  second  son  of 
Harvey  C.  and  Beulah  (Barritt)  Pearce.  His  father  was  a  farmer, 


HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  447 

and  he  spent  his  early  days  at  the  plow.  He  received  his  literary 
education  at  Delaware  College,  Ohio.  From  the  age  of  sixteen  to 
twenty-four  he  taught  school  ;  meanwhile  spending  his  leisure  in  pri- 
vate medical  reading.  He  celebrated  his  nuptials  with  Elizabeth 
Frances  McCollum,  May  20, 1858.  In  1862  he  entered  Starling  Med- 
ical College,  Columbus,  but  did  not  finish  his  course  before  beginning 
practice.  A  short  time  was  spent  in  his  profession  in  Ohio,  when  he 
located  in  Benton  county,  Indiana,  where  he  resided  three  years.  After 
this  he  removed  his  family  back  to  Champaign  county,  continuing  to 
reside  there  and  practice  until  1876.  In  1868-9  he  attended  lectures 
again  at  Starling  Medical  College,  graduating  February  26, 1869.  He 
united  with  the  M.  E.  church  at  fifteen  ;  was  superintendent  of  Sabbath 
schools  in  his  native  county  many  years ;  was  made  a  life  member  of 
the  missionary  society,  and  a  local  preacher,  and  regularly  ordained  a 
local  deacon.  In  1876  he  removed  and  settled  in  Onarga,  this  county, 
where  he  has  built  up  a  very  large  practice,  which  is  constantly  increas- 
ing. He  has  an  interesting  family  of  four  children  :  Frank,  Mary, 
Harvey  and  Sadie.  The  doctor's  grandfather,  Thomas  Pearce,  was  a 
soldier  under  Washington,  and,  as  such,  shared  in  the  glory  which 
crowned  the  American  arms  at  Yorktown.  He  served  also  in  the  war 
of  1812.  His  mother's  father,  Abner  Barritt,  was  a  captain  of  the 
revolution,  and  fought  at  Bunker  Hill  and  other  places.  He  was  a 
pioneer  settler  in  Champaign  county,  Ohio,  where  he  formed  the  ac- 
quaintance of  the  celebrated  Indian  chief,  Tecumseh,  who  used  to  visit 
him  frequently. 

Andrew  C.  Rankin,  physician  and  surgeon,  Loda,  is  the  son  of  Rev. 
John  Rankin,  a  Presbyterian  minister  of  note,  and  was  born  in  Ripley, 
Ohio,  June  22,  1828.  He  received  a  part  of  his  literary  education  at 
Ripley  College,  of  which  his  father  was  at  the  time  president,  and  fin- 
ished his  course  of  study  at  Felicity,  Ohio.  In  1848  he  began  studying 
medicine  under  Dr.  A.  Dunlap,  of  Ripley,  and  was  with  him  three 
years.  He  next  attended  two  courses  of  lectures  at  Starling  Medical 
College,  Columbus,  Ohio,  and  graduated  in  March,  1852.  He  located 
in  Ross  county,  Ohio,  one  year,  and  then  went  to  Atlanta,  Logan 
county,  Illinois,  where  he  practiced  till  1856.  From  there  he  removed 
to  Lawrence,  Kansas,  spending  two  years  in  the  border  war,  accom- 
panying John  Brown,  and  serving  in  the  double  capacity  of  soldier  and 
surgeon.  In  the  latter  part  of  1858  he  returned  to  Illinois,  and  settled 
at  Loda.  In  1862  he  entered  the  army  as  assistant  surgeon  of  the  88th 
111.  Yols.  He  resigned  after  one  year  and  reentered  the  army  as  sur- 
geon, and  had  charge  of  several  hospitals.  The  principal  of  these  was 
the  United  States  general  hospital  at  Camp  Nelson,  Kentucky,  which 


448  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

had  some  fifteen  hundred  beds  and  required  about  fifteen  assistants. 
He  served  about  four  years  in  the  army  and  then  returned  to  Loda  and 
resumed  his  practice.  On  October  1,  1852,  he  married  Susan  Houser, 
who  was  born  in  Ohio,  December  25, 1830.  There  are  two  children  by 
this  union:  Ellen,  wife  of  W.  H.  Gopp,  of  Loda,  and  Louie  Q.,  wife  of 
Edwin  Slocum,  of  the  same  place.  Dr.  Rankin  has  held  offices  of 
trust  and  responsibility,  and  given  satisfaction  to  the  people.  He  is 
well  known  both  for  his  integrity  as  a  man  and  his  skill  as  a  physician 
and  surgeon.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  a  repub- 
lican in  politics.  His  father,  now  about  ninety  years  old,  has  spent  an 
active  and  useful  life  in  the  ministry.  He  still  preaches  occasionally. 
He  was  pastor  of  one  church  forty-five  years,  and  wrote  the  call  for  the 
first  anti-slavery  meeting  held  in  America.  A  portrait  of  Dr.  Rankin 
appears  in  this  work. 

Winslow  Woods,  retired,  Onarga,  was  born  in  Barnard,  Windsor 
county,  Yermont,  March  30,  1799.  He  was  the  third  son  of  Paul  and 
Mary  (Winslow)  Woods.  His  ancestors  were  English.  The  Winslows 
he  can  trace  back  as  far  as  1530,  Gov.  Winslow,  of  Plymouth  Colony, 
of  whom  he  is  a  lineal  descendant,  being  a  member  of  this  family.  His 
grandfather,  Jonathan  Woods,  settled  in  New  Braintree,  Massachusetts. 
The  farm  which  he  improved  has  never  passed  out  of  the  family,  and 
is  the  only  one  in  the  township  which  was  never  mortgaged.  His 
uncle,  John  Woods,  was  an  orderly  sergeant  in  the  revolutionary  war, 
and  singularly  enough  refused  further  promotion  or  to  receive  a  pen- 
sion. He  wintered  at  Yalley  Forge.  Mr.  Woods  was  county  surveyor 
of  Windsor  county  from  1822  to  1834,  when  poor  health  obliged  him 
to  quit  his  farm,  and  he  left  the  state.  He  had  been  constable,  collector 
and  special  sheriff',  the  latter  an  office  in  which  the  incumbent  was  em- 
powered to  do  business  anywhere  in  the  state.  He  now  located  at 
Tolland  county,  Connecticut,  where  he  resided  twenty  years,  engaged 
in  manufacturing.  On  September  17,  1853,  he  arrived  in  Iroquois 
county,  and  settled  on  a  farm  of  320  acres  in  Stockland  township.  In 
the  spring  of  1860  he  removed  to  Onarga,  where  he  has  continued  to 
live  until  the  present  time.  With  his  residence  here  he  began  the  busi- 
ness of  claim  attorney,  which  he  still  carries  on  to  some  extent.  He  has 
held  the  office  of  supervisor,  and  for  thirteen  years  held  one  or  more  of 
the  following  offices:  justice  of  the  peace,  notary  public  and  police 
magistrate.  He  has  done  a  large  business  as  guardian,  and  has  had  as 
many  as  twenty  orphan  children  under  his  charge  at  one  time.  He  is 
now  eighty-one  years  of  age.  His  portrait  appears  in  this  work.  On 
March  10,  1824,  he  and  Lydia  Newton  were  united  in  marriage.  She 
died  February  14,  1869,  and  is  buried  in  the  cemetery  at  Onarga. 


HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  449 

There  were  two  sons  by  this  marriage:  Henry  C.,  born  April  20, 1829, 
and  Lucius  P.,  born  March  12,  1831.  They  were  both  liberally  edu- 
cated, and  served  in  the  army  with  distinction.  The  latter  was  thor- 
oughly educated  in  this  country  for  the  practice  of  medicine  and  sur- 
gery, and  after  a  few  years  devoted  to  his  profession  he  went  to  Europe, 
spending  a  year  in  some  of  the  best  medical  schools,  and  in  the  hospi- 
tals on  the  continent.  On  the  breaking  out  of  the  late  civil  war  he  was 
commissioned  surgeon  of  the  5th  N".  Y.  Cav.,  and  by  successive  promo- 
tions rose  to  prominence  in  the  medical  branch  of  the  service.  He  was 
surgeon  of  the  cavalry  corps  field  hospital ;  surgeon-in-chief,  first  brig- 
ade, third  division,  cavalry  corps;  surgeon-in-chief,  third  division,  cav- 
alry corps,  and  after  he  was  mustered  out,  January  3,  1865,  served  at 
headquarters,  third  division,  same  corps,  under  contract,  as  acting  staff 
surgeon  from  that  date  to  March  3.  He  was  in  eighty-seven  battles ; 
was  greatly  distinguished  as  a  surgeon  and  highly  respected  as  a  man, 
and  died  at  Winsted,  Connecticut,  Ma}7  30,  1865.  The  resolutions  of 
the  officers  of  his  old  regiment,  passed  after  his  death,  declare  that  "he 
added  to  rare  professional  skill  the  most  untiring  industry,"  and  that 
"to  the  refinement  of  a  gentleman  he  added  social  andfchristian  virtues 
rarely  equaled."  The  other  son,  Henry  C.,  enlisted  at  the  outbreak  of 
the  war  as  a  private  in  the  1st  111.  Cav.,  and  was  captured  with  Mulli- 
gan's force  at  Lexington,  Missouri,  in  1861.  Subsequently  he  was  a 
captain  in  the  llth  111.  Cav.,  Col.  R.  Q-.  Ingersoll ;  was  promoted  to 
major,  and  commanded  the  regiment  after  the  capture  of  his  colonel. 
He  served  on  the  Atlanta  campaign  in  the  engineer  corps,  and  was 
discharged  after  the  fall  of  that  city.  He  superintended  work  on  a 
portion  of  the  railroad  bridge  across  the  Mississippi  at  Burlington,  and 
across  the  Missouri  at  Omaha,  and  afterward  followed  the  same  business 
farther  west.  He  died  suddenly  at  Kansas  City  of  heart  disease  and 
pneumonia,  March  3,  1879.  His  remains  are  interred  at  Onarga. 

John  H.  Atwood,  Principal  of  Onarga  Commercial  College,  Onarga, 
was  the  youngest  son  of  Charles  Rice  and  Martha  Chandler  (Sherman) 
Atwood,  and  was  born  in  Barre,  Worcester  county,  Massachusetts, 
November  24,  1838.  In  the  spring  of  1839  his  father  emigrated  with 
his  family  to  Illinois,  settling  on  Rock  river,  between  Dixon  and 
Sterling,  where  he  preempted  a  claim.  Here  he  was  attacked  with 
typhoid  fever,  and  died  August  14.  His  mother,  being  left  alone  with 
three  children,  suffered  many  privations ;  after  much  sickness  in  the 
family,  and  losing  her  personal  property  by  fraud,  she  returned  in 
destitute  circumstances  to  her  father's,  in  Massachusetts.  The  subject 
of  this  sketch  remained  with  his  grandfather  until  he  was  nine  years 
old,  when  he  went  to  live  with  his  uncle.  He  worked  on  the  farm 
29 


450  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

summers  and  went  to  the  district  school  winters  till  he  was  fourteen, 
when  he  began  to  manage  for  himself.  His  first  step  was  to  get  a 
place  where  he  could  work  for  his  board  and  attend  a  high  "school. 
He  averaged  six  months  each  year,  and  at  the  age  of  seventeen  began 
teaching.  Being  advised  by  friends  of  the  advantage  of  having  a  trade, 
he  learned  dentistry,  but  having  no  taste  for  the  business  abandoned  it, 
and  again  started  to  school  determined  to  get  a  liberal  education. 
With  an  unfaltering  purpose  he  adhered  to  this  resolution  eleven  years, 
going  to  school  and  teaching  by  turns,  and  working  on  the  farm,  or 
in  the  palm-leaf  shop  during  vacations ;  privately  pursuing  his  studies 
with  zeal  when  out  of  school.  He  took  a  regular  course  of  study  at 
both  Colton's  Commercial  College,  Springfield,  Massachusetts,  and  at 
the  Massachusetts  State  Normal  School,  at  Westfield,  and  in  the  latter 
penmanship.  The  devotion  with  which  he  pursued  this  favorite  object 
led  him  to  decline  an  offer  of  partnership  with  his  instructor,  with  a 
guaranteed  income  of  $1,200  a  year.  In  1865  he  came  west  for  his 
health,  taught  school  five  months,  and  bought  a  farm  near  El  Paso. 
He  was  married  at  that  place  March  29,  1866,  to  Martha  Jane  Park- 
hurst.  They  have  four  children.  The  next  fall,  being  tendered  the 
principalship  of  the  west  side  graded  school  in  El  Paso,  he  accepted  it, 
and  a  little  while  after  sold  his  farm.  Teaching  there  two  years,  he 
moved  then,  in  the  fall  of  1868,  to  Onarga,  to  take  the  same  position 
in  the  graded  school  in  that  place.  He  filled  that  post  till  1S70,  and 
was  then  employed  one  year  as  teacher  in  Grand  Prairie  Seminary. 
The  next  year  he  was  appointed  principal  of  the  commercial  depart1 
ment.  Before  entering  upon  this  new  field  of  instruction,  he  prepared 
himself  with  a  special  course  of  study  in  Bryant  &  Stratton's  Commer- 
cial College.  Two  years  later  he  took  another  course  at  Dyhrenfurth's. 
Prof.  Atwood  has  conducted  this  school  with  acknowledged  success. 
For  completeness,  thoroughness  and  practical  value,  the  course  which 
is  here  provided  has  no  superior  anywhere.  The  professor  is  known 
to  be  a  man  of  untiring  energy,  and  the  private  care  and  attention 
which  he  gives  to  individual  students,  and  the  special  interest  he  im- 
parts to  all  the  work,  and  displays  for  the  success  of  his  classes,  with 
every  other  advantage  of  the  course,  have  given  the  Onarga  Commer- 
cial College  a  growing  and  substantial  reputation. 

Samuel  H.  Harper,  farmer,  Onarga,  was  born  in  Cumberland  county, 
Pennsylvania,  March  20,  1814.  He  was  the  fourth  child  in  a  family 
of  six  children.  In  1817  his  parents,  Samuel  and  Marj^  (McCoy)  Har- 
per, moved  and  settled  near  Columbus,  in  Franklin  county,  Ohio. 
He  received  such  an  education  as  was  afforded  by  the  district  schools 
of  that  day.  In  the  fall  of  1837  he  and  they,  together  with  several 


HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  451 

others  (twenty-one  altogether),  emigrated  to  this  county,  and  arrived 
on  Middle  Spring  creek,  in  the  present  township  of  Onarga,  where 
they  settled  October  2,  1837.  This  arrival,  including  the  few  who 
had  previously  come,  was  the  foundation  of  a  pioneer  community 
which,  for  social  and  religious  character,  is  not  often  equaled.  The 
only  survivors  of  the  party  are  Mr.  Harper,  Diana  Harper,  Thomas  M. 
Pangborn  and  wife,  Ransom  B.  Pangborn,  Cynthia  Lowe  (wife  of 
Hiram  Lowe),  Almira  Root  and  Nelson  Skeels.  Mr.  Harper  married 
Miss  Mary  Lehigh,  April  16,  1839.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Experi- 
ence Lehigh,  whose  portrait  is  given  in  this  book,  and  was  born  in 
Mason  county,  West  Virginia,  May  22,  1820.  Her  parents  settled  and 
lived  in  Vermilion  county,  Indiana,  several  years  before  coming  here. 
They  have  had  ten  children,  eight  of  whom  are  living:  Harriet  L. 
(dead),  George  W.,  Alexander,  John  (dead),  Alvira,  Harriet  Experi- 
ence, Florence  Ella,  Margaret  J.,  Eva  and  Eddy.  John  enlisted  in 
Co.  D,  113th  111.  Vol.,  August  15,  1862.  He  fought  at  the  battle  of 
Arkansas  Post ;  was  acting  quartermaster  sergeant  of  a  colored  regi- 
ment, and  in  September,  1864,  was  captured  near  La  Grange,  Tennes- 
see, and  no  tidings  of  him  have  ever  reached  his  family.  Alexander 
served  a  term  of  three  years  also  in  the  same  regiment.  Mr.  Harper 
has  been  a  trustee  of  Grand  Prairie  Seminary  since  it  was  built.  He 
and  his  wife  have  been  members  of  the  Methodist  church  about  forty 
years,  and  Mr.  Harper  has  been  steward  and  trustee  most  of  the  time 
since.  His  father  was  a  soldier  of  1812.  Mr.  Harper  is  one  of  the 
substantial  and  respected  citizens  of  Onarga  township. 

Thomas  M.  Pangborn,  farmer,  Onarga,  oldest  child  of  John  and 
Miranda  (Miller)  Pangborn,  was  born  in  Keene,  Essex  county,  New 
York,  June  1,  1806.  His  progenitors  were  early  English  settlers 
in  this  country.  Several  of  his  ancestors  were  enrolled  as  yeomen 
soldiery  in  the  revolution.  Each,  his  father  and  his  mother,  had  an 
uncle  confined  by  the  British  in  some  of  the  Wallabout  prison-ships 
(these  were  the  Stromboli,  Scorpion,  Hunter,  Falmouth,  Scheldt,  and 
Clyde),  sisters  to  the  Old  Jersey,  truly  and  graphically  denominated 
by  outraged  humanity  and  public  judgment,  "  The  Hell."  In  1816 
Judge  Pangborn's  father  emigrated  with  his  family  to  Franklin  county, 
Ohio,  where  they  made  or  cleared  two  farms.  On  March  15, 1832,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  married  to  Miss  Jane  Harper,  a  sister  to  our 
much  esteemed  fellow-citizen,  Samuel  H.  Harper.  They  have  had  six 
children — two  sons,  who  died  in  infancy,  and  the  four  daughters  fol- 
lowing: Triphenia,  who  was  born  November  4,  1834,  married  to 
Elkanah  Doolittle,  and  died  July  22,  1868;  Emily,  born  December  21, 
1838 ;  Mary  Ann,  born  April  19,  1841,  wife  of  Charles  Haven  ;  and 


452  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

Miranda,  born  November  19,  1.84-3,  wife  of  Elkanah  Doolittle.  Mr. 
Pangborn  was  one  of  the  party  who  settled  on  Middle  Spring  Creek 
October  2,  1837,  from  Franklin  county,  Ohio,  a  further  account  of 
which  may  be  found  in  the  sketch  of  S.  H.  Harper.  He  entered  240 
acres  on  Sec.  30,  T.  26,  R.  14.  In  1853  he  was  elected  associate  judge 
of  Iroquois  count}',  and  held  that  office  till  1857.  From  the  adoption 
of  the  free-school  system  he  was  trustee  nineteen  years  in  succession. 
He  has  beeji  a  member  of  the  M.  E.  church  forty-one  years,  and  Mrs. 
Pangborn  forty-three  years.  He  was  a  class-leader  in  the  church  from 
1843  to  1879.  Mr.  Pangborn  was  one  of  the  prominent  early  settlers 
of  this  county.  The  good  name  and  reputation  which  he  enjoys,  as  a 
man  and  a  citizen,  is  due  more  to  his  exemplary  life  and  perfect  Chris- 
tian character  than  to  any  other  influence.  Judge  Pangborn  has  a 
portrait  in  this  work. 

Rev.  James  P.  Forsythe,  preacher,  Onarga,  was  the  youngest  child 
of  John  and  Ruth  (McKnight)  Forsythe,  and  was  born  in  Shippens- 
burg,  Cumberland  county,  Pennsylvania,  March  12,  1830.  His  father 
was  a  Scotchman.  His  mother  died  when  he  was  twelve  years  old. 
While  a  youth  he  worked  on  his  father's  farm  and  attended  the  com- 
mon schools.  He  next  went  to  the  academy  at  Worthington,  where 
he  obtained  a  good  English  education.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  he  was 
converted,  and  united  with  the  M.  E.  church  at  Cumberland  City, 
Maryland.  Since  that  time  he  has  sustained  almost  constant  official 
relation  to  the  church.  On  February  9, 1854,  he  and  Rosanna  Mech- 
ling  were  united  in  marriage  at  Worthington,  Armstrong  county, 
Pennsylvania.  They  immediately  settled  in  Viriton  county,  Ohio,  and, 
after  a  residence  of  two  years  there,  moved  to  Illinois  City,  Rock 
Island  county,  in  this  state.  Here  he  engaged  some  in  farming  and 
school-teaching ;  and  in  1857  was  licensed  to  preach.  In  1863  he 
entered  the  traveling  connection  in  the  Central  Illinois  Conference. 
Beginning  with  that  year  he  filled  the  following  appointments  suc- 
cessively :  Round  Grove,  two  years ;  Chatsworth,  two  years ;  Wat- 
seka,  one  year ;  Loda,  two  years ;  Watseka,  one  year ;  and  in  the 
fall  of  1871  was  appointed  by  the  conference  financial  agent  of 
Grand  Prairie  Seminary.  He  has  lived  in  Onarga  since  the  last 
date.  In  1878  he  became  pastor  of  the  Methodist  church  at  Clif- 
ton, and  fills  that  pulpit  at  the  present  time.  Mr.  Forsythe's  min- 
istry has  been  successful  in  the  building  up  of  the  church  and  the 
increasing  of  the  membership  of  each  charge  where  he  has  labored. 
When  he  undertook  the  control  of  the  financial  interests  of  the  semi- 
nary the  endowment  was  coming  due,  and  he  has  managed  its  collection 
with  practical  success.  He  properly  ranks  with  men  of  strong  con  vie- 


HISTOEY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  453 

tions  and  stable  belief.  He  preaches  the  truth  as  he  understands  it ; 
assails  and  exposes  sin  with  the  sword  of  the  spirit;  and  to  the  bruised 
heart  he  brings  the  glad  tidings  and  soothing  influences  of  the  Saviour's 
love.  He  is  especially  direct  and  practical  in  his  enforcement  of  the 
truth  and  in  his  invitations  to  the  erring.  He  is  held  in  high  esteem 
by  his  brethren,  and  his  standing  with  the  conference,  as  a  man  and 
minister,  is  in  the  highest  degree  favorable  to  his  reputation.  They 
have  had  two  children :  Emma  Jane,  born  February  13,  1856  ;  died 
August  26,  1857 ;  and  Dora  A.,  born  February  6,  18bO.  Miss  For- 
sythe  is  a  member  of  the  senior  class  of  Grand  Prairie  Seminary,  which 
graduates  the  present  year.  She  belongs  to  the  Methodist  church,  and 
is  active  and  efficient  in  Sunday-school  work. 

Luther  T.  Clark,  Onarga,  was  born  in  Manchester,  Dearborn  county, 
Indiana.  June  18, 1830.  His  father  was  a  merchant,  and  he  was  reared 
behind  the  counter.  He  enjoyed  such  advantages  for  education  as  were 
common  in  that  day.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  settled  in  Marshall 
county,  Illinois,  where  he  entered  208  acres  of  government  land,  on 
section  3,  in  Saratoga  township.  He  afterward  sold  this  land  to 
Thomas  Jemieson,  and  then  bought  a  quarter-section  on  the  other  side 
of  the  county  line,  —  S.W.  J,  Sec.  34,  Milo  township,  in  Bureau 
county.  While  living  in  this  county  he  was  married,  at  Versailles, 
Indiana,  to  Miss  Mary  E.  King.  She  was  born  in  Kingfield,  Maine, 
and  was  a  descendant  of  the  first  governor  of  that  state,  Rufus  King. 
She  died  December  18,  1854,  and  was  buried  in  the  cemetery  at 
Henry,  Illinois.  They  had  one  daughter,  Alice  E.,  born  July  24, 
1854,  and  died  December  29,  1873.  She  is  buried  in  the  cemetery  at 
Onarga.  In  the  fall  of  1853  Mr.  Clark  settled  in  Henry,  and  engaged 
in  the  grain  business  one  year.  In  the  spring  of  1855  he  removed  to 
Ash  Grove,  Iroquois  county,  and  settled  on  the  old  Nunamaker  farm, 
now  owned  and  occupied  by  Squire  Wesley  Harvey.  That  fall  his 
father's  family  came  from  Indiana  to  this  county,  and  the  next  spring 
his  father  came  with  a  stock  of  goods.  They  went  into  partnership, 
which  continued  about  one  year.  He  then  moved  out  on  the  prai- 
rie on  a  new  farm,  now  the  John  Bond  estate.  He  speculated 
largely  in  land,  and  farmed  during  his  residence  in  Ash  Grove 
township.  He  was  supervisor  two  years,  beginning  with  1858.  In  the 
fall  of  1860  he  was  elected  sheriff  of  Iroquois  county,  on  the  repub- 
lican ticket,  and  held  that  office  two  years.  The  court-house  was 
destroyed  by  fire,  and  the  prisoner,  Davis,  burned  to  death,  during  his 
term.  He  hung  the  second  man  executed  in  the  county — McDonald, 
alias  McLaughlin.  His  crime  was  the  killing  of  his  brother-in-law  at 
Ashkum.  In  1862  he  settled  on  his  farm  at  Onarga.  He  was  mar- 


454  I  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

ried  to  Miss  Melvina  Hall,  May  1,  1856.  She  was  born  in  Mason 
county,  Virginia,  December  10,  1833.  Their  children  are :  Charles 
A.,  born  August  23,  1857;  William  A.,  September  15,  1858;  Emma 
E.,  March  16,  1860 ;  Albert  F.,  April  10, 1868.  Charles  A.  is  an  ener- 
getic and  industrious  farmer,  and  resides  on  the  old  homestead,  which 
he  has  recently  purchased.  He  was  married  in  the  fall  of  1878  to 
Miss  Mattie  Wheeler,  of  Onarga.  William  A.  is  now  in  Colorado. 
Emma  E.  graduates  in  the  Latin  scientific  course  of  Grand  Prairie 
Seminary  June  10  of  this  year,  and  has  also  taken  the  German  course. 
She  is  a  young  lady  whose  beautiful  life  and  personal  accomplishments 
impart  sunshine  and  gladness  to  her  home  and  friends.  Mr.  Clark  was 
assessor  of  Onarga  township  for  a  number  of  years.  From  the  time 
he  settled  on  his  farm  south  of  Onarga,  until  recently,  he  was  princi- 
pally engaged  in  raising  fine  stock  and  in  fruit  growing.  In  the  spring 
of  1875,  in  company  with  Lee  C.  Brown,  he  went  to  France  for  the 
Onarga  Importing  Company  and  brought  over  nine  Percheron  stallions. 
In  the  fall  he  purchased  town  property  and  removed  to  the  village. 
He  has  belonged  to  the  order  of  Freemasonry  about  fifteen  years.  He 
was  formerly  a  whig,  and  when  the  republican  party  was  organized 
joined  it,  and  has  ever  been  a  consistent  adherent  to  its  principles. 
Mr.  Clark  is  a  respected  and  valuable  citizen. 

Moses  Haynes  Messer,  surveyor  and  civil  engineer,  Onarga,  "was 
born  January  29,  1829,  in  Methuen,  Massachusetts.  He  is  the  fourth 
child  of  Matthew  and  Ruth  (Haynes)  MeSser,  who  reared  ten  children, 
nine  of  whom  are  living.  His  father  was  born  January  1,  1800,  and 
his  mother  March  14,  1798.  They  were  married  in  May,  1822.  The 
Messers  and  Hayneses  are  an  ancient  stock.  In  about  1665  an  old 
man  and  eight  sons  settled  in  Haverhill,  Massachusetts,  and  tradition 
says  the  father  returned  to  Germany  on  business,  and  was  never  heard 
from  after  that  time.  In  a  few  years  the  sons  moved  up  the  Merrimac 
to  the  east  part  of  Methuen,  and  bought  land  and  made  homes  near 
each  other.  The  house,  built  of  wood,  in  which  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  born,  was  erected  in  1725,  and  was  one  hundred  and 
twenty-three  years  old  when  replaced  by  another  in  1848 ;  the  deed 
of  the  farm  from  Abial  Messer  to  his  son  Richard  bears  date  1725. 
Joseph  and  John  Haynes,  from  England,  arrived  at  Salem,  Massachu- 
setts, in  1633.  The  latter  was  governor  of  the  colony  in  1635 ;  in 
1636  he  settled  in  Connecticut,  and  was  the  first  governor  there.  From 
the  date  of  his  arrival  till  1654,  when  he  died,  he  was  governor  of  that 
colony  alternate  years.  He  was  one  of  the  six  commissioners  who 
drew  up  the  first  written  constitution  of  any  colony  in  America,  which 
embodies  the  main  points  of  all  the  state  constitutions.  Joseph  settled 


HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  455 

in  Newburyport,  and  a  few  years  later  in  Haverhill.  Matthew  Messer 
was  a  hat  manufacturer  over  forty  years.  Moses  worked  in  his  father's 
shop  till  he  was  twenty -one,  attending  the  district  school  each  winter 
up  to  the  age  of  sixteen  ;  then  walked  three  miles  to  a  private  school 
taught  by  Moses  and  Nancy  Burbank.  This  was  attended  three  suc- 
cessive winters  with  a  neighbor  boy,  S.  G.  Sargent.  Neither  was  once 
late  or  absent  during  the  whole  time.  Afterward  he  went  to  Pembroke 
Academy,  New  Hampshire,  one  term,  and  after  he  was  twenty-one 
spent  nearly  two  years  at  New  Hampton  Institute  in  the  same  state. 
In  1852  he  was  admitted  to  a  private  civil  engineering  class  at  Provi- 
dence, Rhode  Island,  under  the  tuition  of  William  A.  Norton,  and 
went  with  him  to  New  Haven,  Connecticut,  the  next  fall,  when  the 
civil  engineering  school  was  commenced  at  Yale  College.  He  remained 
there  two  terms.  In  1853  he  was  engaged  in  the  city  engineer's  office 
in  Boston,  then  in  western  Pennsylvania  and  New  Hampshire,  and  in 
1854  again  in  Massachusetts.  He  arrived  in  Chicago  June  1,  1855, 
and  was  employed  first  by  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company, 
and  afterward  by  Thomas  and  Henry  Perry,  of  Kankakee  city,  to  do 
surveying.  In  October,  1855,  he  settled  in  Onarga  on  government 
land.  He  held  the  office  of  county  surveyor  from  1859  to  1865 ;  was 
justice  of  the  peace  from  1856  to  1868 ;  United  States  internal  revenue 
assessor  for  three  years  from  1862,  and  school  director  from  1862  to 
1871.  Mr.  Messer  was  united  in  marriage  with  Lucinda  Lehigh, 
daughter  of  Experience  Lehigh,  whose  portrait  appears  in  this  work. 
January  29,  1858.  The  issue  of  this  union  has  been  three  living  chil- 
dren: Clarence  Edgar,  Augusta  and  Angie,  and  a  son  and  daughter 
dead.  He  entertains  progressive  views  on  all  political  questions  ;  was 
once  a  republican,  but  more  recently  has  been  a  prohibitionist,  and  is 
liberal  in  his  religious  opinions.  His  inclinations  have  always  been 
for  philosophy  and  the  natural  sciences.  He  walked  five  miles  to 
spend,  for  a  Comstock's  Natural  Philosophy,  about  the  first  half-dollar 
that  he  ever  owned.  He  read  that  through  twice  by  himself,  and  then 
pursued  the  study  several  terms  in  school.  He  is  fond  of  controversy, 
but  debates  for  information  ;  he  has  decided  convictions,  and  is  frank 
and  fearless  in  the  expression  of  them. 

Samuel  Mason  Ayres,  retired,  Beech  Hill,  Mason  county,  West 
Virginia,  son  of  Samuel  and  Lydia  T.  (Carey)  Ayres,  was  born  Janu- 
ary 25,  1808.  When  he  was  two  years  old  his  parents  moved  to  Cha- 
tauqua  county,  New  York.  He  was  living  beside  Lake  Chatauqua  at  the 
time  of  Perry's  victory  on  Lake  Erie,  and  remembers  the  cannonading 
and  the  excitement  on  shore.  A  Capt.  Bird  and  some  of  the  other 
neighbors  were  killed  in  the  engagement.  In  the  spring  of  1822  his 


456  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

father  removed  his  family  to  Mason  county,  West  Virginia.  Young 
Ayres  was  trained  in  a  knowledge  of  farm  life,  and  attended  the  com- 
mon schools  of  the  day.  When  he  was  twenty-one  his  father  died, 
leaving  to  his  care  his  widowed  mother  and  four  younger  sisters.  In 
1834  he  came  to  Iroquois  county  to  view  the  country,  and  in  1836  per- 
manently settled  here.  An  episode  in  Mr.  Ayres'  life  shows  that  the 
course  of  true  love  never  runs  smooth.  When  children  at  school,  he 
and  Melinda  Long  betrothed  themselves,  and  seven  or  eight  years  were 
beguiled  away  under  the  happy  influence  of  those  young  and  tender 
affections  which"  make  life  a  dreamland,  and  give  everything  renewed 
beauty,  and  a  single  presence  magic  power.  Ayres  was  poor,  but  her 
people  were  rich,  and  of  course  opposed  the  union.  In  the  spring  of 
1832  an  elopement  to  the  west  was  planned.  Though  love  may  laugh 
at  locksmiths,  and  display  admirable  skill  and  resources  on  extraordi- 
nary occasions,  it  cannot  be  expected  every  time  to  overcome  war,  pesti- 
lence and  high  water.  The  consummation  of  their  plans  was  first 
prevented  by  the  great  freshets  of  that  year;  then  came  the  Black- 
hawk  war,  and  later  in  the  season  the  cholera.  Having  been  foiled  in 
the  first  great  enterprise  of  their  lives,  when  Ayres  was  thinking  of 
coming  west,  they  mutually  agreed  to  annul  the  sacred  contract.  Jan- 
uary 22,  1835,  he  and  Elizabeth  Grice  were  married.  His  first  love 
afterward  became  the  wife  of  Joseph  Holden.  The  latter  died  not  long 
after,  and  she  went  home  to  her  father's  to  lead  a  widowhood  of  fifteen 
years.  In  course  of  time  seven  children  had  come  to  Ayres.  His  wife 
died  April  15,  1854,  and  her  dying  request  was  that  he  should  marry 
her  whom  he  had  first  loved.  He  obeyed  this  injunction,  probably 
without  regret,  March  22,  1855.  She  died  October  23,  1873,  and  he 
celebrated  his  third  marriage  with  her  sister,  Maria  L.  Long,  October 
27,  1874.  His  children  all  died  young,  except  a  daughter,  who  grew 
up  and  married.  She  is  now  dead;  three  children  survive  her.  In 
1851  Mr.  Ayres  sold  his  farm  on  Spring  Creek  to  Seely  Hetfield,  and 
went  to  Middleport  and  engaged  in  merchandising.  In  1853  he  was 
elected  an  associate  justice  of  Iroquois  county.  In  1856  he  returned 
to  West  Virginia  to  live;  but  in  1863,  having  been  three  times  over- 
run by  each  the  federal  and  rebel  armies,  and  suffered  much,  he  sold  his 
farm  and  moved  back  to  this  county,  where  he  owned  much  land.  In 
1868  he  again  returned  to  his  old  neighborhood  in  Virginia.  He 
makes  yearly  visits  to  Iroquois  county,  to  meet  his  numerous  friends 
and  look  after  his  large  landed  interest  here.  He  owns  about  2,200 
acres,  valued  at  $45,000. 

Edward   Stanton   Gilbert,   editor,  Onarga,   was   born  February  5, 
1862,  in   Ash   Grove  township,  Iroquois  county,  Illinois.     He  lived 


HISTORY    OF   IEOQUOIS    COUNTY.  457 

upon  the  farm  until  the  spring  of  1875,  when  he  moved  with  his 
parents  to  Onarga.  The  latter  returned  in  the  fall,  and  January  1, 
1876,  he  was  apprenticed  to  J.  B.  Lowe,  of  the  "  Onarga  Review,"  to 
learn  the  printing  trade.  He  was  an  employe  of  the  "  Review  "  office 
until  April  1,  1880,  when  he  became  its  editor  and  proprietor.  Mr. 
Gilbert  is  a  young  man-of  steady  and  industrious  habits.  He  has  been 
a  faithful  worker  in  the  "  Review  "  office,  and  has  labored  hard  to  merit 
the  position  which  he  now  holds.  He  begins  his  career  as  editor  with 
the  confidence  and  good  wishes  of  the  whole  community. 

George  Franklin  Page,  the  director  of  the  Conservatory  of  Music  at 
Onarga,  whose  portrait  will  be  found  in  this  work,  was  born  August 
21,  1854,  in  Peabody,  Massachusetts,  being  the  third  of  four  brothers. 
His  father,  Andrew  J.  Page,  was  a  native  of  Deerfield,  New  Hamp- 
shire. He  is  a  man  of  great  integrity  and  industry,  but  has  suffered 
financially  from  two  sweeping  conflagrations,  from  which,  however,  he 
is  now  recovering  by  plying  his  habits  of  industry  in  his  later  home 
in  Philadelphia.  His  mother's  name  before  marriage  was  Elizabeth 
N.  Stevens.  She  was  born  in  Augusta,  Maine.  She  was  a  lady  of 
much  culture  and  intelligence,  which  were  utilized  first  in  the  school- 
room, and  more  especially  later  in  the  family  circle.  She  was  a  devoted 
mother;  and,  after  assisting  her  family  to  maturity,  she  died,  1870, 
aged  fifty-three.  Professor  Page's  paternal  ancestry  was  English  and 
his  maternal,  French.  Both  of  these  families,  in  their  European  homes, 
possessed  large  fortunes,  reaching  the  figures  of  the  millionaire ;  but, 
owing  to  the  difficulty  of  transferring  titles  to  persons  in  the  colonies 
of  the  new  world,  the  American  heirs  never  realized  upon  those  for- 
tunes. Ecclesiastically  his  father's  ancestors,  far  back,  were  Baptists; 
his  mother's  as  uniformly  Methodists.  Prof.  Page,  when  but  one  year 
old,  was  seriously  afflicted  with  a  fever,  the  effect  of  which  made  him 
an  intense  sufferer  for  fourteen  years.  At  about  one  and  one-half  years 
the  disease  began  to  make  such  inroads  that  life  was  despaired  of,  and 
for  days,  weeks  and  years  death  was  inevitable.  Indeed  the  pitying 
world  unanimously  resolved  that  death  would  be  a  mercy  to  the  suf- 
ferer. In  these  hopeless  circumstances  his  parents  maintained  hopes, 
and  especially  his  mother  clung  to  him  as  only  a  mother  will  and  can, 
through  the  darkest  days.  Several  surgical  operations  were  performed 
with  but  little  success.  Thus  time  passed  to  young  Page,  debarred 
from  the  cheerful  prospects  of  a  life  which  others  of  the  same  age 
entering  were  about  to  enjoy.  His  fourteenth  year  found  no  relief, 
but  the  boy  himself  had  ambition  as  well  as  determination.  He  vis- 
ited a  distinguished  surgeon  in  Lowell,  Massachusetts,  for  advice.  The 
reply,  after  examination,  imported  that  but  one  chance  in  a  hundred 


458  HISTOEY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

promised  his  survival  in  the  dangerous  operation  which  might  relieve. 
Young  Page  calmly  resolved  that  the  risk  was  better  than  a  life  of 
oblivion,  and  accepted  that  hundredth  chance.  The  result  of  the  oper- 
ation was  a  fair  and  almost  unexpected  restoration  of  health,  and  as  a 
consequence  the  boy  was  restored  to  the  same  channels  of  hope  as 
others.  In  these  days  of  seclusion  he  studied  'music  for  a  recreation, 
but  developed  great  aptitude  for  and  enthusiasm  in  it.  While  he 
made  some  proficiency  in  literary  studies,  yet  music  was  the  inspira- 
tion. Occasional!}',  at  seventeen,  he  appeared  in  public  concerts.  He 
had  so  far  progressed  at  eighteen  that  he  gave  a  concert  in  his  own 
city,  Woonsocket.  From  sixteen  to  nineteen  he  had  musical  instruc- 
tion from  the  most  eminent  teachers  of  the  eastern  cities.  At  nine- 
teen he  went  to  Leipsic,  Germany,  where  still  greater  musical  advan- 
tages were  acquired.  This  city  is  the  well-known  book  market  of  the 
world,  the  depositories  of  libraries  and  of  literature.  Its  music  is  cor- 
respondingly matured.  Here  it  becomes  one  of  the  great  centers  for 
foreigners  as  well  as  Germans  to  obtain  the  best  educational  facilities. 
Its  conservatory  is  one  of  the  oldest  in  Europe,  founded  in  the  first 
part  of  the  present  century  by  the  renowned  masters,  Schumann,  Men- 
delssohn, Becker,  etc.  Here,  with  the  best  masters,  he  qualified  him- 
self for  the  profession.  He  made  great  proficiency  as  a primo  virtuoso, 
having,  among  others,  as  instructor,  the  renowned  piano  teacher,  Prof. 
Theodore  Coecious.  Upon  Prof.  Page's  return  from  Europe  he  located 
at  Woonsocket,  Rhode  Island,  appearing  in  many  concerts ;  in  the 
meantime  he  was  elected  as  supervisor  of  music  in  the  public  schools 
of  the  city.  At  the  end  of  the  first  year  he  gave  a  concert,  in  which 
five  hundred  of  the  public-school  pupils  participated.  In  this  experi- 
ence he  was  particularly  successful  in  the  rare  skill  of  training  younger 
pupils  rapidly  on  the  true  basis  of  the  art  and  science  of  music.  This 
position  he  successfully  filled  for  two  years,  until  called  west,  July  1, 
1878.  Prof.  Page  was  married  at  Albion,  Rhode  Island,  to  Miss 
Hattie  J.  Marble,  a  native  of  that  state,  and  a  graduate  of  the  State 
Normal  School.  On  the  same  day  he  received  notice  of  his  election  as 
director  of  the  Onarga  Conservatory.  Prof.  J.  B.  Robinson,  D.D., 
president  of  Grand  Prairie  Seminary  and  Commercial  College,  had  seen 
what  a  broad  field  was  in  this  part  of  the  state  for  a  musical  enterprise, 
and  knew  well  that  everything  depended  upon  the  director.  While 
over  forty  candidates  were  presented  for  the  position,  Prof.  Page  was 
finally  selected.  The  conservatory,  in  nucleus,  had  hitherto  been  a 
mere  musical  department  of  the  seminary,  but  the  new  plan  was  to 
develop,  extend  and  enlarge  it,  in  its  own  edifice  as  a  coordinate  school 
with  the  seminary  and  commercial  college,  which  had  before  success- 


HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  459 

ively  taken  prominence.  Accordingly  a  new  departure  was  taken, 
the  building  prepared,  and  announcements  made  to  the  public.  Prof. 
Page  brought  in  a  supply  of  new  pianos,  music,  etc.,  and  the  necessary 
outfit  for  the  enterprise.  The  first  year's  result  was  a  happy  sur- 
prise to  friends  and  strangers.  The  enrollment  and  progress  were  such 
as  to  convince  all  that  the  conservatory  was  safely  founded  and  widely 
patronized.  At  the  beginning  of  the  second  year  it  was  evident  that 
additional  accommodations  must  be  had  for  the  increasing  growth  of  the 
conservatory.  A  large  edifice  was  secured  and  new  instruments  added. 
Thus  it  may  be  noted  that  Prof.  Page  has  taken  hold  of  this  conserva- 
tory with  enthusiasm,  and  advanced  it  to  a  high  degree  of  excellence. 
He  is  still  pursuing  his  duties  in  a  long  engagement  with  the  conserva- 
tory at  Onarga. 

The  following  is  contributed  by  J.  W.  Mac  Loud  : 
Eli  S.  Ricker,  student,  Onarga,  is  the  son  of  Bradford  W.  and 
Catherine  (Harmon)  Backer,  and  was  born  at  Brownfield,  Oxford 
county,  Maine,  September  29,  1843.  His  father  was  born  September 
17,  1803,  and  died  April  25,  1864.  His  mother  was  born  August  30, 
1802,  and  died  March  9,  1875.  There  is  a  tradition  that  her  ancestors 
came  over  in  the  Mayflower ;  but  whether  this  be  true  or  not,  it  is  true 
that  they  settled  in  America  in  very  early  times.  At  an  early  date  in 
our  country's  history  two  brothers  by  the  name  of  Ricker  came  from 
England,  separated,  and  the  one  from  whom  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
has  descended  settled  in  Massachusetts,  and  afterward  removed  to  the 
province  of  Maine.  His  father  was  twice  married.  By  his  first  wife 
was  born  one  son,  William  Ricker,  now  living  in  Nebraska.  His 
mother  was  also  twrice  married.  The  name  of  her  first  husband  was 
Dennis  Marr,  a  member  of  the  Marr  family  of  Scotland.  He  died  in 
1831.  By  this  marriage  were  born  two  daughters:  Narcissa  and  Sarah 
Abigail ;  the  former  died  young,  the  latter  is  the  wife  of  John  G. 
Thorn,  and  lives  at  Galesburg,  Illinois.  Her  second  marriage  was  to 
Bradford  W.  Ricker  in  the  summer  of  1842.  Their  children  were  Eli 
Seavey  and  Mary  Ann.  The  latter  is  the  wife  of  Clinton  Boyd,  and 
lives  in  Ohio.  In  March,  1855,  the  Ricker  family  came  west  and  set- 
tled near  Oneida',  Knox  county,  Illinois.  Mr.  Ricker's  father  was  a 
man  of  good  business  talent,  extensive  information,  a  lover  of  educa- 
tion, and  in  politics  a  Jackson  democrat.  Mr.  Ricker  was  reared  a 
farmer,  and  followed  that  calling  until  1875.  He  early  took  a  deep 
interest  in  politics,  and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  began  writing  occasional 
articles  for  the  country  press,  a  practice  which  he  has  ever  since  con- 
tinued. For  education  he  had  the  advantages  of  the  district  school, 
which  he  attended  in  winter,  helping  his  father  on  the  farm  in  sum- 


460  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

tner.  The  absorbing  desire  of  his  life  was  to  become  a  scholar.  In 
the  summer  of  1862  he  was  preparing  to  enter  Lombard  University  at 
Galesburg,  when  the  call  came  for  300,000  men.  He  immediately  de- 
cided to  leave  all  and  go  to  the  defense  of  his  country.  He  enlisted, 
August  4,  1862,  in  Co.  I,  102d  111.  Vol.,  for  three  years.  He  was  mus- 
tered into  United  States  service  at  camp  of  organization,  Knoxville, 
Knox  county,  Illinois,  September  2, 1862.  Soon  after  this  his  regiment 
proceeded  to  the  seat  of  war  at  Louisville,  Kentucky.  He  served  on  the 
Atlanta  campaign  in  the  20th  corps,  commanded  by  Gen.  Hooker.  He 
fought  at  Resaca,  and  was  one  of  the  storming  force,  consisting  of 
the  first  brigade,  third  division,  twentieth  army  corps,  that  in  the  face 
of  its  deadly  tire  captured  a  four-gun  battery  of  twelve-pounders,  close 
to  the  enemy's  intrenchments,  and  fought  desperately  from  noon  till 
ten  o'clock  at  night,  in  a  successful  effort  to  hold  their  position  and  re- 
tain their  prize.  He  fought  at  Peach  Tree  creek,  which  was  an  open 
battle,  and  a  disastrous  repulse  to  the  rebels.  This  was  the  first  of  the 
three  great  battles  around  Atlanta.  The  city  fell  September  2,  when 
was  ended  the  campaign  of  a  hundred  days,  during  which  the  soldiers 
were  seldom  from  under  fire,  or  out  of  the  sound  of  musketry  or  can- 
non. He  then  went  on  the  march  to  the  sea.  He  did  duty  as  one  of 
Sherman's  "bummers"  upon  the  campaign  of  the  Carolinas,  and  in 
this  service,  as  a  forager,  was  engaged  in  numerous  small  fights.  He 
terminated  his  active  military  life  on  the  grand  review  of  Sherman's 
army  in  the  capital  of  the  nation,  May  24,  1865.  He  was  mustered 
out  at  Washington,  June  6,  and  disbanded  at  Camp  Fry,  Chicago,  June 
15.  After  the  war  he  worked  a  year  and  a  half  for  C.  C.  Hougton,  of 
Henry  county,  Illinois,  without  understanding  as  to  pay,  and  upon  set- 
tlement was  allowed  $5  per  month  more  than  he  charged.  In  the  spring 
of  186T,  by  the  aid  of  his  friend  and  patron,  C.  C.  Hougton,  he  began 
broomcorn-raising.  July  3,  1867,  he  was  married  to  Mary  M.  Smith, 
daughter -of  William  H.  and  Mary  L.  (Chaftee)  Smith.  They  have  five 
children,  two  sons  and  three  daughters:  Albion  H.,  born  April  11, 
1868 ;  Mary  C.,  November  29,  1869 ;  Sarah  E.,  November  19,  1871  ; 
Leslie  D.,  July  30,  1873,  and  Jessie  L,  September  4,  1879.  In  Febru- 
ary, 1869,  Mr.  Kicker  settled  on  the  N.  W.  \  of  Sec.  9,  T.  24,  R.  14, 
then  Loda,  now  Pigeon  Grove  township,  Iroquois  county,  where  he 
continued  the  raising  of  broorncorn.  Over-production  of  broorncorn 
in  1870  broke  down  the  market.  Heavy  rains  during  the  harvest  so 
damaged  his  brush  that  he  suffered  reverses,  which  after  five  years  of 
determined  effort  he  was  not  able  to  overcome.  During  this  time  he 
was  kindly  assisted  by  Goodell  and  Warren,  of  Loda.  He  was  commis- 
sioned justice  of  the  peace  in  1872,  and  again  in  1873.  He  was  early 


HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS   COUNTY.  461 

and  actively  engaged  in  the  farmers'  movement,  and  was  secretary  of 
several  of  their  organizations.  In  the  fall  of  1875  he  came  to  Onarga 
and  commenced  a  course  in  the  commercial  college,  in  which  he  grad- 
uated in  two  terms.  Since  then  he  has  given  one  year  to  studies  in 
the  literary  department  of  Grand  Prairie  Seminary,  designing  to  finish 
the  course.  In  the  summer  of  1875  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ricker  united  with 
the  Methodist  church.  In  politics  he  is  a  republican.  For  over  a  year 
Mr.  Ricker  has  been  in  the  employ  of  the  publishers  of  this  work. 

William  H.  Shannon,  farmer,  Papineau,  is  a  native  of  Kingston, 
Canada,  and  was  born  May  20,  1844.  In  1856  he,  with  his  parents, 
Mr.  William  and  Cintha  (Metzler)  Shannon,  came  to  Illinois,  and  set- 
tled in  Papineau  township,  Iroquois  county.  They  have,  since  coming 
to  this  county,  been  engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising.  On  Febru- 
ary 6, 1865,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  enlisted  in  the  150th  Ill.Yol.,  and 
on  account  of  disability  was  discharged  June  16,  1865.  On  March  11, 
1868,  he  married  Miss  Sarah  E.  Jones,  daughter  of  Henry  Jones,  Papi- 
neau's  first  permanent  settler.  He  now  has  five  children:  Cora  May, 
John  H.,  George  W.,  Mina  J.  and  Philip.  His  brother,  John  M.,  was 
a  member  of  Waterhouse's  battery,  and  died  at  Shiloh  on  the  morning 
of  the  day  of  that  memorable  battle.  When  Mr.  Shannon  came  to  this 
county  it  was  very  sparsely  settled.  He  has  seen  its  great  growth 
and  prosperity — its  golden  fields  of  grain  in  place  of  wild  prairie. 

Perry  Darst,  dentist,  Sheldon,  was  born  in  Iroquois  county, 
Illinois,  on  August  9,  1851,  and  lived  on  the  old  farm  where  he  was 
born,  with  his  father  (his  mother  died  when  he  was  about  three 
years  old),  engaged  in  farming,  stock-raising  and  attending  school.  At 
about  the  age  of  twenty  his  father  died.  Soon  after  this  sad  event  in 
his  life  he  left  the  old  home  and  engaged  in  farming  as  a  renter,  but 
not  finding  that  suited  to  his  mind  he  turned  his  attention  to  study  for 
some  profession,  and  has  finally  decided  on  dentistry,  which  he  is  now 
studying  in  the  dental  rooms  at  Sheldon,  Iroquois  county,  Illinois.  His 
father,  Mr.  Hiram  Darst,  was  born  in  West  Virginia  on  January  4, 
1828.  At  about  the  age  of  fifteen  years  he  came  to  Iroquois  county, 
and  so  became  one  of  the  early  pioneers,  settling  in  what  is  now  Papi- 
neau township  when  it  was  an  unsettled  wilderness,  when  deer  and 
other  wild  animals  were  about  the  only  occupants  of  the  boundless 
prairies.  His  nearest  market  for  many  years  was  Chicago,  where  he 
sold  corn  for  twenty-five  cents  per  bushel,  after  hauling  about  seventy 
miles  with  a  team,  fording  rivers  and  streams,  no  bridges  being  then 
built.  He  kept  the  pioneer  store  in  the  township.  On  September  5, 
1850,  he  married  Miss  Mary  Jones,  a  native  of  Ohio.  She  died  July 
11,  1855,  being  a  victim  of  the  terrible  cholera  epidemic  of  1855. 


462  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

Again  he  married  on  ^November  5,  1857,  this  time  to  Miss  Amanda 
Lawhead,  of  this  county.  She  died  January  24,  1868,  and  for  his  third 
wife  he  married  Mrs.  Abbie  E.  Warren,  who  still  survives  him;  and  on 
May  2,  1872,  he  died,  leaving,  besides  his  wife,  five  children,  as  follows: 
Perry,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  Benjamin  F.,  Andrew  H.,  Artinsa 
and  Eva  E.  Being  one  of  the  excellent  men,  his  death  was  greatly 
mourned  by  his  family  and  friends. 

James  P.  Martin,  Martinton,  deceased.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Iroquois  county,  and  a  pioneer  in 
that  part  which  afterward  acquired  his  name  (Martinton  township). 
He  was  born  January  17,  1829,  in  Orange  county,  Vermont,  and  but 
little  of  the  surroundings  of  his  early  life  are  known.  •  In  September, 
1849,  he  emigrated  to  the  state  of  Ohio,  and  in  1851  removed  to  Will 
county,  Illinois,  where  he  resided  until  April,  1855,  when  he  perma- 
nently located  in  Iroquois  county,  residing  in  the  locality  above  stated. 
It  was  mainly  through  his  eiforts  that  a  thrifty  and  enterprising  com- 
munity settled  in  the  vicinity  where  he  resided.  For  many  years  he 
represented  his  township  in  the  board  of  supervisors,  and  secured  the 
unlimited  confidence  of  his  neighbors,  which  he  always  retained  and 
never  betrayed.  In  his  political  faith  he  was  a  republican.  In  1864 
he  was  elected  sheriff  of  Iroquois  county,  which  office  he  held  for  two 
years.  He  discharged  the  duties  of  his  office  with  honor  to  himself, 
and  with  credit  to  the  party  that  elected  him.  When  the  war  of  the 
rebellion  broke  out  in  1861,  Mr.  Martin  gave  his  efforts  to  raise  a  com- 
pany for  the  25th  111.  This  company  was  raised  mainly  by  his  efforts, 
he  himself  enlisted  in  it,  and  was  elected  first-lieutenant,  in  which 
capacity  he  served  about  eighteen  months,  and  acquired  the  respect 
and  confidence  of  his  men  and  superior  officers.  Becoming  prostrate 
with  camp  diarrhosa,  from  which  he  never  recovered,  and  which  finally 
terminated  in  his  death,  he  was  compelled  to  resign  his  position  in  the 
army  and  return  to  his  home.  When  but  partially  recovered  he  again 
began  recruiting  for  the  army,  and  through  his  efforts,  more  than  any 
other  reason,  Iroquois  county  boasts  of  having  furnished  her  quota  of 
troops  by  volunteers,  and  was  saved  from  the  enforcement  of  the  draft. 
He  was  eminently  an  active  and  useful  member  of  society,  and  in  his 
death,  which  occurred  October  19,  1869,  the  community  lost  a  worthy 
and  valued  citizen.  Besides  many  friends,  he  left  to  mourn  his  loss  a 
wife  and  family.  Mrs.  Martin  still  resides  on  the  old  farm,  and  has 
devoted  her  time  to  managing  her  property  and  educating  and  caring 
for  her  children,  in  both  of  which  she  has  displayed  much  more  ability 
than  many  men  placed  under  similar  responsibilities. 

Martin  Burnham,  retired,  Watseka.     The  subject  of  this  sketch  is 


HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  463 

descended  from  a  family  who  probably  trace  their  genealogy  back  far- 
ther than  any  of  the  citizens  of  Iroquois  county.  He  has  in  his  posses- 
sion a  complete  genealogy  of  the  family.  The  following  quotation  is 
taken  from  the  opening  chapter  of  that  work,  which  shows  the  origin 
of  the  name :  "  Walter  Le  Yentre  came  to  England  at  the  Conquest, 
1066,  in  the  train  of  his  cousin-germ  an,  Earl  of  Warren,  and  at  the 
Survey,  1080,  was  made  lord  of  the  Saxon  village  of  Burnham,  county 
of  Norfolk,  and  of  many  other  manors.  From  this  manor  he  took  his 
surname,  De  Burnham,  and  became  the  ancestor  of  the  numerous  fam- 
ily of  that  name."  Mr.  Burnham  is  a  native  of  Orange  county,  Ver- 
mont, where  he  was  born  February  21,  1828.  He  received  a  good 
education  and  remained  at  his  native  place  until  the  age  of  twenty-one. 
He  then  came  west,  and  first  stopped  at  Chicago  for  a  time.  From 
there  he  concluded  to  go  to  California,  but  he  had  left  home  with  but 
$35  in  money,  and  was  in  no  condition  financially  to  make  the  trip. 
However,  he  succeeded  in  finding  a  part}'  who  would  help  him  through 
and  trust  him  to  pay  the  amount  after  their  arrival  in  California.  They 
had  got  as  far  as  the  Missouri  river  when  the  gentleman  with  whom 
he  was  going  concluded  to  return  to  the  east.  This  left  Mr.  Burnham 
to  make  new  arrangements,  which  he  did  with  another  party  upon 
similar  terms.  A  short  time  after  their  arrival  he  made  enough  to  pay 
the  debt  honorably.  He  remained  in  California  and  Oregon  about  two 
years,  mining,  prospecting  and  dealing  in  cattle.  He  arrived  at  his 
old  home  again,  in  Vermont,  in  January  of  1853.  His  intentions  were 
to  have  gone  back  to  California,  but,  getting  married,  changed  his  plans 
very  materially.  He  was  married  November  2,  1853,  to  Miss  Martha 
Martin,  she  also  being  a  native  of  Vermont.  In  1864  Mr.  Burnham 
came  west  and  located  in  Martinton  township,  where  he  remained  a 
resident  until  the  spring  of  1880,  when  he  removed  to  Watseka,  Illi- 
nois, leaving  the  farm  to  be  conducted  by  his  two  sons.  His  old  farm 
in  Martinton  township,  which  is  something  over  200  acres,  is  well 
known  as  one  of  the  finest  and  best  improved,  and  supplied  with  the 
finest  buildings,  of  any  farm  in  that  part  of  the  county.  He  has  also 
given  some  attention  to  the  raising  of  fine  cattle.  In  political  affairs 
he  has  been  an  active  republican,  though  never  an  office  seeker.  Now 
he  and  Mrs.  Burnham  are  enjoying  the  fruits  of  the  harder  labor  of 
younger  days. 

The  late  Dr.  William  A.  Babcock,  of  Onarga,  Illinois,  was  born  in 
1818,  in  the  town  of  North  Stonington,  Connecticut.  He  was  of  the 
original  New  England  stock,  being  a  direct  descendant  of  one  of  three 
brothers  Babcock,  who  emigrated  from  old  England  at  an  early  day  in 
the  history  of  our  country.  Having  enjoyed  the  usual  advantages  of 


464  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

a  New  England  education,  he  went  south  in  his  early  manhood,  and 
spent  some  time  in  teaching.  About  1840  he  returned  north,  and 
devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  medicine,  and  in  1845  he  graduated  at 
the  University  of  New  York,  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine. 
In  1846  he  married  Miss  Harriet  Coats,  of  North  Stonington,  and 
commenced  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Salem,  Connecticut,  where 
he  remained  for  some  three  years.  He  then  located  at  the  town  of 
Lyme,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Connecticut  river,  where  he  continued  the 
laborious  and  successful  practice  of  his  profession  in  town  and  country, 
and  over  the  rugged  hills  of  New  London  county  for  some  eight  years. 
In  January,  1857,  a  company  was  organized  in  New  London  county 
with  the  view  of  emigrating  to  Illinois  and  settling  upon  the  lands  of 
the  great  Illinois  Central  railway,  then  just  completed.  Dr.  Babcock 
becoming  identified  with  this  enterprise,  purchased  lands  in  what  be- 
came known  as  the  Connecticut  settlement,  also  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
then  small  village  of  Onarga,  where  he  finally  settled  with  his  family. 
For  a  time  he  devoted  some  attention  to  farming,  but  his  skill  as  a 
physician  was  too  well  known  among  his  old  neighbors  for  him  to  be 
allowed  to  retire  from  his  profession.  He  soon  became  known,  far  and 
near,  as  an  eminently  safe,  reliable  and  successful  physician,  and  he 
found  himself  again  engaged  in  an  extensive  practice  on  the  broad 
prairies  of  Illinois.  As  a  man  and  as  a  physician  Dr.  Babcock  had 
some  marked  traits  of  character.  In  the  practice  of  his  profession  he 
was  what  may  be  called  eminently  philosophical  in  distinction  from 
what  is  termed  empyrical.  He  relied  largely  on  nature  and  the  vital 
powers  to  do  their  share  in  the  work  of  healing  and  restoration.  The 
constitution  and  habits  of  the  patient  were  carefully  studied.  If  the 
patient  needed  rest,  or  a  change  of  diet  or  of  habits  or  of  climate,  more 
than  dosing  with  medicine,  the  doctor  did  not  hesitate  to  tell  him  so. 
In  his  professional  visits  in  an  intelligent  family,  his  frank,  open  and 
candid  manner  at  once  gained  confidence,  and  forbade  the  suspicion  that 
he  could  in  any  contingency  resort  to  the  arts  and  practices  of  the 
quack  and  the  charlatan.  If  nothing  could  be  done  for  a  patient  the 
doctor  was  the  last  man  to  deceive  friends  with  false  hopes,  or  to  take 
advantage  of  the  painful  occasion  by  the  practice  of  well-known  arts 
for  the  promotion  of  his  own  personal  emolument.  This  was  all  in  per- 
fect harmony  with  his  known  honesty  and  integrity  of  purpose,  and 
with  his  outspoken  contempt  for  all  pretense,  sham  and  quackery  in 
every  form,  and  more  especially  in  the  line  of  his  own  chosen  pro- 
fession. Dr.  Babcock  continued  in  the  successful  practice  of  his 
profession  at  Onarga  and  in  the  surrounding  country,  until  our  great 
civil  war  came  on.  Of  his  career  during  the  war  we  know  of  no  one 


HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  4f>5 

more  competent  to  speak  than  Judge  Blades,  of  Watseka,  Illinois.  The 
judge  was  at  that  time  a  doctor  by  profession,  and  was  in  a  position  to 
form  a  correct  opinion  of  the  surgeon  and  the  man.  The  following 
discriminating  and  appreciative  article  was  written  by  Judge  Blades, 
on  the  occasion  of  the  death  of  Dr.  Babcock,  and  was  published  at  the 
time  in  the  Watseka  "  Republican."  Without  consulting  the  judge 
the  writer  takes  the  liberty  of  inserting  it  here  as  a  fitting  conclusion  to 
this  memorial.  It  may  be  well,  however,  first  to  remark  that  Dr. 
Babcock  entered  the  army  as  assistant-surgeon  of  the  76th  111.,  the 
first  regiment  of  the  state  to  be  enrolled  under  the  call  for  600,000 
men.  He  followed  the  varying  fortunes  of  the  war  through  several  of 
the  southern  states,  and  was  present  at  many  sieges  and  battles.  It 
was  his  high  privilege  to  share  in  the  closing  campaign  of  the  war, 
the  investment  of  Mobile,  and  the  war's  closing  battle  —  the  storming 
of  Fort  Blakely.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he  was  with  the  army  at 
Galveston,  where,  in  August,  1865,  the  army  was  disbanded,  'and  Dr. 
Babcock  returned  to  Onarga  after  a  service  of  more  than  three  years. 
He  was  promoted  from  the  position  of  assistant-surgeon  to  that  of 
surgeon  of  the  76th,  and  finally  to  that  of  division-surgeon,  having 
many  surgeons  and  their  assistants  under  him.  The  following  is  the 
article  by  Judge  Blades: 

"To  THE  EDITOHS  OF  THE  '  REPUBLICAN  ' : 

"This  county,  and  especially  the  community  of  Onarga,  has  met  with  a  serious 
loss  in  the  death  of  Dr.  William  A.  Babcock,  who  died  at  his  residence  in  the  village 
of  Onarga,  on  the  7th  instant.  It  had  been  my  good  fortune  to  know  the  doctor  inti- 
mately for  many  years,  and  I  am  sure  no  one  can  testify  with  greater  heartiness  than 
myself  to  the  excellent  qualities  and  virtues  of  the  man,  and  also  to  his  eminent  pro- 
fessional attainments.  We  were  both,  and  at  the  same  time,  on  the  medical  staff  of 
the  76th  111.  Vol.  Inf.  in  the  great  war  of  the  rebellion  ;  and  for  many  months  we 
occupied  the  same  tent  and  ate  at  the  same  board.  I  came  to  know  him  with  great 
intimacy,  and  had  opportunities  to  observe  him  under  circumstances  well  calculated  to 
develop  various  and  subtle  phases  of  character,  as  also  to  test  his  professional  courage 
and  resources.  I  found  him  to  be  a  man  of  strong  convictions  on  every  subject  to 
which  he  professed  to  have  given  attention  :  earnest,  plain  and  emphatic  in  giving 
expression  to  his  opinions,  and  thoroughly  upright  in  all  that  he  did.  He  had  a  moral 
contempt  for  all  subterfuge,  shallowness  and  sham.  He  was  well  learned  in  his  pro- 
fession, having  graduated  in  the  University  of  New  York,  in  1845,  in  the  days  when 
the  illustrious  Valentine  Mott  was  the  glory  and  pride  of  American  surgeons.  His 
powers  of  shrewd  and  patient  observation,  together  with  his  long  professional  experi- 
ence, had  imparted  a  solidity  to  his  judgment  and  an  acuteness  to  his  intuitions  that 
gave  great  value  to  his  professional  advice.  Withal,  he  was  modest,  even  diffident, 
and  rarely,  except  when  brought  into  contact  with  ignorance  or  insolence,  would  the 
great  decision  and  courage  of  the  man  be  exhibited.  During  my  service  with  him  in 
the  army  I  have  sometimes  been  amused  at  the  cluinfounded  astonishment  of  some 
one  who  had  presumed  upon  the  retiring  and  reticent  demeanor  of  the  doctor,  at 
the  sudden  and  sometimes  terrible  energy  he  displayed.  He  was  a  man  of  high 
patriotism.  He  went  into  the  army  out  of  a  strong  desire  to  bear  a  part  in  the 
great  struggle  for  the  preservation  and  redemption  of  his  country ;  and  he  entered 
that  department  of  the  service  where,  above  all  other  places,  he  could  be  most  useful. 
And  that  he  was  greatly  useful  none  can  know  so  well  as  those  who  served  with 
him  in  the  army,  many  of  whom,  including  myself,  will  gratefully  remember,  to  the 
end  of  life,  the  devotion  and  professional  skill  he  displayed  when  they  were  lying 
at  death's  door.  I  have  been  long  satisfied  that  it  was  his  original  and  cour- 
30 


466  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

ageous  treatment  which  saved  me  from  a  grave  under  the  breastworks  of  Vicksburg. 
.  I  lament  that  this  tribute  I  pay  him  is  so  inadequate  and  so  feebly  expressed  ; 
but  I  could  not  refrain  from  saying  something.  I  could  not  bear  that  the  dear  old 
friend  I  had  known  so  long  should  be  covered  up  in  the  ground  without  some  expres- 
sion of  my  admiration  for  the  man,  and  of  my  sorrow  that  he  has  departed,  to  be  with 
us  no  more.  FRANKLIN  BLADES." 

We  would  add  that,  at  the  conclusion-  of  the  war,  Dr.  Babcock  re- 
turned to  his  beautiful  home  iu  Onarga,  where  he  resumed  the  practice 
of  his  profession,  and  in  which  he  continued  until  the  time  of  his  death. 
He  died  April  7,  1875,  of  paralysis,  aged  fifty-seven  years  and  seven 
months,  leaving  a  faithful  and  devoted  wife  and  an  estimable  daughter 
to  mourn  his  loss.  In  the  death  of  Dr.  Babcock  the  poor  and  afflicted 
lost  a  kind  and  sympathizing  friend,  the  town  of  Onarga  and  the  count}- 
of  Iroquois  an  eminent  physician  and  surgeon,  and  the  country  a  faith- 
ful, patriotic  and  distinguished  citizen. 

EXECUTION    OF    JOHN    M'DONNELL. 

On  September  27,  1861,  John  McDonnell  killed  his  brother-in-law, 
James  Hare,  in  the  store  of  Smith  &  Chapin,  in  Ashkum  in  this  county, 
by  striking  him  three  times  with  a  rod  of  iron,  which  he  had  procured 
from  the  blacksmith  shop  of  Peter  Kelly,  and  he  was  arrested  and  com- 
mitted to  jail.  At  the  following  November  term  of  the  circuit  court 
he  was  indicted  for  murder,  and  arraigned  for  trial  before  the  following 
jury :  Joel  Brandenburg,  Oscar  Kinney,  O.  W.  Dean,  James  Cauvins, 
George  Pineo,  G.  G.  Newland,  William  S.  Gould,  J.  H.  Bishop,  James 
Egbert,  Putnam  Gaffield,  William  Alderman  and  John  Snyder  ;  Judge 
C.  R.  Starr  presiding.  The  trial  commenced  December  5,  1861,  and 
occupied  that  and  the  next  day,  and  on  the  6th  a  verdict  of  "guilty  " 
was  returned,  and  on  the  21st  McDonnell  was  sentenced  to  be  hanged 
on  Friday,  January  14,  1862.  C.  H.  Wood,  Esq.,  was  attorney  for  the 
state,  and  Fletcher  &  Kinney  for  the  defense.  The  attorneys  for  the 
defense  deeming  some  <Tf  the  proceedings  irregular,  procured  a  reprieve 
for  their  client  until  February  7,  to  give  them  time  to  obtain  a  super- 
sedeas  from  the  supreme  court,  but  failing  in  that,  McDonnell  was 
hanged  February  7,  1862,  Sheriff  Luther  T.  Clark  officiating  at  the 
execution.  McDonnell,  previous  to  his  execution,  made  a  confession 
in  which  he  admitted  the  deed,  but  denied  that  he  intended  to  kill 
Hare,  but  only  intended  to  disable  him,  they  having  had  much  diffi- 
culty on  account  of  Hare's  interfering  with  his  domestic  relations.  In 
this  confession  he  stated  that  his  name  was  not  McDonnell,  but  Pat. 
McLaughlin,  and  that  he  was  born  in  Donegal  county,  Ireland,  in  1827, 
and  came  to  this  country  in  1849,  and  a  few  years  after  married  Bridget 
Hughes,  by  whom  he  had  three  children,  and  that  she  and  the  children 
were  still  living.  He  further  stated  that  he  killed  a  man  by  the  name 


HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY.  467 

of  Huey  McKeever,  at  Philadelphia,  in  a  difficulty,  and  for  which  he 
had  to  run  away,  and  after  residing  at  Pittsburgh,  New  Orleans,  St. 
Louis  and  other  places,  he  came  to  Chicago,  where  he  married  Eliza 
Hare,  and  then  moved  to  this  co'unty. 

The  execution  took  place  in  the  grand  jury  room  of  the  court-house 
at  Middleport.  The  scaffold  was  composed  of  four  posts  with  cross- 
pieces  at  top,  on  which  was  laid  a  piece  of  timber  6x4  inches,  and 
eight  feet  long,  with  blocks  and  pulleys  at  the  end,  through  which  the 
rope  passed  by  which,  with  a  weight  of  290  pounds,  he  was  to  be  sus- 
pended. At  forty  minutes  past  eleven  the  culprit,  attended  by  Father 
Theodore  Van  de  Poel,  of  L'Erable,  in  this  county,  who  had  adminis- 
tered to  him  the  last  rites  of  the  Catholic  church.  Sheriff  Clark,  Thomas 
Vennum,  circuit  clerk,  Drs.  McNeill,  Harwood,  Secrest  and  Hewins, 
and  several  others,  entered  the  room.  After  prayer  the  black  cap  and 
noose  were  adjusted,  and  the  rope  suspending  the  weight,  at  one 
minute  past  twelve,  was  cut  by  the  sheriff.  At  nine  minutes  after  his 
heart  ceased  to  beat  and  he  was  pronounced  to  be  dead  by  the  physi- 
cians in  attendance,  and  in  thirty  minutes  he  was  cut  down.  His  body 
was  given  in  charge  of  Father  Yan  de  Poel,  and  taken  to  L'Erable  for 
burial. 

KXECUTION  OF  FRANCIS  MARION  HARPER  ALIAS  JOHNSON,  FOR  THE 
MURDER  OF  D.  W.  NELSON,  DECEMBER  22,  1865. THE  MURDER  COM- 
MITTED ON  THE  NIGHT  OF  NOVEMBER  2,  1865.  Harper  was  born  in 
Morgan  county,  Indiana,  in  1843.  In  1864  he  joined  the  70th  reg. 
Ind.  Vol.,  but  soon  after  deserted  and  came  to  Effingham,  in  this  state, 
to  Mrhich  place  his  father,  Henry  Harper,  and  his  mother  and  their 
family  had  removed.  He  soon  after  stole  a  horse  from  a  Mr.  Wilson, 
near  that  place,  and  took  it  to  another  part  of  the  country  and  sold  it. 
He  then  went  to  Gilman,  in  this  county,  and  was  employed  by  Mr. 
Maxson,  who  after  some  time  discharged  him.  He  then  returned 
home  and  remained  there  six  weeks,  and  then  went  to  Kankakee  city 
and  became  acquainted  with  a  young  man  by  the  name  of  D.  W. 
Nelson,  who  was  from  Muncie,  Indiana,  and  engaged  in  making  and 
selling  stencil  plates.  Nelson  had  received  a  remittance  of  $15  from 
his  father,  and  foolishly  exhibited  the  express  package  in  which  he  had 
received  it,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  induce  Harper  to  believe  it  con- 
tained $1,500.  In  order  to  obtain  this,  after  having  procured  a  revol- 
ver, he  induced  Nelson  to  go  with  him  to  Gilman,  on  the  night  of 
November  2,  1865.  After  getting  off  the  train  at  that  place  Harper 
invited  Nelson  to  go  down  the  road  with  him  to  the  house  of  a  friend, 
as  he  said,  where  he  would  introduce  him  to  some  lemale  friends. 
When  they  had  gone  down  the  track  about  100  rods  Harper  made  a 


468  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

remark  about  the  coolness  of  the  evening,  and  falling  behind  a  step, 
drew  his  revolver  and  shot  Nelson  in  the  back  of  the  head.  The  shot 
did  not  kill  him;  a  struggle  ensued  and  Harper  choked  his  victim  to 
death,  robbed  him  of  his  money  (which  was  but  little),  knife,  a  gold 
ring,  watch  and  chain,  and  the  box  in  which  he  carried  his  stencil 
materials.  He  then  placed  the  body  on  the  track  for  the  purpose  of 
having  it  mangled  by  the  next  train,  went  to  Onarga,  staid  there  until 
morning,  got  breakfast,  had  his  coat  mended  (which  had  been  torn  in 
the  struggle)  by  Mr.  Wand,  a  tailor  of  that  place,  and  soon  after  took 
a  freight  train  for  Kankakee.  In  the  morning  the  body  of  the  mur- 
dered man  was  found,  with  his  name  on  his  clothing.  The  fact  was 
telegraphed  along  the  road,  was  read  by  the  operator  at  Clifton,  and 
when  the  train  arrived  there  it  was  discovered  that  a  passenger  had  a 
hand  box  on  which  were  the  initials,  "D.  W.  N.,"  and  he  was  returned 
to  Oilman  and  proved  to  be  the  murderer  of  Nelson.  He  was  arrested, 
and  an  examination  had  and  Sheriff  James  P.  Martin  sent  for,  who 
arrived  in  the  evening  and  took  him  into  custody.  While  waiting  for 
the  train  three  attempts  were  made  by  a  mob  to  hang  Plarper,  but 
he  was  rescued  by  the  sheriff  alone,  and  who  took  him  to  the  Kanka- 
kee jail.  This  proves  what  a  determined  officer,  who  regards  his  oatJi, 
can  sometimes  do  in  the  face  of  a  cowardly  mob. 

At  the  November  term  of  the  circuit  court  of  Iroquois  county  he  was 
indicted.  He  was  arraigned  for  trial  before  the  court,  Judge  C.  R. 
Starr  presiding,  William  T.  Ament  for  the  state,  and  Chester  Kinney 
and  C.  F.  McNeill  for  the  defense.  The  following  persons  composed 
the  jury  which  tried  the  case :  Tilden  Graham,  George  Wright,  James 
Romine,  Ripley  F.  Young,  Stephen  Jessup,  Martin  Cottrill,  George 
Miller,  James  McClintock,  Isaac  Peniston,  Milton  Gooding,  Jacob 
Cain  and  Justus  Smith.  November  30  the  jury  returned  a  verdict  of 
"guilty,"  and  on  December  1,  Harper  was  sentenced  by  the  court  to 
be  hanged  on  December  22,  1865,  between  the  hours  of  ten  and  four 
o'clock.  He  was  brought  from  the  Kankakee  jail  b}~  Sheriff  Sherman, 
on  Thursday,  the  21st,  and  placed  in  the  custody  of  Sheriff  James  P. 
Martin,  who  had  erected  an  inclosure  16x18  feet,  and  fourteen  feet 
high,  on  the  ground  where  the  court-house  now  stands,  and  in  which 
the  scaffold  for  Harper's  execution  was  erected.  It  was  in  form  like 
that  used  for  the  execution  of  McDonnell,  and  the  weight  used  was 
325  pounds  of  lead  and  shot.  At  eight  minutes  past  eleven  the  noose 
was  adjusted  and  the  rope  cut,  and  in  sixteen  minutes  he  was  found  to 
be  dead.  His  bodv  was  taken  in  charge  bv  A.  G.  Smith,  editor  of  the 

f  O  •/ 

"Republican,"  and  by  him  sent  by  express  to  Harper's  father,  at  Effing- 
ham,  in  this  state,  at  Harper's  request. 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


PART  II. 


TOWNSHIP  HISTORY 


MIDDLEPORT  AND  BELMONT  TOWNSHIPS. 

BY  HON.  C.  F.  McNEILL. 

The  writer  of  this  sketch  desires  the  reader  to  bear  in  mind  that  the 
limits  of  this  work,  the  want  of  time  and  press  of  business  of  the 
writer,  will  not  permit  an  extended  and  complete  history  of  the  locali- 
ties allotted  to  him,  and  he  can  therefore  furnish  only  a  chronological 
skeleton  which  must  be  filled  up  by  the  imagination  of  the  reader,  or 
by  some  writer  who  may  follow  hereafter,  and  who  may  have  more 
leisure  and  a  broader  field  in  which  to  display  a  talent  for  such  work. 

The  town  of  Middleport,  as  at  present  organized,  embraces  the 
territory  covered  by  town  27  north,  range  12  west  of  the  2d  principal 
meridian ;  and  the  town  of  Belmont  covers  town  26  north,  range  12 
west  of  the  2d  principal  meridian,  Iroquois  county,  Illinois. 

The  general  geological  features  of  these  towns  vary  but  little  from 
that  of  the  county  elsewhere  noted  in  this  work,  and  to  which  the 
reader  is  referred.  The  Iroquois  river  enters  the  town  of  Middleport 
from  the  east,  at  the  northeast  corner  of  section  25,  and  leaves  it  near 
the  northwest  corner  of  section  30,  meandering  tortuously  through  the 
town.  Sugar  creek  enters  the  town  of  Belmont  from  the  south,  near 
the  southwest  corner  of  section  32,  and  after  pursuing  a  serpentine 
course  through  that  town,  forms  a  junction  with  the  Iroquois  river, 
near  southwest  corner  of  the  E.-|  of  N.E.  £  of  Sec.  31,  T.  27  N.,  R.  12 
W..  and  southwest  corner  of  the  plat  of  the  village  of  Middleport. 
There  are  broad  belts,  principally  of  oak  timber,  along  these  streams, 
and  the  northern  part  of  the  town  of  Middleport  is  interspersed  with 
groves.  The  soil  of  Belmont  is  good,  and  so  also  the  southern  and 
eastern  portions  of  Middleport,  but  the  northern  and  western  portions 
not  of  first  quality.  Both  towns  are  entirely  embraced  in  the  glacial 
channel,  or  valley,  elsewhere  noticed,  filled  with  the  glacial  drift,  rest- 
1 


2  HISTORY    OF   1ROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

ing  upon  the  Niagara  limestone  formation,  and  therefore  not  underlaid 
with  coal,  but  with  that  which  is  much  more  valuable,  pure  water,, 
which  can  be  obtained  through  artesian  wells  any  where  in  these  towns. 

The  first  white  settlers  of  this  locality  found  the  timber  and  groves 
clear  of  undergrowth,  set  with  grass  and  presenting  a  park-like  appear- 
ance. The  prairies  and  timber  abounded  in  game,  and  the  streams 
were  well  stocked  with  fish. 

That  this  locality  was  a  favorite  resort  of  the  aborigines  of  the 
country  we  have  evidence,  the  most  ancient  of  which  is  that  left  by 
the  "Mound  Builders."  There  is  an  Indian  mound  about  thirty  feet 
in  diameter  on  the  Ezekiel  Hutchinson  Farm,  and  near  the  N.E.  corner 
of  the  KW.  i  S.W.  i  of  Sec.  31,  T.  27  N.,  E.  12  W.,  and  in  the 
orchard  on  said  farm.  There  is  also  a  mound  of  about  the  same 
dimension  on  the  S.E.  \  N.W.  \  of  Sec.  20,  T.  26  K,  R.  12  W.,  now 
owned  by  William  Pentzer,  and  on  the  west  side  of  Sugar  creek  and 
near  "Woodland.  These  mounds,  with  those  found  on  John  Lane's 
farm,  near  Milford,.and  also  one  or  two  on  the  state  line,  south  and 
near  the  Iroquois  river,  and  the  large  number  strung  along  the  east 
bank  of  the  Iroquois  river,  between  Plato  and  the  mouth  of  Pike 
creek,  as  noted  in  the  general  history  of  the  county,  are  all  the 
mounds,  so  far  as  the  writer  has  been  able  to  learn,  that  are  found  in 
the  county.  There  is  an  Indian  bury  ing-ground  on  the  nor.th  bluff  of 
the  Iroquois  river  and  near  a  large  spring,  in  the  N.E.  \  of  Sec.  29, 
T.  27  N.,  E.  12  W.,  now  owned  by  the  writer,  and  about  one  mile 
north  of  Watseka.  This  was  also  the  site  of  a  Pottawatomie  village, 
within  the  recollection  of  the  "oldest  inhabitant."  Many  stone  imple- 
ments and  arrow-heads  have  been  found  on  the  site  of  this  village,  and 
about  the  mounds  mentioned  ;  a  fine  specimen  of  a  hatchet  being  now 
in  the  possession  of  Mr.  H.  O.  Yan  Meter,  who  resides  east  of  the 
river,  near  Plato.  Indian  burying-grounds  always  indicate  the  sites  of 
Indian  villages,  as  it  has  been  the  Indian  custom  to  locate  them  at 
their  villages.  Their  maize  patches,  or  "squaw-fields,"  were  also 
located  at  their  villages.  That  it  may  be  the  better  understood  what 
constituted  an  Indian  village,  at  least  in  this  locality,  we  here  give  a 
description  of  them  as  furnished  by  Col.  Gurdon  S.  Hubbard,  in  which 
he  says:  "The  villages  were  none  of  them  permanent,  and  were 
moved  from  place  to  place  to  suit  the  convenience  of  the  inhabitants. 
Sometimes  a  village  would  not  exist  in  the  same  location  more  than  a 
year,  when  the  Indians  would  move  the  wigwams  and  all  to  another 
point,  the  wigwams  being  built  of  poles  set  in  a  circular  form,  meeting 
in  a  common  center  at  the  top,  and  being  covered  with  skins  could  be 
almost  as  easily  moved  as  a  large  military  tent." 


MIDDLEPORT    AND    BELMONT  TOWNSHIPS.  3 

As  there  has  been  some  controversy  as  to  whether  or  not  Sugar 
creek  and  Spring  creek  had  Indian  names,  the  writer  has  interviewed 
both  Col.  Hubbard  and  Mr.  Noel  Le  Yasseur  upon  that  point,  and 
both  concur  in  the  statement  that  neither  of  those  streams  had  an 
Indian  name.  But.  on  the  contrary,  M.  B.  Beaubien,  of  Silver  lake, 
Kansas,  chief  of  the  Pottawatomies,  in  answer  to  an  inquiry  made  by 
Col.  M.  H.  Peters,  of  the  "  Iroquois  County  Times,"  upon  this  point, 
writes  him  that :  "  Sugar  creek,  in  Pottawatomie,  is  Cis-paw-co-to-con," 
and  that "  Sepa  is  river  or  creek."  Yet,  it  may  be  that  the  chief 
intended  only  by  this  to  give  the  translation  or  rendering  of  the  Eng- 
lish name  into  the  Pottawatomie  tongue,  as  it  would  be  very  strange 
if  Hubbard  and  Yasseur  should  both  be  in  error  on  this  point,  after 
their  long  residence  among  the  Indians  on  these  streams.  It  is  there- 
fore probable  that  none  of  the  streams  in  this  locality  had  Indian 
names,  except  the  Iroquois  river,  the  name  "Iroquois"  being  derived 
from  the  Indians  of  that  name,  and  who  frequently  raided  this  locality, 
as  will  be  seen  by  reference  to  another  part  of  this  work. 

FIRST    EXPLORATION. 

It  is  not  known  by  whom  this  locality  was  first  explored.  A  copy, 
now  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  M.  H.  Messer,  of  Onarga,  in  this  county,  of 
a  part  of  a  map  made  in  1684,  from  records  and  maps  kept  by  La  Salle 
and  others,  of  the  country  they  had  explored,  shows  the  Iroquois  river 
correctly  delineated  as  far  south  as  Watseka,  where  the  turn  is  made 
from  the  east.  In  answer  to  an  inquiry  made  by  the  writer  of  Col. 
Hubbard,  he  says  that  he  has  no  knowledge,  from  Indian  tradition  or 
otherwise,  that  any  white  man  visited  or  located  in  this  region  before 
he  came;  but  he  thinks  it  very  likely,  as  when  the  French  controlled 
the  fur  trade  of  the  West,  Chabarre  and  others  had  trading-posts  all 
over  this  country.  On  the  point  between  Woodland  and  Sugar  creek, 
on  N.E.  \  of  Sec.  29,  T.  26  K,  R.  12  W.,  is  evidence  of  an  ancient 
clearing  and  habitation,  and  of  which  the  oldest  "  settler  "  can  tell  us 
nothing,  and  near  by,  from  the  site  occupied  by  the  creamery  owned 
by  Hon.  Samuel  Williams,  a  sugar  tree  was  removed,  which  was  found 
to  have  been  hacked  or  cut  with  an  ax  by  some  one,  as  evidenced  by 
the  growths  covering  the  cut,  about  100  years  ago.  An  ounce  ball  was 
also  taken  from  a  tree  cut  near  the  mouth  of  Spring  creek,  last  fall, 
by  employes  of  Mr.  Henry  A.  Butzow,  our  county  clerk,  covered  by 
the  growths  of  a  century.  These  traces  may  possibly  have  been  left 
by  Indians,  but  it  is  more  probable  that  they  are  evidences  of  occupa- 
tion by  whites. 

In  the  winter  of  1821-2,  the  American  For  Company  (John  Jacob 


4  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

Astor  &  Co.),  having  learned  through  their  agents  at  Mackinaw,  from 
the  representations  of  a  chief  of  the  Pottawatomies,  who  had  visited 
that  point,  of  the  great  wealth  of  furs  on  the  Kankakee  and  Iroquois 
rivers,  dispatched  Gurdon  S.  Hubbard,  who  was  then  in  their  employ, 
to  these  rivers,  for  the  purpose  of  opening  up  trade  with  the  Pottawat- 
omies. Noel  Le  Yasseur  was  then  in  Hubbard's  employ  and  accom- 
panied him.  They  came  with  presents  and  Indian  goods  in  a  boat,  by 
way  of  the  west  coast  of  lake  Michigan,  the  Chicago  and  DesPlaines 
rivers,  ascended  the  Kankakee  and  Iroquois  rivers  and  landed  at  the 
Pottawatomie  village,  heretofore  mentioned,  on  what  is  now  the  N.E.  % 
of  Sec.  29,  T.  27  N.,  R.  12  W.  Here  they  were  kindly  received  and 
well  treated,  and  after  spending  some  time  in  distributing  their  gifts 
among  the  Indians,  cementing  their  friendships  and  learning  the  Pot- 
tawatomie tongue,  they  built  a  trading-house  and  erected  a  fur  press, 
just  above  and  near  the  mouth  of  Sugar  creek,  on  the  south  bank  of 
the  Iroquois  river.  The  site  occupied  by  this  trading-post  is  covered  by 
block  52  in  Middleport,  and  is  now  owned  by  Mrs.  Catherine  Peachen. 
The  remains  of  this  trading-house  and  fur  press  were  still  visible  when 
the  writer  first  came  to  -Middleport,  in  1853,  and  for  some  time  after. 
They  remained  at  this  post  about  three  years,  as  will  be  seen  here- 
after, and  then  abandoned  it  and  established  a  new  post  at  "  Buncombe," 
now  known  as  Concord,  in  this  county.  The  Pottawatomie  chiefs  with 
whom  Hubbard  and  Yasseur  formed  intimate  relations  here,  wereTamin 
(strawberry),  Shemargar  (soldier),  Raquitor  (lawyer),  and  Washkuk. 
The  territory  east  of  Spring  creek  was  occupied  by  the  Pottawatomies. 
There  was  a  Kickapoo  village  at  Oliver's  Grove,  occupied  by  a  detached 
band,  whose  chief  was  Black  Hawk,  but  who  were  under  the  immediate 
leadership  of  Kanakuk.  Hubbard  secured  the  trade  of  this  band,  as 
well  as  that  of  the  Pottawatomies.  There  were  no  white  settlements 
nearer  than  the  Wabash  on  the  south,  and  Chicago  on  the  north.  The 
government  Indian  agencies  were  at  Logansport,  Indiana,  and  Chicago, 
Illinois. 

In  regard  to  his  location  in  Illinois  as  an  Indian  trader,  Col.  Gur- 
don S.  Hubbard,  in  a  letter  to  B.  F.  Shankland,  Esq.,  dated  October 
21, 18T8,  says :  "  The  winter  of  1821  and  1822  I  was  an  Indian  trader, 
located  on  the  Iroquois  river  below  'Bunkum,'  reaching  that  point 
from  Mackinaw,  in  a  small  batteau  (boat)  of  about  ten  tons  burthen, 
coasting  lake  Michigan,  drawing  it  oVerland  from  Chicago  river  to  the 
DesPlaines,  descending  it  and  ascending  the  Kankakee  and  Iroquois 
rivers.  From  my  trading-house  I  made  frequent  excursions  to  the 
Indian  hunting-grounds  as  far  south  as  the  Little  Wabash,  using  Indian 
j>ack-horses,  which  was  the  commencement  of  my  trail.  I  was  then 


MIDDLEPORT    AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  5 

in  the  employ  of  the  American  Fur  Company  (John  Jacob  Astor  & 
Co.),  having  engaged  my  services  to  them  in  the  spring  of  1818,  for  a 
term  of  five  years,  on  a  salary  of  $120  per  annum.  The  fall  of  1825, 
not  liking  the  location  I  built  a  new  post  about  a  half  mile  north  of 
the  town  of  'Bunkum,'  being  then  free  to  exercise  my  own  discre- 
tion. I  left  my  boats  at  Chicago  and  bought  Indian  horses  to  convey 
my  goods,  now  largely  increased.  From  there  by  a  new  trail,  with 
loaded  pack-horses,  I  struck  at  Sugar  creek,  at  or  near  Watseka,  the 
trail  —  or,  as  you  call  it,  'trace' — intersecting  there  the  one  1  had 
before  used.  That  fall  I  established  quite  a  number  of  trading-posts 
south,  and  one  north  of  Iroqnois,  making  the  latter  my  headquarters, 
visiting,  as  occasion  required,  rny  posts.  At  the  Iroquois  I  opened  a 
farm  which  I  preempted,  so  that  by  the  inclosing  and  cultivating  over 
eighty  acres,  with  a  nice  hewed  log  farm  house  near  my  trading-post, 
I  was  the  first  to  cultivate  in  Iroquois  county,  and  also  in  Cook  county, 
except  Mr.  Kinzie  and  Mr.  Clayton,  who  at  that  time  had  small 
patches,  about  twenty  acres  each,  in  the  present  limits  of  Chicago. 
Mr.  Baxter  Allen  was  my  farmer,  and  who,  after  the  first  year,  got  mar- 
ried in  Indiana,  his  wife  being  the  first  white  woman,  I  think,  in  the 
territory  now  embraced  in  your  county.  I  continued  my  Indian  trade 
south  of  Danville  up  to  1832,  when  I  withdrew,  still  continuing  to 
keep  an  assortment  of  Indian  goods,  but  mostly  for  whites,  at  Danville 
and  trading-post  at  Iroquois,  withdrawing  from  both  places  wholly  in 
1834,  so  that  m^  entire  business  was  at  Chicago." 

"When  Col.  Hubbard  came  among  the  Indians  on  the  Iroquois,  he 
soon  saw  the  necessity,  as  a  matter  of  protection  and  safety,  to  form 
more  intimate  relations  with  them  than  that  of  mere  trade,  and  there- 
fore, in  the  course  of  time,  married — according  to  the  Indian  custom — 
an  Indian  woman  by  the  name  of  "  Watch-e-kee"  who  was  the  niece 
of  the  Pottawatomie  chief,  Tamin.  whose  village  was  then  on  the 
present  site  of  Concord  ("  Buncombe  ").  In  answer  to  an  inquiry  made 
by  the  writer  as  to  this  matter,  Col.  Hubbard  says:  "I  have  no  wish 
to  deny  the  fact  of  her  being  my  wife,  given  me  by  her  uncle  (the 
chief)  when  she  was  about  ten,  in  the  place  of  his  own  grown  daugh- 
ter whom  he  presented  to  me,  and  whom  I  declined.  This  little  girl 
was  to  take  her  place,  and  was,  under  my  pledge  to  make  her  my  wife, 
brought  to  me  by  her  mother  at  the  age  of  fourteen  or  fifteen.  She 
bore  me  a  daughter  who  died  at  about  eight  months  old.  I  lived  with 
this  Indian  woman  about  two  years  in  harmony.  Our  separation  was 
by  mutual  agreement,  in  perfect  friendship,  and  because  I  was  about 
to  abandon  the  Indian  trade,  and  of  course  my  connection  with  her 
tribe.  Both  thought  each  other's  happiness  would  be  promoted  by 


6  HISTOKY    OF    IKOQUOIS    COUNTY. 

separation,  as  it  doubtless  was."  The  names  of  the  father  and  mother 
of  Watch-e-kee,  or  "  "Watseka,"  as  she  was  called  by  the  whites,  appears 
to  have  been  unknown  to  both  Hubbard  and  Yasseur,  as  they  so  state 
to  the  writer.  Watseka  was  born  at  the  Indian  village  at  the  site  of 
"Buncombe,"  about  the  year  1810.  She  is  said  to  have  been  a  hand- 
some, intelligent  and  superior  Indian  woman.  After  her  separation 
from  Col.  Hubbard,  according  to  the  Indian  custom,  and  his  retiring 
from  "Buncombe,"  she,  in  1828,  married  Noel  Le  Yasseur,  who  had 


COL.  GURDON  S.  HUBBARD. 


been  left  in  charge  of  the  post.  Her  tribe,  except  a  remnant,  were 
removed  west  after  the  treaty  of  October,  1833,  and  she  and  Vasseur 
then  removed  to  Bourbonnais  Grove,  on  the  Kankakee  river.  She  bore 
him  several  children,  some  of  whom  are  still  living  in  Kansas.  She 
went  west  in  1837  with  the  remnant  of  her  tribe,  and  located  near 
Council  Bluffs,  and  there  married  a  Frenchman  by  the  name  of  Ber- 
geron. When  she  went  west  Mr.  Yasseur  took  her  in  a  carriage  as  far 
as  the  Mississippi  river,  and  it  is  said  made  ample  provision  for  her,  and 
that  she  was  in  comfortable  circumstances  until  her  death.  About  the 
year  1863  she  returned  on  a  visit  to  Mr.  Yasseur,  at  Bourbonnais  Grove, 
and  from  there  she  plodded  her  weary  way  afoot  and  alone  to  the  scenes 
of  her  childhood,  and  visited  the  graves  of  her  kindred  and  tribe,  near 


MIDDLEPORT    AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  7 

Middleport  and  "  Buncombe."  Sadly  she  left,  as  the  last  Pottawatornie 
to  set  foot  upon  the  soil  of  Iroquois  county,  and  returned  to  Kansas, 
and  about  the  year  1878,  in  the  Pottawatornie  Reservation  in  Kansas, 
passed  to  "the  happy  hunting-grounds."  Noel  Le  Yasseur  died  at  his 
residence  in  Bourbonnais  Grove,  on  Friday  night,  December  15,  1879. 
Col.  Gurdon  S.  Hubbard  is  still  living,  at  the  ripe  old  age  of  nearly 
eighty  years,  at  243  White  street,  Chicago,  highly  honored  and  respected 
by  all  who  know  him. 

We  have  devoted  this  much  space  to  "  Watseka "  for  the  reason 
that  the  city  of  Watseka  has  been  named  for  her,  and  as  her  name  will 
therefore  be  perpetuated  in  history,  it  becomes  a  matter  of  interest  to 
have  her  biography.  In  the  "  Historic  Notes  of  the  Northwest,"  by 
Mr.  Beckwith,  at  page  114  of  this  work,  it  is  stated  that  there  was  an 
Indian  tradition  that  the  custom  of  perpetuating  the  name  of  "Wat- 
seka" originated  in  a  conflict  between  the  Iroquois  and  Illinois  tribes 
of  Indians,  which  took  place  on  the  Iroquois  river,  a  few  miles  below 
Middleport,  about  two  hundred  years  ago.  As  the  heroine  of  this 
conflict  belonged  to  the  Illinois  tribe,  and  the  conflict  must  have 
occurred,  if  at  all,  at  least  one  hundred  years  before  the  Pottawatomies 
occupied  this  territory,  and  as  the  last  named  tribe  and  the  Illinois  were 
always  inveterate  enemies,  the  Pottawatomies  could  have  had  no  desire 
to  perpetuate  a  remembrance  of  this  conflict.  The  "  tradition,"  there- 
fore, becomes  mythical,  and  is  evidently  more  poetic  than  truthful. 
Mr.  Noel  Le  Vasseur,  in  an  interview  with  him  before  his  death,  in- 
formed the  writer  that  there  was  no  significance  whatever  in  the  name 
of  "  Watseka." 

FIRST    SETTLEMENTS    IN    BELMONT. 

The  first  emigrants  to  T.  26  N.,  E.  12  W.  were  John  S.  Moore 
and  wife  (Nancy)  and  their  family :  Jesse  Moore  and  wife,  Foster 
Moore,  William  S.,  Foreman,  John  B.,  Aaron,  Joseph,  Rebecca,  Cath- 
arine, Mary  and  Nancy  Moore.  They  all  came  from  Adams  county, 
Ohio, — some  in  the  spring  and  others  in  the  fall  of  1831, — and  located 
at  what  has  since  been  known  as  "Moore's  Point,"  on  lands  in  sec- 
tions 14  and  15.  Mary  married  John  Crowl,  about  the  year  1837,  and 
located  near  "  Buncombe."  She  died  a  few  years  ago,  leaving  five 
children.  Mr.  Crowl  is  still  living,  and  resides  on  his  old  homestead. 
Rebecca  married,  January  1,  1833,  Hon.  Micajah  Stanley,  and  they 
located  near  Milford,  but  afterward,  in  1835,  removed  to  the  place 
where  they  now  reside,  in  the  limits  of  Watseka.  Catharine  married 
Samuel  Fleming,  and  they  located  on  his  farm  in  section  30,  where  he 
died  a  few  years  ago.  She  is  still  living.  Nancy  married  Reuben 
Carman,  and  settled  in  the  northern  part  of  the  town.  The  sons  all 


8  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

married  and  located  in  the  neighborhood.  Foreman  and  John  B. 
have  since  died  and  left  families  in  the  town.  John  S.  Moore  died 
July  10,  1843,  and  afterward  his  wife  resided  with  her  daughter,  Mrs. 
Stanley,  until  July  5,  1853,  when  she  died  while  on  a  visit  to  her 
daughter,  Mrs.  Growl.  The  Moore  family  were  Methodists,  and  John 
S.,  in  1835,  bnilt  a  log  church,  25x30  feet,  with  clap-board  roof  and 
puncheon  floor,  and  furnished  with  hewed  bench-seats,  for  the  use  of 
the  church.  This  was  the  first  church  in  the  county,  and  Moore's  was 
the  preacher's  home.  What  ministers  occupied  this  church  the  writer 
has  not  been  able  to  learn. 

Alexander  Wilson  came  in  1833,  and  laid  a  claim  on  land  in  section 
10 ;  sold  out  to  Aaron  H.  James,  and  June  4,  1834,  entered  the  N.E.  ^ 
of  Sec.  5,  and  built  a  hewed  log  house  on  it  and  removed  to  it.  A 
few  years  after  he  established  a  tannery,  and  resided  on  the  place  until 
he  sold  out  to  Alfred  Beckett,  November  7,  1847.  Beckett  came  from 
Perrysville,  Indiana,  and  with  him  Benjamin  F.  Raney,  who  located 
on  part  of  section  4.  Raney  and  Beckett  both  died  several  years  ago. 
Beckett  sold  to  Hon.  John  Chamberlain,  July  28,  1856.  This  land  is 
in  the  present  limits  of  Watseka.  When  Wilson  sold  out  he  removed 
to  the  west  side  of  Sugar  creek,  where  he  still  resides. 

John  Hudson,  Sr.,  and  family  came  from  Kent  county,  Delaware, 
July  4,  1834.  His  family  consisted  of  his  wife  (Mary)  and  children : 
John,  Jonathan,  Henry  and  Deborah.  Deborah  afterward  married 
James  Longshore.  John,  Sr.,  died  November  12, 1834,  and  his  widow, 
March  13,  1835.  They  were  both  buried  in  the  cemetery  on  the  land 
where  they  located,  in  section  4,  and  which  had  been  donated  by  them 
for  burial  purposes.  They  were  each  about  sixty  years  of  age  when 
they  died.  Jonathan  was  accidentally  drowned  in  Sugar  creek,  June 
6,  1835.  John  was  married  to  Sarah  Longshore,  and  Deborah  to 
James  Longshore,  both  the  same  day,  in  December,  1835.  They  were 
married  by  Alexander  Wilson,  who  was  then  a  justice  of  the  peace. 
John,  Henry  and  Deborah  are  still  living  west  of  the  creek.  Mrs. 
Sarah  Longshore,  James,  William  and  wife,  and  Mahlon  Longshore 
came  in  the  spring  of  1835,  and  all  settled  west  of  the  creek.  John 
Longshore  came  two  or  three  years  after.  The  Longshores  all  died 
several  years  ago.  They  built  the  first  house  on  the  west  side  of  the 
creek.  Jesse  Oppy  and  Samuel  Oppy  came  in  1835.  Jesse  located  on 
lands  in  section  23,  where  he  and  family  still  reside.  Samuel  Oppy 
removed  to  Iowa  in  1866.  Henry  Barna,  known  also  by  the  name  of 
Barnhouse  (German),  with  his  two  sons,  located  on  the  N.E.  J  S.E.  •£ 
of  Sec.  20,  in  1832  or  1833.  He  was  a  carpenter  by  trade,  and  made 
some  of  the  furniture  first  used  in  the  offices  of  the  county.  He  sold 
his  land  to  Robert  L.  Williams,  in  1835,  and  left. 


MIDDLEPORT    AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  9- 

John  Strean  located  on  N.W.  i  of  Sec.  22  in  1834  or  1835.  He 
married  Jane  Yennum,  daughter  of  Col.  Thomas  Vennum.  They  are 
both  still  living,  but  have  no  children.  They  are  highly  respected 
people.  Aaron  Hoel  and  family  came  from  Ohio  in  1834,  and  settled 
on  W.  |-  S.W.  £  of  Sec.  27.  He  died  several  years  ago,  and  the  family  are 
scattered.  Jeremiah  Hoel  came  in  1837.  He  was  a  brick-maker,  and 
burned  the  brick  for  the  old  court-house.  He  and  family  removed 
several  years  ago  to  Union  county,  Illinois.  John  "Wamsley  and  fam- 
ily came  from  Adams  county,  Ohio,  in  1834,  and  located  on  S.£  S.W.  £ 
of  Sec.  28.  He  sold  out  in  1836  and  returned  to  Ohio.  Eli  Murray 
and  family  came  from  Ohio  in  1834,  and  located  on  "W.  -|  N.E.  £  of 
Sec.  29.  He  died  man}7  years  ago.  Lemuel  and  William  John  and 
families  located  in  section  32  in  1834.  Lemuel  has  been  dead  some  years. 
Hozea  T.,  Elijah  and  Thomas  Kendall  came  from  Indiana  in  1835,  all 
locating  in  sections  10,  11  and  14.  All  died  several  years  ago.  Peter 
Hardenbrook  and  family  came  from  Ohio  in  1835 ;  settled  on  E.  £  S.E. 
^  of  Sec.  29,  and  died  many  years  ago.  Samuel  Keene  came  from 
Indiana  in  1836 ;  located  on  S.W.  \  S.W.  \  of  Sec.  5.  He  followed 
hunting  and  trapping,  as  well  as  farming.  He  and  family  still  reside 
on  the  premises.  Oliver  Smith  and  family,  from  Ohio,  located  on 
lands  in  section  22  in  1836.  He  died  there  many  years  ago. 

Samuel  B.  Swim  and  his  sons,  Samuel  and  Isaac,  came  from  Adams 
county,  Ohio,  in  1837,  and  settled  on  lands  in  section  3.  Samuel  B. 
long  since  died.  Samuel  now  resides  at  Onarga.  Isaac  removed  to 
Iowa.  Charles  and  John  Shields  and  families  came  about  the  same 
time  as  did  the  Longshores,  and  settled  in  the  same  locality.  They  are 
both  dead.  Henry  Furtig  (German)  came  from  Ohio  about  1836,  and 
located  on  the  E.  -|  of  Lot  2,  N.E.  -J-  of  Sec.  4.  He  lived  with  his 
widowed  mother  until  she  died,  a  few  years  after.  His  brothers,  John 
and  George,  also  lived  with  them.  They  all  removed  west  many  years 
ago.  John  Paul  came  from  Pennsylvania  in  1839.  He  married  one  of 
Jonathan  Wright's  daughters,  and  they  settled  on  the  S.W.  £  of  Sec.  26. 
Several  years  ago  lie  sold  out  and  removed  to  Watseka  and  engaged  in 
buying  and  selling  grain.  A  few  years  ago  he  removed  to  Denver, 
Colorado,  where  he  and  family  now  reside.  William,  Austin,  John 
arid  Joshua  Sherrill,  settled  near  Lister's  Point  in  1847.  They  are  all 
dead,  but  some  of  their  descendants  still  reside  in  the  neighborhood. 
Benjamin  Raymond  came  about  the  same  time.  He  married  a  Slier-, 
rill.  Reuben,  Aaron  and  Sarah  Carman,  with  their  father,  came  about 
1850.  Their  father  died  here  two  or  three  years  after.  The  others- 
settled  on  lands  in  section  3.  Sarah  married  Henry  Fortig,  and  they,, 
with  Aaron,  went  west.  Reuben  married  Nancy  Moore,  and  a  few 


10  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

years  ago  sold  his  farm  to  A.  J.  Gillfillan,  removed  to  Fairbury,  Illi- 
nois, and  from  thence  to  Missouri. 

David  McClanahan  came  from  Tennessee  about  1841,  married  Alex. 
Wilson's  daughter  (Mary)  and  located  west  of  the  creek.  They 
removed  to  Kansas  in  1864  or  1865.  Abram  Troxell  and  family  came 
in  1840,  and  located  west  of  the  creek.  He  died  several  years  ago. 
His  two  sons,  John  and  Christopher,  were  both  drowned  in  the  creek 
in  1840,  by  accident,  while  getting  cattle  out  during  a  freshet.  Alfred 
C.  Johnson  came  from  Ohio  several  years  ago,  married  here,  and  set- 
tled on  lands  in  section  19,  west  of  the  creek,  where  he  and  family 
now  reside.  David  McGill  came  to  Belmont  when  a  youth,  in  1838, 
and  was  for  several  years  in  the  employ  of  John  Strean.  He  married 
in  that  town,  and  by  energy  and  economy  has  acquired  a  large  amount 
of  lands  and  property.  He  is  vice-president  of  the  First  National 
Bank  of  Watseka,  and  now  resides  in  that  city. 

Hon.  Samuel  Williams,  with  his  father,  Thomas  Williams,  and 
mother  (Elizabeth)  and  brothers  and  sisters,  John,  Melissa,  William, 
Josiah,  Susan,  Mary  and  Harvey,  came  to  the  county  in  1845.  He 
located  in  Belmont  in  1847.  His  father  died  there  in  1855.  He  is  highly 
respected  and  a  nran  of  prominence  in  the  county;  has-been  judge  of 
the  county  court,  and  is  now  the  president  of  the  First  National  Bank 
of  Watseka,  but  still  resides  in  Belmont.  He  was  married  in  1849  to 
Catherine  Body,  of  that  town.  He  was  formerly  from  Adams  county, 
Ohio. 

The  first  child  born  within  the  limits  of  Belmont,  was  Marion 
Francis  Moore,  son  of  Jesse  and  Leticia  Moore,  born  in  the  summer  of 
1831.  The  first  marriage  was  Hon.  Micajah  Stanley  to  Rebecca  Moore ; 
and  the  first  death  was  John  Hudson,  Sr.,  who  died  November  12, 
1834. 

The  first  settlers  of  Belmont  had  to  endure  the  hardships  usual  to 
a  new  country.  John  Strean  had  a  little  store  on  Coon  creek,  where 
he  sold  a  few  necessaries  brought  by  teams  from  La  Fayette,  Indiana, 
and  Chicago,  Illinois,  and  which  places  were  the  nearest  markets.  The 
post-office  was  at  Driftwood,  northwest  of  Milford,  on  Sugar  creek, 
where  a  "semi-occasional"  mail  was  received  on  the  mail  route  from 
Joliet  to  Danville.  The  nearest  mills  (except  a  "  corn-cracker  "  run 
by  horse-power,  by  William  Pickrell,  where  Milford  now  is),  were  on 
Pine  creek  and  the  Big  Shawnee,  in  Indiana,  and  at  Wilmington,  on 
the  Kankakee  river,  about  fifty  miles  away,  and  the  nearest  towns  and 
physicians  were  at  Williamsport  and  La  Fayette. 

The  first  schools  taught  in  the  town,  so  far  as  the  writer  has  been 
able  to  learn,  were  by  Benjamin  Raymond,  on  the  east  side  of  the 


MIDDLEPOHT    AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS. 


11 


town,  and  by  Mahlon  Boyd  on  the  west  side  of  Sugar  creek.  The  first 
preaching  was  by  Revs.  Mr.  Springer  and  Hooper  Crews,  of  the  M.  E. 
church,  and  by  John  Hoobler  and  the  Kenoyers  of  the  United  Brethren 
church. 

The  town  was  first  organized  embracing  town  26  north,  ranges  12 
and  13  west.  Town  26  north,  range  13  west,  was  organized  as  the  town 
of  Crescent  a  few  years  ago.  The  Chicago  &  Eastern  Illinois  railroad 
runs  through  this  town,  on  which,  and  in  the  S.E.  ^  of  Sec.  20  and 
KE.  i  of  Sec.  29,  the  village  of 

WOODLAND 

Is  located.  This  village  was  laid  off  by  Russell  Search,  Samuel  Will- 
iams and  John  L.  Donovan,  April  17,  1876.  It  is  a  station  on  the 


WILLIAMS   &   SONS     CREAMERY. 


railroad,  four  miles  south  of  Watseka;  has  a  post-office,  lumberyard, 
steam  mill,  several  stores,  etc.,  and  does  considerable  trade.  At  this 
village  is  located  one  of  the  best  regulated  and  constructed  creameries 
in  the  country,  owned  by  Hon.  Samuel  Williams  &  Sons. 

The  Poor  Farm  of  the  county  is  located  principally  in  section  3,  and 
was  purchased  of  Henry  B.  Coberly,  January  31,  1857.  This  town  has 
two  iron  bridges  across  Sugar  creek,  one  near  the  residence  of  Samuel 
Keene,  built  a  few  years  ago,  costing  $6,500,  and  one  lately  built  at 
Woodland,  costing  $3,200.  Part  of  the  corporate  limits  of  the  city  of 
Watseka  is  within  the  town. 

James  T.  Phenix,  a  colored  man,  who  resided  on  a  farm  he  had 
purchased  of  David  McGill,  in  section  26,  committed  suicide  by  drown- 
ing himself  in  Coon  creek,  on  the  night  of  Wednesday,  February  4, 1880. 
He  had  been  defeated  on  Monday  before,  by  McGill,  in  a  suit  for 


12 


HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 


forcible  detainer  of  the  premises,  and  believing  that  he  had  been  mis- 
used in  the  matter,  he  became  insane  and  committed  the  deed.  He 
left  a  wife  and  four  small  children  in  destitute  circumstances. 


OFFICERS    OF    BELMONT. 


YEAR. 

SUPERVISOR. 

CLERK. 

ASSESSOR. 

COLLECTOR. 

1856 

1857 
1858 
1859 
1880 
1861 
1862 
1863 
1864 
1865 
1866 
1867 
1868 
1869 
1870 
1871 
1872 
1873 
-  1874 
1875 
1876 
1877 
1878 
1879 
1880 

Samuel  Williams  .  . 

Elihu  Moore  

David  McGill  

Wm.  Williams. 
David  McGill. 
Same. 
H.  L.  Roll. 
Same. 
Henry  Smith. 
H.  L.  Roll. 
Same. 
William  Warren, 
Same. 
Same. 
Same. 
Same. 
S.  W.  Warren. 
M.  Hogle. 
J.  W.  Carr. 
James  Cauvins. 
G.  W.  Andrews. 
Same. 
S.  W.  Warren. 
G.  H.  Featherling. 
Same. 
Same. 
Justus  Smith. 
Same. 

E  H  Moore  

Daniel  Parker  

Same  

Same  

John  Paul  .... 

John  Hudson  

Same  

Same  

John  Paul  

A  C.  Johnson  

David  McGill  

E  H  Moore  

S.  W.  Montgomery. 
A  C  Johnson  .... 

Same  

Same  

Same  

Same  

Same  . 

Same  

Same.   

Same  

F   Blades  

Stanford  Hoel  

Same  

Samuel  Williams.  . 
Same  

David  John  

Same  

Same   

Same  

David  McGill  

J.  F.  Good  

Same  

Same  

Same  

Same  . 

Samuel  Williams.  . 
C  Secrest  

J.  L.  McConnell,  Jr. 
G.  W.  Garrison  .  .  . 
G.  W.  Andrews  .  .  . 
W  S  Browne  

J  G.  Wagner  

Same  

Same  

Abner  Frame  

S.  W.  Montgomery 
C  Secrest  

A  D   Frame     .... 

Same  

Same  

Same  

J  B   Moore  

Same  

Same  

J  .  L.  Donovan  
Same  

Same  
Same  

S  W  Warren  

Henry  Tate  

Same  

Same  '.  .   ... 

Same  

Same  

Same  

A   D  Frame   

March  10,  1865,  David  McGill  was  appointed  to  fill  vacancy  in  the 
office  of  town  clerk,  occasioned  by  the  removal  of  E.  H.  Moore  from 
the  town.  November  16, 1864,  John  Strean  was  appointed  supervisor 
to  fill  vacancy  occasioned  by  the  removal  of  John  Paul  from  the  town. 
November  1,  1870,  William  Warren  was  appointed  town  clerk  to  fill 
vacancy  occasioned  by  the  removal  of  J.  L.  McConnell.  December 
30,  1876,  John  L.  Donovan  was  appointed  supervisor  to  fill  vacancy 
occasioned  by  the  resignation  of  C.  Secrest.  July  6,  1877,  William 
Warren  was  appointed  assessor  to  fill  vacancy  occasioned  by  the 
assessor  elect  having  been  declared  insane. 

FIRST  SETTLEMENT  IN  THE  TOWN  OF  MIDDLErORT. 

David  and  Oliver  Bookless  came  from  Ohio  in  1833  or  1834,  and 
located  on  lands  in  section  27,  north  of  the  river.  David  died  many 
years  ago.  Oliver  still  lives  near  "  Lister's  Point." 

Hon.  Micajah  Stanley  built  a  log  house  on  the  S.E.  -J-  of  Sec.  32  in 
March,  1835,  and  in  April  following  moved  into  it  from  near  Milford, 
where  he  had  previously  resided.  He  improved  his  farm  and  in  1846 


MIDDLEPORT   AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  13 

built  the  finest  barn  then  in  the  county.  His  premises  are  now  in  the 
city  of  Watseka,  of  the  most  of  which  he  is  the  proprietor.  His  old 
residence  has  been  replaced  by  a  commodious  and  comfortable  l.rick 
dwelling,  where  he  and  wife  and  some  of  his  children  now  reside.  He 
is  honored  and  respected  by  all. 

James  Crozzar  came  from  Ohio  in  1835.  He  married  the  widow 
of  Hezekiah  Eastburn,  who  lived  near  "  Lister's  Point,"  and  built  on 
the  N.E.  ^  of  S.E.  ^  of  Sec.  35,  where  he  resided  until  his  death.  He 
died  June  17,  1869,  and  his  wife  January  6,  1880.  He  bequeathed  his 
home  property  to  Richard  Roberts,  who  now  occupies  it.  Crozzar 
left  no  children. 

Leander  Hogle  and  family  came  from  Coshocton  county,  Ohio,  in 
1836,  and  located  on  the  E.  £  of  S.E.  £  of  Sec.  28.  He  died  March  7, 
1853,  leaving  surviving  him  his  widow  (Elizabeth)  and  Michael,  George 
"W.,  Polly,  John,  Isaac  and  David,  his  children.  His  widow  died 
about  1865,  and  his  children  Isaac  and  David  several  years  before. 
Michael  and  John  were  several  years  engaged  in  selling  goods  at 
Middleport.  George  W.  was  a  stock-trader.  Michael  was  at  one 
time  sheriff  of  the  county,  and  for  several  years  the  editor  of  the 
"  Middleport  Press,"  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and  prominent  in  the  poli- 
tics of  the  county.  Michael,  George  W.  and  John  now  reside  in 
Chicago.  Polly  is  married  to  John  Thompson,  and  resides  in  Coshoc- 
ton county,  Ohio. 

John  Lyman,  Sr.,  and  wife  (Hannah)  and  daughter  (Susan)  came 
from  Starke  county,  Ohio,  and  landed  at  Middleport  in  June,  1836. 
Daniel  Rondebush  and  wife  (Polly  Lyman),  William  Lyman,  Samuel 
Lyman  and  Jacob  Lyman  and  families,  and  Matthias  Shipman,  who 
afterward  married  Susan  Lyman,  came  with  them  from  the  same  place. 
John  Lyman,  Sr.,  and  Daniel  Rondebush  and  families,  located  in 
Middleport.  Jacob  and  family  located  on  lands  in  section  30,  and 
William  and  Samuel  and  families  farther  north.  These  were  the  first 
settlements  in  the  town  north  of  Middleport  and  the  river.  George 
Lyman,  David  Buck  and  John  Lyrnan,  Jr.,  and  families,  and  Jonathan 
Lyman,  came  from  same  place  about  two  years  after.  John,  Jr.,  died 
in  about  one  year,  and  Jonathan  subsequently  married  his  widow. 
George  Lyman  located  in  Belmont,  and  David  Buck  and  Jonathan 
Lyman,  north  of  the  river.  Daniel  Lyman  came  about  1840,  and  also 
settled  north  of  the  river.  John  Lyman,  Sr.,  died  in  1840,  and  his 
wife  about  ten  years  later.  Daniel  Lyman  died  about  1870 ;  Buck  in 
1874;  and  Shipman  about  a  year  ago.  Jacob  Lyman  died  about  1850. 
Samuel  Platner  also  came  with  the  Lymans,  and  when  Rondebush 
died,  two  or  three  years  after,  Platner  married  his  widow  and  located 


14  HISTORY    OF    IBOQUOIS    COUNTY. 

on  the  E.  -|  of  the  N.E.  £  of  Sec.  29,  north  of  the  river.  Jacob  Snyder,. 
Sr.,  and  son-in-law,  Jacob  Rhodes,  and  sons,  Jacob  and  John,  came 
from  Wayne  county,  Ohio,  in  the  spring  of  1837.  Rhodes  and  family 
located  on  N.E.  \  of  S.E.  \  of  Sec.  33.  He  died  several  years  ago, 
and  his  wife  later.  John  Snyder  located  on  S.W.  \  of  N.E.  \  of  Sec. 
33,  in  1838.  John  died  several  years  ago,  and  Jacob  in  Peoria  about 
two  or  three  months  ago.  Jacob  Shultz  came  about  1837,  and  settled 
north  of  the  river.  Joseph  Egbert  and  wife  (Mary)  and  children,  Eliz- 
abeth, James,  Susan,  Samuel,  Hugh,  Adrian  and  George,  came  from 
Akron,  Ohio,  November  15,  1840.  The  coming  winter  he  built  a 
dwelling  house,  saw-mill  and  "corn-cracker"  on  the  river,  in  W.  \  of 
N.E.  \  of  Sec.  32.  No  lumber  was  to  be  had  nearer  than  Chicago  or 
the  Wabash  river;  he  therefore  sawed  all  the  necessary  lumber  for 
these  improvements  with  a  whipsaw.  George  and  his  mother  died  in 
1841,  Hugh  and  Samuel  in  1845.  A  Mr.  Davis  built  a  distillery  near 
the  mill,  in  which  an  old-fashioned  copper  still  was  used,  which  was 
purchased  by  Mr.  Egbert  in  1846,  and  was  run  about  four  years.  Trie 
mill  was  run  until  1856,  and  then  abandoned.  Elizabeth  married 
Josiah  Williams  in  April,  1849.  Susan  married  a  Mr.  Pearsoll,  and 
soon  after  died.  Joseph  Egbert  died  September  27,  1854.  Josiah 
Williams  and  wife,  and  James  and  Adrian  Egbert  reside  in  Watseka. 
In  1836  Reuben  Lister,  Nathan  Foster  and  Joshua  Sherrill,  made  loca- 
tions in  sections  35  and  36 ;  and  Mons  K.  Olland,  Erick  G.  Medborn 
and  Niels  T.  Bouge,  in  section  22 ;  and  Charles  Holseclaw  in  section 
23.  David,  Frederick  and  Benjamin  Leatherman,  William  Jerman, 
Jones  Green,  John  Merely,  Mason  Vermillion,  A.  J.  Galaspie,  Jason 
Bull,  Charles  F.  Tyler,  John  Mellinger  and  Daniel  Davis  settled  in 
the  northeastern  part  of  the  town  at  a  later  day. 

William  McCollock  entered  the  S.E.  \  of  S.E.  \  of  Sec.  25,  Decem- 
ber 25,  1832.  This  was  the  first  purchase  of  the  government  made  in 
the  town.  This  covered  the  crossing  of  the  river  on  the  Vincennes 
and  Chicago  state  road.  Isaac  Courtright,  who  then  resided  near 
"Buncombe,"  afterward  purchased  this  land,  and  in  1839  or  1840  built 
a  saw-mill  and  grist-mill  on  it.  Cyrus  Clapp  came  from  near  Attica, 
Indiana,  lived  in  a  "  shanty  "  near  the  mill,  and  boarded  the  hands 
during  its  construction.  George  Courtright  went  there  in  1843  and 
resided  in  the  log  house  formerly  occupied  by  Clapp,  until  he  built 
a  house  which  he  occupied  as  a  hotel  several  years,  then  sold  it  to 
Sanford  Claggett,  and  he  to  William  S.  Torbett  soon  after.  William 
Steerman  and  family,  Richard  and  William  Roberts,  all  came  to  the 
place  from  Indiana  in  1848,  and  engaged  in  blacksmithing.  Claggett 
and  Woods- sold  goods  there  from  about  1850  to  1854,  when  Claggett. 


MIDDLEPOKT   AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  15 

removed  to  Lexington,  Illinois.  Joseph  Thomas  came  there  with  his 
family  in  1848  and  bought  an  interest  in  the  mill.  He  was  also  justice 
of  the  peace,  and  from  1852  to  1856,  a  member  of  the  legislature. 
His  wife  died  there.  He  died  at  Onarga  in  1858.  Isaac  Courtright 
located  there  with  his  family  in  1843,  and  his  wife  died  about  one  year 
after.  A  few  years  after  he  married  Mrs.  Ruth  Kay,  mother  of  Wilson 
S.,  Joseph  W.  and  James  W.  Kay.  They  both  died  of  cholera  about 
the  same  time,  in  October,  1854.  The  mill  property  wafe  conveyed  to- 
George  West,  July  25,  1848.  In  1854  he  built  a  new  mill,  on  north 
side  of  the  river.  This  he  sold  to  John  Steele  and  Edward  Collins,  in 
1865,  who  removed  it  to  Sheldon.  He  sold  the  mill  site  to  John 
Shankland,  September  2,  1867,  who  built  a  saw-mill  upon  it,  and  sold 
out  to  Edward  W.  Bishop,  January  21,  1868,  who  still  owns  it.  Thi& 
place  was  formerly  known  as  "  Courtright's  Mills,"  but  for  many  years 
past  as  "  Texas,"  but  how  it  obtained  this  name  the  writer  has  been 
unable  to  learn. 

Mr.  George  King,  father  of  Mrs.  Nancy  Blades  (wife  of  HOIK 
Franklin  Blades),  Capt.  George  E.  King,  and  Charles  N.  King,  with 
his  wife  (Delilah)  and  family,  came  to  the  town  in  1850,  and  located  on 
a  large  farm  he  owned  in  sections  34  and  35,  where  he  remained  until 
1854,  when  he  removed  to  Middleport  and  engaged  in  selling  goods,, 
which  business  he  followed  about  four  years  and  then  sold  his  stock-in- 
trade.  In  1861  and  also  in  1863  he  was  elected  county  treasurer.  He 
died  September  11,  1870,  at  the  age  of  about  sixty-six  years.  He  was 
the  son  of  William  and  Hannah  King,  and  born  in  Chillicothe,  Ohio, 
in  1804.  Was  a  farmer  by  trade  and  engaged  in  that  business  both 
at  Clarksville  and  Columbus,  Ohio,  for  several  years.  In  1836  he 
removed  to  Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana,  where  he  was  engaged  in 
farming,  and  also  packing  pork  until  1840,  when  he  removed  to  Will- 
iamsport,  Indiana,  where  he  engaged  in  selling  goods  and  packing- 
until  1850,  when  he  removed  to  Iroquois  county,  as  before  stated.  He 
was  a  man  of  integrity,  honesty,  and  unbounded  liberality,  and 
honored  and  respected  by  all  who  knew  him.  The  farm  he  formerly 
owned  in  the  town  is  now  owned  and  occupied  by  Stephen  Cissna. 

The  town  of  Middleport  was  first  organized  embracing  townships 
27  N.,  ranges  12  and  13  W.  T.  27  K,  R.  13  W.  was  organized  into  a 
separate  town  in  1858.  Middleport  has  three  iron  bridges,  one  across 
the  creek,  one  across  the  river  at  Middleport,  and  one  across  the 
river  about  two  miles  above,  in  section  27.  The  first  named  cost 
about  $4,800  ;  the  second  $6,000  ;  and  the  last  $7,000.  The  first  is  a 
truss,  and  the  other  two  arched  bridges.  The  Chicago  &  Eastern 
Illinois  railroad,  and  the  Toledo,  Peoria  &  Warsaw  railroad  run 


16 


HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 


through    the    town,  crossing  at  Watseka.      The  most  of  the  city  of 
Watseka,  and    also  "  Old   Middleport,"  are  within  the  town. 


OFFICERS  OF  MIDDLEPORT. 


YEAR. 

SUPERVISOR. 

CLERK. 

ASSESSOR. 

COLLECTOR. 

1856 

Alvin  Fiddler  

Alfred  Fletcher  

Daniel  Lyman  

Giles  E   Chapin 

1857 

George  ^Vest  

Wm    B   White  

E    Brandenburg.  . 

W    S    Kay 

1858 
1859 

James  Fletcher.  .  .  . 
Same           

Theodore  Troup... 
Wm   B  White  

Same  

Same     ... 

Wm.  B.  White. 
Theodore  Troup 

1860 
1861 

D.  B.  Gardner  
C  R  Brown  

J.  C.  Steely  
George  Warren  .... 

Same  
J   A    Graham.   .  .  . 

Wm.  B.  White. 
^W^m  ^V^arren 

1862 

Daniel  Fry  

L  P.  Mead    

V^m  Brown    

J    L  Horton 

1863 

Wni  Frees  

S.  A.  Washington. 

James  Egbert  

E.  Brandenburg 

1864 
1865 

C.  F.  McNeill  
Same       . 

W.  S.  Kay  
Same  

E.  Brandenburg.  .  . 
^Vm    Jerman  . 

Wm.  Jerman. 
Paul  Reeves 

1866 

H  T  Skeels  

R  K  Mclntyre  .  . 

Daniel  Parker 

1867 

Josiah  Williams.  .  . 

Same   

J    A  Graham  

Wm    Williams. 

1868 
1869 

Jas.  P.  Martin  
F  J  Sears  

Same  
S  C  Munhall   .  .  . 

Same  
Same   

L.  M.  Hogle. 
Same 

1870 
1871 
1872 

E.  B.  Sleeth  
Stephen  Cissna  
R  K  Mclntyre  

Same  
Same  
Same  

Same  
Same  
(No  Record)  

Same. 
Henry  H.  Shultz. 
(No  Record) 

1873 

Same   

Same  

(No  Record)  

•T   A    Graham 

1874 

Geo  W  Parker  .  .  . 

Wm.  I  Jones  

H    0  Henry  

(No  Record) 

1875 
1876 

1877 
1878 

Daniel  Parker  
Same  
Same  
C.  G.  Culver  

H.  H.  Alter  
Same  
Same  
Same  

James  Egbert  
Same  
Same  
J.  A.  Graham  

L.  M.  Hogle. 
Adrian  Egbert. 
Chas.  Franklin. 
Same. 

1879 
1880 

Daniel  Fry  
T.  S  Arnold  

Same  
Same  

Same  
Same  

E.  M.  Amos. 
Wm   Fisher 

January  14,  1858,  "W.  S.  Kay  resigned  as  collector,  and  Henry  C. 
Bryant  was  appointed  in  his  place.  November  21, 1861,  James  "W.  Kay 
was  appointed  town  clerk  to  fill  vacancy  ;  1871,  H.  H.  Shultz,  collector, 
resigned,  and  S.  W.Warren  was  appointed  to  fill  the  vacancy.  November 
27, 1873,  C.  F.  McNeill  was  appointed  supervisor  to  fill  the  vacancy  occa- 
sioned by  the  death  of  K.  K.  Mclntyre.  January  16, 1877,  A.'B.  Roff 
was  appointed  collector  vice  Adrian  Egbert,  who  did  not  qualify.  Sep- 
tember 15,  1877,  C.  F.  McNeill  was  appointed  supervisor  to  fill  vacancy 
occasioned  by  the  death  of  Daniel  Parker.  January  16,  1879,  A.  L. 
Whitehall  was  appointed  collector  in  place  of  Charles  Franklin,  who  did 
not  qualify.  The  following  justices  of  the  peace  have  been  elected  for 
the  town  :  1857,  C.  F.  McNeill,  William  Brown  and  William  F.  Keady ; 
1858,  William  F.  Keady  ;  1860,  William  Brooks  and  B.  F.  Barnum  ; 
1861,  Michael  Hogle  and  James  C.  Steely  ;  1865,  James  C.  Steely 
and  A.  B.  Roff;  1866,  Joseph  L.  Horton  ;  1869,  James  C.  Steely  and 
L.  Armstrong;  1870,  James  C.  Steely;  1872,  C.  F.  McNeill;  1873, 
Andrew  Rush;  1877,  A.  B.  Roff  and  Peter  C.  Hoyt:  and  May  13, 
1879,  Harrison  Garner  was  elected  in  place  of  A.  B.  Roff  who  resigned. 
At  the  town  meeting  in  1863  a  vote  was  taken  for  or  against  township 


MIDDLEPORT   AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  17 

organization,  which  resulted  in  642  votes  being  cast  for,  and  3  votes 
against  it.  A  like  vote  was  taken  again  in  1867,  which  resulted  in  187 
votes  being  cast  for.  and  85  votes  against  township  organization. 
At  a  special  town  meeting,  June  8,  1867,  a  vote  was  taken  for  and 
against  $15,000  aid  to  the  Chicago,  Danville  &  Vincennes  railroad, 
which  resulted  in  233  votes  being  cast  for,  and  68  votes  against  it. 
The  town  bonds  for  this  aid  were 
issued  February  20,  1871.  The 
payment  of  these  bonds  has  since 
been  enjoined. 

MIDDLEPORT. 

Middleport  was  laid  off  on  the 
W.  i  of  N.W.  i  of  Sec.  32,  and 
that  part  of  E.  £  of  N.E.  £  of  Sec.  31,  lying 
east  of  the  Iroquois  river,  in  27  north,  range 
12  west.  The  E.  £  of  N.E.  £  of  Sec.  31  was 
entered  by  Hugh  Newell,  August  27,  1836; 
and  the  N.W.  i  N.W.  £  of  Sec.  32,  by  Jacob 
A.  Whiteman  and  Hugh  Newell,  same  date; 
and  the'S.W.  i  N.W.  i  by  Austin  Cole,  Sep- 
tember 21,  1836,  who  sold,  September  30, 
1836,  the  north  half  of  this  tract  to  White- 
man &  Newell.  The  plat  is  recorded  in  book 
A  of  the  deed  records  of  the  county,  pages  128 
and  129,  as  follows  :  "  A  map  of  the  town  of 
Middleport,  situated  at  the  mouth  of  Sugar 
creek,  on  southeast  bank  of  the  Iroquois  river, 
Iroquois  county,  state  of  Illinois,  surveyed 
at  the  request  of  Hugh  Newell  and  Jacob 
A.  Whiteman,  in  December,  1836,  by  James 
Smith,  deputy  for  Jonas  Smith,  surveyor  of 
Iroquois  county,  Illinois." 

"  COBERLY'S  ADDITION  TO  MIDDLEPORT  " 
Was  laid  off,  March  15,  1848,  by.Henry  B.  Co- 
berly,  the  owner  of  the  N.E.  £  S.E.  \  of  Sec.  31 
(Robert  Nilson,  surveyor),  comprised  of  only 
two  blocks  adjoining  Middleport.  The  plat  is  recorded  in  book  B,  page 
547.  The  first  house  built  in  Middleport  was  built  by  Daniel  Ronde- 
bush,  soon  after  he  came,  as  before  stated,  on  lot  5,  block  32.  This  was 
a  log  house  about  sixteen  feet  square.  The  second  was  a  double  log 
cabin,  built  by  John  Lyman,  Sr.,  on  lot  8,  block  27,  which  lot  is  now 
2 


18  HISTORY    OF   IEOQUOIS    COUNTY. 

owned  by  S.  R.  Hawks.  The  third  was  a  double  log  house,  built  by 
William  Shellenbarger,  on  lot  2,  block  38,  and  on  the  bank  of  the 
river.  The  first  school  taught  in  the  village  was  by  Dr.  John  Harwood, 
in  one  end  of  this  house,  in  the  winter  of  1840-1.  This  school  was 
attended  by  one  scholar  from  M.  Stanley's  family,  three  from  Alex. 
Wilson's,  four  from  John  Findley's,  three  from  Frazier's,  two  from 
Shipley's,  four  from  Egbert's  and  two  from  Harwood's,  making  nine- 
teen scholars.  The  fourth  one  was  a  log  house  built  by  Stephen 
Flesher,  on  lot  8.  block  50,  16x18  feet,  where  the  Wilson  House  now 
stands.  He  also  had  a  blacksmith-shop  on  this  lot  and  followed  that 
trade.  The  fifth  was  a  log  house  built  by  David  Buck,  16x24  feet, 
on  lot  5,  block  31.  The  first  court  held  in  Middleport  convened  in  this 
house  in  May,  1840.  The  house  was  afterward  sold  to  Henry  Troup, 
and  finally  fell  to  Mrs.  Troup,  who  sold  it  a  few  years  ago  to  a  Mrs. 
Soucey,  who  moved  it  on  a  lot  near  the  cemetery,  in  the  N.E.  ^  S.W.  % 
of  Sec.  32,  where  it  can  still  be  seen.  All  these  houses  were  built  in 
1836  and  1837.  In  1837  Henry  Troup  visited  this  county  from  Man- 
chester, Starke  county,  Ohio,  for  the  purpose  of  selecting  a  location,  and 
engaged  Hugh  Newell  to  build  him  a  house  and  storeroom  in  Middle- 
port.  He  and  family  came  August  10,  1838,  with  his  father-in-law, 
John  Little  and  family.  When  they  came  Troup's  house  was  not  com- 
pleted, and  they  all  had  to  camp  under  a  large  oak  tree  on  the  bank  of 
the  river,  about  six  weeks.  During  this  time  Little  built  him  a  log 
house  west  of  block  41,  near  where  the  mill  now  stands,  and  moved 
into  it.  In  the  meantime  Troup's  building  on  lot  7,  block  41,  was  com- 
pleted and  he  moved  into  that.  In  a  short  time  his  store  building, 
16x24  feet,  just  across  the  street,  was  also  completed.  The  old  oak 
tree  under  which  they  camped  was  precipitated  into  the  river  by  a 
storm,  April  23,  1853. .  The  Troup  dwelling  was  a  two-story  frame, 
and  the  first  frame  building  in  the  place.  It  was  used  for  about  three 
years  by  Mr.  Troup  as  a  hotel,  and  until  he  built  a  dwelling-house  on 
lot  1,  block  42,  in  1841,  just  north  of  his  storeroom,  and  moved  into  it, 
and  where  his  widow,  Mary  Ann  Troup,  still  resides.  The  former 
house  belonged  to  Hugh  Newell,  was  subsequently  sold  to  Winthrop 
Patterson,  by  him  to  George  King  and  by  him  to  the  writer,  who  sold 
it  to  James  Bowen,  who  removed  it  on  lots  7  and  8,  block  36,  where 
it  still  stands  and  is  used  as  a  barn. 

In  1839  Hugh  Newell  built  a  two-story  frame  building  on  the 
northeast  corner  of  lot  5,  block  41.  The  upper  story  of  this  building 
was  used  for  a  court-room  and  the  lower  story  for  county  offices,  until 
the  school-house  was  built.  The  school-house,  20x30  feet,  was  erected 
on  lots  3  and  4,'  block  37,  in  1842,  and  in  this  court  was  held  until 
the  court-house  was  completed  in  1847. 


MIDDLEPORT    AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  19 

Dr.  John  Harwood  and  family  came  in  1840.  He  was  the  first 
physician  to  locate  in  the  place.  He  built  a  frame  residence  on  lot  1, 
block  34:.  This  building  is  still  standing,  and  is  occupied  by  Joseph  L. 
Horton  and  family.  Jacob  A.  Whiteman  came  about  the  same  time. 
He  was  probate  justice,  county  treasurer  and  assessor.  He  was  admit- 
ted to  the  bar  in  1846.  Samuel  D.  Younglove  and  family,  Samuel 
'Haviland  and  family,  John  Shipley  and  family,  Jacob  Frazier  and 
family,  John  S.  Findley  and  family,  Benj.  Brackney  and  family,  and 
Alpha  H.  Torrey  came  soon  after.  Younglove  and  Shipley  were  black- 
smiths, Haviland  a  tanner,  and  Torrey  a  gunsmith.  Finley  was  elected 
justice  of  the  peace,  and  Brackney,  constable.  Charles  Gardner  (attor- 
ney) and  family  came  from  New  York.  He  was  the  first  attornejr  to- 
locate  in  the  place.  Van  H.  Higgins  (now  of  Chicago)  came  from  the 
Wabash  in  1843.  He  taught  school  until  1845,  and  during  the  time  he 
was  admitted  to  the  bar.  He  left  in  1845.  Henry  Starr,  brother  to 
Judge  Starr,  and  also  an  attorney,  located  here  about  1844.  He  married 
Shipley's  daughter  in  1846,  and  removed  to  Morris,  Illinois.  George  B. 
Joiner  and  wife  came  from  Williamsport,  Indiana,*  in  June,  1845.  He 
practiced  law,  taught  school,  and  kept  the  post-office  for  Henry  Troup, 
who  was  the  first  postmaster.  His  books  show  that  at  the  ends  of  the 
following  quarters  his  receipts  in  the  post-office  were  :  October  1.  1845, 
$7.25;  January  1,  1846,  $5.65,  and  January  1,  1849,  $13.81.  A.  B. 
Roff  was  appointed  postmaster  in  1849  ;  C.  R.  Brown  in  1852;  Daniel 
B.  Gardner  in  1853 ;  William  F.  Keady  in  1857,  and  R.  K.  Mclntyre 
in  1861,  who  held  the  office  until  it  \vas  vacated  in  1868. 

Garret  EofF  occupied  the  Newell  building  vacated  by  Mr.  Troup, 
in  1842,  and  kept  hotel  in  it.  Mrs.  Gardner  and  sons  (Farrand  and 
Daniel  B.)  came  in  1845,  and  her  sons,  Horace  and  Samuel  S.,  came  in 
1846.  Farrand  was  elected  justice  of  the  peace,  in  1846.  Horace  kept 
hotel  in  the  building  built  by  Newell  for  a  court-house,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Hardin  Graves  in  1847,  who  was  his  brother-in-law,  and  who 
came  with  the  Gardners  Garrett  EofF  built  a  hotel  on  lot  5,  block 
39,  in  1846  or  1847.  It  was  burned  down  in  1848.  This  was  the  first 
fire  in  Middleport.  It  was  immediately  rebuilt  by  EofF,  and  was  after- 
ward known  as  the  "American  House."  About  the  same  time  Hardin 
Graves  built  a  brick  hotel  on  lots  7  and  8,  block  50.  A  few  years  after 
he  sold  it  to  Dr.  Nathaniel  Wilson,  who  occupied  it,  and  it  has  since 
been  known  as  the  "Wilson  House,"  and  is  still  standing,  bnt  has  not 
been  used  as  a  hotel  for  many  years.  The  American  House  was  suc- 
cessively kept  by  EofF,  Adam  Barr,  Snyder  &  Lyman,  William  H. 
Ward,  William  Brooks,  and  John  N.  Urmston.  A  few  years  ago  the 
building  was  demolished. 


20  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

In  1851  Charles  Sherman  and  Cyrus  R.  Brown  built  a  steam  saw- 
mill in  the  northern  part  of  the  town.  At  the  raising  of  this  mill, 
October  31,  a  Mr.  Daniel  Bailey  was  killed  instantly  by  the  falling  of  a 
heavy  piece  of  timber.  He  left  a  family  of  wife  and  ten  children.  This 
mill  was  successively  owned  and  run  by  Sherman  &  Brown,  Wheeler  & 
Torrey,  Torrey,  Harrison  &  Master,  and  Caldwell  &  Steely.  It  has  not 
been  run  for  several  years,  and  was  destroyed  by  fire  last  year,  being 
owned  at  the  time  by  Lazarus  Steely. 

Hugh  Newell  died  in  spring  of  1841.  He  was  circuit  clerk  and 
recorder.  John  Harwood  succeeded  him  in  that  office.  John  F.  Wag- 
ner succeeded  Harwood  in  1847,  and  became  a  citizen  of  the  place. 
Jesse  Bennett  succeeded  Wagner  in  the  fall  of  1849,  and  came  from 
"Buncombe"  to  Middleport  at  that  time.  He  built  a  residence  on 
lots  3  and  4,  block  33,  the  next  year. 

Don  Alonzo  Falkenbury  came  in  1842.  He  succeeded  Jacob  A. 
Whiteman,  as  probate  justice,  in  1845,  and  held  that  office  until  the 
county  court  was  organized  in  1849.  He  also  taught  school  part  of 
the  time,  and  occasionally  entertained  the  people  by  preaching,  as  a 
local  Methodist  minister.  He  left  in  1852,  and  now  resides  in  Arkan- 
sas. Asa  B.  Roff  came  in  1848.  He  engaged  in  boot  and  shoe- 
making.  He  was  postmaster,  as  before  stated,  and  also  a  justice  of  the 
peace  for  several  years.  He  went  to  Texas  in  1857,  returned  in  1858, 
resided  a  short  time  at  Onarga,  and  built  the  first  house  in  South  Mid- 
dleport. Dr.  Richard  Taliaferro  came  about  the  same  time.  He 
practiced  medicine,  and  kept  a  small  stock  of  drugs.  Joseph  Myers 
built  the  first  brick  business  building  in  the  place,  on  lot  1,  block  49, 
in  1850.  He  afterward  sold  it  to  John  Murdock,  and  he  subse- 
quently sold  to  Ezekiel  Bowman.  Mrs.  Charlotte  Hogle,  widow  of 
Henry  W.  Hogle,  with  her  children,  Henry  W.,  Caroline,  Leander  M., 
Horatio  A.  and  Austin  W.,  came  from  Lower  Canada,  August  12, 
1849.  She  died  November  3,  1874,  aged  about  sixty-nine  years.  Caro- 
line married  John  Fagan  in  1853,  and  died  in  1855.  Henry  W.  died 
on  February  10,  1858,  and  Horatio  A.  died  in  Denver,  Colo.,  Novem- 
ber 13,  1879.  Leander  is  now  living  in  Middleport  and  Austin  W.  in 
Colorado.  John  Fagan,  a  saddler  and  harness-maker,  came  from  the 
Wabash  in  1849,  and  in  1851  built  a  brick  store  building  on  lot  5, 
block  39.  James  Fletcher,  attorney,  came  in  1849,  and  S.  A.  Wash- 
ington, also  an  attorney,  came  in  1850.  They  were  brothers-in-law. 
Washington  died  in  1866,  and  his  wife  a  few  years  ago.  In  1851 
E.  Bowman,  Jacob  A.  Whiteman,  C.  S.  Stryker,  Milton  Scofield  and 
S.  A.  Washington  built  residences.  Daniel  Parker  came  from  Indiana 
in  1850.  He  sold  goods  in  Middleport  at  different  times;  bought  and 


MIDDLEPORT    AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  21 

run  a  saw-mill  on  Sugar  creek,  near  Middleport,  a  short  time;  was 
engaged  in  trading  in  stock  and  farming  several  years;  and  also  sold 
goods  in  Watseka.  For  three  years  he  was  supervisor.  He  died  in 
September,  1877,  having  been  an  energetic,  useful  and  respected 
citizen. 

In  the  summer  of  1851,  the  members  of  the  M.  E.  church  at 
Middleport,  A.  B.  Roflf,  M.  Stanley,  D.  A.  Falkenbury,  Alex.  Wilson, 
Samuel  Williams,  S.  B.  Swim  and  Foreman  Moore,  acting  as  trustees, 
built  a  church  (frame),  36x45  feet,  on  lot  5,  block  33.  Daniel  Parker 
was  contractor.  At  the. time  this  was  built  there  was  not  another 
church  building  in  the  county.  Before  this  the  court-house  had  been 
used  for  church  purposes.  This  church  was  also  occupied  as  a  court- 
house after  the  old  court-house  was  burned,  on  the  night  of  February 
25,  1862,  and  until  the  county-seat  was  removed  to  Watseka.  It  was 
also  used  for  several  years  for  school  purposes.  It  was  sold  in  1866, 
and  removed  to  Watseka,  where  it  has  since  been  occupied  as  a  livery 
stable,  and  is  now  owned  by  Lovett  &  Hayes. 

S.  S.  and  D.  B.  Gardner  erected  a  large  double  two-story  store 
building  in  1851,  which  is  still  standing  where  erected;  and,  in  1854, 
George  King  and  M.  and  J.  Hogle  built  a  large  three-story  store 
building  on  lots  6  and  7,  block  41.  This  was,  in  1857,  purchased  by 
the  writer  and  William  Frees,  who  removed  it  to  Watseka  in  1866. 
Frees  afterward  sold  his  half  to  Col.  M.  H.  Peters,  and  the  building 
is  now  known  as  the  "  McNeill  &  Peters  Building."  The  upper  story 
has  been  occupied  as  lodge  rooms  by  the  Masons  and  Odd-Fellows, 
and  other  secret  societies,  both  in  the  old  and  new  town. 

William  Frees,  of  Joliet,  111.,  located  in  Middleport  in  the  spring 
of  1854.  He  engaged  in  the  hardware  and  tinning  business,  and  his 
was  the  first  establishment  of  the  kind  in  the  place.  He  remained  in 
the  business  here  until  1863,  then  removed  to  Watseka,  and  sold  out 
in  1865,  after  which  he  and  wife  visited  Germany,  their  native  place, 
returned  to  this  country  and  located,  in  the  same  business,  at  Ashton, 
Illinois,  where  he  still  resides.  His  wife  died  last  fall.  They  were 
highly  respected,  sociable  and  charitable  people. 

Hon.  John  Chamberlain  located  here  in  the  spring  of  1855.  He 
formerly  resided  at  "  Buncombe,"  to  which  place  he  had  come  from 
the  state  of  New  York.  He  died  in  December,  1866.  (See  his 
biography  elsewhere.)  Hon.  Franklin  Blades  located  at  Middleport 
in  1852,  and  engaged  in  the  practice  of  medicine.  He  was  also  for  a 
time  in  partnership  with  Dr.  Jesse  Bennett  in  the  drug  business; 
became  editor  of  the  Republican  in  1856;  engaged  in  the  practice  of 
the  law  in  1858,  and  is  now  judge  of  the  circuit  court.  He  has  been  a 


22  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

leading  man  in  the  county,  and  filled  many  honorable  and  prominent 
positions.  Henry  C.  Bryant  came  frqm  Williamsport,  Indiana,  in 
1850  or  1851.  He  was  for  a  time  in  partnership  with  Henry  "W. 
Hogle  in  carriage  and  wagon-making;  afterward  he  engaged  in 
the  drug  business,  and  for  several  years  was  a  justice  of  the  peace. 
He  purchased  a  farm  south  of  Middleport  in  1858,  and  located  on  it. 
In  1854  Mr.  George  King  came  to  this  place  from  his  farm,  east  of 
town,  and  engaged  in  the  dry-goods  business,  as  noticed  in  the  history 
of  the  town,  to  which  the  reader  is  referred. 

In  the  fall  of  1853  the  Presbyterian  church  of  the  place  -was  organ- 
ized by  Rev.  James  Ferguson.  Rev.  C.  H.  Palmer  came  in  1855. 
The  church  building  was  built  in  1861,  and  is  still  standing.  Mr. 
Palmer  died  at  Watseka,  February  12,  1877,  an  exemplary  Christian, 
beloved  and  respected  by  all.  His  widow  and  family  reside  there. 

Stephen  G.  Bovie,  attorney,  came  to  Middleport  in  1853.  He 
engaged  in  the  practice  of  the  law,  and  he  and  lady  also  taught  the  Mid- 
dleport school  for  several  years.  From  1859  to  1863  he  was  master-in- 
chancery  of  the  county,  and  in  1877  was  the  republican  nominee  for 
county  judge.  He  resides  at  Watseka.  The  writer  came  to  Middle- 
port  from  his  farm  on  lower  Spring  creek,  April  1,  1857,  where  he 
resided  until  January  1,  1867,  when  he  removed  to  Watseka,  where  he 
now  resides.  (See  biography.) 

In  1858  an  addition  was  made  to  the  court-house,  and  from  that 
time  until  1862,  at  which  time  the  court-house  was  burned,  many 
buildings  were  erected  and  improvements  made,  among  which  were 
the  Presbyterian  church  and  school-house,  built  in  1861.  From  the 
burning  of  the  court-house  the  village  declined,  and  after  the  removal 
of  the  county-seat  to  Watseka  in  April,  1865,  most  of  the  buildings 
worth  removing  were  removed  to  the  latter  place  in  1866  and  1867. 
The  business  men  and  firms  of  the  place  were :  Merchants — Henry 
Troup,  Hardin  Graves,  Goodenow  &  Brown,  Sherman  &  Brown, 
Daniel  Parker,  John  Youndt,  Zeigler  &  Co.,  Sherman,  Ayres  &  Co., 
Sherman  &  Patterson,  King  &  Patterson,  Winthrop  Patterson,  M.  & 
J.  Hogle,  S.  S.  &  D.  B.  Gardner,  May  &  High,  David  Hoover,  Joseph 
Rogers,  John  F.  Wright,  Joiner  &  Allen,  Fowler  &  Fry,  Bowman  & 
White,  Keady  &  Petts,  John  H.  Empie,  and  a  few  others  not  remem- 
bered :  Druggists — R.  Taliaferro,  Harwood  &  Fletcher,  Bennett  & 
Blades,  H.  C.  Bryant,  E.  R.  Sheffield,  Wesley  Bonfield,  H.  A.  Tilling- 
hast  and  Henry  Tillinghast,  H.  A.  Tillinghast  &  Co.,  and  J.  &  M.  Y. 
B.  Harwood  :  Physicians — John  Harwood,  Nathaniel  Wilson,  A.  E. 
Mandeville,  R.  Taliaferro,  Samuel  Hueston,  Jesse  Bennett,  Franklin 
Blades,  A.  N.  Crawford,  C.  F.  McNeill,  E.  R.  Sheffield,  Edward 


MIDDLEPORT    AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  23 

Tupper, Ryder,  Joseph  Brelsford,  William  H.  Sommers  and  L. 

N.  Pittwood.  The  physicians  of  the  county  organized  a  county  med- 
ical society  at  Middleport,  May  13,  1851.  How  long  this  organization 
was  continued  the  writer  is  not  able  to  state.  The  physicians  of  the 
county  again  organized,  February  23,  1861,  and  this  organization  con- 
tinued for  several  years,  and  in  which  much  interest  was  manifested. 
The  attorneys  were  Charles  Gardner,  Henry  Starr,  George  B.  Joiner, 
Van  H.  Higgins,  Jacob  A.  Whiteman,  James  Fletcher,  S.  A.  Washing- 
ton, S.  G.  Bovie,  A.  B.  Roff,  Chester  Kinney,  Charles  P.  Kinney,  C. 
F.  McNeill,  Franklin  Blades,  George  H.  Walser,  Wilson  S.  Kay, 
Thomas  Vennum  and  George  E.King:  Justices — Jacob  A.  Whiteman, 
John  S.  Finley,  D.  A.  Falkenbury,  Samuel  M.  Ayres,  Henry  C. 
Bryant,  C.  F.  McNeill,  William  F.  Keady,  C.  P.  Kinney,  James  C. 
Steely  and  Andrew  Rush. 

Circuit  courts  at  Middleport  were  attended  by  the  following  for- 
eign attorneys:  Pearson,  Terry  and  Davis,  of  Danville;  Bryant, 
Chandler  and  Gregory,  of  Williamsport,  Indiana;  JSeard,  Mace,  Jones 
and  others,  of  La  Fayette,  Indiana ;  Voorhees,  of  Covington,  Indiana ; 
Osgood,  Fellows,  Snapp,  Randall  and  Fuller,  of  Joliet ;  Ives  and 
others,  of  Bloomington ;  and  Starr,  Loring,  Bonfield,  Paddock  and 
Moore,  of  Kankakee,  and  many  others. 

Schools  were  taught  by  the  following  persons :  John  Harwood, 
Adrian  Egbert,  Sr.,  D.  A.  Falkenburg,  George  B.  Joiner,  S.  A.  Wash- 
ington, Rolla  Pearsoll,  W.  S.  Kay,  Chauncey  Finley,  W.  D.  Robinson, 
F.  Winkley,  S.  G.  and  Mrs.  Bovie,  George  W.  Rider,  E.  R.  Akin,  N. 
M.  Bancroft,  J.  M.  Mercer,  and  many  others. 

A  county  agricultural  society  was  organized  at  Middleport,  and  fairs 
held  there  in  1855,  1856,  1857  and  1858. 

Middleport  was  well  located  and  once  a  prosperous  and  thriving  vil- 
lage of  about  800  inhabitants,  and  the  memory  of  many  pleasant  associa- 
tions is  connected  with  it.  The  failure  to  secure  the  location  of  the 
Toledo,  Peoria  &  Warsaw  railway,  from  the  lack  of  liberality  and  man- 
agement on  the  part  of  its  citizens,  together  with  the  consequent  loss  of 
the  county  seat,  has  been  its  ruin.  We  would  like  to  say  many  more 
things  about  Middleport  that  might  be  of  interest  to  the  reader,  but 
the  fact  that  we  are  limited  aa  to  space  forbids  it. 

Henry  Troup  was  the  leading  spirit  of  the  village  and  one  of  its 
most  prominent  citizens.  He  was  born  in  Maryland,  April  25,  1800, 
and  died  April  8,  1859.  By  prudence  and  economy  he  accumulated 
quite  a  fortune  for  his  day,  and  it  is  truly  said  of  him  that  "  He  was  a 
faithful,  industrious  and  correct  business  man,  affable  and  courteous, 
domestic  in  his  habits,  and  strictly  moral  and  honorable."  His  widow 


24 


HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 


still  resides  in  their  old  homestead  in  Middleport,  respected  as  one  of 
the  oldest  settlers  of  the  place. 

Middleport  was  incorporated  as  a  village,  April  16,  1859,  by  the 
election  of  John  Hogle,  Wilson  S.  Kay,  B.  F.  Barnnm,  D.  B.  Gardner 
and  Alfred  H.  Torrey  as  trustees.  D.  B.  Gardner  was  elected  presi- 
dent, and  William  H.  Taylor  was  appointed  clerk.  The  territory 
incorporated  was  one  square  mile,  commencing  at  the  S.E.  corner  of 
the  S.W.  i  of  S.E.  I  of  Sec.  30,  T.  27  K,  K.  12  W.,  and  running  east 
one  mile  and  south  one  mile.  This  incorporation  was  maintained  only 
until  the  loss  of  the  county-seat,  and  Middleport  has  since  been  added 
to  the  corporation  of  Watseka. 

A  child  was  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  Lyman  soon  after  they 
came,  in  1836.  Mandaville  Little  was  married  to  Lavina  Frazier  in 
1838  or  1839.  The  wife  of  John  Lyman,  Jr.,  died  in  1840.  These 
constitute  the  first  birth,  marriage  and  death  in  Middleport. 


WATSEKA    COURT    HOUSE. 


WATSEKA. 


Watseka  was  first  known  and  designated  by  the  name  of  "  South 
Middleport,"  Hon.  Micajah  Stanley,  proprietor.     The  village  covered 


MIDDLEPORT    AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  25 

the  west  123  ^  acres  of  the  S.E.  i  of  Sec.  32,  T.  27  K,  R.  12  W. 
The  W.  £  of  said  S.E.  i  was.  entered  by  Mr.  Stanley,  April  28,  1835, 
and  the  E.  ^  September  3,  1836.  The  survey  was  made  in  October, 
1859,  by  Moses  H.  Messer,  county  surveyor;  plat  made  May  9,  certi- 
fied by  the  proprietor  May  16,  and  recorded  June  1, 1860.  "Stanley's 
Addition  to  South  Middleport,"  covering  the  balance  of  said  S.E.  ^, 
was  surveyed  by  Messer  September  12,  1861,  certified  by  the  proprie- 
tor September  17,  and  recorded  October  1,  1861.  At  the  suggestion 
of  Mr.  Stanley,  Winthrop,  Patterson  and  other  old  citizens,  the  board 
of  supervisors  of  the  county,  at  their  September  meeting  in  1863, 
changed  the  name  of  "South*  Middleport"  to  "  Watseka,"  in  honor  of 
the  Indian  woman  of  that  name,  heretofore  referred  to  in  this  history ; 
and  by  act  of  the  general  assembly,  approved  February  16,  1865,  and  in 
force  from  and  after  its  passage,  said  order  of  said  board  so  changing 
the  name  of  said  town,  was  defined  and  declared  to  embrace;  South 
Middleport  and  Stanley's  addition  thereto,  as  laid  out  and  platted  on 
the  entire  S.E.  ^  of  said  Sec.  32.  The  county-seat  having  been  removed 
to  Watseka,  as  thus  defined,  it  will  be  ^en  that,  in  law,  it  covers  only 
said  S.E.  ^  and  not  the  whole  of  the  city  of  Watseka. 

Hon.  John  Chamberlain,  April  4,  1860,  by  M.  H.  Messer,  surveyor, 
laid  off  a  tier  of  twenty-four  lots  on  the  north  side  of  lot  2,  N.E.  ^  of 
Sec.  5,  T.  26  K,  R.  12  W.,  adjoining  South  Middleport,  the  plat  of 
which  was  recorded  May  11,  1860.  On  October  5,  1864,  this  plat  (as 
to  lots  from  1  to  18  inclusive,  and  also  lot  23),  was  vacated,  and  lots  18 
and  23,  corresponding  with  Third  and  Fourth  streets,  were  dedicated 
as  streets. 

"  Troup's  Addition  to  Watseka,"  surveyed  by  E.  W.  Dodson,  county 
surveyor,  covering  a  large  part  of  the  S.W.  £  of  N.E.  \  of  Sec.  32, 
was  laid  off  by  Theodore  and  Anna  F.  Troup,  his  wife,  December  4, 

1865,  and  plat  recorded  December  29,  1865. 

"Roff  and  Doyle's  Addition  of  Out-Lots  to  the  town  of  Watseka," 
surveyed  by  M.  H.  Messer,  was  laid  off  by  Asa  B.  Roff  and  Robert 
Doyle,  covering  the  most  of  the  S.E.  £  of  KE.  \  of  Sec.  32,  July  12, 

1866,  and  plat  recorded  July  13,  1866. 

"Fairman's  Addition  to  the  town  of  Watseka,"  surveyed  by  M.  H. 
Messer,  on  S.E.  \  of  N.E.  I  of  Sec.  5,  T.  26  N.,  R.  12  W.,  was  laid  off 
by  John  F.  Fairman,  July  3,  1866,  and  plat  recorded  July  13,  1866. 

"Charles  Sherman's  Out-Lots  to  Watseka,"  were  surveyed  and  plat- 
ted February  9,  1869,  and  plat  recorded  March  10,  1869.  They  cover 
the  N.W.  i  of  N.W.  \  of  Sec.  4,  T.  26  K,  R.  12  W. 

"County  Clerk's  Plat  of  Belmont  Addition  to  Watseka,"  covering 
the  Sherman  out-lots,  and  also  the  out-lots  sold,by  Chamberlain,  by 


26  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

metes  and  bounds,  east  of  Fourth  street,  was  platted  by  John  M.  Bur- 
ton, county  surveyor,  by  order  of  A.  Honeywell,  county  clerk,  June  18, 
1873,  and  recorded  June  26,  1873. 

"  Chamberlain's  Addition  to  the  City  of  Watseka,"  covering  nearly 
all  of  the  north  half  of  said  Sec.  5,  east  of  Sugar  creek  and  west  of 
Fourth  street,  was  platted  September  21,  1871,  and  plat  recorded  July 
1, 1873. 

"  Stanley's  Second  Addition  to  Watseka,"  on  S.  i  of  S.W.  £,  K W.  £ 
of  S.W.  i,  and  S.W.  \  of  K.W.  \  of  Sec.  33,  T.  27  N.,  R.  12  W., 
was  surveyed  by  John  M.  Burton,  county  surveyor,  April  14,  1873, 
and  plat  recorded  April  23,  1873. 

John  Chamberlain  and  James  W.  Lawrence  laid  off  the  N.E.  \  of 
S.W.  \  of  said  Sec.  32,  into  out-lots,  May  2, 1860,  and  the  plat  of  which 
was  recorded  June  7, 1860.  A  cemetery  lot  in  this  tract  had  been  con- 
veyed by  Samuel  M.  Ayres  and  wife,  August  13,  1855,  to  the  county 
court  of  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  and  deed  was  recorded  December  9, 
1873.  An  addition  to  this  cemetery  was  made  by  Chamberlain  and 
Lawrence,  and  in  which  both  have  been  buried.  Many  of  the  ojd  citi- 
zens of  the  two  towns  and  surrounding  country  have  been  buried  here. 

A  "  County  Clerk's  Plat "  of  out-lots  in  S.E.  \  of  S.W.  \  of  said  Sec. 
32,  surveyed  by  John  M.  Burton,  county  surveyor,  June  10,  1875, 
was  recorded  June  15,  1875.  Also  a  "county  clerk's  plat  "of  out- 
lots  in  the  N.E.  \  of  said  Sec.  32,  surveyed  by  John  M.  Burton, 
county  surveyor,  May  20,  1876,  was  recorded  May  26,  1876. 

Said  plats,  with  the  territory  beyond  them  included  within  the 
corporate  limits,  comprise  the  city  of  Watseka. 

INCORPORATION. 

South  Middleport  was  incorporated,  by  vote,  as  a  village,  August 
28,  1863.  An  election  for  trustees  was  held,  September  7,  1863,  at 
which  A.  B.  Roff,  Ransom  Munson,  George  G.  Mayo,  Francis  J.  Sears 
and  Conrad  Secrest  were  elected.  On  September  12,  1863,  the  board 
of  trustees  organized  by  electing  C.  Secrest  president,  and  R.  Munson 
secretary. 

The  city  of  Watseka  was  incorporated  by  charter,  approved  Febru- 
ary 19,  1867.  The  distinctive  feature  of  this  charter  was  that  it  pro- 
hibited the  sale  or  giving  away  of  intoxicating  liquors,  except  for 
sacramental,  mechanical  and  medicinal  purposes.  The  charter  in 
other  respects  conferred  the  usual  powers  granted  to  cities.  The 
corporate  limits  embraced  the  N.W.  \  of  Sec.  4,  and  the  N.  \  of  Sec. 
5,  T.  26  K,  R.  12  W.,  and  the  S.E.  \  of  N.W.  £,  the  S.W.  £,  and  the 
E.  \  of  Sec.  32,  and  the  W.  £  of  Sec.  33,  T.  27  N.,  R.  12  W.  The 


MIDDLEPORT   AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  27 

city  existed  under  this  charter  until  November  16,  1872,  when  by  vote 
it  adopted  the  powers  conferred  by  the  general  incorporation  act  of  the 
state,  approved  April  18,  1872.  The  village  of  Middleport  was 
annexed  by  ordinance  to  the  city,  April  5,  1869. 

The  following  persons  have  been  elected  mayors  and  appointed 
clerks  of  the  city :  March  4,  1867,  Charles  Sherman,  mayor,  and  A. 
B.  Roff,  clerk ;  March  2,  1868,  Micajah  Stanley,  mayor,  and  H.  H. 
Alter,  clerk ;  March  1,  1869,  Thomas  Yennum,  mayor,  and  H.  H. 
Alter,  clerk ;  March  7,  1870,  George  C.  Harrington,  mayor,  and  H.  H. 
Alter,  clerk ;  March  6,  1871,  George  C.  Harrington,  mayor,  and  H.  H. 
Alter,  clerk  ;  March  4,  1872,  Seeley  Hetfield,  mayor,  and  H.  H.  Alter, 
clerk ;  April  15,  1873,  Seeley  Hetfield,  mayor,  and  H.  H.  Alter,  clerk ; 
April  20,  1875,  M.  H.  Peters,  mayor,  and  H.  H.  Alter,  clerk ;  April 
17,  1877,  Franklin  Blades,  mayor,  and  H.  H.  Alter,  clerk;  April  15, 
1879,  M.  Stanley,  mayor,  and  H.  H.  Alter,  clerk.  Blades  resigned,  as 
mayor,  September  8,  1877,  and  on  October  9, 1877,  Mathew  H.  Peters 
was  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy. 

Daniel  C.  Secrest,  son  of  Hon.  C.  Secrest,  was  born  June  10,  1860 ; 
Daniel  Parker,  son  of  Daniel  Parker,  Sr.,  died  January  7,  1863;  and 
Ransom  Munson  was  married  to  Miss  Julia  A.  Follett  in  April,  1860. 
These  constitute  the  first  birth,  death  and  marriage  in  Watseka.  Mr. 
Munson  died  January  8,  1871,  aged  about  forty-one  years.  His  widow 
resides  in  the  city. 

David  Johnson  is  the  first  colored  person  who  located  in  the  city. 
He  was  born  a  slave,  in  Rutherford  county,  Tennessee,  August  31, 
1832.  He  was  received  in  the  76th  111.  Vol.  Inf.  as  a  "contraband," 
in  the  summer  of  1862,  at  Bolivar,  Tennessee,  and  came  to  Watseka  in 
November  of  that  year.  He  married  Mary  A.  Hemming,  of  Ross 
county,  Ohio,  April  25,  1867.  Her  father,  Madison  Hemming,  son  of 
"  Dusky  Sally,"  one  of  Thomas  Jefferson's  house  servants,  claims  to 
be  a  son  of  Jefferson,  and  one  of  his  colony  of  servants  located  by  him 
in  Ross  county,  Ohio,  in  1830.  Johnson  is  a  barber  by  trade. 

A  post-office  was  established  at  Watseka  in  1862,  and  A.  B.  Roff 
was  appointed  first  postmaster.  He  held  the  office  until  1866,  when 
Charles  Jouvenat  was  appointed  his  successor.  In  1868  Zacheus 
Beatty,  editor  of  the  "Republican,"  was  appointed  to  succeed  him. 
On  February  23,  1874,  our  present  postmaster  was  appointed,  who  is 
one  of  the  most  efficient  and  accommodating  officers  in  the  state.  The 
statistics  of  the  office  for  1879  show :  Number  of  mails  forwarded, 
3,120  ;  number  of  stamps  sold,  68,646  ;  envelopes  and  wrappers,  12,150  ; 
postal  cards,  35,778;  total,  116,574;  value  of  above,  $3,021.80,  and 
total  receipts,  $3,460.16.  Money  orders  issued,  1,296;  amount, 


28  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUXTY. 

$14,898.80  ;  money  orders  paid,  843,  and  amount,  $10,999.38.  Letters 
mailed,  71,240 ;  postal  cards,  27,976 ;  newspapers,  88,036 ;  packages, 
728;  total,  187,980.  Total  receipts,  $18,358.96. 

The  first  building  in  South  Middleport  (now  Watseka)  was  a 
dwelling,  32x38  feet,  ground  floor,  and  22x28  feet  above,  seven 
rooms  below  and  four  in  second  story,  erected  by  Asa  B.  Roff,  Esq., 
on  lots  7  and  8,  in  block  11,  in  the  fall  of  1859,  costing  $1,500. 
This  building  is  still  standing,  and  is  occupied  and  owned  by  Mrs. 
Taliaferro,  daughter  of  Hon  Micajah  Stanley.  Mr.  Roff  and  family 
occupied  this  building  until  he  built  him  a  fine  brick  residence,  just 
north  of  Roff  &  Doyle's  addition,  in  1868.  He  sold  this  about  one 
year  ago,  and  with  his  family  removed  to  Kansas,  where  he  now 
resides.  The  second  was  a  warehouse,  also  used  for  a  depot,  26x50 
feet,  with  two  rooms  above  for  family,  erected  by  John  F.  Fairman,  at 
a  cost  of  about  $500.  This  warehouse  is  still  standing  on  the  railroad, 
just  east  of  the  "  Williams  House,"  and  is  occupied  by  Mr.  Fields. 
The  third  was  a  lumber  office,  14x16  feet,  built  by  Andrew  Dalton  on 
the  railroad  grounds.  A  large  stock  of  lumber  was  kept  in  connection 
with  it.  This  office  is  now  occupied  by  Edward  Dalton.  The  fourth 
was  a  hardware  storeroom,  built  by  William  P.  Pierson,  of  Onarga, 
in  the  spring  of  1860,  20x56  feet,  on  block  21.  This  was  filled  by 
him  with  a  stock  of  stoves,  hardware,  agricultural  implements,  etc., 
and  he  also  had  a  stock  of  lumber  in  connection  with  it.  The  fifth 
was  a  restaurant  and  saloon  building,  built  by  John  Steele,  on  the 
northeast  corner  of  the  depot  grounds.  This  was  occupied  by  him  and 
others  for  some  years,  and  finally  sold  to  A.  Willoughby  and  moved  to 
a  lot  between  Second  and  Third  streets,  on  Walnut  street.  Steele 
came  to  Middleport  in  1859,  and  brought  there  the  first  billiard  table 
ever  brought  to  the  county.  He  has  lately  reformed  and  appears 
sincere.  The  sixth  was  a  shoe  shop,  built  by  John  Shafer,  south  of 
the  depot  grounds.  The  seventh  was  a  grocery  store  building,  20x40 
feet,  with  cellar,  built  by  William  M.  Coney,  on  east  half  of  lot  13, 
block  19.  The  eighth  was  a  drug  store  and  dwelling,  20x40  feet,  two 
stories,  built  by  Dr.  C.  Secrest,  on  lot  1,  block  28.  The  ninth  was  a 
store  building,  22x60  feet,  two  stories,  with  an  addition,  one  story, 
18x40  feet,  built  by  Dr.  William  Fowler,  on  the  south  ends  of  lots  7 
and  8,  block  26.  This  building  is  now  occupied  by  Mr.  Daniel  Fry 
with  a  stock  of  goods.  The  tenth  was  a  saddler  shop,  built  by  William 
Munson,  on  west  half  of  lot  13,  block  19,  and  sold  by  him  to  John  Fagan. 
This  is  now  known  as  C.  Wade's  store  building,  and  occupied  by  the 
Martin  Brothers.  The  eleventh  was  a  dwelling  16x36  feet,  story  and 
a  half,  with  six  rooms,  built  on  west  half  of  lot  14,  block  19,  by  Dr. 


MIDDLEPORT    AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  29 

Samuel  Hueston.  The  twelfth  was  a  grocery  store  building,  18x24 
feet,  with  cellar,  and  four  rooms  above,  erected  by  George  Courtright, 
on  lot  11,  block  19,  and  now  occupied  and  owned  by  him.  These 
were  all  built  in  the  spring  of  1860. 

During  the  summer  the  following  residences  were  erected  :  Cottage, 
34x40  feet,  two  stories,  six  rooms,  hall  and  porch  below,  and  three 
rooms  and  hall  above,  finished  in  good  style,  built  by  John  L.  Dono- 
van, and  still  occupied  by  him  and  family.  A  dwelling,  16x24  feet, 
one  story  and  a  half,  with  an  addition,  18x20  feet,  five  rooms  below 
and  three  above,  was  built  by  William  Brooks.  This  was  subsequently 
purchased  by  Hon.  Thomas  Yennum,  and  has  been  enlarged  and  much 
improved,  and  is  occupied  by  him  and  family.  A  dwelling,  20x30 
feet,  two  stories  and  six  rooms,  built  by  David  Hutchinson,  on  lots  7 
and  8,  block  28  ;  the  building  is  now  owned  by  Dr.  Joseph  Euans. 
A  dwelling,  20x30  feet,  two  stories  and  five  rooms,  built  by  Dr.  D. 
Fenner,  on  lot  16,  block  35,  is  now  owned  by  Mr.  David  Johnson,  and 
occupied  by  him  and  family.  A  dwelling  by  James  Markle,  20x20 
feet,  four  rooms  and  cellar,  on  lot  9,  block  2. 

During  the  fall  Hon.  M.  Stanley  completed  a  hotel,  44x72  feet, 
three  stories,  with  one-story  kitchen  on  southeast  corner,  erected  on 
northwest  corner  of  block  26.  It  contained  a  hall  in  second  story, 
30x50  feet,  and  the  building  was  well  finished  and  furnished  in  first- 
class  order.  Mr.  Stanley  kept  this  house  for  the  accommodation  of  the 
public  about  five  years,  and  including  the  period  of  the  war,  and  was 
noted  for  his  liberality  and  kind  disposition  toward  all,  and  especially 
the  soldiers,  justly  and  deservedly  earning  a  reputation  for  the  house 
attained  by  few.  The  house  was  destroyed  by  fire  on  Saturday  night, 
February  16,  1866,  caused  by  leaving  kindling  in  the  oven  of  the 
kitchen  stove,  which  took  fire.  The  inmates  and  guests  were  alarmed 
by  the  fire  about  three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  some  were  compelled 
to  desert  the  building  in  their  night-clothes.  Three  Irishman  in  the 
third  story,  who  had  failed  to  heed  a  timely  warning  to  leave,  were 
compelled  to  jump  from  a  window  to  the  pavement  below,  alighting 
upon  some  bedding  thrown  down  for  that  purpose,  all  escaping  without 
injury,  although  one  of  them,  more  scared  than  hurt,  was  heard  to  ex- 
claim :  "  Holy  Muther  of  Jasus,  have  mercy  on  me ;  my  back's  broke ; 
whisper  to  God  fur  me!"  This  house  was  not  rebuilt  by  Mr.  Stanley, 
but  the  lots  sold  by  him  to  Mr.  James  McCurdy,  who  rebuilt  it  in  1869. 
This  property  was  sold,  March  28,  1877,  to  Mr.  William  Williams, 
who  has  fitted  it  up  in  good  order,  and  keeps  a  first-class  house. 

In  the  fall  of  1860,  Mr.  Daniel  Parker  erected  on  lot  7,  block  20, 
corner  of  Fourth  and  Walnut  streets,  a  brick  storeroom,  21x46  feet, 


30  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

two  stories,  with  six  rooms  above  for  dwelling.  This  was  the  tirst 
brick  built  in  the  town.  He  filled  the  storeroom  with  a  stock  of  goods 
and  resided  above.  His  son,  Daniel,  died  here  with  small-pox,  Jan- 
nary  7,  1863. 

During  the  summer  and  fall  of  1860  the  following  residences  were 
erected  on  out-lots  in  the  N.E.  £  of  S.W.  £  of  Sec.  32,  T.  27  N., 
range  14  west:  A  dwelling,  16x25  feet,  with  two.  wings,  13x13  feet 
each,  two  stories,  ten  rooms  and  two  halls,  finished  in  fine  style,  by 
Chester  Kinney,  Esq.  This  building  was  destroyed  by  fire  about  the 
time  it  was  completed,  the  last  of  September,  1860,  supposed  to  have 
been  the  work  of  an  incendiary.  A  dwelling,  20X26  feet,  two  stories, 
and  a  wing  one  story  and  a  half,  14x17  feet,  eight  rooms,  hall  and 
cellar,  finished  in  good  style,  was  built  by  S.  G.  Bovie,  Esq.  He  still 
resides  in  this  building.  The  dwelling,  15x22  feet,  one  and  a  half 
story,  five  rooms,  was  built  by  G.  H.  Walser,  Esq. ;  and  dwelling  by 
Aaron  F.  Wright,  14x21  feet,  two  rooms  and  cellar.  A  store  building 
(frame),  40x50  feet,  two  stories  and  attic,  was  built  by  Benjamin  F. 
Masters,  on  lot  9,  block  19,  corner  of  Third  and  Walnut  streets,  in  1861. 
This  is  now  owned  by  John  Reeder,  and  the  west  room,  to  which  a  one- 
story  addition  on  back  end,  fifty  feet  in  length,  has  been  added,  is  now 
occupied  by  Isaac  C.  Wade's  hardware  store. 

Andrew  Dal  ton,  in  1862,  built  a  frame  two-story  store  building,  20  x  90 
feet,  on  the  east  half  of  lot  16,  block  19.  This  building  was  afterward 
occupied  by  William  Frees,  Dodd  &  Browne,  and  Woodford  &  Har- 
rington with  stocks  of  hardware,  but  for  several  years  has  been  occu- 
pied by  C.  G.  Culver  with  a  stock  of  dry-goods,  groceries,  etc.  Dr. 
William  Fowler  built  a  fine  cottage  residence  on  a  large  out-lot  in  Cham- 
berlain's addition  in  1862,  which,  with  the  surroundings,  was  fitted  up 
in  good  taste.  Here  he  resided  until  his  death,  December  31,  1872. 
His  first  \vife,  Eleanor  White,  whom  he  had  married  at  "  Buncombe," 
in  this  county,  in  1839,  also  died  here  in  October,  1871.  He  had  again 
married  a  short  time  before  his  death,  and  his  widow  still  resides  in 
this  homestead.  Dr.  Fowler  was  born  in  England  in  1814,  came  to 
Virginia  when  a  youth,  studied  medicine  there,  and  located  in  this 
county  in  1837,  resided  in  "Buncombe"  until  he  came  to  Watseka 
with  his  family  in  1862,  and  where  he  remained  until  his  death. 
During  the  time  he  lived  in  this  county  he  practiced  his  profes- 
sion, and  also  for  several  years  was  engaged  in  selling  goods.  He  was 
one  of  the  pioneers  of  the  county,  a  man  of  high  standing  and  char- 
acter both  in  his  profession  and  out  of  it,  kind  in  disposition,  and 
highly  respected.  He  was  very  sensitive,  and  by  mistreatment  he  was 
induced  to  commit  suicide  by  taking  morphine. 


MIDDLEPORT    AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  31 

In  the  spring  of  1863,  through  the  exertions  of  Rev.  P.  T.  Rhodes, 
$3,000  in  amount  were  raised  by  subscription  for  building  a  M.  E. 
church.  A  building  committee,  of  which  Dr.  C.  Secrest  was  chairman, 
was  appointed,  arid  the  contract  for  building  was  let  May  18,  1863. 
The  building  was  erected  during  the  summer,  on  the  north  half  of  lots 
15  and  16,  block  29,  where  it  still  stands.  Since  that  time  $900  in 
amount  has  been  raised  and  expended  in  improving  the  building. 
This  was  the  first  church  built  in  the  city  of  Watseka. 

January  1,  1864,  the  Iroquois  County  Medical  Society  met  in  Wat- 
seka, and  among  other  things  adopted  a  bill  of  prices  for  medical  and 
surgical  services,  the  first  of  the  kind  adopted  in  the  county.  An  extra- 
ordinary cold  storm  set  in  that  evening,  during  which  several  persons 
returning  to  the  country  were  badly  frozen,  among  whom  was  a  Mr. 
Ooton  and  a  lady  with  him,  who  resided  in  Belmont.  Ooton's  limbs 
had  to  be  amputated,  and  the  lady  died  at  the  Poor  Farm  from  the 
effects  of  the  cold. 

In  April,  1865,  the  county  seat  was  removed  from  Middleport  to 
Watseka.  The  circuit  clerk's  and  recorder's  offices  were  first  moved 
into  a  small  building  on  lot  6,  block  27,  east  across  the  street  from 
Secrest's  drug  store,  and  the  county  clerk's  office  was  moved  into  John 
Paul's  building  on  the  south  side  of  the  depot  grounds.  They  were 
kept  in  these  places  a  short  time  and  then  again  moved,  the  circuit 
clerk's  office  to  the  lower  story  of  the  school  building,  on  lot  11,  block 
20,  and  the  county  clerk's  office  to  a  room  owned  by  William  F. 
Ready,,  just  west  of  it  and  on  lot  10,  of  the  same  block.  This  was  the 
east  lower  room  of  a  two-story  frame  block  that  had  a  short  time  before 
been  erected  by  William  F.  Keady,  A.  P.  Furguson  and  Daniel  Parker. 
The  offices  were  kept  in  these  buildings  until  they  were  destroyed  by 
fire,  on  the  night  of  October  15,  1866,  and  they  were  then  moved  into 
the  new  court-house,  which  was  nearly  completed.  During  said  time 
the  upper  story  of  the  school-house  had  been  used  for  a  court  room. 

In  1865  Vennum  &  Tillinghast  and  John  F.  Fairman  erected  a 
wooden  block  on  lot  15,  block  19.  The  east  lower  room  has  been  used 
for  a  drug  store,  and  is  owned  by  Mrs.  George  E.  King  (formerly  Mrs. 
H.  A.  Tillinghast),  and  now  occupied  by  the  Arnold  Bros.  ;  and  the 
west  half  of  the  building  is  owned  by  Adam  K.  McNeill,  and  occu- 
pied by  Alex.  Gillfillan  as  a  dry-goods  and  grocery  store.  In  1866 
Francis  J.  Sears,  Thomas  Vennum,  William  M.  Coney,  H.  A.  Tilling- 
hast and  John  Paul,  at  a  cost  of  about  $8,000,  erected  a  brick  building, 
25  x  80  feet,  and  three  stories,  on  the  west  half  of  lot  14,  block  19.  The 
lower  story  is  occupied  as  a  hardware  store  by  L.  Marsh,  and  the  upper 


32  HISTORY    OF   IROQU01S    COUNTY. 

story  has  been  used  as  a  Masonic  hall,  and  is  occupied  by  the  lodge  and 
the  chapter  of  the  order. 

The  three-story  frame  block,  44x54  feet,  on  lot  10,  block  19,  with 
brick  basement,  was  moved  from  the  "  Old  Town  "  in  1866,  by  C.  F. 
McNeill  and  William  Frees,  at  a  cost  of  $1,000.  It  is  occupied  by  Dr. 
H.  A.  Alter's  book  store,  and  by  Mr.  Greene's  grocery  and  boot  and 
shoe  store.  Aaron  Willoughby's  brick,  25  X  70  feet,  with  stone  cellar,  was 
built  in  1868,  at  a  cost  of  $6,500,  on  west  half  of  lot  12,  block  19.  It  is 
occupied  by  him  as  a  grocery  store.  William  M.  Coney's  brick,  25  x  100 
feet,  two  stories  and  cellar,  was  built  by  him  on  east  half  of  lot  13,  block 
19,  in  1875,  at  a  cost  of  $4,500.  It  is  occupied  by  him  as  a  dry-goods  and 
grocery  store.  Mrs.  Emily  English's  brick,  20x50  feet,  on  west  half  of 
lot  16,  block  19,  was  built  by  her  in  1869,  at  a  cost  of  $5,000.  It  is  two 
stories  and  used  as  a  bakery  and  boarding  house. 

The  National  Bank  Building,  25  x  70  feet,  two  stories,  on  west  half  of 
lot  8,  block  20,  was  built  in  1875,  at  a  cost  of  about  $4,500.  The  lower 
story  is  used  by  the  First  National  Bank,  and  the  upper  story  as  an 
Odd-Fellows  hall,  and  is  used  by  the  lodge  and  encampment  of  that 
order. 

The  court-house  was  erected  on  the  west  half  of  block  29,  in  1866, 
at  a  cost  of  $28,000.  For  further  particulars  as  to  this,  the  reader  is 
referred  to  the  General  History  of  the  county. 

The  brick  school  building  was  erected  in  1868,  at  a  cost  of  about 
$12,000,  on  a  tract  of  four  acres  immediately  south  of  block  34,  bought 
for  the  sum  of  1,200  of  the  executors  of  the  estate  of  Hon.  John 
Chamberlain.  The  building  is  60x75  feet,  two  stories  and  basement, 
warmed  by  a  hot-air  furnace,  and  well  furnished. 

Between  the  years  1855  and  1870,  and  somewhat  later,  several  fine 
brick  residences  were  erected  in  the  city,  among  which  may  be  men- 
tioned those  built  by  Charles  Sherman,  Mrs.  Orra  L.  Chamberlain, 
Decatur  Morgan,  Asa  B.  Roff,  William  P.  Anthony,  M.  Stanley,  L. 
Marquardt,  Daniel  Parker,  George  E.  King  and  the  writer.  During 
the  same  time  many  tine  frame  residences  were  erected,  among  which 
may  be  mentioned  those  built  by  Hon.  Franklin  Blades,  Dr.  William 
Fowler,  Dr.  C.  Secrest,  Daniel  Fry,  Seeley  Hetfield,  John  L.  Donovan, 
William  M.  Coney,  John  Sheridan,  John  Fagan,  Thadeus  Wade, 
Robert  Doyle,  George  C.  Harrington,  Dr.  Jewett,  Hon.  Thomas 
Yennurn,  Tracy  B.  Harris  and  many  others,  which  we  cannot  take  the 
space  to  mention.  The  city  is  noted  for  tine  residences. 

Between  the  years  1862  and  1868,  many  store  buildings  and  resi- 
dences were  moved  from  the  "Old  Town  "  to  Watseka. 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


MIDDLEPORT    AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS. 


33 


THE    FIRST    NATIONAL    BANK    OF    WATSEKA 

Was  organized  in  the  year  1870,  with  a  capital 
of  $50,000,  the  stockholders  representing  some 
of  the  best  known  and  wealthiest  citizens  of  the 
county.  At  the  first  election  of  officers  Hon. 
Samuel  Williams  was  chosen  president,  David 
McGill, vice-president,  and  George  C.  Harrington, 
cashier.  There  has  been  no  change  in  the  officers 
of  the  bank  since  its  organization,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  election  of  an  assistant  cashier,  in 
the  person  of  Josiah  G.  Williams.  Not  knowing 
whether  the  enterprise  would  receive  immediate 
recognition  by  the  public,  the  bank  made  its  first 
office  in  the  second  story  of  the  Willoughby 
Building.  However,  meeting  with  unexpected 
favor,  it  was  soon  necessitated  to  seek  a  more  ac- 
cessible and  commodious  office  and  shortly  erected 
a  wood  structure  on  the  site  of  the  present  building.  This  building 
not  proving  adequate,  the  bank,  in  connection  with  the  lodge  of  Odd- 
Fellows,  as  before  stated,  erected  their  present  fine  building  in  1875. 
The  bank  now  has  the  reputation  of  doing  the  largest  volume  of  com- 
mercial business  of  any  bank  of  its  capital  in  the  Northwest,  its  ex- 
changes running  in  to  millions  of  dollars  annually.  During  the  financial 
panic  of  1871,  caused  by  the  Chicago  fire,  and  the  subsequent  panic  of 
1873,  when  most  of  the  banks  in  the  country  were  necessitated  to  close 
their  doors,  the  First  National  Bank  of  Watseka  kept  open  doors  and  hon- 
ored every  demand  made  upon  it.  It  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  institu- 
tions of  the  county  in  which  the  people  feel  a  just  pride, — solid  and  safe 
beyond  question,  and  its  management  conservative  enough  to  keep  it 
so.  The  banking  house  of  Donovan,  Woodford  &  Co.  (John  L.  Don- 
ovan, George  A.  Woodford  and  Thomas  Yennum,  proprietors)  com- 
menced operations  in  the  second  story  of  the  Masonic  Building,  in 
1869.  This  bank  did  a  profitable  and  reputable  business,  unaffected  by 
the  panics,  until  November  2,  1874,  when  the  proprietors  sold  out  to 
the  firm  of  J.  Matzenbaugh  &  Co.,  composed  of  Josiah  Matzenbaugh 
and  Henry  T.  Skeels.  ..The  name  was  then  changed  to  the  Watseka 
Bank.  This  firm  dissolved  partnership,  March  1,  1878,  and  the  busi- 
ness was  continued  by  Henry  T.  Skeels.  This  bank  failed,  and  an 
assignment  of  its  effects  was  made  to  Daniel  Fry,  for  the  benefit  of  its 
creditors,  March  14,  1879.  It  is  presumed  that  the  effects  will  satisfy 
all  just  claims. 

The  Opera  Hall  Building,  40x60  feet,  was  erected  on   the  south 
3 


34  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

halves  of  lots  1  and  2,  block  18,  in  1867,  by  John  Reeder,  for  a  woolen 
factory.  It  was  filled  with  machinery  for  this  purpose  by  Mr.  Russell, 
and  run  for  some  time  manufacturing  woolen  goods ;  but  the  supply  of 
water  failing  (this  was  before  artesian  wells),  the  machinery  was  sold 
to  J.  W.  Stearns  &  Co.,  and  removed  to  the  "Old  Town."  It  stood 
unused  for  several  years,  and  was  then  fitted  up  for  a  hall.  It  is  now 
owned  by  Mr.  John  W.  Riggs,  who  is  well  patronized — the  citizens 
manifesting  a  taste  for  theatrical,  scientific,  intellectual  and  other 
entertainments. 

The  Baptist  church,  on  lots  9  and  10,  block  9,  was  built  in  1869. 
It  is  a  frame,  40x60  feet,  and  not  yet  entirely  finished. 

The  Catholic  church,  35x55  feet,  was  erected  on  lots  9  and  10, 
block  3,  in  the  fall  of  1878.  It  is  a  frame,  and  cost  about  $3,000. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  Presbyterians,  Baptists,  Catholics, 
United  Brethren  and  Adventists  have  church  organizations  in  Wat- 
seka,  the  dates  of  which  the  writer  has  not  been  able  to  procure,  but 
most  of  them  have  had  organizations  for  many  years. 

THE    SCHOOLS    OF    WATSEKA. 

The  first  school  in  Watseka  was  a  small  frame  building  erected  on 
the  south  side  of  the  depot  grounds  in  1861.  This  was  sold,  and 
removed  by  James  T.  S.  Irons  to  his  lot  in  the  southeastern  part  of  the 
city  in  1865,  and  was  afterward  used  by  him  for  a  carpenter  shop.  In 
1863  a  two-story  frame  school-house,  20x36  feet,  was  built  on  lot  11, 
block  20,  at  a  cost  of  about  $2,000.  The  first  school  taught  in  this 
was  by  J.  B.  Eno,  now  of  Crescent.  This  building  was  rented  to  the 
county  in  the  summer  of  1865,  the  lower  story  being  used  for  the 
county  clerk's  and  the  treasurer's  offices,  and  the  upper  story  for  a 
court-room.  It  was  in  this  room  that  Harper  was  tried  and  convicted 
for  the  murder  of  Nelson.  This  building  was  destroyed  by  fire  on  the 
night  of  October  15,  1866,  as  before  stated. 

The  present  brick  school-house,  on  the  four-acre  lot  south  of  block 
34,  was  erected  in  1868,  as  elsewhere  stated,  at  a  cost,  including  the 
grounds,  of  about  $14,000,  and  the  bonds  of  the  district  to  that 
amount  were  issued  and  sold  to  John  Sheridan  to  raise  the  necessary 
amtnint  to  purchase  the  grounds  and  erect  the  building.  The  district 
is  a  union  district,  No.  7,  towns  26  and  27  north,  range  12  west,  2d 
principal  meridian.  Previous  to  1866,  M.  Stanley,  Charles  Sherman 
and  A.  B.  Roff  were  directors.  Since  that  date  the  following  directors 
have  been  elected:  1866,  John  Paul;  1867,  Thadeus  Wade;  1868, 
C.  Secrest;  1869,  C.  F.  McNeill,  in  place  of  Secrest,  resigned;  1869, 
John  Paul ;  1870,  W.  I.  Jones,  Z.  Beatty  and  William  Fowler— 


MIDDLEPORT   AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  35 

McNeill  and  Paul  having  resigned  ;  1871,  Fowler  reflected  for  three 
years;  1872,  Seeley  Hetfield  elected  for  three  years;  January  11, 1873, 
Henry  H.  Alter  elected  in  place  of  William  Fowler,  deceased;  1873, 
W.  L  Jones  reflected;  1874,  John  Allison;  1875,  L.  N.  Pittwood ; 
1876,  W.  I.  Jones  reflected;  1877,  D.  W.  Ayres;  1878,  H.  A.  But- 
zow ;  and  1879,  Josiah  Williams.  The  amount  borrowed  on  the  bonds 
of  the  district,  except  $6,000,  has  been  paid.  After  the  burning  of 
the  school-house,  and  until  the  present  one  was  erected,  John  Paul's 
store-room  on  south  side  was  used  for  a  school-room.  The  amount  of 
$1,300  insurance  was  collected  and  appropriated  for  school  purposes. 

The  school,  since  the  present  building  was  erected,  has  been  a  graded" 
school,  and  attained  a  high  reputation  under  the  management  of  Profs. 
Neal  and  Paisley. 

THE    PRESS    OF   THE    COUNTY-SEAT. 

The  first  paper  published  at  the  county -seat  and  in  the  county,  was 
"  The  Iroquois  Journal,"  a  weekly  newspaper,  devoted  to  politics,  lit- 
erature, the  arts  and  sciences,  agriculture,  etc.,  published  every  Wednes- 
day, by  J.  A.  Graham  ;  office  in  Wagner  &  Patterson's  building,  up 
stairs  (Middleport).  The  subscription  price  was  $1.50  per  annum. 
This  was  a  six-column  paper,  set  in  long  primer  type,  and  whig  in  pol- 
itics. This  paper  was  printed  on  a  "Ramage  press"  of  the  style  of 
the  days  of  Franklin, — wooden  frame,  double  bed  and  single  platen, 
requiring  two  pulls  to  print  one  side  of  the  paper.  It  was  almost  use- 
less, the  bed  having  been  worn  so  much  by  rubbing  with  pumice  stone 
that  it  required  several  layers  of  paper  under  the  form  to  bring  the 
center  up.  This  press  was  used  fifty  years  before  in  printing  the  terri- 
torial laws  of  Indiana,  at  Yincennes.  It  was  bought  by  John  R. 
Jones  in  1842,  and  taken  to  Perrysville,  Indiana,  where  Jones  pub- 
lished the  "  Perrysville  Eagle,"  which  he  printed  on  this  press.  In 
1843  or  1844,  Jones  sold  the  press  and  office  to  Daniel  Clapp,  who  took 
it  to  Danville,  Illinois,  and  started  the  "Danville  Patriot,"  which  was 
printed  on  it.  He  afterward  sold  out  to  Roney  &  Peabody,  who  pub- 
lished the  "'Illinois  Herald,"  which  was  also  printed  on  this  press  up 
to  November,  1850.  On  January  1,  1851,  they  sold  this  press  and 
office  to  Joseph  A.  Graham  for  $400.  It  was  hauled  from  Danville.to 
Middleport  for  Mr.  Graham,  by  Henry  Root  (since  of  Onarga)  and 
Garrett  Eoff  (then  of  Middleport,  but  since  deceased).  Three  volumes 
of  the  "Iroquois  Journal"  were  printed  on  this  press,  when  about 
April  1,  1854,  it  was  sold  to  William  F.  Ready  and  Benjamin  Scott, 
who  printed  one  volume  of  the  "Iroquois  County  Press"  on  it.  It 
then  went  out  of  use  until  1861,  when  it  was  sold  to  George  Sellers  & 
Bro.,  then  of  Clifton,  in  this  county,  who  took  it  to  Tuscola,  in  this 


36  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

state,  and  there  printed  a  paper  on  it  which  they  published,  the  name 
of  which  the  writer  is  not  now  able  to  give.  If  this  old  press  could 
still  be  found  it  would  prove,  a  valuable  relic  of  a  past  age.  The  first 
issue  of  the  "  Iroquois  Journal  "  is  dated  February  19,  1851.  It  has  a 
"  leader "  on  the  prospects  of  Middleport,  and  also  advocates  slack- 
water  navigation  by  the  improvement,  for  that  purpose,  of  the  Iroquois 
and  Kankakee  rivers ;  chronicles  the  return  of  G.  B.  Joiner,  H.  C. 
Bryant  and  John  Lehigh  from  California,  and  contains  the  advertise- 
ments of  A.  B.  Roff,  boot  and  shoe  maker,  Market  street,  Middleport; 
and  S.  A.  Washington,  J.  A.  Whiteman,  and  Gardner  &  Fletcher, 
attornej's-at-law,  Middleport  Illinois.  Three  volumes  of  this  paper 
were  published  at  Middleport  by  Mr.  Graham,  the  last  issue  being 
dated  March  29, 1854,  and  a  complete  file  of  which  is  in  the  possession 
of  the  writer.  It  was  ably  conducted,  and  a  lively  interesting  paper  for 
its  day. 

Mr.  Graham  sold  the  "  Journal "  office,  about  April  1,  1854,  to 
William  F.  Keadyand  Benjamin  Scott  for  $450,  who  then  commenced 
the  publication  of  the  "  Iroquois  County  Press,"  a  democratic  paper, 
at  Middleport.  About  one  year  after,  Keady  bought  Scott's  interest  in 
the  paper,  purchased  a  new  Washington  press,  and  enlarged  the  paper 
to  seven  columns,  and  changed  the  name  to  "  The  Middleport  Weekly 
Press."  It  was  ably  conducted  by  him  in  the  interests  of  his  party, 
but  on  account  of  his  opposition  to  what  he  called  "  The  Swamp  Land 
Swindle,"  in  the  sale  of  the  swamp  lands  of  the  county,  he  incurred 
the  displeasure  and  opposition  of  some  of  the  magnates  of  the  demo- 
cratic party,  and  thought  it  prudent  to  sell  out,  which  he  did  to  Joseph 
Thomas  and  Ray  W.  Andrews,  and  retired  from  the  paper,  with  the 
issue  of  July  18,  1857.  Harmon  Westbrook  was  employed  by  Thomas 
&  Andrews  as  editor,  but  soon  becoming  offensive  he  was  discharged 
by  them,  and  was  succeeded  by  Caleb  Pink.  Mr.  Pink  withdrew  from 
the  paper,  July  27,  1858,  and  was  succeeded  by  Michael  Hogle  as 
editor,  and  about  the  same  time  Hon.  John  Chamberlain  became  the 
proprietor.  Mr.  Hogle  conducted  the  paper  with  some  ability  for  sever- 
al years,  but  his  strong  southern  sentiments  at  the  commencement  of 
the  war  became  very  offensive,  even  to  many  of  his  own  party,  and 
they  repudiated  his  paper,  and  he  retired  from  it  about  October  1, 
1864.  He  was  succeeded  by  George  C.  Harrington  as  editor,  who 
had  charge  of  the  paper  for  one  year,  and  conducted  it  with  ability 
and  taste.  The  "  Press  "  then  ceased  to  exist. 

"  The  Investigator,"  a  democratic  paper,  was  started  at  Middleport, 
during  the  summer  of  1855,  by  Dr.  Richard  Taliaferro  and  James  H. 
Graham,  in  opposition  to  the  "Middleport  Press,"  in  the  interests  of 


MIDDLEPORT   AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  37 

a  faction  of  the  democratic  party,  the  members  of  which  had  become 
offended  at  Mr.  Keady.  It  was  a  six  column  paper,  set  in  long  primer 
and  printed  on  a  "  Foster  press."  It  was  published  irregularly  about 
six  months,  and  then  died  for  the  want  of  patronage,  and  the  office  was 
sold  to  Mr.  Thomas  Yennum,  and  soon  after  the  press  and  material 
were  used  for  publishing  u  The  Iroquois  Republican,"  published  every 
Thursday  morning  by  J.  A.  Graham  and  D.  T.  Lindley,  Jesse  Ben- 
nett and  Franklin  Blades,  editors,  with  the  motto,  "  Strike,  But  Hear  !  " 
The  first  issue  of  this  paper  is  dated  at  'Middleport,  May  8,  1856, 
— office  in  the  room  adjoining  the  store  of  S.  S.  &  D.  B.  Gard- 
ner. The  paper  appears  to  have  been  well  patronized  from  the  start, 
and  the  first  issue  contains  the  cards  of  Drs.  Harwood  and  Tupper, 
Dr.  Jesse  Bennett,  Franklin  Blakes,  M.D. ;  M.  Y.  B.  Harwood  and  H. 
C.  Bryant,  druggists  ;  G.  B.  Joiner,  James  Fletcher,  Stephen  G.  Bovie 
and  Jacob  A.  Whiteman,  attorneys;  Empie  &  Eldridge,  saddlers; 
Seldon  &  White,  bridge-builders;  Daniel  Hutchinson,  blacksmith;  E. 
R.  Aiken,  A.M.,  Middleport  Collegiate  Institute  and  Female  Semi- 
nary ;  Barr  &  White,  American  House  ;  and  H.  O.  Henry,  Wilson 
House.  This  issue  also  contains  the  names  of  the  first  republican 
central  committee  of  the  county,  appointed  at  a  convention  held  at 
Middleport,  March  29,  1856,  as  follows:  Middleport,  Dr.  Bennett, 
Dr.  Blades  and  S.  M.  Ayers;  Crab  Apple,  Winslow  Woods;  Milford, 
William  Gray;  Onarga,  Judge  Pangborn  ;  Belmont,  John  Strean ; 
Wygandt,  James  P.  Martin  ;  Concord,  Dr.  Urmston  ;  Beaver,  Jonathan 
Watkins;  Loda,  James  H.  Major;  Ash  Grove,  John  H.  Stidham  ;  and 
Chebanse,  R.  J.  Hannah. 

October  9,  1856,  Graham  &  Lindley  dissolved  partnership,  and 
Graham  continues  as  publisher,  and  associates  Andrew  Robertson  with 
him  as  printer.  December  18,  1856,  Graham  &  Yennum  enter  into 
partnership  as  publishers.  March  26,  1857,  Dr.  Jesse  Bennett  severs 
his  connection  with  the  paper,  and  Dr.  Blades  continues  as  sole  editor. 
August  6,  1857,  Thomas  Yennum  closes  his  connection  with  the  paper 
as  publisher.  November  5,  1857,  Graham  sells  out  to  Andrew  Rob- 
ertson and  William  H.  Sheward,  who  become  publishers.  June  30, 
1859,  Dr.  Blades  withdraws  from  the  paper  and  Andrew  Robertson 
becomes  editor.  September  29,  1859,  Robertson  retires ;  and  Novem- 
ber 3,  1859,  Thomas  Yennum  announces  the  sale  of  the  office  to  C.  F. 
McNeill,  who  takes  charge  of  it,  and  Samuel  S.  Patton  is  employed 
as  foreman.  January  7,  1861,  McNeil  1  sells  the  office  to  J.  Ralph 
Robinson  and  Ancel  B.  Caddy.  Robinson  had  formerly  been  editor  of 
the  "North  Fairfield  Gazette,"  Ohio,  and  latterly  local  of  the  "  Peoria 
Transcript,"  and  Mr.  Caddy  had  for  the  three  years  previous  been  foreman 


88  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

in  the  "  Transcript "  office.  Caddy  left,  October  27, 1861,  to  join  Capt. 
McAllister's  battery,  at  Fort  Holt,  and  he  died  in  the  military  service 
March  7,  1862,  on  the  government  hospital  boat  "  Memphis."  The 
office  was  sold  to  A.  G.  Smith  February  19,  1862.  Robinson  went  to 
Ohio  and  became  the  editor  of  the  "  Bucyrus  Journal,"  having  pur- 
chased that  paper  of  D.  R.  Locke  ("  Nasby  ").  The  office  was  removed 
by  Mr.  Smith  to  Watseka,  in  the  spring  of  1863.  In  October,  1866, 
Smith  sold  the  office  to  Zacheus  Beatty,  of  Knoxville,  Illinois,  and 
removed  to  Danville,  Illinois,  where  he  became  the  proprietor  and  pub- 
lisher of  the  "Danville  Daily  and  Weekly  Times."  He  was  born  in 
Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1831,  and  educated  in  Ohio.  April 
1,  1873,  Mr.  Beatty  sold  the  office  to  Alex.  L.  Whitehall  and  Elmer 
Brimhall,  of  Watseka.  He  had  enlarged  the  paper  in  1872  and 
changed  its  name  to  the  "Watseka  Republican." 

After  selling  out,  Mr.  Beatty  and  family  returned  to  Knoxville,  Illi- 
nois, where  he  now  resides,  and  is  publishing  the  "  Republican  Regis- 
ter." Mr.  Brimhall  purchased  the  interest  of  Mr.  Whitehall  in  the 
paper,  August  24,  1876,  and  became  its  sole  editor  and  proprietor,  and 
changed  it  to  its  present  quarto  form.  August  1,  1877,  he  sold  the 
office  to  Lorenzo  Watson  and  H.  A.  Jerauld.  Mr.  Jerauld  disposed  of 
his  interest  to  Watson,  October  1,  1878,  who  is  now  the  sole  editor 
and  proprietor  of  the  paper.  A  power  press  has  been  added  to  the 
office.  The  "  Republican  "  is  the  oldest  paper  in  the  county,  having 
been  established  over  twenty-four  years  ago.  It  has  generally  been 
conducted  with  ability,  and  has  had  much  influence  in  shaping  the 
political  and  civil  affairs  of  the  county,  and  has  been  foremost  in 
every  moral  reform. 

The  "  Iroquois  County  Herald  "  was  established  about  October  1, 
1865,  on  the  ruins  of  the  "  Middleport  Weekly  Press."  This  paper 
was  published  weekly,  on  Saturday,  by  George  W.  Keady  (Michael 
Hogle,  editor),  at  Middleport.  It  was  independent  in  politics.  The 
office  was  moved  to  Watseka  about  February  1,  1867,  the  last  issue  at 
Middleport  being  dated  January  27, 1866,  and  this  being  the  last  paper 
published  at  Middleport.  This  issue  contains  an  account  of  "  a  singu- 
lar stroke  of  lightning"  at  Middleport,  on  Friday  evening,  about  nine 
o'clock,  January  19,  1866,  at  which  time  the  dwelling-house  of  the 
writer  and  the  writer  himself  were  struck,  the  house  being  badly  dam- 
aged and  the  writer  severely  injured  by  the  bolt.  We  give  this  inci- 
dent to  prove  that  it  is  even  possible  to  he  struck  with  lightning  in 
January,  and  survive  it.  Some  time  after  the  removal  of  the  paper  to 
Watseka,  Charles  Jouvenat  became  its  editor.  He  was  also  appointed 
in  the  meantime  postmaster  at  Watseka,  and  through  the  means  thus 


MIDDLEPORT   AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS. 


39 


obtained  he  sustained  the  paper  until  the  spring  of  1869,  when  he  was 
removed  from  the  post-office,  and  his  paper  ceased  to  exist.  The  press 
and  material  were  sold  some  time  after  and  taken  to  Rensselaer, 
Indiana. 

"  The  Iroquois  County  Times "  was  founded  at  Onarga,  in  this 
county,  by  Louis  M.  Babcock  and  Jacob  Keiser,  the  first  issue  being 
dated  December  1,  1870,  under  the  name  of  the  ';  Onarga  Times." 
Mr.  Keiser  in  a  short  time  withdrew  from  the  firm,  and  Mr.  Charles 
Drumm  purchased  an  interest  in  the  paper,  Babcock  being  editor  and 
Drnmm  foreman.  On  March  16,  1871,  the  paper  was  enlarged  to  an 
eight-column  folio.  In  May  of  the  same  year  the  office  was  removed 
to  Watseka,  the  last  issue  at  Onarga  being  dated  May  4,  1871,  and  the 
first  at  Watseka,  May  27,  1871,  the  name  having  been  changed  to  "  The 
Iroquois  Times."  In  December,  1872,  the  office  was  sold  to  Col.  M.  H. 


Peters,  who  took  control  of  the  paper  January  1,  1873.  He  sold  it  to 
Mr.  Otto  H.  Wangelin,  of  Belleville,  Illinois,  June  5,  1874,  who  on 
February  26,  1875,  enlarged  it  to  a  seven-column  quarto,  and  on  August 
13,  1875,  sold  it  to  Mr.  Auguste  Langellier,  who  afterward,  on  August 
10,  1876,  reduced  it  to  a  six-column  paper.  During  his  management 
the  Washington  press  upon  which  the  paper  had  been  printed  was  re- 
placed by  an  Acme  power  press,  the  largest  country  size,  and  at  the 
same  time  changed  the  name  of  the  paper  to  "  The  Iroquois  County 
Times."  On  July  1,  1878,  Col.  Peters  again  purchased  the  office,  and 
is  now  sole  editor  and  proprietor.  He  enlarged  it  to  a  seven-column 
quarto  on  January  1,  1878,  the  largest  sized  country  paper  published  in 
the  state. 

The  office  is  large  and  complete  and  permanently  established,  and 
the  paper  ably  conducted.  In  politics  the  "  Times"  was  originally  in- 
dependent republican,  supporting  Greeley  for  president  in  1872.  It  has 


40  HISTOKY    OF    IEOQUOIS    COUNTY. 

since  been  independent  in  politics,  and  pursued  that  course  which 
seemed  to  its  editor  best  calculated  to  advance  the  interests  of  the 
people.  Latterly  it  has  advocated  financial  reform  and  supported  the 
greenback  party.  Charles  Drumm,  who  entered  the  office  when  it  was 
first  established,  is  still  foreman,  and  is  one  of  the  best  printers  in  the 
state. 

MUKDEKS    AND    EXECUTIONS. 

It  has  not  been  judicially  determined  that  a  murder  has  ever  been 
committed  at  the  county-seat,  but  it  is  charged  that  one,  Daniel  Peitz, 
poisoned  his  wife  at  Middleport,  and  Martin  Meara  was  taken  from  the 
jail  at  Watseka  and  hanged  by  a  mob.  Peitz's  wife  died  August  11, 
1864,  at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  a  few  days  after  she  had  given  birth 
to  a  child.  A  short  time  before  Peitz  had  purchased  a  quantity  of 
arsenic  at  H.  A.  Tillinghast's  drug  store,  in  Middleport,  stating  at  the 
time  that  he  wanted  it  to  poison  rats.  While  his  wife  was  sick  he 
purchased  her  some  port  wine.  He  gave  her  some  of  this  in  a  tea-cup 
on  the  morning  of  August  10,  1864.  She  was  immediately  taken 
violently  ill,  and  Drs.  McNeill  and  Sommers  were  sent  for.  Upon  ex- 
amination they  pronounced  it  a  case  of  poisoning,  and  search  being 
made  for  the  cup  from  which  she  had  taken  the  wine,  it  was  found  con- 
cealed on  an  upper  shelf  of  the  pantry,  and  in  the  bottom  of  it  was 
found  nearly  an  ounce  of  arsenic,  which  had  been  saturated  with  the 
wine.  Peitz  was  soon  after  arrested,  and  when  his  wife  died  a  coroner's 
jury  found  that  she  came  to  her  death  from  poison  being  administered 
to  her  by  her  husband,  Daniel  Peitz,  and  he  was  committed  to  jail. 
There  then  being  no  jail  in  the  county,  he  was  sent  to  Kankakee  city 
for  safe  keeping.  Soon  after  he  made  his  escape  from  the  jail,  and  has 
not  since  been  heard  of. 

THE   MEARA   TEAGEDY. 

Martin  Meara,  an  Irishman  and  a  farmer,  who  resided  between 
Onarga  and  Gilman,  in  this  county,  was  charged  with  having,  about 
June  15,  1871,  whipped  his  son,  a  lad  of  about  eleven  years  of 
age,  to  death.  The  body  of  the  boy  was  found  and  Meara  arrested, 
about  the  first  of  July,  and  upon  an  examination  he  was  committed  to 
jail  to  await  the  action  of  the  grand  jury  upon  the  matter.  For  a 
more  particular  account  of  these  occurrences  the  reader  is  referred  to 
the  history  of  the  town  of  Onarga.  On  Sunday  morning,  July  2, 
1871,  Meara  was  brought  to  jail,  and  at  his  request  Roff  &  Doyle 
visited  him  as  counsel.  On  the  next  day  his  wife  came  to  see  him. 
On  Tuesday,  the  4th,  there  was  a  celebration  at  Milford,  which  many 
of  the  citizens  of  Watseka  attended.  In  the  evening  the  writer,  who 
had  attended  with  others,  returned,  and  was  informed  by  the  sheriff 


MIDDLEPORT    AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  41 

that  Luther  T.  Clark,  of  Onarga,  had  arrived  and  had  intimated  that 
a  mob  might  be  expected  that  night  to  hang  Meara.  The  writer 
advised  him  to  summon  a  guard,  which  he  did,  of  a  few  determined 
persons.  The  mob  came,  as  it  was  afterward  learned,  but  being  notified 
by  Clark  that  they  would  meet  with  resistance,  they  left.  For  greater 
safety,  however,  the  prisoner  was  taken  to  the  woods  by  the  sheriff,  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  night,  and  returned  to  jail  in  the  morning.  It 
was  presumed  that  this  would  be  the  end  of  the  matter,  and  early  ill 
the  morning  the  writer  went  to  Chicago  on  important  business,  and 
did  not  return  until  the  next  day.  Circuit  court  was  then  in  session, 
Judge  Charles  H.  "Wood  presiding,  but  had  adjourned  from  the  Satur- 
day before  until  the  afternoon  of  the  5th.  During  that  day  rumors, 
were  rife  in  Watseka  that  another  mob  was  gathering  about  Onarga  and 
would  be  over  in  the  afternoon.  At  half  past  two  Judge  Wood  arrived 
from  Onarga  on  the  train,  and  with  him  many  persons  from  the  west 
side  of  the  county,  supposed  to  be  implicated  in  the  mob.  When 
Judge  Wood  came  through  Gilman  Dr.  Elias  Wenger  presented  him 
a  petition,  signed  by  twenty-three  of  the  best  citizens  of  that 
place,  requesting  him  to  call  a  grand  jury  to  act  upon  the  Meara  case 
and  put  him  upon  trial.  This  Judge  Wood  refused  to  do,  which  had 
the  tendency  to  further  excite  the  mob  spirit.  Soon  after  court 
opened.'  Sheriff  South,  with  W.  S.  Kay,  Esq.,  consulted  the  judge  as 
to  the  propriety  of  removing  Meara  for  safety,  and  he  advised  them 
that  the  jail  was  the  proper  place  for  him,  but  gave  no  further  specific 
advice  or  directions  in  the  matter.  The  mob  gathered  about  two  o'clock 
in  the  timber  at  the  mouth  of  Sugar  creek,  just  west  of  the  "  Old 
Town."  They  came  on  horseback  and  in  wagons,  with  arms  and 
bludgeons,  sledges  and  crowbars.  They  organized  by  electing  E.  J. 
Barber,  of  Onarga,  leader,  who  declined,  and  nominated  Athiel  Simms 
who  was  then  elected.  He  remained  quiet  and  said  nothing.  Dr.  B. 
J.  Daniels,  a  disreputable  practitioner  of  Gilman,  itching  for  notoriety, 
thereupon  announced  that  he  would  act  as  leader,  and  got  upon  his 
horse  and  went  to  Watseka.  Here  he  distributed  a  large  number  of 
printed  accounts  of  the  murder,  for  the  purpose  of  exciting  the  sympa- 
thies of  the  citizens  in  favor  of  the  mob.  In  the  evening,  after  bor- 
rowing an  old  hat  and  clothes  in  which  to  do  his  murderous  work,  he 
returned,  but  in  the  meantime  the  mob  had  been  formed  and 
was  marching  for  Watseka,  and  was  met  half-way  by  Daniels,  who 
harangued  them.  They  then  made  a  dash  upon  the  court-house,  about 
six  o'clock,  and  just  after  court  had  adjourned,  and  were  met  at  the  gate 
by  Sheriff  South,  who  commanded  them  to  "  halt !  "  The  mob  disre- 
garded his  command  and  wrested  the  arms  from  the  hands  of  the  guard. 


42  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

They  then  battered  down  the  outside  door  which  had  been  barred, 
demanded  the  keys  of  the  jail  of  the  sheriff,  who  refused  to  give 
them  up,  and  then  with  sledges  battered  down  the  door  of  the  jail 
and  also  the  cell  containing  Meara.  Meara  was  both  handcuffed  and 
shackled  and  utterly  defenseless,  and  in  this  condition  he  was  dragged 
out  of  the  jail  and  court-house,  and  thus  to  a  wagon,  over  one  hundred 
yards  distant,  into  which  he  was  thrown.  Daniels  then  mounted  the 
wagon  and  again  harangued  the  mob,  in  which  he  said  that :  "  We  are 
aware  that  he  (Meara)  could  only  be  indicted  for  manslaughter,  which 
would  simply  send  him  to  the  penitentiary  for  a  few  years."  Meara 
was  then  driven  to  the  timber  west  of  Sugar  creek,  and  under  a 
leaning  mulberry  tree.  It  was  then  announced  to  him  that  he  could 
have  but  a  short  time  in  which  to  prepare  for  death.  He  then  called 
for  a  Catholic  priest,  and  the  response  was  that  there  was  none  present. 
He  then  asked  if  there  were  any  Catholics  present,  and  the  answer 
being  "  Yes,"  he  asked  them  to  pray  for  him.  Rev.  C.  H.  Palmer,  of 
the  Presbyterian  church,  then  made  a  lengthy  prayer,  after  which 
Meara  spent  a  few  moments  in  giving  directions  as  to  his  property  and 
accounts.  He  then  said  that  when  he  joined  the  Masons  he  had  made 
many  enemies,  and  he  then  made  the  grand  hailing  sign  of  distress  in 
Masonry,  and  this  eliciting  no  response,  he  renounced  Masonry  and 
said  he  wanted  to  die  a  Catholic.  In  the  meantime  a  rope  had  been 
prepared  with  a  hangman's  knot  upon  it.  Meara  had  been  a  very  short 
time  in  an  attitude  of  prayer  when  he  was  told  to  stand  up,  which  he 
did,  and  the  rope  was  passed  down  to  Daniels,  who  placed  the  noose 
around  Meara's  neck  and  tied  a  handkerchief  over  his  face,  and  the 
wagon  was  then  driven  out  and  Meara  launched  into  eternity.  After 
he  had  been  hanging  but  a  short  time  Daniels  shot  two  balls  through 
his  body,  out  of  a  revolver.  The  crowd  then  dispersed  and  the  body 
was  left  hanging  over  night. 

Most  everything  has  its  ludicrous  side,  and  this  case  was  not  an 
exception.  A  short  time  after  the  crowd  had  dispersed,  which  was  after 
dark,  a  family  of  emigrants  with  a  wagon  came  along  and  camped  near 
the  place.  They  had  heard  nothing  of  the  affair,  and  the  first  they 
knew  of  it  was  in  the  morning  when  they  discovered  Meara  hanging 
upon  a  tree  !  They  then  supposed  that  the  whole  thing  had  occurred 
after  their  arrival  and  during  the  night.  Fearing  that  they  might  be 
charged  with  the  crime,  or  perhaps  be  the  next  victims,  they  inconti- 
nently fled  without  preparing  breakfast. 

In  the  morning  the  body  was  taken  down  by  citizens  of  Watseka, 
and  the  coroner  being  absent  an  inquest  was  held  by  Justice  L.  Arm- 


MIDDLEPORT   AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  43 

strong.     After  an  examination  of  several  witnesses  the  jury  brought 

in  the  following  verdict : 

"  STATE  OF  ILLINOIS,  Iroqnois  county,  ss : 

"  In  the  matter  of  the  inquisition  on  the  body  of  Martin  Meara, 
•deceased,  held  at  Watseka,  on  the  6th  day  of  July,  A.D.  1871,  we,  the 
undersigned  jurors,  sworn  to  inquire  of  the  death  of  Martin  Meara, 
on  oath  do  find  that  he  came  to  his  death  by  being  hanged  by  the 
neck,  and  shot  with  a  pistol,  by  the  hands  of  B.  J.  Daniels,  Alvin  L. 
Bates,  Samuel  Higginson,  Samuel  Hannah,  John  Lowe,  Otto  Myers, 
H.  C.  Mosher,  and  others  whose  names  are  at  present  unknown  to  the 
jurors ;  that  the  body  of  Martin  Meara  was  shown  to  this  jury,  hang- 
ing to  a  tree,  and  with  two  wounds  in  his  body,  in  Middleport  town- 
ship, Iroquois  county,  and  state  of  Illinois,  about  one  mile  west  of 
Watseka,  near  the  bridge  crossing  of  Sugar  creek ;  that  the  said  Martin 
Meara  was  killed  on  the  5th  day  of  July,  1871." 

A  warrant  was  issued  on  this  verdict  and  some  of  the  parties 
arrested,  and  some  fled  the  country.  Mosher,  Myers  and  Lowe  were 
taken  before  Judge  Wood,  after  arrest,  on  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  and 
by  him  discharged.  Daniels  was  taken  before  Judge  S.  D.  Puterbaugh, 
of  Peoria,  and  by  him  held  to  bail  in  the  sum  of  $5,000,  which  was 
given.  The  grand  jury  at  the  following  November  term  of  the  court* 
failed  to  find  indictments  against  the  parties. 

For  an  account  of  the  execution  of  John  McDonnell  and  Francis 
Marion  Harper  alias  Johnson,  see  General  History  of  the  county. 

SECRET    SOCIETIES    AT    THE    COUNTY-SEAT. 

The  first  Masonic  lodge  organized  in  the  county  was  at  Middle- 
port,  in  1850,  and  William  E.  Russell,  of  Danville,  was  the  first  master ; 
Dr.  Nathaniel  Wilson,  senior  warden ;  and  Isaac  Courtright,  junior 
warden.  This  lodge  was  chartered  as  "  Iroquois  Lodge,  No.  83,  A.F. 
and  A.M."  We  find  a  record  of  the  election  of  its  officers,  December 
23,  1853,  as  follows:  William  E.  Russell,  W.M. ;  M.  Hogle,  S.W. ; 
Isaac  Courtright,  J.W. ;  A.  O.  Whiteman,  T.  ;  John  Harwood,  Sec.; 
J.  A.  Graham,  S.D. ;  George  P.  Wolf,  J.D. ;  Daniel  Parker,  tiler; 
and  William  Pearce  and  Hamilton  Jefferson,  stewards.  This  lodge 
existed  until  September  15,  1857,  at  which  time  the  following  were  its 
officers:  C.  F.  McNeill,  W.M. ;  James  Fletcher,  S.W. ;  H.  O.  Henry, 
J.W. ;  C.  R.  Brown,  T. ;  John  Harwood,  Sec. ;  M.  V.  B.  Harwood, 
S.D. ;  John  Fagan,  J.D. ;  and  R.  Talliaferro,  tiler;  and  the  follow- 
ing Masons  were  within  its  jurisdiction  :  S.  A.  Washington,  Michael 
Hogle,  John  Paul,  John  L.  Donovan,  John  A.  Strickler,  Chester 
Nobles,  A.  O.  Whiteman,  William  Roberts,  William  S.  Torbet,  M. 


44  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

Stanley,  John  Hedge,  J.  A,  Whiteman,  James  Lawrence,  Samuel 
Hueston,  Hamilton  Jefferson,  Kay  W.  Andrews,  Thomas  A.  Norvell, 
William  C.  Moore,  William  Pearce  and  Daniel  Parker;  and  who,  with 
said  officers,  were  the  only  Masons  then  in  the  county,  so  far  as  known. 
The  charter  of  this  lodge  was  surrendered  for  the  purpose  of  forming 
a  new  organization,  and  a  dispensation  was  granted,  October  7,  1857, 
to  C.  F.  McNeill,  James  Fletcher,  H.  O.  Henry,  Cyrus  R.  Brown,  John 
Harwood,  M.  V.  B.  Harwood,  John  Fagan  and  Richard  Talliaferro,  to 
form  a  new  lodge,  and  the  following  members  were  named  as  officers : 
C.  F.  McNeil],  master;  James  Fletcher,  senior  warden;  and  H.  O. 
Henry,  junior  warden.  This  lodge  was  afterward  chartered  as  "  Iro- 
quois  Lodge,  No.  289."  The  last  mentioned  lodge  existed  until  about 
1863  or  1864,  when  its  charter  was  surrendered.  Both  lodges  were 
at  Middleport,  and  meetings  were  first  held  in  an  upper  room  in  the  old 
court-house,  until  the  fall  of  1854,  after  which  they  were  held  in  the 
upper  story  of  the  three-story  building  formerly  known  as  the  "  King 
and  Hogle  Building." 

A  dispensation  for  a  new  lodge  at  Watseka  was  granted  January 
13,  1865,  and  J.  W.  Flowers  was  named  as  W.M. ;  L.  N.  Pittwood, 
S.W. ;  and  L.  M.  Peck,  J.W. ;  and  D.  Parker  was  appointed  treas- 
urer; A.  B.  Roff,  secretary;  William  M.  Coney,  S.D.  ;  J.  L.  Horton, 
J.D. ;  and  William  Munson,  tiler.  This  lodge  was  chartered  in  Octo- 
ber following,  as  Watseka  Lodge,  No.  446,  and  the  following  offi- 
cers elected  and  installed  :  L.  N.  Pittwood,  W.M. ;  L.  M.  Peck,  S.W. ; 

F.  Blades,  J.W. ;  Daniel  Parker,  treasurer;  A.  B.  Roff,  secretary ;  W. 
M.  Coney,  S.D. ;  William  Munson,  J.D. ;  and  E.  Kice,  tiler.     This 
lodge  is  still  existing,  and  has  a  large  membership,  and  meets  the  first 
and  third  Wednesdays  of  each  month. 

Watseka  Chapter,  No.  114;  dispensation  issued  April  22,  1867, 
and  charter  granted  October  4,  1867,  with  the  following  members:  L. 
N.  Pittwood,  D.  L.  Jewett,  C.  F.  McNeill,  G.  A.  Woodford,  John  L. 
Donovan,  W.  M.  Coney,  J.  H.  Bishop,  James  Wasson,  James  Cauvins, 
Daniel  Weston,  H.  O.  Henry,  W.  H.  Sommers,  J.  L.  Horton,  S.  B. 
Norton,  D.  Reinhard,  E.  Dalton,  A.  B.  Roff,  Robert  Doyle,  L.  D. 
Brown,  A.  M.  Gillfillan,  George  Good,  Joseph  Good  and  H.  A.  Til- 
linghast.  On  December  11,  1867,  the  following  officers  were  installed: 

G.  A.  Woodford,  M.E.H.P. ;  L.  N.  Pittwood,  E.K. ;  C.  F.  McNeill, 
E.S. ;  D.  L.  Jewett,  C.H. ;   A.  B.  Roff,  P.S. ;  W.  M.  Coney,  R.A.C.  ; 
Daniel  Weston,  G.M.  2d  V. ;  J.  L.  Donovan,  G.M.  3d  V. ;  JamesWasson, 
G.M.lstV.;  E.  Dalton,  secretary;  W.  M.  Coney,  treasurer ;  and  J.  H. 
Bishop,  sentinel.  This  chapter  has  sixty-eight  members,  and  meets  on  the 
second  and  fourth  Wednesday  evenings  of  each  month  in  Masonic  Hall. 


MIDDLEPORT    AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  45 

Iroquois  Lodge,  No.  74,  I.O.O.F.,  was  instituted  in  Middleport,  on 
Monday,  July  15,  1850,  under  a  dispensation  granted  by  the  grand 
master,  G.  W.  Woodward,  countersigned  by  S.  A.  Corneau,  grand 
secretary,  dated  June  15,  1850.  The  following  were  the  petitioners : 
Jarnes  D.  Wilson,  John  Fagan,  Asa  B.  Roff,  John  F.  Wagner  and 
Winthrop  Patterson.  The  lodge  was  instituted  by  district  deputy 
grand  master  J.  F.  McDougal,  assisted  by  William  E.  Little,  acting 
grand  warden  ;  F.  L.  Cagwin,  acting  grand  marshal ;  C.  C.  Smith, 
acting  grand  guardian  ;  and  Franklin  Mitchell,  acting  grand  secretary. 
Henry  W.  Hogle,  Joseph  Myers,  Ezekiel  Bowman,  R.  Y.  Chesley,  E. 
W.  Arehart  and  William  Gray  were  the  first  initiates.  The  first  offi- 
cers were:  A.  B.  Roff,  N.G. ;  John  Fagan,  Y.G.;  John  F.Wagner, 
secretary  ;  and  James  D.  Wilson,  treasurer.  The  lodge  continued  to 
meet  in  Middleport  until  September,  1866,  when  it  was  removed  to 
Watseka,  and  in  October,  1868,  the  name  was  changed  from  Middle- 
port  to  Iroquois  Lodge.  This  lodge  has  in  its  time  done  much  good, 
and  exerted  a  healthful  influence  among  the  people,  by  whom  the 
order  appears  to  be  much  esteemed  in  Watseka.  During  its  thirty 
years  of  existence,  Iroquois  Lodge,  No.  74,  has  embraced  in  its  ranks 
many  of  the  most  respectable  and  enterprising  citizens  of  the  vicinity. 
At  present  it  holds,  in  the  name  of  its  trustees,  its  own  lodge-room, 
which  is  the  pride  of  its  members.  The  exterior  of  the  building,  being 
in  modern  style,  presents  a  very  attractive  appearance,  the  three  sym- 
bolic links,  in  gilt,  adorning  a  shield  in  front,  being  a  conspicuous 
object  for  all  eyes.  The  lodge  is  in  a  prosperous  condition,  and  one  of 
the  stanchest  benevolent  institutions  in  Watseka.  The  officers  the 
present  year  are:  M.  H.  Peters,  N.G.;  John  M.  Burton,  V.G. ;  H.  A. 
Butzow,  secretary ;  John  H.  Bishop,  treasurer ;  and  C.  Secrest,  deputy 
and  representative  to  the  Grand  Lodge. 

Iroquois  Encampment,  No.  81,  I.O.O.F. — This  advanced  branch  of 
the  order  was  instituted  in  Watseka  November  25,  1867,  with  the 
following  charter  members:  Thomas  Yennum,  N.  P.  Petts,  Conrad 
Secrest,  A.  W.  Hogle,  Ransom  Munson,  John  H.  Bishop,  John  G. 
Wagner,  Polite  Laroche,  J.  Baldwin,  A.  B.  Roft',  George  C.  Harring- 
ton and  M.  H.  Peters.  The  ceremonies  of  institution  were  conducted 
by  N.  C.  Nason,  of  Peoria,  deputy  grand  patriarch,  assisted  by  R.  J. 
Bliss,  of  Fairbur}',  high  priest;  S.  S.  Buckner,  Fairbury,  senior  war- 
den ;  J.  L.  Starley,  Peoria,  junior  warden ;  John  Highlands,  Eureka, 
scribe  ;  and  patriarchs  J.  A.  Sellman,  M.  B.  Gately  and  —  Frank- 
houser,  of  Fairbury,  and  patriarch  J.  L.  West,  of  Eureka.  The  first 
officers  were :  Thomas  Yennum,  chief  patriarch  ;  N.  B.  Petts,  H.P. ; 
C.  Secrest,  S.W. ;  A.  W.  Hogle,  J.W. ;  G.  C.  Harrington,  scribe ;  and 


46  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

J.  H.  Bishop,  treasurer.  The  present  officers  are:  G.  C.  Harrington,. 
C.P. ;  Charles  E.  Barber,  H.P. ;  M.  H.  Peters,  scribe;  and  J.  H. 
Bishop,  treasurer. 

The  Order  of  Knights  of  Honor,  although  of  very  recent  origin,  has 
taken  a  very  strong  foothold  in  Watseka.  Watseka  Lodge,  No.  1086, 
Knights  of  Honor,  was  organized  May  24,  1878,  by  Deputy  Gr.  Diet. 
L.  G.  Roberts,  of  Mattoon,  with  the  following  charter  members:  Alex. 
L.  Whitehall,  L.  W.  Watson,  F.  E.  Foster,  M.  H.  Peters,  Richard  Car- 
roll, H.  M.  Towne,  D.  W.  Arnold,  L.  W.  Roberts,  Henry  Upsall,  B. 
W.  Nelson,  Carl  Drumrn  and  L.  C.  Marsh.  M.  H.  Peters  was  its  first 
representative  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  state,  and  for  1880  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  Grand  Lodge  to  the  Supreme  Lodge  of  the  United 
States.  The  following  is  a  list  of  its  present  officers:  Dictator,  Fred 
E.  Foster;  vice-dictator,  D.W.Arnold;  assistant  dictator,  Richard 
Carroll  ;  reporter,  C.  C.  Arehart ;  financial  reporter,  M.  H.  Peters ; 
treasurer,  George  C.  Harrington  ;  chaplain,  Josiah  Williams;  past  dic- 
tators, M.  H.  Peters,  A.  L.  Whitehall,  L.  F.  Watson  and  Henry  Upsall. 
The  order  embraces  in  its  ranks  many  of  the  leading  men  of  Watseka. 

The  temperance  movement  in  the  county,  and  which  finally  thor- 
oughly revolutionized  the  county,  originated  in  Middleport,  away  back 
in  the  "  forties,"  by  public  lectures  and  speeches,  and  Don  Alonzo 
Falkenbury,  a  local  Methodist  preacher,  who  came  there  in  1842  and 
remained  about  ten  years,  was  the  prime  mover  in  the  reform. 

Division  88,  Sons  of  Temperance,  was  organized  at  least  as  early  as 
1850.  The  first  election  of  its  officers  which  the  writer  has  been  able 
to  obtain  was  April  2,  1851,  at  which  time  the  following  officers  were 
elected  :  L.  Phillips,  W.P. ;  A.  P.  Davis,  W.A. ;  James  M.  Smith, 
R.S.  ;  J.  A.  Graham,  A.R.S.  ;  C.  Turner,  F.S. ;  S.  A.  Washington,  T. ; 
J.  J.  Scofield,  C. ;  J.  B.  Dille,  A.C. ;  M.  Scofield,  I.S. ;  and  J.  E. 
Harris,  O.S. 

Union  No.  19,  Daughters  of  Temperance,  Avas  organized  about  the 
same  time,  and  April  9,  1851,  elected  for  the  quarter :  Julia  Bennett, 
P.S. ;  Elizabeth  Scofield,  A.S.  ;  Sarah  Hanvood,  R.S.  ;  Ellen  Brown, 
A.R.S. ;  Mariah  Frazier,  F.S.  ;  Elizabeth  Haviland,  T.  ;  Ann  E.  Hav- 
iland,  C. ;  Mary  Haviland,  A.C. ;  Lavina  Little,  I.G. ;  and  Ann  Roif,  O.G. 

The  Cadets  of  Temperance  were  organized  June  24,  1852,  by  Dr. 
M.  V.  B.  Hanvood.  We  have  no  record  of  their  officers,  but  the  mem- 
bership consisted  of  most  of  the  young  of  Middleport.  These  organi- 
zations existed  until  about  1856,  with  a  large  membership,  when 
Banner  Lodge,  No.  62,  Independent  Order  of  Good  Templars,  was 
organized.  We  are  not  able  to  give  the  first  officers  of  this  lodge,  but 
can  state  that  it  existed  at  Middleport  for  several  years,  and  exerted  a 


MIDDLEPOKT   AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  47 

powerful  influence,  not  only  in  the  village  but  throughout  the  country, 
in  conjunction  with  the  press  of  the  place,  which,  to  its  honor  be 
it  said,  was  always  on  the  side  of  temperance. 

As  early  as  1850  there  was  also  a  Washingtonian  Society  organized 
at  Middleport,  of  which  James  Fletcher  was  president,  and  M.  Y.  B. 
Harwood,  secretary.  And  we  find  that  on  February  15,  1854,  a  tem- 
perance meeting  was  held  in  favor  of  the  "  Maine  law,"  at  which  J.  L. 
Samington  was  president ;  A.  O.  Whiteman,  secretary  ;  and  addressed 
by  Dr.  Jesse  Bennett,  S.  A.  Washington  and  S.  G.  Bovie.  A  vigi- 
lance committee  was  appointed  at  this  meeting,  consisting  of  W.  F. 
Patterson,  S.  G.  Bovie,  Daniel  Fry,  A.  O.  Whiteman,  Benjamin  Scott, 
Dr.  Bennett  and  William  F.  Keady. 

At  Watseka  there  have  been  an  organization  of  the  Sons  of  Temper- 
ance and  two  Lodges  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Good  Templars,  and 
for  two  or  three  years  past  a  Temperance  Reform  Club,  which  has  held 
weekly  meetings,  and  in  which  much  interest  has  been  taken.  All 
these  efforts  have  culminated  in  making  Watseka  a  thorough  temper- 
ance city,  in  which  a  saloon  does  not  exist. 

"  Know  Nothings." — As  early  as  1854  "  Sam  "  might  have  been 
found  in  Middleport  without  much  inquiry,  although  when  you  ask 
the  old  citizens  as  to  this,  they  "  know  nothing  "  about  it.  But  the 
American  party  nominated  James  C.  Steely  for  sheriff  in  1856,  and 
he  received  71  votes  in  Middleport  and  172  in  the  county.  A  Union 
League  was  organized  in  Middleport  in  1861,  and  had  a  large  mem- 
bership. At  the  same  time  there  existed  an  organization  of  either  the 
"  Knights  of  the  Golden  Circle,"  or  "  Sons  of  Liberty,"  which  it  is 
well  known  occasionally  met  in  the  brush. 

We  have  an  advertisement,  dated  June  11,  1851,  for  a  meeting  of  the 
Independent  Order  of  Turgeorareans,  at  their  grand  council  room,  in 
Middleport,  on  the  first  Saturday  after  the  second  Monday  after  the  next 
Gibbous  Moon.  What  this  all  meant  we  will  leave  the  reader  to  guess. 

CEMETERIES. 

The  first  cemetery  at  Middleport  was  donated  by  Henry  Troup,  in 
E.  £  of  N.W.  £  of  Sec.  32,  and  adjoining  the  plat  of  the  village.  This 
is  100  feet  square,  and  was  fenced  by  James  Egbert  in  1845.  The  first 
person  buried  here  was  the  wife  of  David  Cantner,  who  was  a  carpen- 
ter engaged  on  the  court-house.  She  died  in  1846,  and  her  grave  was 
dug  by  Henry  Kelner  and  James  Egbert.  Many  of  the  old  citizens 
are  here  buried,  and  among  them  Henry  Troup.  Another  cemetery  of 
one  acre  was  conveyed  by  Samuel  M.  Ayres,  in  N.E.-^S.W.  £of  Sec.  32, 
in  August,  1855,  as  heretofore  stated.  To  this  an  addition  was  after- 


48  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

ward  made  by  Chamberlain  and  Lawrence,  both  of  whom  are  buried 
here,  with  many  other  citizens.  In  this  cemetery  are  many  fine  mon- 
uments. 

The  Oak  Hill  Cemetery  was  laid  off  in  October,  1873,  and  com- 
prises 27TV  acres  in  S.E.  £  N.E.  I  of  Sec.  34,  T.  27  K,  R.  12  W.,  about 
two  miles  east  of  the  city ;  Capt.  George  E.  King,  proprietor.  It  is 
on  a  high  knoll,  covered  with  oak  timber,  and  a  beautiful  place.  This 
is  now  used  by  the  city  and  surrounding  country  for  burial  purposes. 
Much  taste  has  been  manifested  in  beautifying  this  cemetery,  and  it 
also  contains  several  monuments. 

AKTESIAN    WELLS. 

There  are  about  140  artesian  wells  within  the  corporate  limits  of 
Watseka,  and  about  120  of  these  are  flowing  wells.  The  first  well  was 
sunk  by  Hon.  M.  Stanley,  in  1857,  at  his  residence,  on  elevated  ground, 
but  this  did  not  flow.  He  sank  another  on  lower  ground,  at  his  hotel, 
in  1860,  and  this  also  failed  to  flow.  It  was  then  supposed  that  flow- 
ing artesian  water  could  not  be  procured  in  the  city,  and  nothing 
further  in  that  direction  was  done  until  1865,  when  Drs.  Fowler  and 
Secrest  tried  the  experiment  at  the  southeast  corner  of  the  depot 
grounds,  which  also  failed.  The  city  council  and  several  enterprising 
citizens,  in  order  to  have  the  thing  more  thoroughly  tested,  in  the 
spring  of  1870  pledged  to  George  Platt  and  Adrian  Egbert  $500  if 
they  would  procure  a  flowing  well  within  the  city,  and  a  point  near 
the  northwest  corner  of  block  28  was  selected.  After  boring  down  120 
feet  a  very  small  flow  was  procured.  They  then  sank  a  well  for  the 
Chicago,  Danville  &  Yincennes  Railroad  Company,  near  their  road,  and 
just  west  of  block  30,  and  at  140  feet  in  depth  they  procured  a  very  large 
flow.  The  former  well  was  then  sunk  by  them  eighteen  feet  deeper, 
and  from  which  depth  a  very  good  flow  was  procured.  This  is  known 
as  the  Town  well,  and  is  still  flowing.  From  that  time  forward  the 
number  has  steadily  increased  to  the  present  time,  and  these  wells  are 
pretty  evenly  distributed,  so  that  nearly  every  family  can  procure  the 
water,  which  is  but  slightly  mineral,  cool,  pure  and  healthful,  and 
good  for  all  culinary  and  domestic  purposes,  and  also  for  running 
steam  machinery.  Having  this  large  number  pf  artesian  wells  makes 
Watseka  the  best  watered  country  place  in  the  state  and  remarkably 
healthful,  and  will  also,  in  time,  make  it  a  manufacturing  city,  which, 
with  the  fact  that  it  is  the  county-seat  of  one  of  the  largest  counties  in 
the  state,  a  good  distributing  point,  free  from  near  competition,  and 
where  cheap  fuel  can  be  had,  will  eventually  make  it  a  large  and  pros- 
perous city. 


MIDDLEPORT    AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  49 


BIOGRAPHICAL. 

Under  this  head  we  propose  to  give  extended  biographies  or  personal 
sketches  of  a  large  number  of  the  leading  citizens  of  Watseka  and 
vicinity, —  not  only  of  early  settlers,  but  also  of  the  more  modern. 
Many  of  them  have  already  been  mentioned  in  the  preceding  pages, 
but  we  think  it  will  add  vastly  to  the  value  of  the  work  as  a  book  of 
reference,  and  as  a  basis  for  the  future  historian,  to  give  this  depart- 
ment the  most  minute  detail.  As  far  as  practicable  they  have  been 
arranged  in  chronological  order,  or  rather  in  the  order  of  corning  to  the 
township  or  county. 

George  Courtright,  merchant,  Watseka,  is  one  of  the  first  settlers 
of  Iroqnois  county,  who  was  born  October  11,  1811,  in  New  Jersey, 
near  the  Delaware  river,  and  is  the  son  of  Jacob  Courtright,  who 
was  engaged  in  farming  and  milling.  Mr.  Courtright  remained  in 
New  Jersey  until  he  was  about  four  years  of  age,  when  with  his 
parents  he  moved  to  Ohio,  and  located  on  a  farm  in  Coshocton  county, 
they  being  among  the  early  settlers  of  that  locality.  Here  Mr.  Court- 
right's  father  died  when  he  was  about  nine  years  of  age,  leaving  a  wife 
and  four  children  in  poor  circumstances.  Mr.  Courtright  was  then 
placed  in  the  hands  of  his  brother,  and  there  remained  in  Coshocton 
county  until  about  1827  or  1828,  when  he  removed  to  Fountain  county, 
Indiana,  and  there  remained  until  1830,  when  he  started,  in  company 
with  two  brothers  and  John  H.  Miller,  who  are  all  dead,  to  Illinois, 
and  on  April  2,  1830,  located  at  Bunkum,  Iroquois  county.  Here 
Mr.  Courtright  began  to  break  the  prairie  with  five  yoke  of  oxen. 
In  1830  he  made  a  trip  to  Chicago  for  Gurdon  S.  Hubbard.  He  took 
one  wagon  with  three  yoke  of  oxen,  and  one  cart  with  two  yoke  of 
oxen,  loaded  with  furs,  in  company  with  a  Frenchman  and  five  or  six 
Indians  for  an  escort.  The  trip  was  long  and  tedious,  they  being  with- 
out anything  to  eat  for  two  days.  At  the  Calumet  river  they  had  to 
put  the  furs  on  their  heads  and  thus  carry  them  across,  as  the  river  was 
too  high.  In  making  the  trip  it  took  them  about  eight  days.  This 
wras,  perhaps,  the  first  trip  ever  made  by  a  white  man  to  Chicago  from 
Iroquois  county.  Mr.  Courtright  in  being  with  the  Indians  so  much 
was  able  to  speak  their  language.  He  was  recognized  in  his  boyhood 
days  as  the  stoutest  lad  in  the  neighborhood.  When  coming  from 
Indiana  to  Illinois  the  wagon  often  mired ;  Mr.  Courtright  would  take 
a  barrel  of  flour  out  of  the  wagon,  and  carry  it  to  terra-firma.  He 
was  known  to  be  a  fine  ox-driver.  Mr.  Courtright  has  been  mar- 
ried three  times :  first,  October,  1833,  to  Agnes  JSTewcomb,  of  Ohio, 
who  came  to  the  county  in  1830.  They  were  married  near  Bunkum, 
4 


50  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

Iroquois  county,  and  this  was  the  first  marriage  in  Iroquois  county. 
He  had  to  go  to  Danville  to  get  a  license,  which  took  three  days. 
She  died  about  1846,  and  is  buried  near  Bunkum.  Mr.  Courtright's 
second  wife  was  Huldy  McGee,  and  his  present  wife  is  Katherine 
McCruhen,  who  was  born  in  Ireland.  By  these  three  marriages  he 
is  the  father  of  four  children,  three  by  his  first  wife  and  one  by  the 
third.  He  had  one  son  in  the  late  civil  war,  Joseph,  who  enlisted  in 
Co.  I,  113th  111.  Yol.  Inf. 

Jesse  Moore,  farmer,  Woodland,  was  Jborn  in  Adams  county,  Ohio, 
August  21,  1804,  and  is  the  son  of  John  S.  and  Nancy  (Edwards) 
Moore.  His  father  was  a  farmer,  having  moved  to  Adams  county, 
Ohio,  about  1800,  where  he  married  and  raised  a  family  of  eleven 
children.  Mr.  Moore,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  married  in 
Adams  county,  in  1827,  to  Miss  Latishia  Downing.  In  1831  Mr. 
Moore,  with  his  wife,  two  children,  father  and  two  sons  started  from 
Adams  county  in  a  wagon  drawn  by  four  yoke  of  oxen.  They  came 
as  far  as  the  Wabash,  and  there  remained  but  a  short  time,  and 
in  April,  1831,  arrived  in  Iroquois  county.  They  located  on  200 
acres  of  land  in  Belmont  township,  and  here  Mr.  Moore  has  been  a 
resident  ever  since.  At  that  time  the  country  was  very  wild,  and 
plenty  of  Indians  and  wild  game  abounded.  Here,  about  1842,  the 
Methodists  erected  the  first  church  on  Mr.  Moore's  place,  he  being  a 
strong  Methodist.  Mr.  Moore  donated  the  land  for  the  church,  and 
for  this  act  the  people  permitted  Mr.  Moore  to  name  the  church,  which 
he  called  Bellemont.  He  had  been  reading  a  book  and  found  this 
word,  and  he  so  named  the  church.  The  church  was  built  of  hewn  logs, 
and  was  in  size  26x36 -feet,  lap  shingles,  chimney  in  the  middle,  and 
two  windows  on  each  side.  The  entrance  was  on  the  south  side.  Mr. 
Moore  has  been  a  member  of  the  M.  E.  church  for  the  last  fifty-two 
years.  He  had  one  son  in  the  late  war,  Esera  R.,  who  enlisted  in  Co. 
A,  76th  111.  Vol.  Inf.  He  was  a  brave  soldier,  and  participated  in  the 
marches  and  battles  of  his  regiment. 

William  S.  Moore,  retired, Watseka,  was  born  in  Adams  county,  Ohio, 
December  20,  1809.  He  remained  in  Adams  county  until  1831,  when 
with  his  parents  he  came  to  Illinois,  and  located  in  Belmont  township, 
Iroquois  county,  where  he  has  been  a  resident  ever  since.  Mr.  Moore 
was  married  in  Indiana,  in  1834,  to  Miss  Eliza  J.  Flemming,  of  Ohio. 
She  died  in  1845,  and  he  was  then  married  to  Miss  Asenath  Lambert, 
of  Ohio.  Mr.  Moore  followed  farming  until  ]868,  when  he  moved  to 
Watseka,  where  he  has  been  engaged  in  the  stock  and  grain  business. 
He  had  one  son,  two  sons-in-law  and  seven  nephews  in  the  late  civil 
war.  His  son,  Jasper  N.,  enlisted  in  Co.  C,  51st  111.  Vol.  Inf.,  when  he 


MIDDLEPORT   AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  51 

was  not  quite  eighteen  years  of  age.  He  was  a  brave  soldier  and  did 
good  duty,  participating  in  a  number  of  prominent  battles.  He  was 
taken  prisoner  at  Chickamauga,  and  was  sent  to  Libby  prison,  thence 
to  the  Danville  prison  near  Richmond,  Virginia.  He  remained  a 
prisoner  seven  months  and  twelve  days,  and  was  almost  starved  to 
death.  He  was  exchanged,  and  soon  after  died,  May  8,  1864. 

James  H.  Axtell,  lumber  merchant,  Woodland,  is  one  of  the  old 
settlers  and  highly  respected  business  men.  He  was  born  in  Washing- 
ton county,  Pennsylvania,  June  27,  1823,  and  is  the  son  of  John 
and  Polly  (Vennum)  Axtell,  who,  in  1833,  with  a  family  of  live 
children,  emigrated  west  to  Illinois,  and  located  two  and  a  half  miles 
north  of  Milford,  Iroquois  county.  Here  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
grew  into  manhood,  farming  in  the  summer  time,  and  in  the  winter 
attending  the  district  school.  He  was  also  engaged  in  herding  cattle, 
and  driving  them  from  this  county  to  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania.  He 
states  that  he  has  herded  cattle  on  the  grounds  on  which  the  Chicago 
Exposition  now  stands.  Mr.  Axtell's  first  purchase  in  land  was  80 
acres,  for  which  he  paid  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  per  acre. 
From  that  he  managed  well,  and  to-day  he  is  one  of  the  successful 
farmers  of  the  vicinity.  Mr.  Axtell  was  married,  in  Milford  township, 
to  Miss  Eliza  Gilbert,  and  by  this  union  they  have  one  child,  a  daugh- 
ter. In  November,  1877,  Mr.  Axtell  commenced  the  lumber  business 
in  Woodland,  and  to-day  he  owns  and  conducts  a  first-class  lumber 
yard.  Both  his  father  and  mother  died  in  Iroquois  county. 

Alexander  Wilson,  farmer,  Watseka,  was  born  in  Mercer  county, 
Pennsylvania,  December  25,  1806,  and  is  the  son  of  Francis  and 
Priscilla  Wilson,  natives  of  Ireland  and  Scotland  respectively.  Mr. 
Wilson  remained  in  his  native  county  until  h<e  was  about  seven 
years  of  age,  when  with  his  parents  he  moved  to  Chillicothe,  Ohio, 
where  he  remained  some  two  years.  He  then  went  to  Champaign 
county,  Ohio,  where  he  remained  until  1833.  While  a  resident  of 
Champaign  county  he  was  married,  in  1827,  to  Miss  Phoebe  Gary,  of 
Ohio.  In  1833,  with  wife  and  three  children,  he  moved  to  Illinois 
and  located  in  Belmont  township.  He  has  held  the  office  of  justice  of 
the  peace  eight  years.  He  united  the  first  parties  married  in  Belmont 
township  in  1835.  They  were  John  Hudson  and  Sallie  Ann  Long- 
shore, and  James  Longshore  and  Deborah  Hudson.  Both  couples  were 
married  at  the  same  time.  Mr.  Wilson  also  operated  the  first  tannery 
in  Iroquois  county.  He  was  a  resident  of  Texas  some  four  years.  In 
1850  he  started  for  California  seeking  gold,  but  returned  in  1851.  He 
had  in  the  late  war  one  son,  William,  who  enlisted  in  Co.  A,  76th  111. 
Yol.  Inf.  He  was  a  brave  soldier  and  did  good  duty.  He  died  in 
service  at  Vicksburg,  Mississippi,  in  1863. 


52  HISTORY    OF    IEOQUOIS   COUNTY. 

Mrs.  Rebbeca  Gray,  Watseka,  is  the  widow  of  the  late  John  Gray, 
who  was  born  in  Warren  county,  Ohio,  October  31,  1816.  From 
there  Mr.  Gray  moved  to  Iroquois  county,  between  the  years  1832 
and  1835,  and  located  in  Milford  township.  Here  he  was  married  to 
Miss  Rebecca  Stanley,  June  28,  1838,  who  was  born  in  Clinton 
county,  Ohio,  November  11,  1817,  and  came  west  with  her  parents 
in  1830,  and  located  in  Milford  township.  After  their  marriage  they 
located  on  a  farm  in  Milford  township,  where  he  engaged  in  farming 
until  1876,  when  he  moved  his  family  to  the  present  homestead. 
Here  he  died,  April  4,  1876,  leaving  a  wife  and  seven  children ;  and 
thus  passed  away  one  of  Iroquois  county's  honored  and  respected  old 
citizens. 

John  Hudson,  farmer,  Watseka,  was  born  in  Sussex  county,  Dela- 
ware, November  6,  1814,  and  is  the  son  of  John  and  Mary  (Will- 
iams) Hudson.  In  1834  they,  with  six  children,  started  west  with 
a  team  and  wagon,  and  finally  reached  Rob  Roy,  Indiana,  where  they 
remained  a  short  time,  and  then  pushed  on  to  Iroquois  county,  Illinois, 
and  located  in  Belmont  township,  where  the  Longshore  graveyard  is. 
Here  Mr.  Hudson  died  in  1834,  and  was  buried  in  the  Longshore  grave- 
yard, being  the  first  one  interred  in  that  cemetery.  John  Hudson  has 
been  engaged  principally  in  farming  since  he  has  been  a  resident  here. 
He  made  a  trip  to  California  seeking  gold.  He  was  married  in  Decem- 
ber, 1835,  in  Belmont  township,  to  Miss  Sallie  Ann  Longshore,  at  the 
same  time  his  sister  Deborah  was  married  to  James  Longshore.  These 
were  the  first  marriages  in  Belmont  township.  They  were  married  by 
Alexander  Wilson.  Mr.  Hudson  states  that  he  helped  to  build  Mr. 
Stanley's  residence,  which  was  the  first  built  in  Watseka.  Mr.  Hud- 
son's first  wife  died  m  1836.  He  subsequently  married  Eliza  Wagoner, 
and  she  also  died.  The  third  time  he  was  married  to  Mrs.  Ann  Briley, 
who  is  now  deceased.  His  present  wife  was  Rebecca  Horner.  They 
have  one  child,  a  son,  William  H.,  who  was  born  on  the  farm 
December  16,  1855.  Mr.  Hudson  has  held  several  offices  of  public 
trust  in  Belmont  township:  school  treasurer  some  ten  or  twelve 
years,  supervisor  one  term,  and  constable.  He  was  also  postmaster  at 
Milford.  He  moved  to  his  present  home  in  1855. 

Mary  A.  Troup, Watseka,  is  the  widow  of  the  late  Henry  Troup,  who 
was  born  in  Pennsylvania  about  1800.  From  his  native  state,  with 
his  family,  he  came  west  to  Ohio,  and  located  in  Canton,  Stark  county, 
where  they  were  engaged  in  keeping  a  hotel.  From  there  they  went 
to  Manchester,  Ohio,  and  here,  in  1834,  he  married  Mary  Ann  Little, 
who  was  born  in  Columbus  county,  Ohio,  in  1814.  After  this  they 
remained  in  Manchester  some  four  or  five  years,  and  while  a  resident 


MIDDLEPORT    AXD    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  53 

there  Mr.  Tronp  was  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business.  In  about 
1838,  with  his  family,  he  started  for  Illinois,  and  located  in  Middleport, 
Iroquois  county,  being  the  first  settler  in  this  vicinity.  Then  the  coun- 
try was  very  wild,  and  they  camped  the  first  night  on  the  banks  of  the 
Iroquois  River,  in  front  of  what  is  now  Middleport.  He  erected  a 
building,  and  after  getting  his  goods, — which  came  from  Pittsburgh  by 
boat  down  the  Ohio  to  the  Wabash,  and  up  the  Wabash  where  they 
discharged  the  goods, —  they  were  then  teamed  to  Middleport.  He  had 
the  first  store  here.  Mr.  Troup  was  an  industrious  man  and  won  a 
host  of  friends,  and  had  customers  for  miles  and  miles  around  him. 
Many  are  the  old  settlers  who  speak  of  buying  their  goods  from  Henry 
Troup.  He  was  successful  in  life  and  had  accumulated  considerable 
property  before  his  death.  He  died,  April  8,  1859,  respected  and 
honored  by  his  fellow-men,  leaving  a  wife  and  five  children.  One 
son,  Edward,  in  the  late  war  enlisted  in  the  76th  111.  Yol.  Inf.,  and  was 
a  brave  soldier.  He  participated  in  the  siege  of  Yicksburg,  and  after- 
ward died  in  service  at  Jackson,  Tennessee. 

W.  S.  Kay,  attorney-at-law,  Watseka,  is  perhaps  one  of  the  best 
known  and  most  highly  respected  attorneys  of  the  Iroquois  county 
bar.  Mr.  Kay  was  born  near  Greencastle,  Indiana,  October  31,  1831, 
and  is  the  son  of  William  R.  and  Ruth  (Wright)  Kay.  William 
R.  Kay  was  engaged  in  farming.  He  was  born  in  Maryland.  He 
moved  from  his  native  state  to  Pennsylvania,  where  he  was  engaged  at 
his  trade  of  glass-blowing  and  fur-dressing,  in  Pittsburgh.  He  went  to 
Ohio  and  located  on  a  farm  near  Cincinnati.  In  1831  he  and  his  wife 
were  visiting  in  the  state  of  Indiana,  and  it  was  during  that  time 
that  Mr.  Kay  (W.  S.)  was  born,  and  they  returned  to  Ohio.  In  1835 
or  1836,  they  started  from  the  farm  in  Ohio  for  Iroquois  county,  Illinois, 
where  Mrs.  Kay's  father  was.  They  came  by  steamboat  down  the  Ohio, 
and  then  came  up  the  Wabash  river  and  stopped  at  Perrysville,  Indi- 
ana. Mr.  William  Kay  made  a  trip  to  Iroquois  county,  and  not  liking 
the  situation  of  the  country  returned  to  Perrysville  and  built  a  steam 
saw-mill  below  that  place.  Here  he  died  with  milk  sickness  in  1837, 
leaving  the  family  in  very  poor  circumstances.  The  family  then  came 
to  Iroquois  county  and  lived  with  Grandfather  Wright,  who  at  that 
time  was  living  five  miles  south  of  Onarga.  Mr.  W.  S.  Kay  was  placed 
in  a  home  with  Thomas  Yennum,  where  he  remained  until  he  was 
about  fourteen  years  of  age.  At  sixteen  years  of  age  he  began  to  teach 
school,  and  taught  three  or  four  years  in  Iroquois  and  Ogle  counties. 
Mr.  Kay  received  a  common  school  education  at  Milford,  and  was  a 
student  for  one  term  at  the  Asbury  University,  of  Greencastle,  Indiana. 
In  1853  or  1854  he  moved  to  Middleport,  where  he  taught  school  for 


54  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

some  three  years.  He  also  held  the  office  of  constable  for  several  years. 
He  was  appointed  deputy  sheriff  of  Iroquois  county,  under  James  H. 
Karr,  and  was  afterward  made  sheriff  by  Mr.  Karr,  who  retired  from 
office.  Mr.  Kay  was  admitted  to  practice  law  in  about  1856,  and  was 
a  partner  in  the  law  firm  of  Fletcher  &  Kay  for  some  three  years.  In 
1864  the  law  firm  of  Blades  &  Kay  was  formed ;  from  that  the  law 
firm  of  Blades,  Kay  &  Evans  emanated.  This  firm,  perhaps,  was  the 
strongest  law  firm  of  the  Iroquois  county  bar.  Mr.  Kay  was  married 
July,  1852,  to  Susanna  Critchfieid,  of  Ohio,  by  whom  they  had  one 
child,  deceased.  Mrs.  Kay  died  in  1855.  He  married  the  second  time 
to  Lavonia  Burlingame,  of  New  York.  They  have  two  children.  Mr. 
Kay  is  a  democrat  in  politics.  His  mother  married  twice,  her  second 
husband  being  the  Hon.  Isaac  Courtright.  She  died  with  the  cholera 
in  1854. 

James  W.  Kay,  real  estate  agent,  Watseka,  was  born  at  Smith's 
Point,  Onarga  township,  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  February  26,  1838, 
and  is  the  son  of  William  R.  and  Ruth  (Wright)  Kay.  When  Mr. 
Kay  was  very  young  his  father  died,  and  he  was  placed  in  a  home 
with  his  sister  until  his  mother  was  married  to  the  Hon.  Isaac  Court- 
right.  He  then  went  to  live  with  them  in  Texas,  Iroquois  county, 
where  he  remained  until  he  was  about  sixteen  years  of  age.  He  then 
went  to  live  with  his  grandfather  Wright,  where  he  remained  some 
eighteen  months,  and  from  there  he  went  to  Middleport,  where  he 
was  engaged  in  attending  school  about  one  year.  He  then  returned  to 
the  farm.  In  1856  we  find  him  hauling  cord-wood  for  the  Illinois 
Central  railroad.  Soon  after  he  had  the  ague,  which  he  had  some  fif- 
teen months.  In  1857  and  1858  he  was  in  Iowa.  He  returned  to 
Middleport.  In  1858  he  was  appointed  deputy  sheriff  under  James  H. 
Karr.  In  1859  he  made  a  trip  to  Missouri  to  see  his  relatives ;  then 
made  a  trip  across  the  Rocky  mountains  prospecting  for  gold.  In  1860 
he  was  engaged  in  writing  in  the  court  house  for  Thomas  Yennum. 
In  1861,  during  the  late  civil  war,  when  Missouri  was  having  a  great 
deal  of  trouble,  and  during  the  battle  of  Lexington,  Missouri,  near  his 
grandfather  Wright's,  Mr.  Kay  made  the  trip  there  and  brought  the 
old  people  back  to  Iroquois  county.  In  July,  1862,  Mr.  Kay  enlisted 
in  Co.  A,  76th  111.  Yol.  Inf.  He  did  good  duty  and  made  a  brave  sol- 
dier. He  participated  in  some  very  hard-fought  battles :  the  siege  of 
Yicksburg,  capture  of  Mobile,  etc.  He  was  mustered  out  July,  1865, 
when  he  returned  to  Iroquois  county,  when  he  was  nominated  and 
elected  to  the  office  of  count}'  clerk  by  the  republican  party.  He  served 
faithfully  for  one  term.  From  that  time  Mr.  Kay  has  been  engaged  in 
speculating  in  real  estate,  and  to-day  ranks  as  one  of  the  successful 


MIDDLEPOHT    AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  55 

men  of  Iroquois  county  —  owning  1,200  acres  of  land.  Mr.  Kay 
is  a  republican  in  politics,  and  a  member  of  the  M.  E.  church. 
He  married  twice.  His  first  wife  was  Mrs.  Emily  0.  Campbell,  now 
deceased.  His  present  wife  was  Adeline  Ellingwood.  They  have 
three  children. 

Judge  Samuel  "Williams,  president  of  the  First  National  bank  of 
Watseka,  Woodland,  is  a  fair  example  of  what  may  be  attained  by  perse- 
verance, industry  and  energy.  He  was  born  July  11,  1820,  in  Adams 
county,  Ohio,  and  is  the  son  of  Thomas  and  Elizabeth  (Swim)  Will- 
iams. His  mother  was  born  in  Ohio  and  his  father  in  Maryland. 
Thomas  Williams  moved  from  Maryland  with  his  parents  and  located 
on  a  farm  in  Adams  county,  Ohio,  when  he  was  four  years  of  age. 
Here  he  remained  until  1835,  when,  with  his  family,  he  moved  to  Illi- 
nois and  located  in  Winnebago  county.  At  that  time  there  were  but 
two  houses  in  Rockford.  Here  they  remained  until  184-2,  when  they 
moved  to  Iroquois  county  and  located  in  Belmont  township.  The  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  then  quite  poor,  commenced  working  at  the  carpen- 
ter trade,  in  which  he  was  engaged  for  some  twenty  years.  About  1842 
he  purchased  120  acres  of  land,  part  of  which  is  where  Woodland  stands. 
This  land  he  promised  to  pay  for  in  cattle.  It  was  his  first  purchase 
of  land.  From  the  120  acres,  by  his  industry  and  energy  he  owns  over 
1,000  acres  of  land,  which  consists  of  one  of  the  best  improved  stock- 
farms  in  Iroquois  county.  Besides  Judge  Williams  being  engaged  in 
the  stock  business,  he  in  1878  erected  a  first-class  creamery  at  Wood- 
land, size  30  x  55,  two  stories  high.  He  invested  in  the  building  and 
cows  some  $7,000.  This  creamery  is  conducted  by  Judge  Williams 
and  two  sons:  George  M.  and  John  S.,  who  are  meeting  with  good 
success.  In  1870,  at  the  organization  of  the  First  National  bank  of 
Watseka,  Mr.  Williams  was  made  president,  which  position  he  has  held 
ever  since.  The  First  National  bank  is  one  of  the  most  prominent  insti- 
tutions in  eastern  Illinois,  and  the  people  of  Iroquois  county  are  proud 
of  such  an  institution.  It  is  one  of  the  safest  banks  in  Illinois.  Judge 
Williams  has  held  several  offices  of  public  trust.  In  1861  he  was  elected 
judge  of  Iroquois  county,  which  office  he  filled  for  one  term,  proving 
himself  a  gentleman  of  acknowledged  ability.  He  was  elected  first 
supervisor  of  Belmont  township,  and  this  office  he  held  for  some  six  or 
seven  years.  He  also  held  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace  for  a  num- 
of  years.  Judge  Williams'  political  views  were  formerly  democratic, 
but  since  the  passage  of  the  Nebraska  bill  he  has  been  a  republican. 
For  some  time  he  has  not  taken  any  active  part  in  politics.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  M.  E.  church,  of  which  he  has  been  a  member  since 


56  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

1840.  Judge  Williams  was  married  in  1846  to  Miss  Catharine  Body 
of  Pennsylvania,  who  emigrated  to  Iroquois  about  1838.  By  this 
union  they  have  four  children.  Judge  Williams'  father  was  born  Jan- 
uary 15,  1797,  and  died  August  7,  1857. 

J.  B.  Moore,  farmer,  Watseka,  was  born  in  Iroquois  county,  Illinois, 
on  section  10,  in  Belmont  township,  August  5,  1842,  and  is  the  son 
of  John  B.  Moore,  who  was  born  in  Adams  county,  Ohio.  John 
Moore  was  married  in  Warren  county,  Indiana,  to  Sarah  Ann  Flem- 
ing, and  in  1831  they  came  to  Iroquois  county  and  located  south  of 
the  present  homestead ;  from  there  they  moved  to  the  present  farm, 
where  he  made  the  principal  improvements  —  having  planted  the 
evergreen  trees  in  front  of  the  residence  some  nineteen  years  ago. 
By  hard  work  and  good  management  he  became  the  owner  of  400  acres 
of  land  at  his  death,  which  occurred  November  20,  1870,  he  being 
iifty-four  years  of  age.  Mr.  J.  B.  Moore,  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
was  married  in  Warren  county,  Indiana,  to  Miss  Sarah  M.  Frame, 
of  Indiana,  and  they  have  six  children.  Mr.  Moore  has  held  several 
offices  of  public  trust :  school  director  and  township  clerk.  He  is  a 
republican  in  politics.  He  had  two  brothers  in  the  late  war :  Macajah 
and  Fleming  R. ;  both  did  good  service.  Macajah  died  at  Mobile  in 
1865. 

Charles  Sherman,  retired,  Watseka,  was  born  in  Windsor,  Vermont, 
February  24,  1816,  and  is  the  son  of  Samuel  and  Abigail  (Squire) 
Sherman.  His  mother  was  a  native  of  Connecticut,  and  his  father  of 
Massachusetts;  they  were  married  in  Vermont.  Mr.  Sherman  was 
born  on  his  father's  farm.  In  1836  they  came  west  to  Milwaukee, 
Wis.,  where  they  remained  but  four  weeks,  and  in  1838  came  to 
Chicago,  111.,  then  a  very  small  place.  Here  Mr.  Sherman  remained 
until  1842,  clerking  in  a  store  where  the  Tremont  House  now  stands. 
In  1842  he  came  to  Iroquois  county  and  located  at  Bunkum,  arid 
entered  the  mercantile  business.  In  1849  he  went  to  Middleport,  and 
was  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  about  four  years,  when  he 
returned  to  Bunkum ;  he  remained  at  the  latter  place  until  1861, 
when  he  moved  to  Watseka.  When  Mr.  Sherman  first  came  to  Illinois, 
he  located  300  acres  of  land  where  the  town  of  Evanston  now 
stands.  He  held  it  a  short  time  and  sold  it  with  but  little  gain.  Mr. 
Sherman  was  married  December,  1844,  to  Miss  Nancy  White,  of 
Butler  county,  Ohio,  a  daughter  of  A.  White,  an  old  settler  of  Bunk- 
um, who  kept  one  of  the  first  hotels  'at  that  place.  They  have  three 
children. 

Daniel  Fry,  merchant,  Watseka,  the   subject  of  this  sketch,  and 
whose  portrait  appears  in   this  work,  is  one  of  the  old  settlers  and 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


MIDDLEPORT   AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  57 

ex-county  officers  of  Iroquois  county.  He  was  born  December  8, 
1827,  in  Coshocton  county,  Ohio,  and  is  the  son  of  Abraham  and 
Catharine  (Deamude)  Fry.  His  father  was  a  native  of  Virginia,  and 
his  mother  of  the  state  of  Maryland.  His  father  in  an  early  day 
moved  to  Ohio,  where  he  was  engaged  in  farming;  and  in  1843  he 
removed  to  Illinois  and  located  in  Iroquois,  Iroquois  county.  Here 
young  Daniel  grew  to  man's  estate,  the  earlier  part  of  his  life  being 
spent  with  his  father.  In  1853  he  was  elected  to  the  office  of  county 
clerk  of  Iroquois  county,  and  on  assuming  the  duties  of  the  office  he 
became  a  resident  of  Middleport,  then  the  county  seat;  in  1857  he 
was  releected  to  a  second  term.  These  public  favors  were  conferred 
upon  him  by  the  democratic  party.  In  the  discharge  of  his  duties 
as  a  public  officer,  he  acquitted  himself  in  a  very  creditable  manner. 
Mr.  Fry  is  now  one  of  the  oldest  merchants  of  Watseka,  where  he 
entered  the  mercantile  trade  in  1864,  though  he  had  also  for  two  years 
been  engaged  in  the  business  in  Middleport.  Since  his  residence  in 
"Watseka  he  has  been  honored  with  different  offices,  among  others  that 
of  alderman,  and  in  1879  he  was  elected  supervisor  of  Middleport 
township,  which  office  he  is  still  holding.  In  1860  Mr.  Fry  was 
married  to  Miss  Priscilla,  daughter  of  Amos  White ;  by  this  union 
they  have  three  children. 

Isaac  W.  Cast,  superintendent  of  the  County  Poor  Farm,  Watseka, 
was  born  in  Clinton  county,  Ohio,  August  9,  1843,  and  is  the  son  of 
Hiram  and  Ruth  (Smith)  Cast.  Both  parents  were  natives  of  Ohio. 
His  grandfather  was  among  the  first  settlers  of  Clinton  county,  Ohio. 
When  but  a  babe,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  came  to  Illinois  with  his 
parents  and  located  in  Vermilion  county,  where  he  remained  until 
he  was  about  seven  years  of  age.  With  his  parents  he  then  came  to 
Iroquois  county  and  located  on  Spring  Creek,  two  and  a  half  miles 
north  of  Jefferson  Point,  where  he  was  brought  up  on  the  farm.  His 
stepfather  was  a  soldier  in  the  late  civil  war,  and  enlisted  in  an  Illinois 
cavalry  company  in  1862.  He  died  when  at  home  on  a  furlough  in 
1863.  Mr.  Cast,  in  1875,  was  appointed  superintendent  of  the  Poor 
Farm,  which  office  he  is  still  filling,  doing  his  work  faithfully  and 
giving  entire  satisfaction. 

A.  C.  Johnson,  farmer,  Watseka,  was  born  in  Franklin  county, 
Ohio,  January  12,  1822,  and  is  the  son  of  Isaac  and  Nancy  (Tucker) 
Johnson,  both  of  whom  were  natives  of  Virginia.  Isaac  Johnson  wras 
a  soldier  of  the  war  of  1812,  and  came  to  Ohio  at  an  early  day.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  raised  on  the  farm,  and  learned  the  trade  of 
a  carpenter.  In  1843  he  came  to  Illinois,  and  located  in  Belmont 
township.  In  the  winter  of  1843-4  he  taught  his  first  school  in  Illi- 


58  HISTOKY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

nois  in  a  log  hut  near  Mr.  Oarlock's  farm,  this  being  one  of  the  first 
schools  in  this  neighborhood.  He  had  an  attendance  of  some  twenty- 
six  scholars,  who  came  from  a  radius  of  some  three  miles.  Mr.  Johnson 
engaged  in  teaching  school  in  the  winter  time,  and  in  the  summer 
months  worked  at  the  carpenter's  trade.  In  1849  he  was  married  to 
Miss  Mary  A.  Body.  Mr.  Johnson's  last  school  was  the  Dixon  school, 
in  Milford  township,  which  he  taught  in  1870.  He  has  held  several 
offices  of  public  trust:  justice  of  the  peace,  twelve  years;  assessor  and 
school  director,  for  twenty-five  years.  These  offices  he  has  filled  with 
honor,  and  acquitted  himself  in  a  very  creditable  manner.  'Squire 
Johnson's  political  opinions  are  republican.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
United  Brethren  church,  of  which  he  has  been  a  member  some  thirty 
years.  He  has  lived  on  the  present  farm  since  1850.  He  is  the  father 
of  ten  children. 

John  Reader,  farmer,  Watseka,  was  born  in  Cambridgeshire,  Eng- 
land, May  27, 1819,  and  is  the  son  of  Samuel  Reader,  who  was  a  brick- 
mason  and  contractor.  At  fifteen  years  of  age  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  embarked  at  London  on  board  of  a  ship  bound  for  America,  to 
seek  his  fortune  in  a  strange  land.  On  the  voyage  he  made  himself 
useful  by  ministering  to  the  wants  of  sick  passengers,  from  one  of  whom 
he  received  three  shillings,  this  making  five  shillings  that  he  had  on 
landing  in  America.  He  first  stopped  in  Albany,  New  York,  where 
he  remained  a  short  time  working  at  odd  jobs  to  earn  an  honest  penny ; 
from  there  he  went  to  Green  Bush,  thence  to  Cheatham,  thence  to 
Rochester,  New  York,  where  he  began  to  learn  the  trade  of  a  shoemaker. 
He  served  an  apprenticeship  of  three  years,  and  then  worked  at  his 
trade  there  until  1843,  when  he  came  west  to  Illinois  and  located  in 
Chicago.  Here  he  remained  until  1844,  when  he  came  to  Iroquois 
county  and  located  in  Milford,  and  commenced  to  work  at  his  trade. 
He  commenced  life  in  Iroquois  county  with  only  five  dollars  in  cash. 
In  1847  he  went  on  a  farm  on  Pike  creek ;  there  he  remained  until 
1849,  when  he  moved  to  Middleport,  where  he  worked  at  his  trade 
about  a  year.  From  there  he  moved  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  Mrs. 
Gray.  In  1857  he  went  to  Texas,  where  he  engaged  in  the  cattle  busi- 
ness until  1860,  when  he  returned  to  Iroquois  county  and  located  on 
his  present  homestead.  Mr.  Reader  was  for  about  four  years  a  resident 
of  Watseka.  He  built  a  great  many  buildings  in  that  city,  and  erected 
the  present  opera  building  for  a  woolen  mill.  He  owrns  700  acres  of 
land,  and  ranks  as  one  of  the  leading  successful  farmers  of  Iroquois 
county.  He  was  married  in  Rochester,  in  1843,  to  Miss  Ann  Lavell, 
of  Ireland,  and  they  have  four  children. 

J.  G.  Joiner,  attorney-at-law,  Watseka,  was  born  in  Windsor  county, 


MIDDLEPOKT    AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  59 

\ 

Vermont,  October  9,  1815,  and  is  the  son  of  Solomon  and  Mary 
(Moore)  Joiner.  In  1838  Mr.  Joiner  came  west  from  his  native  state 
to  Indiana,  And  located  in  Warren  county.  In  1845  he  was  admitted 
to  practice  law  in  Indiana.  In  the  same  year  he  came  to  Middleport, 
Iroquois  county,  and  began  the  practice  of  law,  and  to-day  is  the  oldest 
practicing  attorney  at  the  Iroquois  county  bar. 

Joseph  W.  Kay,  justice  of  the  peace,  Watseka,  was  born  in  Ohio, 
February  26, 1836,  and  is  the  son  of  William  R.  and  Ruth  (Wright)  Kay. 
After  the  death  of  his  father  he  came  to  Iroquois  county,  and  was  placed 
in  the  hands  of  his  grandfather,  Jonathan  Wright,  where  he  remained  for 
a  number  of  years.  He  was  engaged  in  farming,  and  after  receiving  a 
common-school  education,  he  began  to  teach,  in  which  profession  he 
was  engaged  for  about  two  years.  In  February,  1855,  he  went  to  Cal- 
ifornia seeking  gold,  and  there  remained  within  two  months  of  ten 
years.  While  there  he  was  engaged  with  a  company  in  a  claim  on  the 
American  river.  He  was  flooded  out,  and  all  lost  their  investments  and 
labor.  Mr.  Kay,  in  1861,  enlisted  in  Co.  A,  2d  Cal.  Vol..  Inf.,  and 
served  three  years  fighting  the  Indians.  He  traveled  over  Washington 
territory,  Oregon  and  California;  and  was  engaged  in  fighting  the 
Modoc  Indians.  In  1864  Mr.  Kay  returned  to  Iroquois  county,  and 
commenced  the  study  of  law.  In  1876  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar, 
and  in  1873  was  elected  police  magistrate.  He  has  also  held  the  office 
of  coroner  of  Iroquois  county  for  twenty-seven  years  and  constable  eight 
years.  In  these  offices  Mr.  Kay  has  given  entire  satisfaction.  He  is  a 
republican  in  politics.  He  was  married  in  1865  to  Miss  Sarah  Burlin- 
game,  of  New  York. 

Thomas  L.  West,  farmer,  Watseka,  was  born  in  Sussex  county,  Dela- 
ware, May  30,  1824,  and  is  the  son  of  David  and  Elizabeth  (Hudson) 
West.  In  1834  they  moved  west  to  In'diana  and  located  in  Fountain 
county,  where  Thomas  remained  until  1847,  when  he  moved  to  Illinois 
and  located  in  Belmont  township,  Iroquois  county.  He  first  entered  80 
acres  of  land  south  of  his  present  farm.  In  1849  he  went  to  Califor- 
nia, gold  seeking,  and  remained  two  years,  when  he  returned  to  Iro- 
quois count}7  and  settled  on  his  present  homestead.  Mr.  West  was 
married,  in  1852,  to  Miss  Sarah  Turrell,  who  died  shortly  after  their 
marriage.  He  afterward  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Ellen  Longshore. 
He  is  the  father  of  ten  children  :  one  by  his  first  wife  and  nine  by  his 
present  wife.  Mr.  West  is  a  republican  in  politics. 

John  L.  Donovan,  banker,  Watseka,  whose  portrait  appears  in  this 
work,  was  born  in  Mason  county,  Kentucky,  August  27, 1824,  and  is  the 
son  of  Joseph  A.  and  Elizabeth  (Hannah)  Donovan,  both  of  whom  were 
born  in  Lewis  county,  Kentucky.  His  father  was  a  farmer,  at  which 


60  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

business  John  L.  was  engaged  during  early  manhood.  In  1834,  when 
yet  a  child,  he  was  brought  to  Vermilion  county,  Illinois,  whither  his 
parents  moved.  They  remained  there  until  1841,  and  then  removed  to 
Clark  county,  Illinois,  where  they  remained  until  1846,  and  again  re- 
moved, this  time  to  Rock  Creek, Will  county,  Illinois,  where  they  resided 
about  two  years,  and  then  moved  to  Iroquois  county  in  1848,  this  proving 
to  be  the  final  move  of  his  parents.  His  father  bought  what  was  known 
then  and  since  as  the  Buckhorn  tavern,  where  the  village  of  Donovan,  in 
Beaver  township,  now  stands.  Here  they  set  out  in  farming,  which 
his  father  continued  until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1860,  at  the  age 
of  sixty-one  years.  His  mother  is  still  living  on  the  old  homestead,  and  is 
in  her  eighty-fifth  year.  At  the  date  of  their  moving  to  Iroquois  county, 
John  L.  had  grown  to  manhood,  and  in  looking  for  a  favorable  oppor- 
tunity to  engage  in  business  on  his  own  account,  he  secured  the  contract 
for  carrying  the  United  States  mail  between  Joliet,  Will  county,  and 
Danville,  Vermilion  county,  Illinois.  This  he  continued  about  two  years, 
at  which  he  saved  about  $500,  with  which,  in  1850,  he  engaged  in  the 
mercantile  business  in  Bunkum  (now  Iroquois),  Iroquois  county,  con- 
tinuing about  one  year.  While  there  he  was  married  to  Miss  Anna  H. 
Bradford,  of  York  state.  Closing  out  his  business  in  Bunkum,  they 
engaged  in  farming  near  the  old  Buckhorn  farm;  but  in  1855  they 
again  returned  to  Bunkum,  where  Mr.  Donovan  resumed  the  mercan- 
tile business,  in  which  he  remained  engaged  until  1858,  and  then  again 
returned  to  farming.  In  1859  he  was  elected,  by  the.republican  party, 
treasurer  of  Iroquois  county,  which  office  he  held  one  term.  In  1859 
he  moved  to  Middleport,  and  in  1860  to  Watseka,  and  the  same  year 
became  interested  in  the  mercantile  business  in  Sheldon.  In  1862  he 
removed  his  stock  of  goods  to  Watseka,  and  resumed  trade  in  company 
with  Decatur  Morgan  and  William  M.  Coney.  This  firm  continued 
business  about  seven  months,  when  Mr.  Donovan  reopened  a  store  at 
Sheldon  and  one  at  Bunkum,  both  of  which  he  managed  until  1865. 
He  was  then  engaged  very  extensively  jn  the  cattle  trade.  In  March, 
1868,  he  began  the  banking  business  in  Watseka,  in  company  with 
George  A.  Woodford  and  Hon.  Thomas  Vennum,  under  the  firm  name 
of  Donovan,  Woodford  &  Co.  They  continued  to  do  a  general  bank- 
ing business  until  1874,  when  they  quit  business.  In  1876,  in  company 
with  Hon.  Thomas  Vennum,  he  again  began  a  general  banking  busi- 
ness at  Miltbrd,  Iroquois  county,  where  they  still  continue  to  do  a 
business  that  is  an  honor  to  themselves  and  a  credit  to  the  county. 
Though  doing  business  in  Milford,  Mr.  Donovan  still  continues  to  reside 
in  Watseka.  In  1877  the  people  of  Belmont  township  elected  him 
supervisor,  in  wrhich  capacity  he  has  served  to  the  satisfaction  of  all 


MIDDLEPOBT   AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  61 

interested.  Besides  the  business  enterprises  above  mentioned,  in  which 
Mr.  Donovan  has  been  interested,  he  has  been  engaged  in  many  others, 
important  both  to  himself  and  the  public,  as  many  of  the  thrifty  and 
growing  villages  of  Iroquois  county  owe  their  origin  and  growth  to 
his  enterprise.  In  all  movements  resulting  in  the  general  welfare  of 
the  public  he  has  taken  an  active  part;  and  though  he  began  business 
at  carrying  the  United  States  mail,  poor  and  dependent  upon  his  own 
energies  and  resources,  he  is  now  one  of  the  wealthy  class  of  citizens 
of  Iroquois  county,  and  the  possessor  of  an  honorable  name  and  reputa- 
tion, which  are  not  always  retained  in  the  accumulation  of  wealth. 

George  West,  farmer,  Watseka,  was  born  in  Champaign  county, 
Ohio,  May  29, 1819,  and  is  the  son  of  John  and  Azuga  (Wilson)  West. 
His  mother  was  a  native  of  Ohio,  and  his  father  of  Georgia.  Azuga 
West  was  a  soldier  of  the  war  of  1812,  under  Gen.  Harrison.  George 
West's  grandfather,  Basil  West,  was  one  of  the  party  that  threw  the 
tea  into  the  Boston  harbor.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  remained  in 
Champaign  county  until  1833,  when,  with  his  parents,  he  moved  to 
Warren  county,  Indiana,  where  he  remained  a  resident  until  1840. 
Here  he  learned  the  wheelwright  trade,  under  Z.  &  J.  Parker,  of 
Parker's  patent  water  wheel.  He  came  to  Iroquois  county  and  was 
engaged  in  helping  on  a  mill  at  Milford.  From  that  on  he  has  built 
and  helped  to  build  some  sixteen  mills, —  one  at  Milford,  one  at 
Bulvounia's  Grove,  one  at  Hickory  Creek,  one  on  the  Dupage  river, 
six  on  the  Kishawaukee  river,  one  near  Beloit,  Wis.,  one  near  New- 
burg,  111.,  one  at  Pine  Creek,  Ind.,  and  others.  In  May,  1848,  he 
located  at  Texas,  Iroquois  county,  and  purchased  the  old  Courtright 
mill,  in  partnership  with  J.  Thomas.  In  1855  and  1856  he  built  a 
new  mill,  and  from  that  on  he,  in  company  with  his  brothers,  did  a 
large  milling  business  at  Texas,  employing,  on  an  average,  twenty- 
seven  men  to  operate  the  mill.  The  mill  had  four  run  of  burrs  and 
three  run  of  saws.  Here  they  were  thriving,  but  the  Indiana  drainage 
law  so  stopped  the  flow  of  water  that  they»had  to  quit  business.  In 
1863  they  sold  the  mill  for  $2,000,  the  original  cost  being  $9,000. 
Mr.  West  helped  to  raise  a  company  of  soldiers  for  the  late  civil 
war — Co.  I,  113th  reg.  111.  Vol.  ;  he  was  elected  captain.  The  com- 
pany was  composed  principally  of  men  who  worked  for  Mr.  West  in 
the  mill.  He  did  duty  at  Camp  Hancock,  guarding  prisoners  of  war. 
In  May,  1863,  he  resigned  on  account  of  ill  health,  and  returned  to 
Iroquois  county,  and  has  been  a  resident  ever  since.  He  moved  on 
the  present  farm  in  1865,  where  he  has  remained  ever  since.  He  is  a 
republican  in  politics,  and  has  held  several  offices  of  public  trust: 
road  commissioner  two  and  a  half  years,  and  supervisor  one  term. 


62  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

He  was  married  in  Iroquois  county,  in  1848,  to  Miss  Rachel  Earl,  of 
Indiana.  She  died  about  October  5,  1 849,  and  was  the  first  interment 
in  the  Texas  graveyard.  Mr.  West's  second  marriage  was  to  Phoebe 
Ann  Earl,  and  they  have  one  child,  a  son,  Thomas  "W. 

John  F.  Vennum,  Watseka,  was  born  in  Milford  township,  Iro- 
quois county,  Illinois,  December  5,  1848,  and  is  the  son  of  Christopher 
C.  Vennum,  who  made  his  home  in  Iroquois  county,  in  an  early  day. 
Mr.  Vennum  was  raised  on  the  farm,  where  he  remained  until  1865. 
He  enlisted  in  the  army,  and  participated  in  the  late  civil  war. 
He  enlisted  in  Co.  D,  150th  reg.  111.  Vol.  Inf.,  as  sergeant.  This 
regiment  did  duty  in  the  Southern  states,  and  was  mustered  out  at 
Griffin,  Ga.,  in  1866,  and  finally  discharged  at  Springfield,  111.  At 
the  close  of  the  war  Mr.  Vennum  returned  to  the  old  homestead, 
where  he  was  engaged  in  farming.  From  there  he  went  to  Milford 
and  worked  for  Gilbert  Vennum,  in  the  lumber  business,  about  two 
years.  In  1875  he  came  to  Watseka,  and  was  engaged  by  Mr.  I.  C. 
Wade,  as  clerk,  in  the  hardware  and  lumber  business,  and  here  he  has 
remained  ever  since.  In  1877  Mr.  Vennum  enlisted  in  the  Watseka 
Rifles,  Co.  A,  9th  battalion  I.  N.  G.,  as  sergeant.  June  21,  1879,  he 
was  elected  captain  of  this  company,  which  position  he  now  holds. 
In  1875  he  wao  married  to  Miss  Sarah  Garner,  of  Iroquois  county,  by 
whom  they  have  had  two  children,  one  living,  Vene. 

Richard  Roberts,  farmer,  Watseka,  was  born  in  Bedford  county, 
Virginia,  April  1,  1827,  and  is  the  son  of  Alexander  and  Annie 
(Anderson)  Roberts,  both  natives  of  Virginia.  His  father  was  a 
soldier  of  the  war  of  1812.  Mr.  Roberts  was  raised  on  the  farm. 
When  he  was  about  two  years  of  age,  he  moved  with  his  parents  to 
Montgomery  county,  Kentucky,  where  he  remained  until  he  was 
about  seven  years  of  age,  when  they  moved  to  Ross  county,  Ohio. 
June  6,  1846,  Mr.  Roberts  enlisted  for  one  year  in  Co.  C,  2d  Ohio 
Vol.  Inf.,  and  participated  in  the  Mexican  war.  The  regiment  was 
ordered  first  to  Cincinnati,  then  to  New  Orleans,  then  to  Brazos 
Island  into  Mexico,  and  then  to  Buena  Vista.  While  Mr.  Roberts 
was  in  the  service  he  had  the  small-pox,  from  the  effects  of  which 
he  lost  part  of  his  eyesight.  In  1847  he  returned  to  Ohio.  In  1848 
he  came  to  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  and  located  in  Middleport  town- 
ship, where  he  has  been  a  resident  ever  since,  with  the  exception  of 
two  years  when  he  was  in  California,  gold  seeking.  He  married  Miss 
Mary  Jane  Eastburn,  daughter  of  Carr  and  Ann  Eastburn,  both  old 
settlers.  They  have  five  children.  Mrs.  Ann  Eastburn  is  now  living 
at  Mr.  Roberts',  at  the  good  old  age  of  seventy-eight. 

M.    Stanley,   liveryman,  Watseka,  was  born  in  Watseka,  Novem- 


MIDDLEPORT    AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  63 

her  23,  1848,  and  is  the  son  of  Micajah  Stanley,  the  old  pioneer 
settler  of  Iroquois  county.  He  engaged  in  the  livery  business  in 
1874,  and  since  then  he  has  continued  in  the  same  business.  He 
is  now  running  the  best  livery  stable  in  Watseka,  and  here  may  be 
found  fine  turnouts,  and  they  can  be  had  at  reasonable  prices.  The 
stable  is  located  in  the  rear  of  the  Williams  House.  Mr.  Stanley  was 
married  to  Miss  Jennie  Edinger,  by  whom  they  have  one  child. 

Samuel  H.  Porter,  farmer,  Watseka,  was  born  in  Middlesex  county, 
Massachusets,  February  4,  1818 ;  where  he  remained  until  he  was 
sixteen  years  of  age,  engaged  in  farming.  He  then  went  to  Con- 
necticut, and  thence  to  New  York.  In  1849  he  came  west  to  Illinois 
and  located  in  Iroquois  county,  on  Spring  creek,  where  he  remained 
some  five  or  six  years,  when  he  moved  his  family  to  Middleport.  Mr. 
Porter  was  made  superintendent  of  the  Poor  Farm,  and  was  the  first 
manager  of  that  institution.  The  building  was  formerly  a  log  cabin, 
and  from  that  it  has  steadily  improved,  until  to-day  it  is  one  of  the 
best  county  poor  farms  in  eastern  Illinois.  •  Mr.  Porter  remained  in 
office  some  nine  years.  He  says  the  first  two  paupers  sent  to  the 
farm  were  Ann  Sapp  and  Margaret  Scritchfield.  Mr.  Porter  was 
married  to  Miss  Lavina  Barden,  of  New  York,  by  whom  he  has  had 
four  children.  Since  Mr.  Porter's  connection  with  the  Poor  Farm, 
he  has  lived  on  his  present  homestead. 

Rev.  William  Pentzer,  minister  and  farmer,  Woodland,  was  born 
November  25,  1819,  in  Clearfield  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  is  the 
son  of  Philip  C.  Pentzer,  a  farmer  and  a  shoemaker  by  trade.  When 
Mr.  Pentzer  was  about  seven  years  of  age,  he  with  his  parents  moved 
to  Ohio  and  located  in  Columbiana  county,  where  he  remained  until 
he  was  sixteen  years  of  age.  From  there  he  moved  to  Wyandotte 
county  in  the  same  state,  and  there  remained  until  he  moved  to 
Indiana.  Here  he  first  entered  the  field  as  a  Methodist  minister,  and 
traveled  in  different  parts  of  Indiana  for  four  years.  He  preached  in 
Parke,  Tipton,  Clinton  and  Howard  two  years,  and  in  Jasper  and 
Jay  counties  one  year  each ;  these,  at  that  time,  were  comparatively 
new  counties,  and  Mr.  Pentzer  made  his  trips  on  horseback,  there 
being  but  few  railroads  in  that  part  of  the  country.  He  came  to 
Iroquois  county  and  preached  here  some  four  years  in  the  Belmont 
church,  the  first  M.  E.  church  in  Iroquois  county.  He  also  preached 
at  Middleport,  and  returned  to  Indiana  and  remained  there  two  years ; 
when  he  received  a  call  and  returned  to  Iroquois  county,  where  he 
remained  four  years.  He  then  went  to  Clark  county,  and  there 
remained  eight  years  at  Westfield,  when  he  returned  to  Iroquois 
county,  and  here  is  now  engaged  with  the  American  Tract  Society. 


64  HISTOKY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

He  is  living  on  his  farm  in  Belmont  township.  Mr.  Pentzer  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Sarah  Ann  Sexton,  of  Ohio ;  they  have  had  two  children, 
a  son  and  a  daughter.  The  daughter  died  in  1860  with  diphtheria, 
aged  four  years  and  five  months.  The  son,  Orrin  Wesley,  is  now 
engaged  in  teaching  school,  and  is  a  graduate  of  the  Westfield  College. 

Amos  White,  deceased,  was  born  in  Hamilton  county,  Ohio,  Feb- 
ruary 27,  1811,  and  was  the  son  of  Amos  White,  an  Ohio  farmer.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  on  his  father's  farm,  where  he  remained 
but  a  short  time,  when,  with  his  parents,  he  moved  to  Butler  county. 
Here  he  was  married  in  1832  to  Rebecca  Cannedy,  who  was  born  in 
Butler  county,  Ohio,  April  19, 1812.  About  1835  they  moved  to  Ben- 
ton  county,  Indiana,  where  he  became  a  very  prominent  man  and  was 
elected  county  judge.  Here  Mr.  White,  who  was  one  of  the  early 
settlers,  was  engaged  in  farming.  They  remained  in  Benton  county 
until  1849,  when  they  moved  to  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  and  located 
near  Milford,  on  400  acres  of  land.  He  was  engaged  in  farming  and 
stock-raising  up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  which  occurred  April  28, 
1862.  Thus  passed  away  one  of  the  old  settlers  of  the  county,  a  man 
that  was  beloved  for  his  kindness  by  every  one.  He  left  a  wife  and 
five  children.  In  1864  Mrs.  White  moved  to  Watseka,  where  she  has 
been  a  resident  ever  since. 

G.  W.  Parker,  merchant  and  farmer,  Watseka,  was  born  in  Clinton 
county,  Indiana,  in  1842,  and  is  the  son  of  Daniel  Parker,  who  was 
born  in  Bordentown,  New  Jersey,  in  1809,  and  who,  with  his  parents, 
moved  to  Ohio  when  he  was  about  six  years  of  age.  In  Ohio  he  was 
married  to  Lucy  Parker,  of  Cincinnati.  In  about  1830  he  moved  to 
Indiana,  and  while  a  resident  there  was  sheriff  of  Clinton  county.  In 
1849  he,  with  his  wife  and  three  children,  came  to  Illinois  and  located 
in  Middleport,  where  he  was  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business.  In 
1859  D.  Parker  &  Son  commenced  the  erection  of  the  building  now 
occupied  by  the  "  Iroquois  County  Times."  This  they  finished  at  a 
cost  of  about  $2,300,  and  commenced  business  in  1860  in  dry  goods 
and  general  merchandise.  This  being  the  first  store  of  the  kind  opened 
in  Watseka,  these  gentlemen  did  an  extensive  business  in  the  dry 
goods,  grain  and  stock  business  until  the  death  of  Daniel  Parker, 
which  occurred  September  11,  1877.  Thus  passed  away  one  of  the 
most  prominent  and  highly  respected  business  men  of  Iroquois  county. 
He  had  held  several  offices  of  public  trust ;  was  associate  judge  of 
Iroquois  county,  and  was  a  member  of  the  board  of  supervisors  for 
about  ten  years.  He  was  a  man  that  began  life  poor,  but  with  industry 
and  good  management  he  had  accumulated  in  1849  a  fortune  amount- 
ing to  some  $20,000.  This  amount  he  invested  in  a  stock  of  goods  and 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


MIDDLEPOKT    AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  67 

loaded  them  on  a  steamboat  bound  for  Iowa.  The  steamboat  sank  at 
Vincennes,  and  he  lost  his  entire  stock,  with  no  insurance.  He  then 
came  to  Iroquois  county,  a  poor  man.  He  entered  business  on  a  very 
small  capital,  but  with  his  good  management  he  had  accumulated  at 
his  death  property  valued  at  $40,000.  Mr.  G.  W.  Parker  received  his 
principal  education  at  the  Albany  University,  from  which  he  graduated 
in  1860.  He  practiced  law  for  a  short  period,  but  most  of  his  time 
has  been  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  as  a  partner  of  his  father. 
He  is  largely  engaged  in  farming.  In  1878  he  commenced  the  mer- 
cantile business  in  Ohebanse,  where  he  is  now  carrying  on  business,  but 
in  the  meantime  making  Watseka  his  home.  Mr.  Parker  has  held 
several  offices  of  public  trust.  He  has  been  supervisor  of  Middleport 
for  one  term,  and  in  1864  was  a  member  of  the  state  legislature.  Mr. 
Parker  married  Miss  Nellie  Hamilton,  of  Green  county,  New  York. 
They  have  two  children. 

Judge  Franklin  Blades,  circuit  judge,  Watseka,  is  one  of  the  best 
known  and  most  highly  respected  men  of  Iroquois  county.  He  was 
born  in  Rush  count}7,  of  the  Hoosier  state,  November  29,  1830,  and  is 
the  son  of  James  and  Mary  (Harcourt)  Blades.  His  father  was  a 
native  of  Soutli  Carolina,  and  was  a  practicing  physician.  At  an  early 
day  he  came  to  Indiana,  where  he  died,  near  Indianapolis,  in  1846. 
Judge  Blades,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  raised  on  the  farm,  where 
he  received  a  common-school  education  at  the  district  school.  In  1852 
he  graduated  from  the  Rush  Medical  College,  of  Chicago.  In  1854  he 
was  a  student  of  the  Jefferson  Medical  College,  of  Philadelphia.  In 
1851  he  came  to  Iroquois  county,  where  he  practiced  medicine  until 
1858.  In  1856  he  was  connected  with  the  publishing  of  the  "Iroquois 
County  Republican,"  and  the  same  year  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
Illinois  legislature.  In  1857  he  was  admitted  to  practice  law  at  the 
Illinois  state  bar.  In  1862  he  was  commissioned  surgeon  of  the  111. 
Yol.  Inf.,  and  served  until  1864.  In  1877  Mr.  Blades  was  elected  cir- 
cuit judge,  and  reflected  in  1879.  Judge  Blades  was  married,  in  1854, 
to  Miss  Jennie  King,  of  Ohio.  They  have  three  children. 

J.  A.  Graham,  real  estate,  Watseka,  was  born  in  Augusta  county, 
Virginia,  November  23,  18.23,  and  is  the  son  of  James  C.  and  Isabella 
(Henderson)  Graham.  His  father  was  a  farmer,  and  here  Mr.  Graham 
remained,  in  his  native  county,  until  he  was  about  ten  years  of  age,  at 
which  time,  with  his  parents,  he  moved  to  Montgomery  county,  Indi- 
ana, on  a  farm.  From  the  farm,  our  subject  entered  a  printing  office 
in  Crawfordsville,  where  he  learned  his  trade  as  a  printer.  In  1847 
and  1848  he  was  engaged  in  publishing  the  "Danville  Weekly  News," 
at  Danville,  Indiana,  and  from  there  he  went  to  Crawfordsville,  where 


68  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

he  was  engaged  in  publishing  the  "  Indiana  Christian  Herald,"  since 
merged  into  the  "  Christian  Herald,"  no\v  published  in  Cincinnati, 
Ohio.  He  was  also  foreman  of  one  of  the  leading  newspapers  pub- 
lished in  Danville,  Illinois.  In  January,  1851,  Mr.  Graham  came  to 
Middleport,  and  commenced  the  publication  of  the  "  Iroquois  County 
Journal,"  the  first  newspaper  published  in  the  county.  This  paper 
was  whig  in  politics,  and  started  with  a  circulation  of  about  three  hun- 
dred subscribers.  Mr.  Graham  was  engaged  in  the  publication  of  the 
"  Journal "  about  three  years,  when  he  sold  out  to  Scott  &  Keady, 
who  immediately  made  it  a  democratic  paper.  Mr.  Graham  then 
moved  to  Janesville,  Wisconsin,  and  was  engaged  on  the  "  Janesville 
"Weekly  Gazette."  He  was  also  publishing  the  "  Wisconsin  Educa- 
tional Journal,"  a  leading  monthly  paper.  Here  he  remained  until 
1856,  when  he  returned  to  Middleport,  and  commenced  the  publication 
of  the  "  Iroquois  County  Republican."  The  first  issue  was  made  in 
May,  1856.  Mr.  Graham  continued  the  publication  of  this  paper  until 
after  the  November  election,  when  he  sold  to  Robertson  &  She  ward. 
In  1857  Mr.  Graham  was  placed  on  the  republican  ticket  for  county 
clerk,  but  was  defeated  by  Daniel  Fry.  At  this  time  the  whole  of  the 
republican  ticket  was  defeated,  but  Mr.  Graham  ran  ahead  of  his  ticket. 
In  1858  and  1859  he  was  deputy  sheriff  and  constable.  In  1861  he 
volunteered  in  Co.  F,  25th  reg.  111.  Yol.  Inf.,  for  three  years.  In 
January,  1862,  he  was  discharged  for  disability,  caused  by  typhoid 
fever.  He  returned  to  Middleport,  where  he  has  remained  since,  en- 
gaged in  the  real  estate  business.  Mr.  Graham  has  been  assessor  of 
Middleport  township  for  ten  years,  and  in  this  position  has  given 
entire  satisfaction.  He  was  married,  in  1848,  to  Elizabeth  Wilhite,  of 
Hardin  county,  Kentucky. 

Williams  Brothers,  proprietors  of  the  Woodland  Creamery,  Wood- 
land, commenced  business  in  June,  1878,  and  to-day  are  manufacturing 
an  article  of  butter  that  ranks  with  the  leading  creameries  of  Illinois. 
The  building  is  a  fine  two-story  brick,  36x40  feet,  furnished  .with  all 
the  modern  improvements  for  the  manufacture  of  butter.  It  is  run  by 
steam  power,  and  the  whole  building  is  heated  by  steam  in  the  winter, 
and  in  the  summer  months  the  first  story  is  kept  cool  by  a  pipe  run- 
ning the  extent  of  the  building,  through  which  runs  water  obtained 
from  an  artesian  well  108  feet  deep.  On  the  first  floor  is  the  engine 
room,  and  the  next  room  is  the  one  used  for  churning.  Each  churn 
holds  sixty  gallons,  and  is  run  by  a  steam  engine  of  two-horse  power. 
The  firm  of  Williams  Brothers  has  invested  about  87,000  in  this  busi- 
ness, and  they  own  about  175  cows.  They  employ  in  the  different 
departments  about  seventeen  hands.  In  connection  with  their  steam 


MIDDLEPORT   AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  69 

power,  they  have  erected  an  addition  to  the  main  building  36x15  feet, 
which  is  used  in  grinding  feed  for  the  stock.  The  firm  is  composed  of 
George  M.  and  John  S.  Williams.  George  M.  was  born  in  Belmont 
township,  Iroquois  county,  in  1852,  and  has  been  a  resident  in  this 
vicinity  all  his  life.  He  received  a  common-school  education  in  the 
district  school,  and  went  to  the  Onarga  College,  where  he  received  a 
commercial  education.  He  was  for  several  years  previous  to  entering 
the  present  business,  engaged  in  the  stock  business.  John  S.  was  also 
born  in  Belmont  township,  Iroquois  county,  in  1855,  and  received  a 
full  commercial  education  in  the  Onarga  College,  and  was  for  a  time 
engaged  in  the  grain  and  lumber  business.  Neither  of  these  gentle- 
men has  ever  been  married. 

Daniel  W.  Ayres,  attorney-at-law,  Watseka,  was  born  in  Hamilton 
count}r,  Ohio,  August  24,  1837,  and  is  the  son  of  Jessie  B.  and  Sabra 
W.  (Stathem)  Ayres,  both  natives  of  New  Jersey.  They  were  mar- 
ried in  New  Jersey,  and  came  over  the  Alleghany  mountains  in  wagon 
to  Pittsburgh,  and  then  came  down  the  Ohio  river  on  a  flat-boat  to  Cin- 
cinnati, and  located  on  a  farm  in  Hamilton  county,  where  they 
remained  until  1852,  when  they  started  for  Illinois  by  wagon,  and 
came  to  Iroquois  county  and  located  at  Bunkum.  It  is  supposed  they 
brought  the  first  sofa  to  Iroquois  county,  and  also  brought  one  of  the 
first  Durham  bulls.  In  Ohio  Mr.  Kay,  our  subject,  received  his  prin- 
cipal education.  His  brothers  commenced  the  mercantile  business  in 
Bunkum.  Mr.  Ayres  clerked  for  them  for  several  years.  He  also 
operated  a  store  for  them  at  Morocco,  Indiana.  From  the  store  he 
returned  to  the  farm,  and  then  commenced  school  teaching,  which  he 
followed  for  a  number  of  years.  His  first  school  teaching  was  in  Mar- 
tin township,  where  he  received  some  $20  per  month.  He  taught  the 
first  school  in  the  district,  three  miles  east  of  Watseka.  He  also 
taught  school  in  Bunkum  and  Sheldon.  In  1863  he  went  to  the  oil 
regions  of  Pennsylvania,  where  he  was  engaged  in  prospecting  for  oil, 
where  he  remained  until  1865,  when  he  returned  to  the  farm  and  laid 
off  an  addition  to  Sheldon.  Mr.  Ayres  was  admitted  to  practice  law 
at  the  Illinois  bar  in  1870.  He  was  justice  of  the  peace  for  several 
years  at  Sheldon.  In  1874  he  moved  to  Watseka  and  began  the  prac- 
tice of  law.  In  1874  the  firm  of  Ayres  &  Holland  was  formed,  which 
is  among  the  leading  law  firms  of  the  Iroquois  county  bar.  Mr.  Ayres 
has  held  several  offices  of  public  trust.  In  April,  1877,  he  was 
appointed  master-in-chancery  by  Judge  Blades.  He  is  a  liberal  in  pol- 
itics, but  at  one  time  was  a  strong  republican.  Mr.  Ayres  was  mar- 
ried, in  1863,  to  Miss  Maria  Symson,  who  was  born  near  Rochester, 
New  York.  She  was  for  a  while  engaged  in  teaching  school  at  Mid. 


70  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

dleport  and  Sheldon.  They  have  two  children :  Arthur  W.  and 
Harry  T. 

C.  Secrest,  Watseka,  was  born  in  Davidson  county,  North  Carolina, 
May  3,  1829,  and  is  the  son  of  Daniel  and  Elizabeth  (Fouts)  Secrest. 
They  came  to  Indiana  and  located  in  Morgan  county  about  1832. 
In  1852  Dr.  Secrest  came  to  Iroquois  county  and  stopped  at  Bunkum 
until  1853,  when  he  came  to  Middleport.  He  then  went  to  Chicago 
and  entered  the  Rush  Medical  College,  from  which  he  graduated  in 
1854:.  He  returned  to  Middleport  and  began  the  practice  of  medicine. 
He  continued  there  until  1859,  when'he  moved  to  Watseka,  where  he 
has  remained  ever  since.  While  a  resident  in  Middleport  he  was 
engaged  with  the  drug  firm  of  Secrest,  Tillinghast  &  Co.  Since  his 
residence  here,  Dr.  Secrest  has  held  the  offices  of  justice  of  the  peace, 
town  clerk,  supervisor  and  representative.  He  was  elected  to  the 
office  of  representative  in  1876.  This  office  he  now  fills.  He  was 
married  to  Martha  Cleaver,  daughter  of  A.  Cleaver.  They  have  one 
child. 

B.  F.  Shankland,  deputy  county  clerk,  Watseka,  was  born  in  War- 
ren county,  Indiana,  February  20,  1849,  and  is  the  son  of  Kendall  and 
Amanda  (Harris)  Shankland,  the  former  a  native  of  Ohio  and  the  lat- 
ter of  Indiana.  In  1853  his  parents  came  to  Illinois  and  located  in 
what  is  now  Prairie  Green  township,  Iroquois  county,  where  the}7  still 
reside.  There  the  early  life  of  Mr.  Shankland  wras  spent.  After  fit- 
ting himself  to  enter  college  he  became  a  student  in  the  law  depart- 
ment of  the  Michigan  University  of  Ann  Arbor,  from  which  he  grad- 
uated in  1874.  Returning  to  Iroquois  county,  he  continued  the  study 
of  law  under  Judge  M.  B.  Wright,  and  in  the  fall  of  1874  was  granted 
a  diploma  to  practice  at  the  Illinois  bar.  In  1875  he  was  the  temper- 
ance candidate  for  city  attorney  of  Watseka,  to  which  office  he  was 
elected  for  a  year  term.  In  1875  he  also  accepted  the  position  of 
deputy  county  clerk,  under  Mr.  Henry  A.  Butzow,  where  he  is  still 
engaged.  Though  Mr.  Shankland  is  still  a  young  man,  he  has  already 
become  well  and  favorably  known  among  the  best  citizens  of  Iroquois 
county,  among  whom  are  to  be  found  many  gentlemen  of  both  wealth 
and  culture.  His  associates  are  of  this  class,  which  fact  of  itself  estab- 
lishes his  standing  and  ability. 

George  W.  James,  farmer  and  liveryman,  Watseka,  was  born  in 
Warren  county,  Ohio,  January  9,  1844,  and  is  the  son  of  Aaron  H. 
James,  who  was  born  November  17, 1801.  Aaron  James  came  to  Ohio 
at  an  early  day,  where  he  was  engaged  in  farming.  He  was  married 
in  Ohio  to  Miss  Phoebe  Dunham,  who  was  born  October  10,  1807. 
They,  with  a  family  of  seven  children,  in  1853,  came  to  Illinois  and 


MIDDLEPORT   AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  71 

located  in  Iroquois  county.  There  were  about  80  acres  of  land  im- 
proved and  a  log  cabin  standing  on  it,  and  they  moved  into  the  cabin 
and  commenced  farming.  The  present  willow  trees  standing  in  front 
of  the  residence  were  planted  by  G.  ~W.  and  W.  D.  James  in  1862. 
Aaron  H.  James  died  April  2, 1878.  Phoebe  Dunham  James  died  July 
11,  1874.  Thus  passed  away  two  of  the  old  and  highly  respected  citi- 
zens of  Iroquois  county,  leaving  five  children.  They  had  two  sons  in 
the  late  war.  James  enlisted  in  the  51st  111.  Yol.  Inf.,  and  served  four 
years,  participating  in  some  of  the  most  severe  battles.  He  was  a  brave 
soldier  and  did  good  duty.  He  died  March  6,1870.  Geo.  W.  enlisted 
in  Co.  A,  76th  111.  Vol.  Inf.,  in  1862,  and  remained  until  the  close  of 
the  war,  doing  good  duty.  He  was  married  to  Miss  Hattie  McNeir,  of 
Indiana,  and  they  have  one  child. 

Stephen  G.  Bovie,  attorney-at-law,  Watseka,  is  one  of  the  old  and 
leading  attorneys  of  the  Iroquois  county  bar.  He  was  born  November 
21,  1827,  in  Livingston  county,  New  York,  and  is  the  son  of  John  E. 
and  Amy  (Gardner)  Bovie.  His  father  was  born  in  New  York,  where 
he  was  engaged  in  farming.  Mr.  Bovie's  grandmother  and  grandfather 
lived  to  be  nearly  a  hundred  years  of  age.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  born  and  raised  on  his  father's  farm,  where  he  was  engaged  in  farm- 
ing, and  in  the  winter  months  attended  the  district  schools,  where  he 
received  a  common-school  education.  He  began  school-teaching,  and 
taught  school  in  Livingston  and  Monroe  counties.  New  York.  He  was 
also  reading  law,  and  in  the  winter  of  1851-2  he  was  admitted  to  prac- 
tice law  at  the  bar  in  Monroe  county,  New  York.  In  1853  he  came 
west  to  Illinois  and  located  at  Middleport,  Iroquois  county,  where  he 
was  engaged  about  one  year  in  teaching  school.  He  then  commenced 
the  practice  of  law.  His  circuit  then  embraced  the  counties  of  Kan- 
kakee,  Grundy,  La  Salle,  Will,  Iroquois,  Champaign  and  Ford.  He 
traveled  with  the  judges  in  the  days  of  Abraham  Lincoln  and  David 
Davis.  Mr.  Bovie  became  well  acquainted  'with  these  gentlemen. 
Mr.  Bovie  is  to-day  one  of  the  oldest  attorneys  of  the  Iroquois  county 
bar.  He  was  master-in-chancery  for  some  five  or  six  years.  In  this 
office  he  gave  entire  satisfaction.  He  is  a  republican  in  politics,  and 
was  a  delegate  to  the  Bloomington  convention  in  1856,  when  the  repub- 
lican party  was  organized,  and  he  took  an  active  part  in  the  convention. 
Mr.  Bovie  was  married  in  Monroe  county,  New  York,  in  1852,  to  Miss 
Julia  A.  Symson,  of  Monroe  county,  New  York,  daughter  of  Benjamin 
Symson,  one  of  the  old  settlers  of  Monroe  county. 

L.  Steely,  merchant  in  the  old  town  of  Middleport,  Watseka,  was  a 
business  man  of  the  once  busy  town  of  Middleport  when  it  was  the 
county  seat  of  Iroquois.  All  its  merchants  have  moved  away  or  passed 


72  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

beyond  the  shores  of  the  unknown  river  with  this  one  exception.  L. 
Steely  was  born  in  Hamilton  county,  Ohio,  December  4,  1819.  His 
parents  were  David  and  M.  (Carothers)  Steely.  When  Mr.  Steely  was 
only  six  years  old  he  moved  to  Pickaway  county,  and  from  there  they 
moved  to  Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana.  In  La  Fayette  Mr.  Steely  was 
engaged  in  the  mercantile  business.  In  1853  he  came  to  Middleport 
and  entered  the  mercantile  business.  He  first  hauled  his  goods  by 
wagon  from  La  Fayette.  He  carried  on  the  mercantile  business  about 
four  years,  when  he  entered  the  saw-mill  business,  where  he  remained 
some  sixteen  years.  From  that  he  entered  his  present  business.  Mr. 
Steely  is  a  strong  greenbacker  in  politics.  He  was  married,  in  Tippe- 
canoe county,  to  Miss  Mariah  Ermy,  by  whom  he  had  four  children. 
He  had  one  son  in  the  late  war,  James  M.,  who  enlisted  in  the  one 
hundred  days'  service.  He  was  honorably  mustered  out.  Mr.  Steely's 
mother  and  father  both  died  in  Warren  county,  Indiana. 

Samuel  West,  farmer,  Watseka,  was  born  in  Champaign  county, 
Ohio,  June  6,  1821,  and  is  the  son  of  John  and  Azuga  (Wilson)  West. 
He  was  raised  on  the  farm,  and  helped  his  father  at  the  carpenter's 
trade.  When  young  he  moved  with  his  parents  to  Warren  county, 
Indiana.  Mr.  West  learned  the  wheelwright  trade  under  Z.  and  J. 
Parker.  From  Indiana  he  came  to  Illinois,  and  worked  with  his  brother 
in  erecting  a  mill  at  Bulvonia's  Grove,  in  Kankakee  county.  He 
remained  with  his  brother  until  1852,  erecting  mills  at  different  points. 
In  1852  Mr.  West  went  to  California,  gold-seeking,  and  there  he 
remained  until  1854.  He  returned  to  Iroquois  county,  and  has  remained 
a  resident  here  ever  since.  He  was  married  in  Iroquois  county,  No- 
vember 25,  1845,  to  Miss  Susanna  Rush,  daughter  of  Samuel  Rush. 
She  was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  January  9,  1823,  and  came  to  Iroquois 
county  about  1830.  They  have  four  children. 

William  Warren,  merchant,  Woodland,  was  born  August  4,  1835, 
in  Crawford  county,  Illinois,  and  is  the  son  of  Samuel  S.  Warren,  who 
was  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Crawford  county.  When  Mr.  Warren 
was  very  young,  he  moved  with  his  parents  to  Perrysville,  Vermilion 
county,  Indiana,  where  his  father  died.  His  mother  married  the  second 
time.  They  came  to  Illinois,  and  located  on  a  farm  in  Belmont  town- 
ship, and  here  our  subject  was  engaged  in  farming  until  1877,  when  he 
entered  his  present  business  in  Woodland.  He  occupies  a  building 
20x50  feet,  two  stories  high,  and  is  doing  a  general  merchandise  and 
grain  business.  Mr.  Warren  has  held  several  offices  of  public  trust  in 
Belmont  township:  collector,  commissioner  of  highways,  and  town 
clerk.  In  these  offices  he  has  given  entire  satisfaction.  He  had  three 
brothers  in  the  late  war,  two  died  in  service.  In  December,  1878,  Mr. 


MIDDLEPORT    AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  73 

Warren  was  made  postmaster  of  Woodland.  This  office  he  still  holds. 
He  is  a  republican  in  politics. 

E.  M.  Amos,  attorney-at-law,  Watseka,  was  born  May  1,  1851,  in 
Warren  county,  Indiana.  He  removed  with  his  parents  from  his  native 
state  in  the  winter  of  1855,  and  settled  in  Iroquois  county.  He  received 
the  rudiments  of  his  education  seated  on  a  rough  oak  board,  in  a  still 
rougher  school-house,  erected  by  the  joint  eiforts  of  some  of  the  pioneers. 
At  the  age  of  twenty,  resolving  upon  a  more  liberal  education,  he  left 
the  farm,  where  he  had  spent  fifteen  years  of  his  life,  and  started  to 
school.  He  spent  some  time  at  the  Grand  Prairie  Seminary  at  Onarga, 
and  afterward  removed  to  the  North  western  University  at  Evanston, 
where  he  received  his  principal  education.  Returning  home  in  1874, 
he  promptly  commenced  the  study  of  law  with  A.  J.  Clark,  of  Sheldon, 
Illinois.  He  afterward  removed  to  Watseka,  and  finished  his  law 
studies  with  T.  B.  Harris,  state's  attorney  for  Iroquois  county,  and  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  January  4,  1878,  by  the  supreme  court  at  Spring- 
field. In  February,  1878,  he  formed  a  law  partnership  with  H.  C. 
Stearns,  under  the  firm  name  of  Stearns  &  Amos,  which  still  exists. 
He  is  a  genial  gentleman,  qiflet  and  unobtrusive,  a  close  student,  loves 
books  and  literary  pursuits,  and  is  fond  of  military  display,  being  a 
member  of  the  I.  N".  Gr.,  and  one  of  the  finest  rifle  shots  in  the  com- 
pany. His  father,  Stephen  S.  Amos,  is  a  native  of  West  Virginia,  and 
first  visited  this  county  before  its  organization.  His  uncle,  Jesse  Amos, 
was  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Iroquois  county. 

P.  Johns,  photograph  artist,  Watseka,  was  born  in  Clinton  county, 
•Ohio,  July  9,  1839.  With  his  parents  he  moved  to  Missouri,  thence 
to  Ohio,  and  thence  to  Indiana.  From  there,  in  1855,  he  moved  to 
Iroquois  county,  and  located  at  Martinton.  Here,  in  Iroquois  county, 
he  was  engaged  in  teaching  school,  but  learned  the  trade  of  a  photo- 
graph artist  under  the  superintendency  of  Mr.  Weaver.  In  1865  he 
went  to  Gilman,  and  commenced  the  photograph  business,  and  from 
there  to  Bunkum,  thence  to  Sheldon.  In  1871  he  returned  to  Watseka 
and  built  his  present  place  of  business. 

Moses  West,  farmer,  Watseka,  is  one  of  the  prominent  farmers  of 
Iroquois  county.  He  was  born  in  Warren  county,  Indiana,  May  4, 
1834,  and  is  the  son  of  John  and  Azuga  (Wilson)  West.  He  remained 
a  resident  of  Warren  county  until  he  was  about  twenty-two  years  of 
age,  when,  in  1856,  he  came  to  Iroquois  county,  and  was  engaged  in 
the  milling  business  with  his  brothers  at  Texas.  Here  he  remained 
some  five  years,  when  he  went  west  to  Pike's  Peak,  seeking  gold. 
He  met  with  very  poor  success,  and  returned  to  Iroquois  county,  and 
has  remained  here  ever  since,  engaged  in  farming.  .  He  moved  to  his 


74  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

present  farm  in  1871,  and  is  engaged  in  farming  300  acres  of  land.  He 
was  married,  in  Middleport  township,  to  Miss  Elizabeth  J.  Pinnes,  of 
Iroquois  county.  She  died,  and  he  was  married  to  his  present  wife, 
Miss  Louisa  Lannaker,  of  Iroquois  county.  He  is  the  father  of  five 
children ;  three  by  his  first  wife,  and  two  by  his  present  wife.  Mr. 
West  enlisted  at  the  first  call  in. the  late  civil  war  in  Co.  I,  20th  reg. 
111.  Vol.  Inf.,  but  on  account  of  being  crippled  in  the  left  arm,  was  ex- 
empted. 

"William  Brown,  farmer,  Watseka,  is  one  of  the  leading  and  suc- 
cessful farmers  of  Iroquois  county.  He  was  born  in  Butler  county, 
Ohio,  December  27,  1827,  and  is  the  son  of  Joseph  and  Lucy  (John- 
son) Brown.  His  father  was  a  native  of  Virginia,  and  was  engaged  in 
farming.  William  Brown  was  raised  on  the  farm,  and  remained  a  resi- 
dent of  Butler  county  until  he  was  three  years  of  age,  when,  with  his 
parents,  he  moved  to  Indiana.  Here  they  remained  a  short  time,  when 
they  returned  to  Ohio,  where  his  mother  died.  His  father  remarried, 
and  returned  with  his  family  to  Indiana.  Here  our  subject  remained 
until  1856,  when  he  moved  to  Iroquois  county  and  rented  a  farm  just 
opposite  his  present  place.  Here  he  remained  until  he  built  a  log  cabin 
west  of  his  present  residence,  where  he  remained  until  he  built  the 
the  present  place,  which  is  perhaps  one  of  the  finest  homes  in  Iroquois 
county.  When  he  came  here  the  country  was  wild,  with  but  little 
improvements.  On  his  farm  he  has  made  all  the  improvements.  He 
married,  in  Laporte  county,  Indiana,  Miss  Adaline  Morrison,  daughter 
of  John  P.  Morrison.  They  have  five  children.  Mr.  Brown  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Prairie  Dell  M.  E.  church. 

The  firm  of  Bishop  &  Laroch,  pioneer  furniture  dealers  of  Iroquois 
county,  Watseka,  has  been  established  since  the  year  1862.  It  is  one 
of  the  largest,  most  reputable,  and  successful  in  Iroquois  county,  and 
holds  a  position  for  integrity  in  business  above  an  average  character. 
John  H.  Bishop  was  born  in  Windom  county,  Vermont,  March  5, 1818. 
In  his  native  county  Mr.  Bishop  learned  the  trade  of  a  cabinet-maker. 
From  Vermont  he  moved  to  Massachusetts,  where  he  remained  until 
1856,  when  he  started  west  with  his  wife  (formerly  Elizabeth  McColby, 
whom  he  married  at  Grafton,  Vermont)  and  one  child.  They  came  to 
Illinois,  and  located  in  Iroquois  county.  They  remained  a  short  time 
at  Onarga,  and  in  the  fall  of  1856  moved  to  Middleport,  where  Jflr. 
Bishop  was  engaged  in  contracting  and  building.  He  built  a  great 
many  buildings  in  Middleport,  among  which  may  be  mentioned  the 
Presbyterian  church,  which  was  one  of  the  first  churches  built  in  this 
vicinity.  He  also  built  the  school-house  at  Middleport.  Mr.  Bishop 
has  held  several  offices  of  public  trust :  alderman  and  city  treasurer,  in 


'      MIDDLEPORT   AND    BELMOKT   TOWNSHIPS.  75 

which  offices  he  has  given  entire  satisfaction.  Hypolite  Laroch  was 
born  in  Montreal,  Canada,  December  12,  1838.  In  Canada,  with  his 
father,  he  learned  the  trade  of  a  cabinet  and  wagon-maker.  In  1855 
he  came  to  Illinois,  and  located  in  Kankakee  city,  where  he  remained 
about  nine  months,  and  then  came  to  Iroquois  county  in  1856,  and 
located  in  Middleport.  He  commenced  to  work  in  a  wagon-shop,  and 
became  owner  of  one  of  the  leading  shops  in  Middleport.  He  is  now 
an  alderman  of  Watseka.  In  1862  the  firm  of  Bishop  &  Laroch  was 
formed.  They  remained  in  Middleport  until  1863,  and  then  moved 
their  business  to  Watseka,  into  a  building  near  Maj.  Peter's  book-store, 
where  they  remained  until  they  erected  their  present  shops,  which  are 
located  on  Main  street,  east  of  the  First  National  Bank  building,  size 
20x90  feet,  two  stories  high.  These  gentlemen  came  to  Iroquois 
county  very  poor,  but  with  good  health,  knowing  their  trade,  they 
went  to  work  and  succeeded.  These  gentlemen  have  had  many  years' 
experience  in  the  furniture  business,  and  by  close  application  to  the 
same  in  its  various  details,  have  been  enabled  to  manufacture  and  buy 
at  such  figures  as  have  enabled  them  to  sell  a  fine  quality  of  furniture 
at  the  most  reasonable  prices.  They  keep  on  hand  a  large  stock  of  the 
different  qualities  and  styles  of  all  kinds  of  goods,  from  which  a  person 
in  any  station  of  life  may  select  just  what  he  wants.  Besides  furniture, 
these  gentlemen  are  engaged  in  the  undertaking  business. 

Peter  C.  Hoyt,  justice  of  the  peace,  Watseka,  was  born  in  Greene 
county,  New  York,  June  7,  1840,  and  is  the  son  of  Henry  and  Sallie 
(Conine)  Hoyt,  both  natives  of  'New  York.  His  father  was  a  black- 
smith by  trade,  and  was  engaged  also  in  farming.  Mr.  Hoyt  was 
brought  up  on  the  farm.  In  about  1848,  with  his  parents,  he  moved 
to  Wayne  county,  New  York,  where  they  remained  until  1856.  His 
mother  died  in  New  York,  September,  1855.  In  1856,  with  his  father 
and  five  children,  he  came  west  to  Illinois  and  located  in  Texas,  Iro- 
quois county.  In  1858  Mr.  Hoyt  commenced  farming,  working  by  the 
month  in  the  summer  time,  and  in  the  winter  months  attending 
school.  In  1861  he  enlisted  in  the  late  civil  war,  in  Co.  C,  51st  111. 
Vol.  Inf.,  as  fifer.  He  did  duty  fourteen  months,  and  on  account  of 
sickness  was  honorably  discharged.  He  returned  to  Iroquois  county 
and  engaged  in  farming  until  1875,  when  he  came  to  Watseka  and 
commenced  the  lumber  business,  in  which  he  is  still  engaged.  In  1877 
Mr.  Hoyt  was  elected  to  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace.  This  office 
he  now  fills,  and  is  giving  entire  satisfaction. 

Alexander  H.  South,  Watseka,  was  born  in  New  Albany,  Floyd 
county,  Indiana,  June  18,  1841,  and  is  the  son  of  Daniel  and  Rebecca 
(McCormack)  South.  His  mother  was  a  native  of  Kentucky,  and  his 


76  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

father  of  Ohio.  Mr.  South  remained  in  New  Albany  until  1856,  when, 
with  his  parents,  he  moved  to  Illinois  and  located  on  a  farm  in  Ash 
Grove,  Iroquois  county.  Here  his  father  died,  in  1857,  with  conges- 
tive chills,  leaving  the  family  in  poor  circumstances.  Mr.  South 
remained  on  the  farm  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  late  civil  war,  when 
he  enlisted,  August  4,  1861.  as  corporal  in  Co.  F,  25th  111.  Vol.  Inf., 
for  three  years.  He  participated  in  some  of  the  most  prominent  bat- 
tles of  the  war :  Pea  Ridge,  Chickamauga,  Mission  Ridge,  etc.  In  a 
skirmish  on  June  14,  1864,  he  received  a  slight  wound,  and  was  sick 
but  a  short  time.  He  commanded  his  company  at  Mission  Ridge. 
From  sergeant  he  was  promoted  to  second  sergeant,  then  orderly 
sergeant,  and  from  this  to  second  lieutenant  of  Co.  F.  He  was  trans- 
ferred to  Cos.  G  and  K.  He  was  detailed  at  one  time  to  take  charge 
of  a  pioneer  corps.  He  was  mustered  out  September,  1864,  and 
returned  to  Iroquois  county  and  farmed  until  1868.  In  1866  and  1867 
he  was  tax  collector  of  Ash  Grove.  In  1868  he  was  nominated  and 
elected  sheriff  of  Iroquois  county  by  the  republican  party,  and  in  1870 
and  1872  reflected  to  the  same  office.  Here  he  won  a  host  of  friends 
and  gave  entire  satisfaction,  having  proven  himself  honest  and  atten- 
tive to  business.  During  Mr.  South's  term  of  office  the  man  Martin 
Mera  was  taken  from  the  jail  and  hung  by  a  mob  which  overpowered 
Mr.  South.  Mr.  South  was  a  candidate  for  circuit  clerk  before  the 
republican  convention.  He  was  unanimously  nominated  for  sheriff 
in  1878,  but  was  defeated  for  office.  He  has  been  alderman  of  the 
city  of  Watseka  three  years.  He  is  a  republican  in  politics,  and  ranks 
among  the  prominent  ones  of  the  party.  Mr.  South  was  married,  Octo- 
ber, 1866,  at  Wilmington,  Ohio,  to  Miss  Martha  Orem,  of  Clinton 
county,  Ohio.  By  this  union  they  have  had  seven  children,  two 
deceased. 

Thomas  Vennum,  banker, Watseka,  was  born  on  his  father's  farm  in 
the  Keystone  state,  Washington  county,  on  December  25,  1833,  and 
is  the  son  of  Christopher  C.  and  Rosanna  (Paul)  Vennum,  who  were 
both  natives  of  Pennsylvania.  In  1835  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  with 
his  father  and  mother  and  two  children,  came  west  by  steamboat  down 
the  Ohio  river,  and  located  on  a  farm  in  what  is  now  known  as  Mil- 
ford  township,  Iroquois  coiinty,  Illinois.  Here  Mr.  Vennum  remained, 
farming  in  the  summer,  and  in  the  winter  months  attending  the  district 
school  of  the  period,  which  was  the  first  step  of  his  acquiring  a  com- 
plete education.  In  1856  he  was  nominated  and  elected  by  the  republican 
party  to  the  office  of  circuit  clerk  of  Iroquois  county.  He  was  nomina- 
ted as  a  compromise  over  two  other  very  prominent  men  of  the  republi- 
can party.  He  moved  toMiddleport,  then  the  county  seat,  and  entered 


MTDDLEPORT    AND   BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  77 

upon  his  duties  as  circuit  clerk.  Here  he  gained  many  friends,  and  in 
1860  and  1864  was  reflected  to  the  same  office.  In  1870  he  served 
the  people  one  term  with  marked  ability  as  representative.  In  1864 
he  moved  to  Watseka,  which  has  since  been  his  home.  In  1868,  in 
company  with  John  L.  Donovan  and  George  A.  Woodford,  he  com- 
menced the  banking  business  in  Watseka,  the  firm  being  known  as 
Donovan,  Woodford  &  Co.,  doing  a  general  banking  business  until 
October,  1874.  In  1874  Mr.  Vennum  went  to  Tennessee,  and  was 
engaged  at  Tracy  City  in  managing  mining  and  shipping  coal.  Here 
he  remained  until  1876,  when  he  returned  to  Watseka.  In  1876,  in 
company  with  John  L.  Donovan,  he  again  commenced  the  general 
banking  business  in  Milford,  where  they  are  now  conducting  one  of 
the  leading  banks  of  Iroquois  county.  While  Mr.  Vennum  was  a  res- 
ident of  Middleport  he  formed  the  company  of  the  well  known  drug  firm 
of  H.  A.  Tillinghast  &  Co.  They  moved  to  Watseka,  and  the  firm 
changed  to  Secrest,  Tillinghast  &  Co.,  Mr.  Vennum  still  being  a  silent 
partner.  He  continued  in  the  drug  business  for  a  number  of  years. 
Mr.  Vennum  is  a  republican  in  politics.  He  was  married,  February, 
1862,  in  Detroit,  Michigan,  to  Miss  L.  A.  Tuller,  daughter  of  Harry 
Tuller,  and  by  this  union  they  have  had  five  children,  one  deceased. 
Mr.  Vennum's  father  died  at  Onarga  in  1868,  being  sixty-three  years 
of  age.  His  mother  died  in  1846,  at  the  age  of  thirty-six.  Mr. 
Veunum  has  one  brother  and  one  sister  living :  William,  now  a  resi- 
dent of  Texas;  and  Sarah,  who  lives  in  Iowa. 

C.  H.  Palmer,  deceased,  was  born  in  Moscow,  New  York,  January  1, 
1818,  and  there  he  resided  eight  years.  His  father,  Dr.  Asa  R.  Palmer, 
removed  to  Vermilion  county,  Indiana,  and  two  years  later  to  Danville, 
Illinois.  At  the  age  of  twenty-five  he  graduated  from  the  Wabash  Col- 
lege, at  Crawfordsville,  Indiana,  and  that  year  began  a  theological 
course  in  Lane  Theological  Seminary,  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  from  which 
he  graduated  in  1846.  Rev.  LymanBeecher  was  at  that  time  president 
of  this  college.  He  first  preached  in  Coles  county,  Illinois,  near  Charles- 
ton, then  a  short  time  at  Romney,  Indiana,  and  in  1851  took  charge  of 
a  church  in  Danville.  He  was  married  in  1852.  Four  years  later  he 
became  a  resident  of  Middleport  and  took  charge  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  at  that  place,  and  remained  its  pastor  until  1870.  In  1872  he 
moved  with  his  family  to  Deer  Creek,  Tazewell  county.  Illinois,  preach- 
ing there  until  1875.  He  then  returned  to  Watseka,  where  he  has 
since  resided.  He  had,  after  his  return,  no  church  in  charge,  but 
preached  occasionally  in  adjoining  towns  and  neighboring  counties. 
He  died  Monday,  February  12,  1877,  with  heart  disease.  There  never 
lived  a  more  earnest  Christian  or  more  generous,  noble-hearted  man 


78  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

than  Mr.  Palmer,  who  commanded  the  admiration  of  all  who  knew 
him  by  his  gentle  disposition  and  exemplary  conduct.  His  life  was 
spent  in  ministering  to  the  wants  of  those  around  him  who  needed 
assistance,  and  every  year  many  a  poor  family  received  help  and  com- 
fort at  his  hands.  Mrs.  Palmer  and  four  children  were  left  to  mourn 
the  untimely  loss  of  a  kind  husband  and  father. 

Stephen  Cissna,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Watseka,  was  born  in 
Chillicothe,  Ross  county,  Ohio,  February  9,  1815,  and  is  the  son  of 
Stephen  Cissna,  who  was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  1812,  under  Gen. 
Hull,  and  received  a  wound  in  the  right  arm.  He  died  when  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  was  about  thirteen  years  of  age.  Mr.  Cissna's  grand- 
father, Stephen  Cissna,  and  his  four  sons,  were  soldiers  in  the  revolu- 
tionary war.  At  sixteen  years  of  age  Mr.  Cissna  commenced  to  learn 
the  trade  of  a  tanner  in  Chillicothe.  From  there  he  went  to  Clarks- 
burg and  Columbus,  where  he  engaged  in  working  at  his  trade.  In 
1836  he  went  to  La  Fayette,  Indiana,  and  worked  at  his  trade  a  short 
time.  In  1837  he  commenced  farming  in  Warren  county,  Indiana,  and 
from  that  he  embarked  in  the  mercantile  business  in  Williamsport, 
Indiana,  where  he  remained  some  five  years.  In  1856  Mr.  Cissna  came 
to  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  and  located  in  Pigeon  Grove,  on  a  farm  of 
some  680  acres  of  land.  Here  he  remained  until  1867,  when  he  moved 
to  his  present  home,  having  purchased  it  from  his  brother,  William 
Cissna,  who  had  located  here  in  1865.  This  farm  was  improved  by  Mr. 
George  King.  Since  Mr.  Cissna's  residence  in  Middleport  township 
he  has  held  several  offices  of  trust.  He  was  supervisor  of  the  town- 
ship for  one  term.  He  was  married,  April  13.  1848,  in  Williamsport, 
Indiana,  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Miller,  daughter  of  E.  W.  Miller.  She  died 
August  2,'  1858.  Mr.  Cissna  was  married  to  his  present  wife,  Clara 
Hawk,  daughter  of  Erastus  Hawk,  in  1864.  He  is  the  father  of  one 
child  by  his  first  wife. 

Henry  T.  Skeels,  Watseka,  was  born  in  Franklin  county,  Ohio, 
September  23,  1837,  and  is  the  son  of  Truman  and  Betsy  B.  (Wiswell) 
Skeels.  His  father  was  engaged  in  farming.  When  Mr.  Skeels  was 
about  thirteen  years  of  age,  his  father  and  mother  both  died,  the  same 
week,  with  typhoid  fever,  leaving  an  estate  to  be  divided  among  the 
children.  Mr.  Skeels  remained  in  his  native  county  until  he  was  nearly 
fifteen  years  old,  when  he  went  to  Stark  county,  and  from  there  to 
Illinois,  and  first  stopped  in  Onarga,  where  he  began  the  study  of  med- 
icine. From  that  he  was  engaged  as  clerk  in  a  general  store.  In  1861 
he  went  to  the  army,  where  he  was  for  a  while  in  the  quartermaster's 
department,  and  then  clerk  in  the  suttler's  store.  He  remained  in  the 
army  about  eleven  months,  when  he  returned  to  Iroquois  county.  In 


MIDDLEPORT   AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  79 

1862  he  went  to  Middleport,  where  lie  served  as  deputy  circuit  clerk 
under  Hon.  Thos.  Yennum,  who  was  circuit  clerk  for  a  number  of 
years.  Here  he  came  in  contact  with  a  great  many  men,  and  won  a 
host  of  friends.  In  1868  he  was  nominated  and  elected  to  the  office  of 
circuit  clerk,  by  the  republican  party,  by  one  of  the  largest  majorities 
ever  given  to  a  candidate' for  office.  During  his  term  of  office  he  gave 
entire  satisfaction.  In  November,  1874,  he  entered  the  banking  busi- 
ness, in  company  with  J.  Malsenbau,  forming  the  firm  of  J.  Malsenbau 
&  Co.  The  "Watseka  bank  did  a  general  banking  business,  which  con- 
tinued until  1879,  when  it  closed  its  business.  Mr.  Skeels  was  married 
in  Middlebury,  Yermont,  to  Helen  M.  Matthews,  of  Yermont,  daughter 
of  Darius  Matthews.  By  this  marriage  they  have  two  children :  a 
son  and  a  daughter. 

L.  N.  Pittwood,  physician,  Watseka,  is  one  of  the  pioneer  physicians 
of  Iroquois  county.  He  was  born  in  London,  England,  March  20, 
1830.  His  parents  are  William  and  S.  (Sanders)  Pittwood,  both  natives 
of  England.  His  father  was  a  brewer  in  England.  In  1838  Dr.  Pitt- 
wood,  with  his  parents,  emigrated  to  America,  and  landed  in  New 
York  city.  They  remained  in  New  York  state  for  about  two  and  one- 
half  years,  when,  in  1841,  they  came  west  to  Illinois,  and  stopped  in 
Chicago  about  two  weeks.  From  there  they  went  to  St.  Charles,  Kane 
county.  Here  Dr.  Pittwood  received  his  education,  and  at  nineteen 
years  of  age  he  began  the  study  of  medicine  under  Dr.  -George  W. 
Richards,  one  of  the  leading  physicians  of  St.  Charles.  In  1856  Dr. 
Pittwood  commenced  the  study  of  medicine.  In  1857  he  came  to  Iro- 
quois county  and  located  at  Gilman,  where  he  began  the  practice  of 
medicine,  and  remained  in  Gilman  until  1859,  when  he  came  to  Middle- 
port,  then  the  county  seat  of  Iroquois  county.  From  there  he  came  to 
Watseka,  which  has  been  his  home  ever  since.  He  is  now  the  oldest 
practicing  physician  of  Watseka,  and  perhaps  of  Iroquois  county.  Dr. 
Pittwood  is  a  member  of  the  Illinois  Medical  Society  and  the  Iroquois 
Medical  Association,  of  which  latter  he  was  vice-president.  The  Doctor 
has  held  several  offices  of  public  trust,  that  of  school-director  and  alder- 
man of  Watseka.  He  has  been  married  twice.  His  first  wife  was 
Miss  Mariah  Hookaway,  of  New  York,  now  deceased  ;  and  his  present 
wife  was  Rachel  A.  Foreman,  of  Michigan.  He  is  the  father  of  four 
children  :  three  by  his  first  wife  and  one  by  the  second. 

Seymoure  Cobb,  farmer,  Watseka,  was  born  in  Warren  county, 
Indiana,  January  15,  1834,  and  is  the  son  of  Ira  Cobb,  who  was  a 
farmer.  Mr.  Cobb  was  engaged  in  farming,  in  Warren  county,  until 
1857,  when  he  came  to  Iroquois  county  and  located  in  Middleport 
township,  where  he  has  been  a  resident  ever  since.  In  1870  he  moved 


80  HISTOEY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

to  his  present  farm.  He  owns  300  acres  of  land.  He  married  Rebecca 
Little,  of  Warren  county,  Indiana.  They  have  five  children  living. 
Mr.  Cobb's  father  died  when  he  was  thirteen  years  of  age,  leaving  the 
care  of  the  family  on  his  mother. 

Henry  A.  Butzow,  county  clerk,  Watseka,  was  born  in  Mecklenburg- 
Schwerin,  Germany,  July  9, 1834,  and  is  the  son  of  Ludwig  and  Sophia 
(Wille)  Butzow,  both  natives  of  Germany.  His  father  was  a  school- 
teacher by  profession.  Mr.  Butzow  received  his  principal  education  in 
Germany,  where  he  was  engaged  for  three  years  in  teaching  school.  In 
1854  he  started  alone  for  America,  and  after  landing  in  New  York 
city,  went  to  Oneida  county,  New  York,  where  he  worked  on  a  farm 
for  about  sixteen  months,  when  he  came  west  to  Illinois,  and  located 
on  a  farm  near  Qhebanse.  In  1855  he  rented  a  farm  in  Kankakee 
county,  Illinois,  where  he  remained  until  1858,  when  he  came  to  Iro- 
quois  county,  and  located  in  Chebanse  township,  and  farmed  until  1862. 
He  enlisted  as  a  private,  March,  1862,  in  Co.  G,  25th  111.  Yol.  Inf.,  for 
three  years.  He  participated  in  the  battles  of  Perryville,  Siege  of 
Atlanta,  etc.  He  was  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Peach  Tree  creek,  in 
the  left  breast ;  the  bullet  struck  his  watch  and  glanced  around  the  rib, 
making  a  painful  but  not  serious  wound.  He  was  disabled  and  sent  to 
the  hospital,  but  was  afterward  placed  on  extra  duty  at  Louisville, 
where  he  remained  until  the  close  of  the  war  in  1865.  He  then  went 
to  St.  Clair  county,  where  he  had  a  brother,  and  remained  with  him 
about  six  months,  when  he  made  a  trip  to  Germany  in  1866,  where  he 
married  his  present  wife,  Sophia  Pfudle.  He  returned  to  America  in 
1866,  and  located  on  a  farm  in  Iroquois  township,  Iroquois  county. 
In  1873  he  was  nominated  and  elected  to  the  office  of  county  clerk  by 
the  farmers'  party,  receiving  a  majority  of  300  votes.  In  1877  he  was 
reflected  to  the  same  office,  on  the  independent  ticket,  by  a  majority  of 
749  votes.  Mr.  Butzow  held  the  office  of  township  clerk  of  Iroquois 
township,  from  1867  to  1873,  and  at  the  close  of  his  service  in  that 
capacity  he  removed  to  Watseka,  where  he  has  since  resided.  In  the 
discharge  of  his  duties  as  a  public  officer  he  has  been  prompt  and  hon- 
orable. His  reputation  is  such  as  the  people  bestow  upon  a  citizen  and 
officer  who  has  betrayed  no  trust,  but  has  assisted,  in  all  honorable 
ways,  to  further  every  movement  resulting  in  the  welfare  of  the  citizen 
and  for  the  public  good. 

Joseph  C.  Popper,  attorney-at-law,  Watseka,  was  born  in  Bohemia, 
October  22, 1820.  He  received  his  education  at  Prague,  the  capital  of 
Bohemia.  In  1840  he  came  to  America.  He  commenced  the  study  of 
law  in  New  York  city,  and  in  1841  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  the 
state  of  New  Jersey.  He  commenced  the  practice  of  law  in  Frank- 


MIDDLEPORT   AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  81 

linville,  and  from  there  he  came  west,  and  was  a  resident  of  St.  Louis, 
Missouri,  for  a  short  time.  He  came  to  Illinois  in  1845,  where  he  has 
remained  ever  since.  In  1858  Mr.  Popper  came  to  Iroquois  county. 
In  1862  he  enlisted  in  the  late  civil  war,  as  a  private,  in  Co.  F,  76th 
111.  Vol.  Inf.  He  did  good  service,  and  was  in  a  number  of  the  most 
prominent  battles — fourteen  in  all.  He  was  wounded  in  the  left  leg 
at  Champion  Hill.  On  account  of  this  wound  he  is  receiving  a  pen- 
sion. Mr.  Popper  participated  in  the  last  battle  during  the  war, —  the 
capture  of  the  Blakelies  and  the  surrender  of  Mobile.  From  private 
he  gradually  rose  to  the  position  of  chief  clerk  of  the  commissary 
department.  After  the  war,  Mr.  Popper  returned  to  Iroquois  county, 
where  he  has  been  a  resident  since. 

Arnold  Brothers,  druggists,  Watseka,  are  the  proprietors  of  the 
pioneer  drug  store  of  Watseka.  T.  S.  Arnold,  the  senior  member,  was 
born  in  Clinton  county,  Ohio,  March  6,  1846,  and  is  the  son  of  George 
W.  and  Martha  (Mills)  Arnold.  His  mother  was  born  in  Clinton 
county,  Ohio,  and  his  father  in  Virginia,  and  was  a  wagon-maker  by 
trade.  They  were  married  in  Ohio,  where  they  raised  a  family  of  four 
children,  three  living.  In  1851  they  came  to  Illinois,  and  located  in 
Livingston  county,  on  a  farm.  He  died  in  1854.  In  1856  the  family 
moved  to  Grundy  county.  In  1858  they  came  to  Iroquois  county,  and 
located  at  Middleport.  Here  Mr.  T.  S.  Arnold  learned  the  printer's 
trade,  and  followed  his  profession  about  two  years.  In  1862  he  enlisted 
as  corporal  in  Co.  I,  113th  111.  Vol.  Inf.,  for  three  years  or  during  the 
war.  He  participated  in  several  battles,  and  was  detailed  as  clerk  in 
Memphis,  Tennessee.  He  served  until  the  close  of  the  war  in  1865, 
at  which  time  he  returned  to  Middleport,  and  entered  the  drug  firm  of 
Secrest,  Tillinghast  &  Co.,  as  clerk.  Here  he  served  until  1866,  when 
the  firm  moved  to  Watseka,  and  he  became  a  partner.  In  1869  Mr. 
Tillinghast  died,  and  then  the  firm  was  changed  to  Secrest,  Arnold  & 
Co.  In  1876  it  changed  to  Arnold  Bros.  D.W.  Arnold,  the  junior  mem- 
ber, was  born  in  Clinton  county,  Ohio,  September  11,  1848.  He  was 
also  a  soldier  in  the  late  war,  enlisting,  in  1864,  in  Co.  B,  134th  reg., 
one-hnndred-days  service.  This  regiment  did  garrison  duty,  princi- 
pally in  Kentucky.  In  1866  he  entered  as  a  clerk  in  a  drug  store  in 
Eureka,  Illinois,  with  Jas.  W.  Finley.  He  was  also  clerking  for  a  short 
time  at  Milford.  He  then  came  to  Watseka,  and  in  1869  was  made  a 
partner  of  the  above-named  firm. 

Hon.  George  C.  Harrington.  It  is  one  of  the  designs  of  this  work 
to  give  brief  sketches  of  the  more  prominent  characters  whose  lives 
and  conduct  have  been  of  such  a  nature  as  to  make  an  impress  upon 
the  historical  pages  of  the  county  in  which  they  reside.  When  the 


82  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

subject  is  of  such  a  character  as  to  present  an  example  of  honesty, 
industry  and  integrity  to  the  younger  and  rising  generation,  point- 
ing out  to  these  the  possibilities  of  the  most  humble  among  them,  our 
sketch  will  serve  the  dual  purpose  of  history  and  example.  In  our 
present  subject  we  have  such  a  character,  as  will  be  noted  in  this  sketch. 
George  C.  Harrington  was  born  in  St.  Lawrence  county,  New  York,  June 
30,  1833,  the  son  of  Benjamin  O.  and  Harriet  E.  (Langdon)  Harring- 
ton, both  natives  of  Vermont.  When  three  years  of  age  he  came  with 
his  parents  to  Joliet,  Illinois,  where  the  family  made  their  permanent 
home.  At  the  age  of  thirteen  he  entered  the  office  of  the  "  True 
Democrat "  (now  the  Joliet  "  Republican  ")  to  learn  "  the  art  preserva- 
tive of  all  arts."  Here  he  applied  himself  industriously  and  faithfully 
to  his  chosen  vocation,  and  acquired  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
printer's  trade.  Having  served  out  his  apprenticeship  in  the  compos- 
ing rooms  of  the  "  True  Democrat,"  he  went  to  Skowhegan  Falls, 
Maine,  and  there,  by  a  proper  course  of  study,  prepared  himself  for  col- 
lege. He  afterward  entered  Union  College,  Schenectady,  New  York, 
then  under  the  presidency  of  the  distinguished  Dr.  Eliphalet  Nott. 
His  career  in  this  celebrated  institution  of  learning  was  a  series  of 
marked  triumphs,  standing  at  the -head  of  his  class  in  the  classics,  and 
in  point  of  literary  ability  ranking  first  among  the  many  able  students 
then  in  attendance.  From  Schenectady  he  returned  to  the  Great 
West  arid  rested  at  Davenport,  Iowa,  which  presented  an  inviting  field 
to  the  young  student,  all  aglow  with  enthusiasm  and  ambitious  to 
carve  out  for  himself  a  useful  and  worthy  career.  In  connection  with 
Franc  B.  Wilkie  (Poliuto),  now  of  the  Chicago  "  Times,"  he  estab- 
lished the  Davenport  "  Daily  News,"  which  soon  took  rank  as  one  of 
the  leading  democratic  journals  of  Iowa.  In  1859  Mr.  Harrington 
came  to  Iroquois  county,  and  associated  himself  with  the  Iroquois 
"Press,"  a  democratic  newspaper.  •  In  the  following  year  the  democ- 
racy of  Iroquois  county  placed  him  in  nomination  as  their  candidate 
for  circuit  clerk,  and  although  defeated  at  the  ensuing  election,  he  ran 
largely  ahead  of  his  ticket.  He  still  continued  his  connection  with  the 
"  Press"  until  1862.  The  country  was  then  writhing  in  the  agonies 
of  civil  war,  and  as  a  patriotic  son  he  felt  that  his  services  were 
required  in  the  field.  He  consequently  abandoned  his  editorial  duties 
and  began  recruiting  for  the  service,  and  after  taking  the  first  company 
into  camp  at  Kankakee  for  the  76th  Illinois  regiment,  assisted  in  filling 
up  two  other  companies  for  the  113th.  He  enlisted  as  a  private  soldier, 
but  his  superior  ability  being  recognized,  the  members  of  his  company 
(A)  elected  him  captain.  In  January,  1863,  he  was  promoted  to  major. 
He  wras,  however,  not  permitted  to  serve  long  after  this.  On  July  4, 1863, 


Wftv^i>«p 
'  ''%&< 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


MIDDLEPOET   AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  85 

near  Vicksburg,  Mississippi,  he  was  reluctantly  obliged  to  resign  on  ac- 
count of  dysenter}'  contracted  in  the  army,  the  effects  of  which  still  linger 
with  him,  and  from  which  he  will  probably  never  recover.  On  his 
return  from  the  army  he  engaged  in  the  hardware  business  at  Watseka, 
in  the  firm  of  Woodford  &  Co.  He  was  soon  after  appointed  collector 
of  internal  revenue  for  Iroquois,  Ford  and  Champaign  counties,  in 
which  capacity  he  discharged  his  duties  conscientiously,  so  that  at  the 
close  of  his  official  term  not  one  cent  of  the  large  amounts  of  money 
handled  by  him  was  missing,  and  he  turned  over  the  books  to  his  suc- 
cessors with  a  clean  record.  In  1869  Maj.  Harrington  was  elected 
mayor  of  Watseka,  and  reflected  the  following  year,  declining  the  office 
after  having  served  two  terms,  though  urgently  pressed  to  accept  a 
third  term.  This  evinces  the  high  esteem  in  which  he  is  held  by  the 
people  of  Watseka.  In  the  year  1870,  in  connection  with  several 
other  enterprising  citizens,  Maj.  Harrington  organized  the  First 
National  Bank  of  Watseka,  of  which  corporation  he  was  promptly 
chosen  as  cashier,  which  office  he  still  holds.  This  institution  is  one 
of  the  stanchest  and  most  flourishing  in  the  county,  having,  from  its 
organization,  won  the  confidence  of  the  people.  Maj.  Harrington  was 
married  to  Miss  Mary  L.  Hutchinson,  at  Crawfordsville,  Indiana,  in 
1864,  and  has  two  children  living.  Yery  domestic  in  his  habits,  his  home 
is  a  model  of  comfort  and  good  taste.  He  has  taken  considerable  inter- 
est in  politics,  though  not  an  active  politician  in  the  usual  sense  of  that 
term.  He  is  recognized  throughout  the  state  as  a  prominent  democrat, 
prominent  more  for  his  ability  than  his  activity.  At  present  he  is 
a  member  of  the  democratic  state  central  committee.  Though  never  an 
office-seeker,  he  was,  in  1876,  without  his  consent,  mentioned  by  sev- 
eral papers  and  prominently  spoken  of  by  eminent  democrats  as  a  can- 
date  for  secretary  of  state  ;  but  he  induced  his  friends  to  withdraw  his 
name  from  the  state  convention.  He  presided  over  the  democratic 
congressional  convention  held  at  Fairbury  in  1878,  and  on  invitation 
of  that  body  addressed  them,  making  a  masterly  speech,  which  was 
published  and  scattered  broadcast  as  a  campaign  document.  The  same 
convention  would  have  nominated  him  as  their  candidate  for  congress, 
but  he  emphatically  declined  the  proffered  honor.  His  name  is  at  this 
time  conspicuous  in  several  democratic  journals  as  an  available  candi- 
date for  lieutenant-governor  of  Illinois.  Maj.  Harrington  is  an  active 
member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd-Fellows,  and  much  esteemed 
by  his  brethren  of  the  fraternity.  Hon.  George  C.  Harrington  is  a 
self-made  man,  having  risen  by  his  own  unaided  efforts  to  his  present 
enviable  position  in  life.  His  parents  were  poor,  but  by  his  indefat- 
igable energy  he  acquired  an  education  in  spite  of  all  the  obstacles 
6 


86  HISTORY    OF   IKOQUOIS    COUNTY. 

that  darkened  the  path  of  his  early  years.  His  future  promises  most 
auspiciously,  and  should  his  life  be  spared  the  ordinary  years  allotted 
to  man,  we  predict  that  his  name  will  yet  become  distinguished  in  the 
annals  of  our  state  as  it  is  in  that  of  Iroquois  county.  A  gentleman  of 
culture,  a  fine  scholar,  and  still  a  student  from  habit ;  a  man  towering 
high  among  his  fellows,  all  recognizing  his  superior  ability  and  worth 
of  character,  and  ever  ready  to  pay  deference  to  his  excellent  quali- 
ties, he  is  yet  as  modest  and  retiring  as  a  child  ;  vanity  is  not  one  of 
his  characteristics.  A  democrat  in  principle  and  practice,  he  believes, 
with  a  faith  born  of  conviction,  in  the  equality  and  brotherhood  of 
man.  He  is  public-spirited,  liberal  and  charitable,  ever  ready  to  assist, 
with  his  purse  or  his  pen,  in  any  cause  that  promises  good  to  his  fellow 
ma'n  or  the  public.  A  man  of  broad  and  comprehensive  views,  he 
looks  upon  the  world  as  he  finds  it,  and  is  therefore  conservative  rather 
than  radical.  The  people  of  Watseka  look  upon  him  as  an  exemplary 
man,  and  are  proud  to  call  him  their  own. 

Among  the  first  and  most  successful  business  men  of  "Watseka,  may 
be  mentioned  the  late  Henry  A.  Tillinghast,  who  was  borfl  near  Nor- 
wich, Connecticut,  in  1836.  But  very  little  could  be  learned  of  Mr. 
Tillinghast's  early  life.  At  ten  years  of  age  he  entered  the  drug  busi- 
ness as  a  clerk  in  a  leading  store  in  Norwich,  Connecticut.  From  there 
he  came  west  to  Illinois,  and  accepted  a  similar  position  in  Chicago, 
where  he  remained  in  the  business  until  about  1859,  when  he  came  to 
Iroquois  county  and  took  a  position  as  clerk.  From  here  he  engaged 
as  a  partner  in  the  drug  firm  of  Secrest,  Tillinghast  &  Co.,  at  Middle- 
port.  This  firm  at  that  time  was  one  of  the  leading  business  houses  of 
Iroquois  county.  They  moved  their  stock  of  goods  from  Middleport 
to  Watseka,  and  occupied  the  stand  now  owned  by  the  Arnold  Broth- 
ers. Here  he  remained  in  business  until  his  death,  which  occurred  in 
March,  1869.  Thus  passed  away  one  of  the  most  highly  respected  and 
honored  business  men  of  Watseka.  Mr.  Tillinghast,  in  1860,  married 
Miss  Mary  E.  Arnold,  who  was  born  in  Clinton  county,  Ohio,  in  1842. 
By  this  marriage  they  have  one  child  living.  Mrs.  Tillinghast  married 
the  second  time  to  George  E.  King,  a  prominent  attorney.  By  this 
union  they  have  two  children  living. 

Lovett  &  James,  livery  men,  Watseka,  are  the  proprietors  of  one  of 
the  leading  livery  stables  of  Watseka.  Mr.  H.  C.  Lovett  was  born  in 
Rhode  Island,  and  came  west  and  located  in  Iroquois  county  in  1860. 
Here  he  has  been  engaged  in  farming  and  dealing  in  stock.  In  Feb- 
ruary, 1879,  he  entered  partnership  with  Mr.  G-eo.  W.  James,  in  the 
livery  business.  These  gentlemen  occupy  the  building  that  was 
once  used  as  a  school  and  court-house  in  Middleport.  The  building  is 


MIDDLEPORT    AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  87 

40x40  feet,  with  an  addition  30x40  feet.  They  keep  on  hand  four- 
teen head  of  good  horses,  and  some  nice  carriages. 

Lyman  M.  Johnson,  maker  of  abstracts  of  titles,  Watseka,  was  born 
in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  June  2,  1848,  and  is  the  son  of  Isaac  D.  and  Eliza 
A.  (Sawtelle)  Johnson.  His  father  was  born  in  Ludlow,  Vermont, 
having  moved  to  Ohio,  and  located  in  Cincinnati,  about  1830  or 
1832,  being  among  the  early  settlers  of  that  place.  He  engaged  in  the 
livery,  in  connection  with  the  undertaking,  business  with  J.  P.  Epply 
&  Co.,  the  largest  undertakers  of  Cincinnati.  They  owned  the  first 
hearse  with  glass  sides  in  the  west.  After  Henry  Clay's  death,  his 
remains  were  brought  through  Cincinnati,  on  their  way  to  Kentucky, 
and  Mr.  Johnson  was  detailed  by  the  committee  to  transfer  the  body 
through  the  city.  He  went  to  the  extra  expense  of  fixing  and  trim- 
ming up  his  hearse,  and  of  selecting  a  number  of  white  horses.  After- 
ward the  committee  asked  Mr.  Johnson  what  his  bill  was,  and  he  told 
them — nothing.  He  said  he  would  never  make  any  charge  for  serving 
such  a  true  man  to  his  country  as  Henry  Clay.  For  this  act  of  kind- 
ness, the  family  of  Henry  Clay  presented  Mr.  Johnson  with  a  seal- 
ring  with  a  lock  of  Henry  Clay's  hair  in  it,  which  to-day  is  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  Johnson  family.  At  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  Mr. 
Johnson  was  appointed,  by  the  government,  inspector  of  horses,  mules, 
harness  and  wagons,  in  Cincinnati.  He  also  filled  a  similar  position 
during  the  Mexican  war.  He  served  the  government  through  the  war, 
and  in  1866  died  with  cholera.  Mr.  Johnson,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  remained  in  Cincinnati  until  1861,  when  he  moved  with  his 
parents  to  Iroquois  county,  and  located  on  a  farm  near  Loda,  where  he 
engaged  in  farming  for  a  short  time,  and  returned  to  Cincinnati  and 
completed  his  college  preparatory  course.  In  1866  he  entered  the 
Beloit  College,  of  Beloit,  Wisconsin,  and  graduated  from  this  college 
in  1870.  He  returned  to  Iroquois  county,  and  in  1872  came  to  Wat- 
seka, and  entered  the  abstract  office  of  Judge  C.  F.  McNeil],  where  he 
remained  about  one  and  a  half  years.  In  1875  he  purchased  the 
abstract  business  from  Kay  &  Langlier,  in  which  business  he  has  been 
engaged  ever  since.  Mr.  Johnson  has  in  his  possession  a  sword-blade 
which  was  the  dress-sword  of  President  Harrison. 

George  A.  Woodford,  son  of  William  E.  and  Margaret  Woodford, 
was  born  in  Orleans  county,  New  York,  September  28,  1834,  educated 
in  the  common  schools  and  academy  of  that  county,  and  spent  his 
youth  there.  He  came  west  in  the  winter  of  1853-4,  located  at  Ottawa, 
Illinois,  taught  a  school  there  that  winter,  and  in  the  spring  came  to 
Middleport;  engaged  in  farming  in  the  county  that  summer,  and  in 
the  fall  returned  to  New  York,  remained  there  one  year,  and  then  came 


88  HISTORY   OF  IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

back  to  Middleport  in  September,  1855.  He  taught  school  in  Middle- 
port  and  neighborhood  until  September,  1858,  when  he  took  the  posi- 
tion of  deputy  clerk,  under  Daniel  Fry,  who  was  then  county  clerk. 
On  November  4, 1861,  he  was  elected  county  clerk  for  Iroquois  county, 
for  the  term  of  four  years.  Before  his  term  of  office  expired  he  engaged 
in  the  hardware  and  grocery  business,  his  store  being  located  at  Wat- 
seka.  Soon  after  his  term  of  office  expired  he  sold  his  stock  in  trade, 
and  became  a  partner  with  John  L.  Donovan  and  Thomas  Vennum  in 
the  Watseka  bank,  and  remained  in  that  institution  until  it  was  sold 
by  the  firm  to  Matzenbaugh  &  Skeels.  -He  removed  to  Indianapolis, 
Indiana,  in  1875,  where  he  now  resides.  He  was  married,  May  24, 1865, 
to  Miss  Anna  Hutchinson,  daughter  of  Jonathan  Hutchinson,  Mont- 
gomery county,  Indiana.  They  have  no  children.  In  politics  he  has 
been  a  war  democrat,  is  a  bright  Mason  and  Odd-Fellow,  and  a  genial, 
social  good  fellow. 

Hon.  Cornelius  F.  McNeill,  attorn ey-at-1  aw  and  abstractor,  of  the 
c;ty  of  Watseka,  son  of  John  and  Hannah  (Mayne)  McNeil],  was  born 
in  Middletown  valley.  Frederick  county,  Maryland,  March  20,  1822. 
His  father  was  of  Scotch  descent,  and  his  mother  of  German  descent, 
the  former  born  in  Tuscarora  valley,  Pennsylvania,  and  the  latter  in 
Frederick  county,  Maryland.  His  father  was  a  prominent  and  highly 
respected  citizen  of  Frederick  county,  Maryland,  and  while  residing  in 
that  county  held  several  offices  of  honor  and  profit.  Born  upon  a 
farm  where  his  help  was  needed,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  had  only 
such  opportunities  for  an  early  education  as  were  offered  in  the  country 
schools,  taught  principally  during  the  winter  season,  and  the  use  of  a 
well  selected  general  library,  owned  by  his  father,  through  which 
means  he  acquired  a  fair  education,  and  formed  a  taste  for  general 
reading  and  special  investigation,  which  has  followed  him  through 
life,  and  enabled  him  to  become  well  posted  in  almost  every  branch  of 
science  and  literature,  and  ranks  him  among  the  prominent  self-made 
men  of  the  county.  In  the  fall  of  1836  he,  with  his  father's  family, 
emigrated  to  the  then  Far  West,  and  located  at  Perrysville,  on  the 
Wabash  river,  in  Vermilion  county,  Indiana,  where  his  father  died 
in  1843,  and  his  mother  died  in  1856,  and  where  his  only  living 
brothers,  John  R.  and  George  H.  McNeil!,  now  reside.  At  Perrys- 
ville he  commenced  the  study  of  the  law,  and  part  of  the  time  being 
also  engaged  in  teaching  school ;  but  before  having  completed  the  study 
of  that  profession,  his  health  failing  presented  to  him  a  strong  induce- 
ment to  pursue  the  study  of  medicine,  for  his  own  benefit  as  to  his 
health  ;  and  after  having  completed  the  usual  course  of  study  in  this 
profession,  in  the  spring  of  1845,  he  located  at  Concord,  Tippecarioe 


M1DDLEPOKT   AND   BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  89 

county,  Indiana,  and  pursued  the  practice  of  his  profession  at  that 
place  until  the  fall  of  1854,  having  a  very  extensive  practice.  In  1852 
he  was  nominated,  by  the  whig  convention  of  that  county,  as  a  candi- 
date for  the  legislature  of  Indiana,  but  the  whig  ticket  being  defeated 
that  year  in  that  county,  he  was  not  elected.  In  May,  1846,  he  was 
married,  at  Perrysville,  Indiana,  to  Miss  Belinda  Lacey,  daughter  of 
Samuel  and  Elizabeth  Lacey,  of  that  place.  She  died  in  August,  1847, 
after  bearing  him  a  son,  which  died  a  few  days  after  its  mother.  On 
July  16,  1852,  he  was  again  married  to  Mrs.  Mary  Tatman,  widow  of 
Joseph  Tatman,  who  had  been  an  attorn ey-at-1  aw,  of  Lafayette,  Indiana, 
and  for  some  time  the  editor  and  proprietor  of  the  "  Lafayette  Journal." 
The  result  of  this  last  marriage  is  two  children,  a  son  and  a  daughter : 
Mary  E.  McNeill  and  John  L.  McNeill.  His  health  failing,  and  for 
that  reason  desiring  to  abandon  the  practice  of  medicine,  in  November, 
1854,  he  removed  to  Middleport,  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  resided  there 
the  following  winter,  and  the  next  spring  located  on  a  tract  of  300  acres 
of  land,  which  he  had  purchased,  near  the  mouth  of  Spring  creek,  and 
which  he  improved.  In  the  spring  of  1857  he  sold  his  farm  and  returned 
to  Middleport,  having  been  elected  a  justice  of  the  peace  of  the  town 
of  Middleport.  In  1858  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  by  the  supreme 
court  of  Illinois.  At  the  republican  convention  this  year  he  came 
within  one  vote  of  being  nominated  as  a  candidate  for  the  general 
assembly.  In  November,  1859,  he  became  the  editor  and  proprietor 
of  the  "  Iroquois  Republican,"  and  conducted  that  paper  in  the  inter- 
ests of  the  republican  party  and  the  union  cause,  through  the  exciting 
campaign  of  1860  and  the  dark  days  of  1861.  In  the  spring  of  this 
year  he  was  elected  police  magistrate  of  Middleport,  and  in  the  same 
year  was  nominated  by  the  union  convention  of  the  county  a  candidate 
for  the  constitutional  convention.  The  district  was  composed  of  Iro- 
quois, Kankakee,  Will  and  DuPage  counties,  and  entitled  to  only  three 
delegates;  each  had  nominated  a  candidate,  and  in  order  to  promote 
harmony  in  the  union  elements  of  the  district,  he  magnanimously  with- 
drew in  favor  of  John  ~W.  Paddock,  a  war  democrat,  who  had  been 
nominated  by  Kankakee  county.  In  1862  he  was  appointed  master- 
in-chancery  of  Iroquois  county,  and  served  in  that  office  for  three 
years.  In  1864,  1865  and  1866  he  was  elected  supervisor  of  the  town 
of  Middleport,  and  also  appointed  to  fill  vacancies  in  that  office  in  1872 
and  1877.  'In  1866  he  was  chairman  of  the  building  committee 
appointed  by  the  board  to  build  the  present  court-house  of  the  county. 
In  1862  he  was  appointed  by  Gov.  Yates,  surgeon  of  the  109th  reg. 
111.  Vol.,  but  his  health  being  such  as  not  to  warrant  his  acceptance  of 
active  service  in  the  field,  he  declined  the  appointment,  but  afterward 


90  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

accepted  an  appointment  in  the  service  of  the  state,  in  looking  after 
the  wounded  soldiers,  and  did  considerable  service  in  that  capacity  dur- 
ing the  war.  In  1865  he  was  elected  judge  of  the  county  court,  for 
Iroquois  county,  Hon.  Samuel  Williams  being  his  opponent,  and 
was  reflected  in  1869,  by  a  largely  increased  majority,  over  the  same 
opponent,  and  served  for  eight  years  in  that  office,  gaining  the  reputa- 
tion of  being  one  of  the  best  judges  in  the  state.  In  1863  he  bought 
the  abstract  books  of  Wm.  H.  Taylor,  then  owned  by  H.  O.  Henry,  but 
not  complete,  and  afterward  completed  a  general  abstract  of  the  land 
titles  of  the  county,  and  which  is  still  the  only  complete  abstract  in  the 
county.  He  is  engaged  in  the  abstract  business  and  in  chancery  prac- 
tice pertaining  to  land  titles.  In  politics  he  was  a  whig  up  to  the  dis- 
solution of  that  party,  and  since  a  leading  radical  republican,  and  has 
exerted  a  controlling  influence  in  that  party  in  his  county.  He  is  not 
a  member  of  any  church,  but  has  a  firm  belief  in  the  moral  responsi- 
bility of  man,  and  that  exact  justice  will  be  dealt  out  to  all  by  the 
Creator,  both  in  this  life  and  the  great  future,  and  from  which  there  can 
be  no  escape.  He  is  a  prominent  Mason  ;  joined  that  order  in  Perry 
Lodge,  No.  37,  La  Fayette,  Indiana,  in  1847;  was  several  years  master 
of  Lauramie  Lodge,  No.  32,  in  that  state ;  was  the  first  master  of  Mid- 
dleport  Lodge,  No.  289,  Illinois ;  is  now  a  member  of  Watseka  Lodge, 
No.  446,  and  a  member  of  Watseka  Chapter,  No.  114,  and  has  held 
the  second  office  in  that  chapter.  He  is  strongly  impressed  with  the 
beauties  of  the  symbols  of  the  order.  Being  of  Scotch-German  descent, 
indicates  the  fact  that  he  is  a  man  of  marked  character.  He  has  one  of 
the  best  general  libraries  in  the  county,  and  is  a  great  reader,  and  well 
posted  in  most  of  the  affairs  of  life.  He  is  quick  in  forming  his  opin- 
ions and  frank  in  expressing  them,  yet,,  from  his  legal  training,  he  is 
apt  to  be  just  in  his  conclusions.  He  is  intolerant  of  what  he  believes 
error  and  wrong-doing,  and  his  outspoken  manner  sometimes  gives 
offense  to  those  who  do  not  thoroughly  understand  his  character,  and 
therefore  cannot  appreciate  him.  Having  acquired  considerable  valua- 
ble property  and  lands,  he  is  comfortably  circumstanced,  and  resides  in 
a  fine  brick  residence  of  his  own,  immediately  west  of  the  court-house 
on  Second  street,  in  the  city  of  Watseka. 

N.  Jourdan,  farmer,  Watseka,  is  a  native  of  York  state,  born  June 
27,  1820.  In  1852  he  came  west,  and  located  in  Illinois,  living  in 
different  counties.  He  finally  located  in  Iroquois  county,  where  he  is 
engaged  in  farming.  He  formerly  worked  at  the  blacksmith  trade, 
which  he  learned  in  his  native  state.  Mr.  Jourdan's  father  was  in  the 
war  of  1812,  participating  in  the  battle  of  Sackett's  Harbor.  In  1849 
Mr.  N.  Jourdan  married  Miss  L.  Koucher,  a  native  of  New  York,  and 


MIDDLEPORT    AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  91 

by  this  union  they  have  six  living  children :  Sylvester,  Charles  B. ; 
Anne,  wife  of  Thomas  Soloman  ;  Deforest  A.,  Eva,  Mary ;  and  three 
deceased :  Elizabeth,  Fremont  and  Delzora. 

J.  E.  Leatherman,  farmer,  Watseka,  was  born  in  Putnam  county, 
Indiana,  January  7,  1833.  In  1835  Mr.  Leatherman's  parents  came  to 
Cook  county,  Illinois.  Mr.  Leatherman  remained  at  home  working 
on  the  farm,  that  being  his  occupation.  In  1856  he  married  Miss  L. 
R.  Hatch,  daughter  of  E.  Hatch  and  Phoebe  (Rodgers)  Hatch.  In 
1857  Mr.  Leatherman  came  to  his  present  farm.  On  August  12,  1862, 
he  enlisted  in  Co.  F,  113th  111.  Vol.  Inf.,  and  was  soon  transported 
to  the  field  of  action,  and  took  part  in  several  engagements  —  the  siege 
of  Yicksburg,  Arkansas  Post,  —  then  returning  to  Springfield,  Illi- 
nois, with  prisoners,  but  soon  after  rejoining  his  regiment.  June  11, 
1864,  he  was  taken  prisoner  and  taken  to  Andersonville,  where  he 
was  held  a  prisoner-of-war  about  five  months.  While  there  his  life 
was  constantly  in  danger  from  exposure,  starvation,  and  occasionally 
getting  too  close  to  the  "  dead  line,"  which,  if  crossed,  was  sure  death. 
After  remaining  there  for  some  time,  he  was  taken  to  South  Carolina, 
and  soon  after  paroled.  Since  his  return  home  he  has  been  engaged 
in  farming ;  he  is  the  owner  of  a  fine  farm  of  222  acres,  which  he  and 
his  wife  have  made  by  hard  work. 

Thomas  Soran,  son  of  Patrick  and  Ann  (Carney)  Soran,  was  born 
May  16,  1830,  in  Louth  county,  Ireland ;  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools  of  that  country,  and  spent  his  youth  there  in  farming.  He  left 
Ireland  November  25, 1849,  and  landed  in  New  York  city  December  26, 
1849.  He  soon  engaged  in  work  on  the  New  Jersey  Central  railroad, 
and  remained  on  that  road  about  two  years ;  then  engaged  on  the  Del- 
aware &  Belvidere  railroad,  New  Jersey,  for  about  one  year;  left 
and  entered  the  employ  of  the  Pennsylvania  Central  railroad,  residing 
at  Altoona,  and  was  so  employed  about  fifteen  months.  He  then 
came  to  Springfield,  Illinois,  and  laid  the  track  on  the  Great  Western 
railroad  from  that  city  to  Decatur,  and  remained  on  that  road  about 
fifteen  months ;  then  went  to  Keokuk,  Iowa,  and  worked  on  the 
Keokuk  &  Fort  Dodge  railroad,  graded  the  first  eight  miles,  and 
cleared  the  road  to  Farmington,  thirty  miles.  On  September  27, 
1857,  he  engaged  his  services  on  the  P.  &  O.  railroad  as  assistant 
roadmaster;  and  on  January  1,  1860,  became  roadmaster,  and  so 
remained  until  January  1,  1876.  He  was  married,  May  20,  1858,  to 
Nancy  Lyons ;  has  no  children.  He  was  raised  a  Catholic  ;  in  politics 
is  independent.  He  owns  about  800  acres  of  land,  and  several  houses 
and  lots  in  Watseka,  including  a  good  brick  store-building  and  stock 
of  groceries ;  also  owns  about  100  head  of  cattle  and  other  property, 


92  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

and  worth  not  less  than  $30,000.     He  is  an  enterprising,  intelligent 
and  valuable  citizen. 

Brooks  &  Oren,  druggists,  are  among  the  leading  merchants  of 
Watseka.  The  firm  is  composed  of  John  B.  Brooks  and  Asa  Oren. 
Mr.  Brooks  was  born  in'  Jackson,  Michigan,  in  1850,  and  there  was 
engaged  in  the  mercantile  business.  He  came  to  Watseka  and  was 
in  the  well  known  house  of  Secrest,  Arnold  &  Co.,  where  he  remained 
some  three  years.  In  1873  he  embarked  in  the  drug  business  with 
-Mr.  Bowsher,  the  firm  being  Bowsher  &  Brooks.  In  1875  the  present 
firm  of  Brooks  &  Oren  was  formed.  Mr.  Oren  was  born  in  Ohio, 
January  16,  1840,  and  is  the  son  of  John  and  Martha  (Bailey)  Oren, 
both  members  of  the  Quaker  church.  Mr.  Oren  came  to  Iroquois 
county  in  1861,  where  he  remained  until  1862,  when  he  returned  to 
Ohio.  In  1870  he  came  back  to  Iroquois  county,  and  was  made 
deputy  sheriff,  under  Mr.  A.  South,  for  some  five  years.  In  1875  he 
associated  himself  with  Mr.  Brooks  and  entered  the  drug  business. 

Abraham  Andrew,  Watseka,  was  born  in  Butler  county,  Ohio, 
December  20, 1835,  and  is  the  son  of  Jacob  and  Mary  (Neighheart)  An- 
drew, who  were  natives  of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia.  Capt.  Andrew, 
the  subject  of  our  sketch,  was  born  on  the  farm.  When  very  young,  with 
his  parents,  he  moved  to  Jacksonburg,  Ohio,  where  his  father  was  en- 
gaged in  the  hotel  business.  From  there  they  moved  to  Summerville, 
and  thence  to  Indianapolis,  Indiana,  and  subsequently  to  Dayton,  Tippe- 
canoe  county  ;  in  these  places  his  father  followed  the  hotel  business. 
He  next  went  on  a  farm,  and  afterward  moved  to  Warren  county. 
Capt.  Andrew  learned  the  harness-maker's  trade  at  Dayton,  and  at 
this  trade  he  worked  at  Williamsport.  At  the  breaking  out  of  the 
late  civil  war,  he  was  the  second  man  who  enlisted  in  Co.  B,  10th  reg. 
Ind.  Vol.  Inf.  for  three  months.  This  regiment  did  duty  in  Virginia, 
and  participated  in  the  battle  of  Rich  Mountain,  Virginia;  after 
serving  full  time  he  was  honorably  mustered  out.  He  then  came  to 
Watseka  and  entered  his  brother's  harness  shop.  He  then  Entered 
a  dry  goods  store,  and  was  clerking  for  Daniel  Fry  when  he  and 
Maj.  Harrington  raised  Co.  A,  of  the  76th  111.  Vol.  Inf.  He  was  made 
first  lieutenant,  and  Maj.  Harrington  was  made  captain.  Capt.  Andrew 
participated  in  every  battle  the  76th  was  in ;  he  was  made  captain 
of  Co.  A,  on  January  4,  1863,  and  was  known  as  Capt.  Mice,  being 
called  this  on  account  of  being  a  small  man  in  stature.  He  took  the 
camp  diarrhoea  and  was  given  up  to  die  at  Vicksburg,  Mississippi ; 
and  was  given  a  leave  of  absence  for  twenty  days,  his  old  army  friends 
never  expecting  to  see  him  again.  He  was  put  on  board  of  a  Mis- 
sissippi river  steamer,  and  started  for  home ;  here  he  met  John  Har- 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


MIDDLEPORT   AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  93 

rington,  the  pilot  of  the  boat,  who  gave  him  blackberry  brandy  and 
cured  him  before  he  arrived  at  Cairo.  He  came  home,  but  returned 
to  the  regiment  inside  of  twenty  days.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he 
returned  to  Watseka,  where  he  entered  the  grocery  business,  and 
remained  in  this  business  about  two  years.  After  this  he  entered 
the  harness  business ;  then  for  a  short  time  farmed ;  for  some  six  years 
he  clerked  in  a  dry  goods  store,  and  was  in  the  livery  stable  business 
some  five  years.  Capt.  Andrew  was  married,  January  24,  1867,  to 
Caroline  Troup,  who  was  born  in  Middleport  January  2,  1849.  They 
have  had  two  children,  one  of  whom  is  deceased. 

Michael  R.  Emmons,  blacksmith,  Watseka,  is  one  of  the  oldest 
blacksmiths  in  this  vicinity.  He  was  born  in  Burlington  county, 
New  Jersey,  in  1834.  His  father  managed  a  blacksmith  shop,  and 
was  a  farmer ;  here  Mr.  Emmons  was  born.  When  he  was  a  small 
lad  he  began  to  work  at  the  trade  of  a  blacksmith  in  Pointsville,  New 
Jersey,  where  he  remained  until  he  was  twenty-one  years  of  age. 
At  that  time  he  set  out  in  life  and  worked  at  his  trade  in  Pennsyl- 
vania and  Michigan,  and  about  1856  came  to  Illinois  and  was  engaged 
at  his  trade  in  DeKalb  and  Kane  counties.  He  finally  came  to 
Iroquois  county,  where  they  were  building  the  Toledo,  Peoria  & 
Warsaw  railroad.  Mr.  Emmons  first  located  in  Crescent ;  he  was  for 
a  short  time  in  Indiana ;  at  last  he  located  in  Middleport  township, 
where  he  has  been  engaged  at  his  trade  ever  since.  He  worked  at 
Pittwood  from  1862  to  1879,  when  he  came  to  Watseka,  where  he 
is  now  engaged  in  working  at  his  trade.  Mr.  Emmons  was  married 
to  Miss  Margaret  Stewart,  of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  .  they  have  six 
children. 

John  W.  Riggs,  circuit  clerk,  Watseka,  was  born  in  Chester  county, 
in  the  old  "Keystone  State,"  August  24,  1834,  and  is  the  son  of  Will- 
iam and  Hannah  (Gutherie)  Riggs,  both  natives  of  Pennsylvania. 
Mr.  Riggs  was  born  on  his  father's  farm,  and  at  two  years  of  age,  with 
his  parents,  moved  to  Philadelphia.  While  a  resident  there,  he  was 
engaged  as  bookkeeper  in  the  missionary  department  of  the  American 
Sunday  School  Union,  a  large  publishing  house  of  Philadelphia,  where 
he  remained  some  seven  years.  In  1862  Mr.  Riggs  came  west  to  Illi- 
nois, and  located  at  Buckly,  Iroquois  county,  where  he  was  engaged  in 
the  mercantile  business,  and  remained  there  some  two  years,  when  he 
moved  to  Glenwood,  and  was  engaged  in  the  same  business  some  four 
years,  after  which  time  he  returned  to  Buckly.  In  1872  he  was  nom- 
inated and  elected  to  the  office  of  circuit  clerk,  by  the  republican  party, 
receiving  a  majority  of  1,200  votes.  In  1876  he  was  reflected  to  the 
same  office  by  a  handsome  majority.  Mr.  Riggs  was  for  several  years 


94  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

justice  of  the  peace  and  town  clerk  of  his  township.  In  each  of  these 
offices  he  has  acquitted  himself  in  a  very  creditable  manner.  He 
ranks  among  the  leading  men  of  the  republican  party.  Mr.  Riggs  was 
married,  in  1857,  to  Miss  Richards,  of  Philadelphia,  and  by  this 
union  they  have  five  children.  Mr.  Riggs  moved  to  Watseka  in  1872. 

Clinton  Wade,  merchant,  Watseka,  is  one  of  the  foremost  merchants 
of  Watseka.  He  was  born  January  22,  1829,  in  Wayne  county,  New 
York,  and  is  the  son  of  Uriah  Wade,  who  was  born  in  Connecticut  in 
1796.  Uriah  Wade  moved  west,  and  located  in  Michigan,  in  1833, 
when  that  state  was  a  territory.  Here  he  remained  engaged  in  farming 
until  1871,  when  he  was  killed  by  a  passing  freight  train  on  the  Michi- 
gan Central  railroad.  The  subject  of  this  sketch,  with  his  parents, 
moved  to  Michigan,  where  he  remained  until  1852,  engaged  in  farm- 
ing. He  then  went  to  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  entered  the  Grundy 
Commercial  College,  of  Cincinnati.  Here  he  received  a  full  course  of 
bookkeeping.  He  accepted  a  position  as  assistant  bookkeeper  of  the 
Miami  Powder  Company,  at  Xenia,  Ohio$  and  there  remained  with 
this  company,  directly  and  indirectly,  until  1857,  when  he  went  to  New 
York  city,  and  was  engaged  as  a  general  salesman  with  the  well  known 
firms  of  Lyman,  Cook  &  Co.,  and  North,  Sherman  &  Co.  He  re- 
mained there  until  after  the  war  broke  out,  at  which  time  he  came 
west  and  located  at  Watseka,  Iroquois  county.  He  purchased  a  build- 
ing from  John  Fagan,  and  commenced  in  the  general-store  business, 
being  one  of  the  first  merchants  of  Watseka.  In  1869  he  went  to 
Chicago,  and  commenced  the  jobbing  trade,  where  he  remained  until 
1871,  when  he  was  burnt  out  by  the  great  tire.  He  lost  sixty  per  cent, 
of  his  investment.  He  returned  to  Watseka,  and  to-day  is  conducting 
one  of  the  best  business  stores  of  the  place.  Mr.  Wade  is  at  present 
holding  office  as  a  councilman  of  Watseka.  This  office  he  has  held  for 
a  number  of  years. 

Henry  C.  Stearns,  attorn ey-at-1  aw,  Watseka,  was  born  in  Walpole, 
New  Hampshire,  May  11, 1851,  and  is  the  son  of  J.  W.  Stearns.  In 
1863  Mr.  Steams,  with  his  parents,  came  west,  and  located  in  Martin- 
ton,  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  where  Mr.  Stearns,  in  1873,  was  made 
postmaster.  He  was  the  first  postmaster  at  that  place,  and  held  the 
office  until  1875.  He  received  his  education  at  the  Watseka  High 
School,  and  the  Grand  Prairie  School  at  Onarga.  In  1876  he  gradu- 
ated from  the  Union  College  of  Law  at  Chicago,  and  came  to  Watseka 
and  began  practicing.  In  1878  he  formed  a  partnership  with  Mr.  E. 
M.  Amos,  which  continued  until  1879,  when,  in  September,  1879,  he 
began  with  Mr.  Free  P.  Morris. 

Wm.  H.  Weaver,  photograph  artist,  Watseka,  was  born  in  Union 


MIDDLEPORT   AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  95 

county,  Pennsylvania,  December  25,  1834,  and  is  the  son  of  M.  JEL 
Weaver,  who  was  a  leading  attorney  at  New  Berlin,  the  county  seat  of 
Union  county.  He  was  also  editor  of  the  "  Union  Star,"  a  leading 
newspaper,  and  was  a  prominent  politician,  having  held  the  offices  of 
circuit  clerk  of  the  county  and  county  surveyor.  When  Mr.  Weaver, 
the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  a  young  lad,  he  helped  his  father  to  sur- 
vey different  parts  of  Union  count}',  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  came 
west  to  Indiana,  where  he  carried  on  the  machine  shops  of  the  Wabash 
Valley  railroad,  near  Lafayette.  In  1858  he  came  to  Illinois,  and  located 
at  Paxton,  where,  in  1858,  he  began  to  learn  the  trade  of  a  pho- 
tographer. In  1863  he  carne  to  Iroquois  county,  and  located  at  Wat- 
seka,  when  he  began  the  photograph  business,  being  the  first  artist  to 
locate  at  Watseka.  Here  he  has  remained  since,  and  to-day  he  is  one 
of  the  most  successful,  as  well  as  finest,  artists  in  eastern  Illinois.  In 
1879  Mr.  Weaver  was  elected  to  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace.  In 
1873  he  was  made  treasurer  of  the  Iroquois  County  Bible  Society.  He 
he  has  been  president  for  a  number  of  years  of  the  Iroquois  County 
Sabbath  School  Association,  and  has  been  a  member  of  the  M.  E. 
church  for  the  last  eleven  years.  Mr.  Weaver  was  married,  in  1858, 
to  Miss  Mary  Kerr,  of  Indiana.  They  have  three  children. 

John  L.  Hamilton,  county  treasurer,  Watseka,  was  born  in  the  county 
of  Armagh,  Ireland.  His  parents  were  Thomas  L.  and  Mary  Ann 
(McCamley)  Hamilton,  and  were  of  Scotch  and  English  descent.  In 
1851  Mr.  Hamilton  emigrated  to  America  —  New  Orleans  being  the 
port  of  disembarkation,  where  he  remained  but  a  short  time;  then  came 
to  Illinois  and  located  in  Jersey  county,  when  he  began  work  on  a  farm 
by  the  month.  He  managed  well,  and  by  his  industry  and  economy 
saved  money  enough  to  pay  for  160  acres  of  land  in  Mason  county,  for 
which  he  paid  $225,  and  afterward  realized  for  it  $47.50  per  acre. 
He  remained  in.  Jersey  and  Macoupin  counties  until  1864,  when  he 
came  to  Iroquois  county  and  located  on  section  11,  in  Lovejoy  town- 
ship, where  he  began  farming,  and  being  a  good  manager  and  hard 
worker,  he  became  one  of  the  best  farmers  in  that  neighborhood. 
While  a  resident  of  Lovejoy  township  he  held  the  office  of  school 
director  for  several  years,  and  also  the  office  of  supervisor  for  a  number 
of  terms;  in  both  of  these  offices  he  gave  entire  satisfaction.  In  1875 
he  was  nominated  and  elected  to  the  office  of  county  treasurer  of  Iro- 
quois county,  by  the  republican  party,  his  majority  being  300  votes. 
In  1877  he  was  reflected  to  the  same  office  by  a  majority  of  500  votes, 
he  being  the  only  republican  on  the  ticket  that  was  elected.  While  he 
received  a  majority  of  500  votes,  the  opposition  party  elected  their 
officers  by  a  majority  as  follows:  superintendent  of  county  schools, 


96  HISTORY    OF    IEOQUOIS    COUNTY. 

506;  county  clerk,  749;  county  judge,  906.  In  1879,  by  the  urgent 
request  of  the  republican  party,  he  again  became  their  candidate  for 
the  same  office,  to  which  he  was  elected  by  a  majority  of  617  votes. 
During  these  terms  of  office  Mr.  Hamilton  has  made  a  host  of  friends, 
and  is,  perhaps,  the  strongest  man  in  the  republican  ranks  of  Iroquois 
county.  This  is  probably  due  to  the  honorable,  upright  course  that  he 
has  pursued,  and  the  plain,  unaffected  way  in  which  he  has  received 
the  honors  that  they  have  been  willing  to  bestow  upon  him.  Though 
he  began,  as  before  stated,  poor,  and  worked  for  small  wages  on  a  farm, 
he  is  now,  by  his  industry  and  careful  management,  one  of  the  wealthy 
class  of  Iroquois  county,  and  may  truly  be  termed  one  of  her  self-made 
men.  His  portrait  has  been  placed  in  this  work  as  an  honorable  repre- 
sentative of  the  people.  Mr.  Hamilton  was  married,  in  Jersey  county, 
Illinois,  February  24,  1857,  to  Miss  Annie  Eliza  Leeman,  who  is  of 
Scotch-Irish  descent.  By  this  union  they  have  had  nine  children,  two 
of  whom  are  deceased. 

J.  C.  Anderson,  miller,  Woodland,  was  born  in  Mason  county,  Ken- 
tucky, January  19, 1818,  and  is  the  son  of  William  C.,  a  shoemaker  by 
trade,  and  Katherine  (Cook)  Smalley.  When  he  was  about  twelve 
years  old  he,  with  his  parents,  moved  from  Kentucky  to  Indiana,  and 
located  in  Fountain  county,  near  Attica.  At  sixteen  years  of  age 
he  commenced  to  learn  the  trade  of  a  cabinet-maker,  and  served  an 
apprenticeship  of  five  years,  after  which  he  started  a  shop  of  his  own 
in  Attica,  which  he  managed  till  1849.  For  a  short  time  he  was  a  resi- 
dent of  Warren  county.  In  1854  he  moved  to  Vermilion  county,  Illi- 
nois, near  Hoopeston,  on  a  farm,  where  he  remained  until  1864,  when 
he  came  to  Iroquois  county,  and  located  one  and  a  half  miles  east  of 
Woodland,  in  Belmont  township.  Here  he  commenced  farming.  He 
was  also,  in  1868,  engaged  in  sawmilling.  His  first  experience  in  this 
line  was  in  Warren  county,  in  1851.  Mr.  Anderson  -syas  for  two  years 
in  the  same  business  in  Howard  county,  Indiana.  In  1874  he  moved 
his  saw-mill  to  Woodland,  and  in  1878  built  the  present  flour-mill, 
which  commenced  running  February,  1879.  The  flour-mill  is  a  frame 
building,  two  stories  high,  24x40  feet,  witlj  a  large  shed  for  the  engine 
and  boiler.  Mr.  Anderson  was  married  in  Attica,  January  9,  1842,  to 
Miss  Charlotte  Steel,  of  Ohio,  and  they  have  had  eight  children, 
six  living.  Mr.  Anderson  commenced  life  a  poor  boy,  but  by  working 
at  his  trade,  saving  what  he  earned  and  investing  it  in  land,  he  now 
owns  383  acres  of  land,  and  his  saw  and  flour-mill  property. 

E.  Rosenburg,  grain  and  hardware  merchant,  Woodland,  was  born 
in  Saxe- Weimar,  Germany,  November  28,  1840.  When  a  yonng  lad 
he  entered  his  father's  brick-yard,  where  he  was  engaged  in  manufac- 


MIDDLEPORT    AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  97 

turing  brick  until  1864,  when  he  sailed  for  America,  came  west  to  Illi- 
nois, and  located  in  Iroquois  county,  where  he  has  been  a  resident  since. 
In  1866  Mr.  Rosenburg  built  a  brewery  in  Watseka.  The  first  build- 
ing cost  him  $1,400.  To  this  he  added  until  he  had  a  neat  brewery,  with 
a  capacity  for  manufacturing  eight  barrels  of  beer.  He  remained 
in  the  business  until  1873,  when  he  went  to  Papineau  and  entered  the 
hardware  business,  where  he  remained  until  he  came  to  Woodland,  in 
1876.  Here  he  is  engaged  now  in  the  grain  firm  of  S.  Williams  &  Co., 
and  with  the  hardware  firm  of  Rosenburg  &  Zemple.  Mr.  Rosenburg 
is  a  member  of  the  I.O.O.F.  He  holds  the  office  of  school  director. 
The  firm  of  S.  Williams  commenced  in  September,  1876.  They  have 
shipped  from  Woodland  as  high  as  110,000  pounds  of  grain  in  one  day. 

Lorenzo  D.  Browne,  farmer,  Watseka,  was  born  in  Mason  county, 
Virginia,  March  3,  1822,  and  is  the  son  of  Martin  Browne,  who  was 
born  in  Frederick  county,  Virginia.  Martin  Browne  was  a  soldier  of 
the  war  of  1812,  under  Gen.  Harrison.  In  1828  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  with  his  parents,  moved  to  Madison  county,  Indiana,  where 
Martin  Browne  died,  in  1856.  Lorenzo  visited  Indianapolis,  then  a 
small  town,  in  1829.  He  went  therewith  his  father  to  enter  land,  and 
the  entering  office  was  a  small  log  hut.  Mr.  Browne  was  married,  in 
1843,  to  Miss  Nancy  Harlan,  of  Indiana.  They  remained  in  Madison 
county  until  1865.  Mr.  Browne  came  to  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  in 
1864,  and  purchased  the  present  homestead,  and  in  1865  moved  his 
family,  consisting  of  a  wife  and  ten  children.  Here  Mr.  Browne 
remained  until  1872,  when  he  moved  to  Watseka  for  the  purpose  of 
schooling  his  children.  He  remained  a  resident  of  that  place  some 
three  years,  and  while  there  was  engaged  in  the  hardware  business  in 
the  store  of  L.  C.  Marsh.  He  subsequently  moved  his  family  back  to 
the  farm,  where  he  has  been  a  resident  since.  Mr.  Browne  was  engaged 
in  the  mercantile  business  in  Anderson,  Indiana,  about  one  year.  Since 
his  residence  in  Belmont  township  he  has  held  the  office  of  justice  of 
the  peace  some  eight  years.  Mr.  Browne  is  a  republican  in  politics. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Christian  church.  He  purchased  the  present 
farm  from  Aaron  Moore.  .He  now  owns  255  acres  of  well  improved 
land.  Mr.  Browne's  grandfather,  Martin  Browne,  came  to  America 
after  the  close  of  the  revolutionary  war.  He  brought  with  him  some 
books,  a  few  copies  of  which  are  now  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Browne  ; 
one,  a  dictionary  of  English  and  Italian,  printed  in  London,  England, 
in  1727. 

I.  C.  Wade,  hardware  and  lumber  merchant,  Watseka,  was  born  in 
Berry  county,  Michigan,  January  24,  1848,  and  is  the  son  of  Thadeus 
Wade.  Mr.  Wade  was  born  on  the  farm,  but  moved  to  Allegan, 


98  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

Michigan,  -when  very  young.  Here  he  remained  until  1863.  During 
the  late  war  he  tried  four  or  five  times  to  enlist,  but,  on  account  of  his 
being  too  young,  was  rejected.  At  last  he  went  to  Rochester,  New 
York,  where  he  enlisted  as  private  in  Co.  M,  22d  reg.  N.  Y.  Yol.  Cav. 
This  regiment  was  with  Gen.  Ouster.  Mr.  Wade  participated  in  thirty- 
three  battles,  some  of  which  were  the  most  severe  of  the  war.  His 
first  battle  was  at  the  battle  of  the  Wilderness, — one  of  the  hardest  of 
the  war;  he  was  also  in  the  battles  of  Cold  Harbor,  Wilson's  Raid, 
(a  continuous  battle — there  were  8,000  men  sent  out  on  this  raid,  and 
only  3,000  returned — and  considered  by  Gen.  Grant  the  most  bloody 
battle  in  which  he  was  ever  engaged),  Fisher's  Hill,  Winchester,  and 
Cedar  Creek.  Mr.  Wade  had  charge  of  thirty  men,  who  stood  picket 
duty  on  the  Potomac  for  sixty  days  in  the  heat  of  danger.  During 
Mr.  Wade's  soldiering  he  was  taken  prisoner  twice,  but  managed  to 
make  an  escape  each  time.  He  was  mustered  out  in  August,  1865, 
when  he  returned  to  Michigan.  In  1865,  with  his  parents,  he  moved 
to  Watseka.  In  1870  he  entered  the  lumber  business.  In  1871  and 
1872  he  was  in  the  lumber  business  in  Milford.  In  1875  he  com- 
menced the  hardware  business  in  connection  with  his  lumber  business, 
and  owns  now  one  of  the  leading  business  establishments  in  Watseka. 
Mr.  Wade  was  married,  in  1873,  to  Miss  Theresa  Hastings,  who  died 
with  the  consumption  in  1878.  By  this  union  they  have  two  children 
living.  Mr.  Wade  is  a  republican  in  politics.  He  was  a  delegate  to 
the  Greeley  convention,  held  in  Cincinnati  in  1872. 

Edward  Dalton,  lumber  merchant,  Watseka,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  and  whose  portrait  appears  in  this  work,  is  a  native  of  county 
Roscommon,  Ireland.  He  is  the  son  of  James  and  Margaret  (Mc- 
Guire)  Dalton,  and  was  born  December  15,  1814.  His  father  b}'  his 
own  exertions  accumulated  considerable  property,  so  that  young 
Edward  was  given  the  advantages  of  the  common  schools  until  the  age 
of  eleven  years,  and  was  then  sent  to  the  Latin  school  of  Strokestown, 
where  he  remained  until  he  was  about  seventeen  years  old.  Here  he 
made  very  rapid  progress,  and  would  shortly  have  graduated,  had  not 
his  father  concluded  to  emigrate  to  America,  which  he  did,  leaving 
our  subject  in  charge  of  two  farms,  which  were  to  be  by  him  sub-rented 
and  managed.  In  January,  1832,  his  father  sailed  for  America,  and  in 
May,  1834,  Edward,  with  his  mother  and  four  brothers,  followed  him, 
arriving  at  St.  Joseph,  Michigan,  in  the  following  July ;  their  trip 
being  made  from  Buffalo,  New  York,  on  the  steamer  Sanduskj',  which 
was  the  first  lake-steamer  that  ever  made  the  run  into  the  St.  Joseph 
river  at  that  point.  Instead  of  being  obliged  to  send  for  him,  as  his 
father  had  thought,  Edward  arrived  with  734  golden  guineas,  which 


MIDDLEPORT    AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  99 

he  handed  his  father,  they  being  the  proceeds  of  his  two  years'  man- 
agement of  affairs  in  Ireland.  His  father  in  the  meantime  had  pur- 
chased a  small  farm  near  St.  Joseph,  on  which  Edward  began  work, 
continuing  until  the  following  March,  1835.  He  then  started  on  foot 
for  Chicago,  resolving  to  begin  life  on  his  own  account.  On  his 
arrival  at  Chicago  he  found  employment  in  the  capacity  of  clerk  for 
Henry  &  Gurdon  S.  Hubbard,  they  at  that  time  having  the  only  brick 
store-house  in  the  city.  It  was  their  intention  to  send  him  to  Rock 
river,  where  Rockford,  Illinois,  now  stands,  and  let  him  have  charge 
of  a  store  in  trading  with  the  Indians  and  settlers.  This  prospect, 
which  was  very  gratifying  to  him,  was  spoiled  by  the  Hubbards  quit- 
ting the  mercantile  and  entering  the  real  estate  business.  Now  young 
Dalton  had  again  to  look  for  employment,  or  embark  in  business  for 
himself;  but,  having  no  capital,  the  latter  seemed  quite  out  of  the 
question.  But  this  obstacle  was  overcome  by  Mr.  Henry  Hubbard, 
who  supplied  him  with  a  stock  of  goods,  and  offered  to  furnish  a  con- 
veyance also.  But  this  Mr.  Dalton  refused,  and,  taking  his  pack,  he 
started  out  to  peddle ;  though  he  soon  quit  the  business,  squared 
accounts  with  the  Hubbards,  and  returned  to  St.  Joseph,  Michigan, 
where  he  and  his  father  erected  a  building  in  North  St.  Joseph,  and 
opened  a  hotel.  There  he  continued  business  until  1838,  when  he 
went  to  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan,  and  in  the  spring  of  1839  he  and 
his  father  went  a  short  distance  west  of  Grand  Rapids,  to  a  place 
called  Sand  Creek,  where,  in  1845,  he  built  a  saw-mill.  This  mill 
Edward  ran  for  about  one  year.  He  then  went  to  Chicago  and  opened 
a  lumber-yard,  at  the  corner  of  Clinton  and  Randolph  streets,  which  he 
managed  successfully  for  about  one  year.  His  father  then  took  charge 
of  the  yard,  and  he  went  back  to  the  mills  at  Sand  Creek.  From  1847 
until  1853,  his  father,  brothers,  and  himself  were  doing  business 
together.  In  1853  he  began  operating  on  his  own  account,  in  the 
manufacture  of  lumber  at  Sand  Creek.  In  1861  he  quit  milling,  and, 
until  1865,  was  engaged  in  no  active  business.  In  1861,  when  troops 
were  being  raised  for  the  war  of  the  rebellion,  he  wras  offered  a  cap- 
tain's commission  in  Col.  St.  Glair's  regiment,  the  14th  reg.  Mich.  Yol. 
Inf.  This  he  did  not  accept  until  too  late,  the  commission  being  given 
to  another.  In  1865  he  became  -a  resident  of  Watseka,  where  his 
brothers  were  engaged  in  the  lumber  trade.  In  1868  he  bought  them 
out,  and  has  since  conducted  the  business  alone.  In  the  fall  of  1872 
he  met  with  an  accident  which  crippled  him  for  life.  He  had  been  at 
Rankin,  where  he  proposed  opening  a  branch  yard,  and  in  returning 
to  Watseka,  jumped  from  a  freight  train  which  was  in  inotion,  at 
Sheldon,  and  broke  his  left  hip,  injuring  it  so  badly  as  to  have  never 


100  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

recovered  complete  use  of  it.  This  accident  caused  him  to  abandon 
the  business  at  Rankin.  He  is  now  doing  a  small  business  in  the  lum- 
ber trade  at  Watseka,  the  principal  part  of  his  property  being  farm 
lands  located  in  different  parts  of  Michigan,  of  which  he  has  about 
1,500  acres,  most  of  which  is  very  valuable  land.  Mr.  Dalton  is  a  man 
possessed  of  a  high  sense  of  honor,  and,  while  he  is  naturally  unassum- 
ing, he  is  still  a  vigorous  and  active  man,  of  much  culture  and  well 
read.  He  has  never  been  an  office-seeker,  though  solicited  many  times 
during  life  by  his  friends  to  become  a  candidate,  his  attention  having 
been  given  mostly  to  business  affairs.  He  being  naturally  a  shrewd 
business  man  and  good  financier,  the  result  of  his  efforts  has  been 
success.  He  bears  a  good  name  and  reputation,  and  has  the  respect 
and  esteem  of  the  community  in  which  he  resides.  Mr.  Dalton  has 
never  married,  which,  perhaps,  is  the  only  failure  he  has  ever  made  in 
life. 

Hon.  Matthew  Henry  Peters  (contributed  by  Maj.  George  C.  Har- 
rington). America  is  peculiarly  the  province  of  self-made  men,  for  in 
no  other  land  can  the  efforts  and  energies  of  an  ambitious  man  meet 
with  so  full  a  reward  by  the  appreciation  of  his  fellow-man.  To  every 
boy,  no  matter  how  humble  or  discouraging  may  be  his  position  in 
early  life,  the  future  promises  a  reward  for  his  struggles  and  privations, 
providing  he  makes  use  of  all  the  faculties  he  possesses,  and  has  suffi- 
cient will-power  to  determine  upon  success.  This  fact  is  illustrated  by 
the  history  of  so  many  noble  men  and  women  who  have  patiently  and 
diligently  worked  through  the  long  night  of  doubt  and  discouragement, 
and  yet  lived  to  see  the  bright  day  of  success  with  its  attendant  honors 
and  prosperity.  And  he  who  rises  to  prominence  from  the  lowest 
level,  and  conquers  obstacles  apparently  the  most  insurmountable,  is 
deserving  a  higher  meed  of  praise  in  proportion  as  his  struggles  have 
been  severer  than  those  of  his  fellow  man.  An  illustration  of  the 
matter  in  point  is  well  shown  in  the  history  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  Matthew  H.  Peters,  the  stirring  events  of  whose  life,  given 
in  detail,  would  equal  in  interest  the  most  dramatic  tale  of  our  best 
novelists.  Born  in  Rhenish  Bavaria  in  1843,  he  was  brought  to  New 
Orleans,  by  his  parents,  when  a  babe.  His  mother  died  a  year  or  two 
after  reaching  America,  soon  followed  to  the  grave  by  his  two  sisters, 
leaving  his  father  with  two  small  boys,  a  stranger  in  a  strange  land, 
very  poor  in  worldly  means,  and  unable  to  speak  the  language  of  the 
people  whom  he  was  among.  In  a  brief  time  the  father  was  carried  off 
by  the  yellow  fever,  thus  leaving  the  two  little  boys  without  home  or 
friends.  Samuel,  the  younger  brother,  was  placed  in  the  orphan 
asylum,  while  Matthew,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  taken  by  an 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


MIDDLEPORT   AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  108 

acquaintance,  who  made  him  the  subject  of  a  series  of  abuses  that  can 
scarcely  be  realized — forcing  the  illy-clad  and  homeless  orphan  to  steal 
for  him,  and  beating  him  in  a  terrible  manner  if  he  was  not  successful. 
This  man  had  a  small  tailoring  shop,  and  kept  the  boy  at  work  from 
early  morn  until  10  or  11  o'clock  at  night,  and  even  Sundays,  allowing 
him  as  his  food  but  one  slice  of  bread  three  times  a  day.  In  the  year 
1855,  nearly  broken  down  by  lack  of  food,  and  by  the  beatings  and 
bruises  from  this  cruel  master,  he  determined  to  escape.  The  night 
before  his  attempt  he  was  given  fifty  cents  to  do  the  morning  market- 
ing. He  arose  early,  took  his  half  dollar — he  had  not  even  clothes 
enough  to  make  a  bundle  to  carry  along — and  started  to  try  for  him- 
self the  world.  He  took  up  his  quarters  in  another  part  of  the  city, 
lived  a  precarious  life  upon  the  streets,  slept  under  the  wharves,  old 
culverts  and  store  boxes,  among  the  bales  of  cotton,  or  bags  of  rice  and 
coffee, — anywhere  that  offered  a  place  to  stay  as  night  approached. 
The  days  were  spent  in  picking  up  old  horse-shoe  nails,  scattered  grains 
of  coffee  or  loose  bits  of  cotton, — anything  that  would  be  bought  by  the 
junk  dealer ;  fishing  out  of  the  slop  barrels  at  the  St.  Louis  or  St. 
Charles  hotels  a  crust  of  bread,  or  picking  up  from  the  gutter  half 
decayed  fruit  in  order  to  escape  starvation.  In  the  March  following 
he  got  employment  with  the  cook  of  a  Mississippi  steamboat,  and  dur- 
ing this  period  a  great  change  took  place  in  his  fortunes.  A  traveling 
gentleman,  Henry  S.  Roberts,  attracted  by  the  bright  appearance  of 
the  poor  boy,  soon  learned  his  sad  history,  and  took  him  with  him  to 
Ohio.  A  short  period  after  giving  him  a  home  in  his  family,  this  kind 
friend  also  died,  leaving  the  boy  with  his  widowed  mother,  Mrs.  Rob- 
erts, whose  kindness  and  motherly  love  has  found  a  full  recompense, 
as  the  boy,  when  grown  to  manhood,  has  given  this  woman  a  home 
with  him  in  her  old  age,  where  she  is  loved  and  revered  as  if  she  were 
indeed  his  own  mother.  For  the  next  five  or  six  years  after  reaching 
Ohio,  Peters  spent  his  time  in  farm  work  and  odd  jobs  for  his  neigh- 
bors, working  for  a  long  time  in  the  manufacture  of  brick.  He  was 
always  something  of  a  student,  and  while  other  boys  spent  their  time 
at  play  he  was  devoted  to  his  books,  studying  night  after  night  by  the 
uncertain  light  from  the  burning  kiln.  In  1860  he  commenced  teach- 
ing, in  which  he  was  eminently  successful,  and  in  which  he  continued 
until  the  cry  of  war  was  heard  over  the  land,  and  the  call  for  volun- 
teers came.  He  promptly  responded  to  the  call,  and  enlisted  as  a 
private,  April  23,  1861,  in  the  Jefferson  Guards  of  Springfield,  Co.  E, 
16th  Ohio;  served  in  West  Virginia ;  was  at  the  battles  of  Fhillippi, 
Laurel  Hills  and  Carrick's  Ford,  at  which  latter  place  the  first  Confed- 
erate general  (Garnett)  was  killed ;  served  out  the  term  and  reenlisted 
7 


104  HISTOEY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

as  a  private,  in  December,  1861,  at  Xenia,  Ohio,  in  the  74th  reg.  under 
Col.  Granville  Moody — the  fighting  parson.  Walter  Crook,  brother 
of  Gen.  George  Crook,  of  Indian  notoriety,  was  captain.  By  him  he 
was  made  orderly-sergeant  of  the  company,  and  was  soon  afterward 
chosen  by  the  company  as  lieutenant,  and  commissioned  by  Gov.  Tod 
on  January  7,  1862.  Lieut.  Peters  was  severely  wounded  at  the  battle 
of  Stone  River,  Tennessee,  December  31,  1862,  and  was  thought  to 
have  been  killed,  and  so  reported  at  first,  his  comrades  being  obliged 
to  desert  him  on  the  field.  He  survived,  however,  to  fight  another 
day,  and  suffered  all  the  hardships  incident  to  incessant  campaigning. 
When  Sherman  started  on  his  march  to  Atlanta,  it  began  with  a 
skirmish  at  Tunnel  Hill,  and  was  a  continual  battle  for  one  hundred 
days  before  Atlanta  fell.  Peters  was  at  this  time  adjutant  of  his  regi- 
ment, having  been  appointed  to  that  position  by  the  colonel,  on  the 
reorganization  of  the  74th  reg.  as  veterans.  Adjt.  Peters  was  wounded 
early  in  the  campaign,  being  struck  with  a  fragment  of  schrapnel-shot 
while  charging  a  rebel  battery  on  Buzzard  Roost  mountain,  May  9, 
1864.  On  July  13,  1864,  on  recommendation  of  his  colonel,  he  was 
promoted  captain  for  "  gallant  and  meritorious  services."  While  his 
comrades  were  gallantly  bearing  aloft  the  old  flag,  he  lay,  during  the 
remainder  of  the  summer,  flat  upon  his  back  unable  to  move,  suffering 
all  but  death ;  but  a  vigorous  constitution  and  a  stout  heart  triumphed, 
and  at  last  enabled  him  to  hobble  upon  crutches,  and  soon  to  walk  with 
a  cane  only.  Restless  of  such  inactivity,  he  rejoined  his  command  at 
Savannah,  Georgia,  though  scarcely  able  to  walk.  He  served  through 
the  Carolinas,  and  had  many  hair-breadth  escapes.  He  was  at  the  last 
battles  fought  by  Sherman's  army  at  Bentonville  and  Averysboro,  and 
at  Greenville,  North  Carolina,  at  the  surrender  of  Gen.  Joseph  John- 
ston. His  proudest  day  of  military  life  was  enjoyed  at  the  grand  review 
of  the  armies  at  Washington,  May  24  and  25,  1865.  Gen.  George  P. 
Buell,  commanding  the  brigade,  detailed  Capt.  Peters  on  his  staff  as 
assistant  inspector-general,  in  which  capacity  he  served  until  notified 
that  his  regiment  was  to  be  mustered  out;  then  asking  to  be  relieved, 
rejoined  his  comrades  on  their  happy  march  home.  But  before  being 
finally  mustered  out  of  service,  he  was  commissioned  major  of  his  regi- 
ment, July  12,  1865, — major  of  the  same  regiment  in  which  he  enlisted 
as  a  private, — promoted,  not  through  the  assistance  of  influential  friends 
or  political  favoritism,  but  on  his  own  merit.  In  April,  1866,  Maj. 
Peters  came  to  Watseka  and  engaged  in  the  hardware  trade,  but  that 
business  was  unsuited  to  his  tastes,  so  he  sold  out  to  his  partner,  Alex. 
Archibald,  within  a  year.  In  the  spring  of  1867,  he  opened  the  first 
book  and  stationery  store  in  Watseka,  and  in  this  business  he  continued 


MIDDLEPORT   AND   BELMONT  TOWNSHIPS.  105 

until  November,  1879,  when  he  turned  over  his  stock  to  his  worthy 
clerk,  Henry  H.  Alter,  who  had  served  him  faithfully  for  over  ten 
years.  Politically  Maj.  Peters  was  in  his  early  days,  and  up  to  1872, 
a  republican  ;  he  continued  to  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  Horace  Greeley, 
whom  he  had  been  taught,  from  his  first  arrival  in  the  north,  not  only 
to  honor,  but  to  love.  He  was,  in  the  same  year,  nominated  as  a  can- 
didate for  circuit  clerk  by  the  Greeley  republicans,  his  nomination  being 
indorsed  by  the  democrats ;  but  he  was  defeated,  though  by  a  largely 
reduced  republican  majority.  In  April,  1875,  he  was  elected  mayor  of 
Watseka,  and  served  two  years  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  the  people, 
who  again  reflected  him  in  October,  1877,  to  fill  the  unexpired  term 
of  Hon.  Franklin  Blades,  who  resigned  to  accept  the  circuit  judgeship. 
In  December,  1872,  Maj.  Peters  took  control  of  the  "Iroquois  Times," 
and  for  eighteen  months  ably  managed  its  columns,  but  in  July,  1874, 
he  sold  the  "Times,"  having  made  it  a  very  desirable  property.  He, 
however,  repurchased  the  paper  in  July,  1878,  and  is  its  present  editor 
and  proprietor.  Maj.  Peters  always  took  great  pride  and  a  very  active 
interest  in  military  matters,  and  was  mainly  instrumental  in  organizing 
the  first  militia  company  in  Iroquois  county,  which  was  in  May,  1874; 
of  this  company  lie  was  elected  captain.  When  the  military  code  of 
Illinois  became  the  law,  the  various  companies  of  the  state  were  organ- 
ized into  regiments  and  battalions,  the  "Watseka  Rifles  being  designated 
as  Co.  A,  9th  batt.  I.N.G.,  and  Capt.  Peters  was  elected  to  com- 
mand the  battalion,  by  the  line  officers,  who  met  at  Champaign,  Illinois, 
October  10,  1877,  for  that  purpose.  Hence  his  later  title  of  colonel. 
Col.  Peters  was  married  to  an  accomplished  young  lady,  Miss  Clara  M. 
Lyon,  at  Sycamore,  Illinois,  June  19,  1867,  in  the  Congregational 
church,  by  Rev.  J.  T.  Cook.  Mrs.  Peters  is  a  fit  companion  for  our 
worthy  subject ;  of  a  charming  disposition ;  she  is  very  active,  ener- 
getic, kind,  generous  and  public-spirited ;  a  lady  of  intellect  and  cul- 
ture. In  August,  1878,  Col.  Peters  was  nominated  by  a  convention  of 
the  nationals  as  their  candidate  for  member  of  the  legislature,  and  in 
the  following  November  was  elected  by  a  most  flattering  vote.  He 
took  a  prominent  part  in  the  session  of  the  thirty-first  general  assembly, 
and  acquitted  himself  with  great  credit,  having  won  the  confidence  and 
esteem  of  his  fellow  members,  and  Iroquois  county  was  proud  of  her 
representative.  Col.  Peters  is  a  very  active  and  honored  member  of 
the  order  of  Odd-Fellows,  and  has  represented  his  lodge  and  encamp- 
ment in  the  grand  bodies  of  that  order.  Also  a  prominent  member  of 
the  Knights  of  Honor ;  he  represented  his  lodge  in  the  grand  lodge 
of  this  state,  and  in  1880  represented  Illinois  in  the  supreme  lodge  of 
the  United  States.  Col.  Peters  is  a  gentleman  of  unbounded  energy 


106  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

and  generosity,  and  there  is  no  man  living  more  public-spirited  and 
benevolent  than  he  is.  As  a  business  man  he  is  very  successful,  and  is 
held  in  great  esteem  by  all  the  citizens  of  Iroquois  county  who  are 
acquainted  with  him,  and  there  is  probably  no  man  in  the  county  bet- 
ter or  more  favorably  known. 

Mrs.  Jemima  Walters,  Watseka,  is  the  widow  of  the  late  Ephraim 
Walters,  who  was  born  in  Perry  county,  Ohio,  January  6,  1827. 
From  Ohio  he  moved  to  Indiana,  and  was  married  to  Miss  Jemima 
Good  in  1849.  She  was  born  in  Perry  county,  Ohio.  They  moved 
to  Ohio  and  remained  there  until  1865,  when,  with  nine  children,  they 
moved  to  Illinois,  and  located  in  Iroquois  county,  on  the  present 
homestead.  Here  they  commenced  farming.  While  a  resident  here, 
Mr.  Walters  held  several  offices  of  public  trust :  township  clerk  and 
school  director, — giving  entire  satisfaction.  He  was  a  man  who  was 
loved  and  respected.  He  died  November  28,  1872,  leaving  a  wife  and 
twelve  children  to  mourn  his  loss.  Pie  followed  farming  through  life, 
and  by  hard  labor  and  good  management  he  had  accumulated  over  350 
acres  of  land.  The  sons  are  now  engaged  in  farming  the  land. 

Alexander  L.  Whitehall,  attorney-at-law,  Watseka,  is  perhaps  one  of 
the  best  known  and  most  highly  honored  attorneys  of  Iroquois  county. 
He  was  born  in  Newton,  Fountain  county,  Indiana,  August  29,  1845, 
and  is  the  son  of  Nicholas  and  Amelia  (Stephens)  Whitehall.  Mr. 
Whitehall  received  a  common-school  education  in  the  district  schools 
in  the  winter  months  only,  as  his  time  was  taken  up  in  the  summer  in 
working  on  the  farm.  From  the  farm  he  entered  the  service.  From 
the  moment  Surnter  was  fired  on,  young  Whitehall,  though  under  six- 
teen, was  eager  to  enlist,  but,  as  he  was  the  main-stay  of  a  family  of 
six  motherless  children,  his  father  refused  permission,  even  when  his 
patriotic  boy  could  have  had  a  good  non-commissioned  position.  In 
September,  1864,  chafing  under  the  restraints  of  his  father,  he  had 
determined  to  enlist  at  all  hazards,  and  wishing  to  turn  his  knowledge 
of  tactics  to  account,  he  had  recruited  thirteen  men,  and  was  trying  to 
secure  a  lieutenancy,  when  his  father  was  drafted,  and  did  not  refuse 
to  allow  his  patriotic  son  to  step  into  his  shoes  as  a  substitute.  A 
neighbor  offered  young  Whitehall  $1,200,  a  few  moments  before  he 
was  mustered  in  at  the  provost-marshal's  office  in  La  Fayette,  if  he 
would  let  his  father  shift  for  himself,  and  go  as  his  substitute,  which 
offer  was  indignant!}7  refused.  He  had  only  been  three  days  from 
home  when  a  call  for  fifty  recruits  was  made  by  the  officer  in  charge  of 
Camp  Carrington  to  go  to  the  9th  reg.  Ind.Vet.  Inf.,  and  young  White- 
hall was  the  first  to  respond  to  the  call,  and  urge  his  new  found 
comrades  to  join  a  regiment  that  "  had  a  history."  He  was  informed 


MIDDLEPORT    AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  107 

that  he  could  stay  at  Camp  Carrington  as  a  drill-sergeant,  but  he 
replied  that  he  had  enlisted  to  go  to  the  front,  and  proposed  to  see  the 
"elephant."  Five  days  after  tearing  himself  from  the  five  little 
brothers  and  sisters,  who  were  nearly  crazy  with  grief,  he  was  in  the 
heart  of  the  Confederacy,  as  it  existed  in  1862, — Nashville.  At  Chat- 
tanooga, attracting  the  attention  of  Col.  Doane,  who  was  organizing  a 
brigade  of  convalescents  and  substitutes,  he  was,  despite  his  boyish 
appearance  and  small  size,  placed  in  command,  as  acting  orderly-ser- 
geant, of  a  company  of  forty-two  men,  and,  while  Hood  was  menacing 
Chattanooga,  he  and  his  company  occupied  a  part  of  the  defensive  line 
of  works  around  the  city,  and  a  few  days  later  he  marched  through  to 
Resaca,  Georgia,  still  commanding  his  company.  On  arrival  at  Resaca, 
his  battalion  was  broken  up,  and,  at  the  head  of  fourteen  recruits  going  to 
the  9th  regiment,  he  went  to  Kingston,  Georgia,  and,  not  being  allowed 
to  go  any  further  south  with  his  squad,  augmented  to  twenty-nine  men, 
from  other  regiments,  lie  went  into  camp  for  two  days  there.  Learn- 
ing the  4:th  corps  was  marching  back  to  Chattanooga,  he  started  back 
on  a  freight  train,  that  was  attacked  by  bushwhackers  near  Calhoun, 
and,  under  direction  of  Gen.  Elliott,  Whitehall  took  his  men  into  a 
cornfield,  and  drove  out  a  squad  of  rebels,*killing  one.  At  Chattanooga, 
two  days  later,  he  reported  to  his  brigade  commander,  and  three  days 
after  overhauled  his  regiment  at  Bridgeport,  Alabama,  it  having  just 
got  in  from  an  extended  scout  through  the  mountains  of  north 
Georgia.  He  and  seven  of  his  fourteen  men  were  assigned  to  Co.  F 
by  Col.  Suman,  of  the  9th,  and  his  journal  shows  that,  as  a  private 
soldier,  he  was  from  that  forward  on  hand  wherever  his  company  went, 
through  "  thick  and  thin,"  marching  from  Athens,  Alabama,  to  Pu- 
laski,  Tennessee ;  and  then,  as  rear-guard  of  the  retreating  army  of 
Thomas,  to  Spring  Hill,  taking  part  in  the  movements  at  Columbia 
and  Duck  River,  and  doing  his  whole  duty  as  a  soldier  at  Franklin, 
Tennessee,  in  one  of  the  bloodiest  engagements  of  the  war,  escaping- 
unhurt,  though  getting  his  hat-rim  shaved  by  a  stray  ball  from  the 
77th  Pennsylvania  regiment  in  the  rear,  soon  after  the  battle  opened. 
In  consequence  of  being  barefooted  at  Pulaski,  in  the  latter  part  of 
November,  and  " foraging"  a  pair  of  No.  10  brogans — "gunboats" — 
while  loading  stores  the  day  of  evacuation,  which  he  tried  to  wear  on 
a  No.  4  foot  while  making  a  forty-mile  inarch  in  fourteen  hours  back 
to  Columbia,  his  ankles  were  terribly  lacerated,  and  a  month  after 
pieces  of  yarn  were  taken  out  of  the  wounds  on  his  ankles.  At 
Franklin  he  was  used  up  with  sore  feet,  chronic  diarrho3a,  and  had, 
with  the  rest  of  his  comrades,  been  forty-eight  hours  without  a  wink  of 
sleep,  but  for  all  that  he  and  his  brave  comrades  rendered  a  good 


108  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

account  of  themselves,  as  the  history  of  our  late  war  will  attest. 
While  besieged  at  Nashville,  the  9th  regiment  lay  behind  a  stone 
parapet  to  the  right  and  near  Fort  Negley.  A  few  days  before  the 
battle  a  terrible  storm  of  sleet  and  snow  fell,  and,  as  fuel  was  scarcely 
to  be  had,  the  men  lying  in  their  shelter-tents  nearly  froze  to 
death,  and  Whitehall,  in  addition  to  the  dysentery,  which  had  reduced 
his  "fighting  weight"  to  ninety-six  pounds,  contracted  a  severe  cold, 
which  terminated  in  lung-fever,  of  which  disease  he  had  nearly  died 
while  at  home  the  winter  before.  On  December  15  he  was  so  sick 
that  he  coughed  nearly  every  step  as  he  ran  upon  the  charges,  and  yet 
he  held  his  place  in  the  front  rank,  and  captured  a  prisoner  in  the  final 
charge  on  the  stone  redoubt  on  the  Granny  White  pike.  In  this 
charge  he  was  thrown  down  while  clambering  through  an  embrasure 
of  the  fort,  and  that  night  his  messmates  reported  to  Capt.  Stephens,  his 
uncle,  who  came  over  from  his  division  (the  3d)  to  learn  the  fate  of  his 
nephew,  that  "  poor  Aleck  fell  just  as  he  got  into  the  fort ;"  and  they 
were  surprised  to  find  the  "  dead  boy,"  who  had  wandered  a  part  of 
the  night  alone  over  the  battle-field,  in  his  place  at  the  foot  of  the  com- 
pany the  morning  of  the  second  day's  fight.  In  the  battle  on  the  16th 
Corp.  Beeson  and  Sergt.  Porter  were  wounded  on  each  side  of  White- 
hall, the  former  touching  him  when  struck  by  a  piece  of  shell,  and  in 
the  afternoon  another  comrade  was  struck,  and,  falling  back,  knocked 
Whitehall  down.  But  he  passed  through  unscathed,  except  the  fever 
had  so  deep  a  hold  of  him  that  all  night  he  was  delirious,  and  kept 
the  poor,  brave  boys  of  his  mess  awake  nearly  all  night.  Filled  with 
excitement,  he  kept  on  with  his  regiment  in  the  pursuit  of  Hood,  to  a 
point  near  Spring  Hill,  where,  as  his  journal  shows,  he  fell  in  a  cramp 
and  was  carried  to  a  negro  cabin,  and  the  next  day  rallied  enough 
to  scrawl  a  letter  home,  and  send  by  a  passing  straggler  to  the  mail 
office,  saying:  "I  am  dying  with  lung-fever  in  a  negro  cabin  near 
Spring  Hill.  We  whipped  old  Hood  at  Nashville  badly,  and  the 
backbone  of  the  Confederacy  is  broken.  Good-by."  He  was  finally 
taken  into  the  post-hospital  at  Franklin,  and  from  there  sent  to  Nash- 
ville, and,  though  worn  to  a  shadow,  he  still  had  the  grit  of  a  cub 
tiger,  and  Dr.  Tuttle  said  of  him  at  one  time:  "I  believe,  if  that  little 
boy  there  had  been  in  his  last  gasp,  and  I  had  asked  him  how  he  felt, 
he  would  have  said  '  first  rate.'  '  All  the  winter  of  1865  he  was 
confined  most  of  the  time  to  his  bed,  but  was  cheerful,  and  would  sit 
on  his  cot  and  cut  paper  hangings,  and  then  get  the  nurses  to  make 
paste,  and  hang  them  on  the  framework  of  the  hospital  tent  until  the 
surgeon  and  wardmaster,  with  a  good  deal  of  pride,  several  times 
brought  ladies  to  examine  the  tent,  and  to  see  the  little  boy  that  had 


MIDDLEPOBT   A.ND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  109 

planned  to  give  it  so  homelike  an  appearance.  Fred.  Kimmer,  the 
brawny  German  nurse,  would  pick  up  the  poor,  wasted  boy  in  his 
arms  and  carry  him  as  tenderly  as  a  babe.  In  the  spring,  as  he  grew 
better,  Chaplain  Hoover  had  him  deliver,  in  the  chapel  of  the  stone 
college  in  the  grounds  of  Hospital  No.  2,  Nashville,  a  temperance  lec- 
ture, and  a  temperance  club  was  organized  with  Whitehall  as  secretary. 
He  rejoined  his  regiment  at  Camp  Harker  in  May,  1865,  and,  as  head 
clerk  of  the  brigade  detachment,  sent  in  the  latter  part  of  June,  1865, 
to  Exchone  barracks,  Nashville,  for  muster  out,  he  had  the  pleasure  of 
filling  out  his  own  discharge,  and  July  3  he  was  mustered  out  and 
paid  off  at  the  Soldiers'  Home,  in  Indianapolis.  He  returned  to  his 
home  and  remained  there  until  1865,  when  he  came  to  Iroquois 
county,  and  taught  school  the  first  winter.  The  next  summer  he  com- 
menced farming  on  30  acres  of  land,  on  which  he  raised  1,500  bushels 
of  corn,  and  sold  it  for  20  cents  per  bushel.  In  186%  he  entered  the 
Michigan  University,  at  Ann  Arbor,  Michigan,  from  which  school  he 
graduated  in  1869.  He  returned  to  Watseka  in  April,  1869,  and 
formed  a  law  partnership  with  J.  C.  Steely,  and  commenced  the  prac- 
tice of  law.  This  partnership  lasted  until  1871.  Since  then  Mr. 
Whitehall  has  been  alone  in  the  practice  of  law.  In  1872  Mr.  White- 
hall was  elected  state's  attorney,  in  which  office  he  gave  entire  satisfac- 
tion. In  1873  he  formed  a  partnership  with  Mr.  E.  Bremhall,  in 
the  publication  of  the  "Iroquois  County  Republican,"  which  con- 
tinued until  1876.  Mr.  Whitehall  was  married,  in  1869,  to  Miss 
Alice  Roberts.  They  have  had  two  children,  a  son  and  a  daughter. 

James  Wasson,  brickmaker,  Watseka,  was  born  in  Butler  county, 
Ohio,  January  18, 1827,  where  he  remained  until  1839,  when  he  moved 
to  Delaware  county,  Indiana.  In  1844  he  first  commenced  working  in 
a  brick-yard  in  Wayne  county,  Indiana,  at  $8  per  month.  He  worked 
in  Wayne  county  about  three  years,  and  then  went  to  Newcastle,  Henry 
county,  where  he  stayed  six  years.  He  subsequently  removed  to 
Monde,  Indiana,  where  he  remained  until  1865,  when  he  moved  to 
Iroquois  county  and  located  in  Middleport.  He  commenced  the  man- 
ufacture of  brick  in  1866,  in  the  yard  south  of  his  present  brick-yard. 
At  that  yard  he  made  brick  for  the  present  court-house,  the  brick 
school  east  of  Chamberlain's,  and  other  buildings.  He  moved  to  his 
present  yard  in  1869,  where  he  had  at  one  time  a  capacity  for  making 
15,000  bricks  per  day.  He  now  employs  some  six  men,  and  finds  sale 
for  his  brick  in  the  surrounding  country.  Mr.  Wasson  was  engaged 
about  one  year  as  a  contractor  in  building  the  Chicago  &  Eastern  Illi- 
nois railroad.  Like  most  of  the  contractors  engaged  in  the  building  of 
this  railroad,  he  lost  heavily,  being  out  of  pocket  some  §12,000 ;  but 


110  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

with  good  management  he  worked  through,  and  to-day  is  a  successful 
business  man. 

Henry  Sanders,  Watseka,  was  born  in  England  in  1815.  He 
learned  the  shoemaker's  trade  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  and  served  as  an 
apprentice  until  twenty-one.  In  1865  he  came  to  America,  and  then 
came  west  to  Illinois,  and  was  a  resident  of  Chicago  a  short  time ; 
he  then  came  to  Iroquois  county  and  engaged  in  farming;  he  went 
to  Sheldon,  and  was  working  at  his  trade  some  four  years.  From 
there  he  moved  to  his  present  place,  and  he  now  occupies  the  house 
that  was  erected  by  the  Courtrights ;  it  is,  perhaps,  one  of  the  first 
built  in  this  neighborhood.  Mr.  Sanders  was  married,  in  London, 
England,  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Gellard ;  they  have  six  children. 

S.  C.  Munhall,  postmaster,  Watseka,  was  born  in  Coshocton  county, 
Ohio,  January  26,  1843,  and  is  the  son  of  Rev.  William  and  Dorathy 
(Familton)  Munhall.  His  mother  was  from  England,  and  his  father 
from  Pennsylvania.  At  Urbana,  Champaign  county,  Illinois,  he 
learned  the  trade  of  a  printer.  He  afterward  went  to  Chicago,  where 
he  remained  for  a  while,  and  then  returned  to  Urbana  and  commenced 
the  publication  of  a  newspaper.  He  enlisted  in  Co.  B,  76th  111.  Inf., 
and  participated  in  the  late  civil  war  for  three  years,  doing  good 
service.  In  1864  he  was  promoted  to  sergeant-major;  in  1865  he 
was  mustered  out.  He  returned  to  Illinois  in  1866,  and  came  to 
Watseka,  where  he  was  deputy  county  clerk  for  eight  years.  In 
1874  he  was  appointed  postmaster  of  Watseka  by  Gen.  Grant ;  in 
1878,  by  President  Hayes ;  this  office  he  now  holds.  He  was  married, 
in  October,  1867,  to  Miss  Nancy  Reese,  of  Pennsylvania;  they 
have  one  child. 

H.  Dodge,  retired,  Watseka,  was  born  in  Montgomery  county, 
New  York,  October  15,  1804,  and  is  the  son  of  Noah  and  Elizabeth 
(Yenning)  Dodge.  His  mother  was  a  native  of  London,  England, 
and  his  father  of  Massachusetts.  Noah  Dodge  was  a  soldier  of  the 
revolutionary  war.  Mr.  Dodge  remained  in  New  York  state  until 
1832,  engaged  during  the  last  seven  years  in  clerking  and  carrying 
on  mercantile  business.  In  1832  he  went  to  Michigan,  and  located 
in  Clinton.  Here  lie  entered  the  mercantile  business,  and  was  also 
engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  fanning-mills, —  the  first  made  in 
that  state.  While  a  resident  of  Michigan,  he  was  elected  to  the 
first  legislature,  and  took  an  active  part  in  organizing  that  state.  He 
was  very  successful  in  his  business,  and  at  one  time  owned  a  large 
lot  of  land  ;  but  the  panic  of  1837  so  crippled  him,  that  in  1843 
he  was  completely  broken  up.  He  then  moved  to  Tippecanoe  county, 
Indiana,  and  remained  there  until  1866,  when  he  moved  to  Iroquois 


MIDDLEPORT   AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  Ill 

county  and  located  in  Watseka,  where  he  has  been  an  honored  mem- 
ber of  its  society.  He  was  married,  in  Clinton,  Michigan,  December 
19,  1833,  to  Miss  Lydia  O.  Hooper,  of  Seneca  county,  New  York. 
They  have  one  child,  a  daughter,  wife  of  Win.  S.  Lingle,  of  La  Fayette, 
Indiana.  Joseph  B.  Lingle  is  now  engaged  in  the  study  of  law  in 
Indianapolis  under  Gen.  Ben  Harrison,  and  will  be  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  1880. 

D.  L.  Jewett,  physician,  Watseka,  was  born  in  East  Haddam,  Con- 
necticut, December  22,  1841,  and  is  the  son  of  Nathan  and  Lucretia 
(Stark)  Jewett,  natives  of  Connecticut.  His  father  was  a  farmer.  Dr. 
Jewett  remained  on  the  farm  until  he  was  about  fourteen  years  of  age. 
He  received  his  principal  education  in  his  native  state.  In  1862  he 
graduated  from  the  New  York  Medical  College  of  Physicians  and  Sur- 
geons. The  same  year  he  enlisted  as  surgeon  of  the  20th  Conn.  Yol. 
Inf.,  and  served  with  that  regiment  during  three  years  of  the  late  civil 
war.  This  regiment  was  in  some  of  the  most  severe  battles  with  the 
army  of  the  Potomac.  In  1863  it  came  west  with  Gen.  Joe  Hooker, 
and  participated  in  the  battle  of  Lookout  Mountain,  known  as  the 
"  battle  above  the  clouds."  The  20th  Connecticut  afterward  was  in  a 
number  of  prominent  battles  in  the  western  campaign.  Dr.  Jewett  re- 
mained with  his  regiment  until  1865,  when  he  returned  home  east.  In 
1866  he  came  west,  to  Watseka,  where  he  began  the  practice  of  medi- 
cine. Here  he  has  remained  ever  since,  and  ranks  among  the  leading 
physicians  of  Iroquois  county.  In  1870  he  was  appointed  United 
States'  inspecting  surgeon,  which  place  he  fills  at  present.  Dr.  Jewett 
was  married  to  Miss  L.  Brown,  of  Yermont.  They  have  one  child,  a  son. 

Samuel  R.  Hawks,  Watseka,  was  born  in  Franklin  county,  Massa- 
chusetts, May  2,  1811,  and  is  the  son  of  W.  Hawks,  of  Massachusetts, 
who  was  engaged  in  farming.  At  the  age  of  twenty-four  he  com- 
menced to  learn  the  trade  of  a  stone  and  brick- mason.  In  1835  he 
went  to  Genesee  county,  New  York,  where  he  remained  until  1854. 
While  a  resident  of  that  county  he  was  married,  in  1841,  to  Miss 
Betsey  Dow.  In  1854  they  moved  to  Hillsdale,  Michigan,  where  Mr. 
Hawks  was  engaged  in  business  as  a  contractor  and  builder.  He  there 
erected  the  Hillsdale  College,  and  one  of  the  finest  churghes  of  that  city. 
In  1866  he  moved  to  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  and  located  at  the  pres- 
ent homestead,  where  he  has  been  an  honored  resident  ever  since.  He 
has  represented  in  council  the  second  district  of  Watseka,  since  1872, 
with  the  exception  of  one  year.  Mr.  Hawks  was  a  strong  republican 
in  politics,  but  he  is  now  a  greenbacker,  and  is  recognized  as  one  of  its 
leaders  in  Iroquois  county.  Mr.  Hawks'  daughter,  Dr.  Yiola  E. 
Archibald,  is  engaged  in  the  practice  of  medicine,  and  is  meeting  with 


112  HISTORY   OF    IKOQUOIS    COUNTY. 

very  flattering  success,  receiving  calls  from  all  parts  of  Iroquois  county. 
She  was  born  in  Livingston  county,  New  York,  and  received  her  prin- 
cipal education  at  the  Hillsdale  College,  of  Hillsdale,  Michigan.  She 
attended  a  full  course  of  lectures  at  the  Eclectic  Medical  College,  of 
Cincinnati,  Ohio,  in  1877.  She  began  the  practice  of  medicine  the 
same  year,  and  to-day  is  perhaps  the  only  lady  practicing  medicine  in 
Iroquois  county.  Dr.  Archibald  is  vice-president  of  the  eighth  con- 
gressional district  branch  of  the  Illinois  Society  of  Social  Science.  She 
was  nominated,  by  the  independent  ticket,  for  county  school  superin- 
tendent, but  was  defeated. 

Henry  H.  Alter,  city  clerk,  Watseka,  was  born  in  Beaver,  Beaver 
county,  Pennsylvania,  December  20,  1840,  and  is  the  son  of  Henry  R. 
and  Elizabeth  (Weirich)  Alter,  who  were  born  in  Washington  county, 
Pennsylvania.  His  father  was  engaged  in  farming,  and  his  mother 
died  when  he  was  a  young  lad.  He  was  then  placed  in  the  hands  of 
his  grandmother  Weirich,  who  lived  in  Washington,  Pennsylvania. 
Here  Mr.  Alter  received  his  principal  education.  He  began  the  study 
of  medicine,  in  which  profession  he  was  engaged  at  the  breaking  out  of 
the  late  civil  war.  In  1861  he  enlisted  at  the  first  call  for  one  hundred 
days,  in  Co.  E,  12th  reg.  Penn.  Yol.  Inf.,  as  private.  He  served 
full  time,  and  was  honorably  mustered  out  in  1862.  In  1863  and  1864 
he  was  studying  medicine,  and  was  a  student  in  the  Medical  School  of 
Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania.  In  1864  he  was  appointed  assistant-sur- 
geon of  the  52d  reg.  Yol.  Inf.,  and  served  with  this  regiment  for  one 
year.  This  regiment  participated  in  a  number  of  skirmishes,  and  was 
at  the  battle  of  Nashville,  Tennessee.  In  1865  Mr.  Alter  returned  to 
Pennsylvania,  and  the  same  year  he  came  west.  He  was  visiting  in 
Iowa,  and  in  1866  he  came  to  Watseka,  where  he  has  been  a  resident 
ever  since.  In  1870  he  entered  the  book  business.  Mr.  Alter  has 
held  several  offices  of  public  trust  since  he  has  been  a  resident  of  Wat- 
seka,— township  clerk  of  Middleport,  and  city  clerk  of  Watseka, — and 
has  in  each  given  entire  satisfaction.  Mr.  Alter  was  married  to  Miss 
M.  Roff,  daughter  of  A.  B.  Roff,  who  was  among  the  early  settlers  of 
Watseka.  By  this  union  they  have  one  child,  a  daughter. 

John  M.  Burton,  county  surveyor,  Watseka,  was  born  in  Monroe 
county,  March  16,  1838,  and  is  the  son  of  Henry  W.  and  Martha 
(McDaniel)  Burton  ;  mother  of  North  Carolina  and  father  of  Ken- 
tucky. When  Mr.  Burton  was  about  eleven  years  of  age,  with  his 
parents,  he  moved  to  Illinois,  and  located  in  Crete,  Will  county,  where 
Mr.  B.  remained  about  seven  years,  and  then  moved  to  Kankakee 
city.  In  1867  he  moved  to  Iroquois  county,  on  a  farm  in  Papineau 
township,  where  he  has  been  engaged  in  fanning  ever  since.  In  1871 


MIDDLEPOET    AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  113 

Mr.  Burton  received  the  nomination  and  was  elected  to  the  office  of 
county  surveyor  by  the  republican  party.  In  1875,  becoming  so  pop- 
ular and  giving  such  satisfaction  to  all,  he  received  the  nomination 
from  both  parties,  and  was  reflected  to  the  office  without  any  opposi- 
tion. Mr.  Burton  participated  in  the  late  civil  war.  He  enlisted,  in 
1865,  in  Co.  A,  156th  reg.  111.  Yol.  Inf.,  which  regiment  did  duty  in 
Tennessee.  He  was  discharged  at  the  close  of  the  war.  Mr.  Burton 
is  a  republican  in  politics. 

Elmore  Brimhall,  Watseka,  was  born  in  McHenry  county,  Illinois, 
September  25,  1846,  and  is  the  son  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Brimhall,  a 
Baptist  preacher  who  was  born  in  New  York,  and,  when  he  became  of 
age,  learned  the  carpenter's  trade,  which  he  followed  for  a  number  of 
years.  He  was  married,  in  Indiana,  to  Miss  Caroline  A.  Mills,  of 
Ohio.  They  moved  to  Henderson  county,  Illinois,  where  he  was 
licensed  to  preach.  They  then  went  to  New  Boston,  where  he  was 
regularly  ordained  as  a  preacher,  and  followed  this  for  a  number  of 
years,  preaching  in  different  parts  of  Illinois.  Mr.  Brimhall  remained 
with  his  father  until  the  death  of  his  mother,  which  occurred  when  he 
was  almost  thirteen  years  old.  Afterwards  he  lived  with  his  uncle, 
where  he  could  school  himself.  This  he  did  for  a  number  of  years. 
In  1865  he  was  engaged  at  work  in  a  nursery,  and  in  the  same  year 
went  to  Knoxville,  Knox  county,  and  entered  a  printing  office,  and 
began  to  learn  the  trade.  At  the  end  of  the  year  he  was  the  leading 
printer  in  the  office  of  the  "Knox  Republican."  From  here  he  went 
to  Peoria,  where  he  worked  at  his  trade  in  the  "  Peoria  Democrat " 
office.  He  subsequently  went  west,  and  remained  a  short  time.  He 
returned  to  the  office  of  the  "  Peoria  Democrat,"  where  he  worked 
some  six  months  more,  when  he  received  a  letter  offering  him  work 
in  the  office  of  the  "  Iroquois  County  Republican."  So  in  1867  he 
came  to  Watseka,  and  worked  in  that  office  for  two  years,  when  he 
went  to  St.  Paul,  and  was  engaged  on  state  work  some  six  months. 
From  there  he  removed  to  Buffalo,  and  afterward  entered  the  employ 
of  the  Lakeside  Printing  Company,  of  Chicago,  where  he  remained 
some  two  years.  He  then  commenced  the  job  printing  business,  the 
firm  being  Brimhall  &  Smith,  and  doing  business  at  No.  45  South 
Canal  Street,  where  he  remained  about  one  year.  In  1873,  in  com- 
pany with  Alex.  L.  Whitehall,  he  purchased  the  "  Iroquois  County 
Republican,"  and  began  the  publication  of  that  paper.  In  August, 
1876,  he  purchased  Mr.  Whitehall's  interest,  and  in  August,  1877,  he 
sold  out  his  business  in  the  newspaper,  and  at  present  is  engaged  in 
buying  and  selling  real  estate.  Mr.  Brimhall  was  married,  in  1876,  to 
Miss  Dora  Fenton. 


114  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

Judge  John  Chamberlain,  of  "Watseka,  deceased,  was  born  in 
Charleston,  New  Hampshire,  October  24,  1803,  and  was  the  son  of 
John  C.  Chamberlain,  a  leading  practitioner  at  the  New  Hampshire 
bar.  The  subject  of  this  memoir  graduated  from  Dartmouth  College 
in  the  class  of  1823.  On  July  16,  1830,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
New  York,  and  commenced  practice  at  Albion,  Orleans  county.  He 
rapidly  rose  to  distinction,  and  from  that  time  held  high  rank  among 
the  legal  talent  of  the  state'.  In  the  anti-Mason  excitement  of  that 
period  he  went  with  his  party  friends  —  the  democrats  —  spared  their 
feelings,  and  was  at  a  time  their  chief  adviser,  and  gave  efficient  and 
distinguished  aid  in  opposing  the  anti-Masons  as  a  political  party. 
Following  this  he  served  several  terms  in  the  New  York  general 
assembly.  Through  the  failure  of  friends  to  whom  he  had  loaned  his 
credit  for  a  large  sum,  he  was  induced  to  come  west.  In  1844  or  1845 
he  located  at  Bunkum,  in  this  county,  where  he  engaged  largely  in  the 
stock  and  real  estate  business.  In  1847  he  was  an  unsuccessful  candi- 
date, against  Judge  Jesse  O.  Norton,  of  Joliet,  for  delegate  to  the  con- 
stitutional convention  from  the  counties  of  Iroquois  and  Will.  In 
1849  he  was  elected  the  first  county  judge  of  Iroquois  county,  for  four 
years,  which  office  he  filled  three  consecutive  terms.  In  1853  he 
moved  to  the  town  of  Middleport,  then  the  county  seat  of  Iroquois 
county.  He  was  married,  in  1856,  to  Mrs.  O.  L.  Hood,  who  was  born 
in  Byron,  Genesee  county,  New  York,  June  2,  1822.  Three  children, 
two  daughters  and  a  son,  were  the  issue  of  this  union,  but  only 
one,  Orra  N.,  the  oldest  child,  survives  him ;  the  other  two  died  in 
infancy.  Judge  Chamberlain  died  in  Watseka,  December  16,  1866, 
universally  regretted. 

Dr.  W.  S.  Browne,  physician,  Woodland,  was  born  in  Madison 
county,  Indiana,  March  2,  1844,  and  is  the  son  of  L.  D.  and  Nancy 
(Harland)  Browne.  His  father,  a  farmer,  was  a  native  of  Virginia, 
and  moved  to  Indiana  at  an  early  day.  Here,  on  the  farm,  our 
subject  worked  during  the  summer,  and  in  the  winter  months  attended 
the  district  schools,  receiving  a  good  common-school  education,  and 
fitting  himself  for  the  Michigan  University  at  Ann  Arbor,  Michigan. 
Here  he  attended  a '  medical  course,  and  also  at  Cincinnati  and  at 
the  Rush  Medical  College,  of  .Chicago.  Dr.  Browne  received  two 
diplomas.  In  1868  he  went  to  Watseka  and  began  the  practice  of 
medicine,  where  he  remained  but  a  short  time;  when  he  went  to 
Anderson,  Indiana,  and  there  was  engaged  in  the  drug  business  in 
connection  with  his  practice.  In  1872  he  came  to  Woodland,  where 
he  has  been  meeting  with  good  success  in  his  chosen  profession. 

Robert  Zemple,  grain  and  hardware  merchant,  is  the  junior  member 


MIDDLEPORT   AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  115 

in  the  firm  of  Messrs.  Rosenburg  &  Zemple,  prominent  business  men 
of  Woodland,  who  do  a  general  hardware  and  grain  business.  They 
are  both  also  connected  with  the  grain  firm  of  S.  Williams  &  Co.,  of 
Woodland,  who  are  extensive  grain  dealers.  Mr.  Zemple  was  born 
in  Prussia,  Germany,  and  moving  to  America,  in  1868,  first  located 
in  Iroquois  county,  where  he  remained  about  one  year ;  he  then  went 
to  Chicago,  where  he  remained  some  seven  years,  and  again  returned 
to  Iroquois  county  and  located  in  Papineau,  where  he  was  engaged 
in  clerking  and  in  the  commission  business.  In  1876  he  came  to 
Woodland  and  has  since  remained  here. 

Ben  R.  South,  restaurateur  and  confectioner,  Watseka,  was  born 
in  New  Albany,  Indiana,  October  8,  1843,  where  he  remained  until 
1856,  when  he  came  with  his  parents  and  located  in  Iroquois  county 
on  a  farm.  Here  he  was  engaged  in  farming  until  1862,  when  he 
enlisted  in  the  late  civil  war,  in  Co.  K,  76th  111.  Yol.  Inf.,  as  private 
for  three  years  or  during  the  war.  He  remained  with  the  76th  until 
1863,  when  he  was  taken  sick  and  sent  to  the  hospital  at  Memphis, 
Tennessee,  and  thence  to  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  where  he  was  taken  sick 
with  the  small-pox ;  in  1863  he  was  transferred  to  the  Yeteran 
Reserve  corps,  and  then  sent  to  Indianapolis,  Indiana,  where  he 
served  as  orderly  until  July,  1865,  when  he  was  honorably  discharged. 
He  returned  to  the  old  homestead  in  Iroquois  county,  where  he 
remained  until  1868,  engaged  in  farming.  He  then  came  to  Watseka, 
and  was  made  deputy  sheriff  under  his  brother,  A.  H.  South.  In 
1869  Mr.  South  went  to  Missouri,  where  he  was  engaged  in  farming 
until  1872,  when  he  returned  to  Watseka,  which  has  been  his  home 
ever  since.  In  April,  1878,  he  began  the  restaurant  and  confectionery 
business,  in  which  business  he  is  at  present  engaged.  At  his  establish- 
ment everything  is  in  neat  order;  he  is  located  south  of  the  Toledo, 
Peoria  &  Warsaw  depot.  Mr.  South  was  assistant  marshal  of  Watseka 
for  several  years.  He  is  a  republican  in  politics. 

John  T.  Pierson,  sheriff  of  Iroquois  county,  Watseka,  was  born  in 
Marion  county,  Ohio,  September  25,  1850,  and  is  the  son  of  Thomas 
and  Margaret  Ann  (Fickle)  Pierson,  both  natives  of  the  Buckeye 
state.  His  father,  Thomas  Pierson,  was  a  farmer  and  stock  raiser  in 
Ohio.  In  1868,  with  family,  he  came  to  Iroquois  county,  and  located 
on  a  farm  in  Artesia  township.  Here  he  followed  farming.  In  1874 
he  was  elected  sheriff  of  Iroquois  county,  and  he  appointed  as  deputy 
his  son,  Joftn  T.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  Mr.  Pierson  served  two 
years  as  sheriff  of  Iroquois  county.  He  is  now  engaged  in  the  stock 
business  at  the  Union  Stock  Yards,  Chicago.  In  1876  Jacob  Shear  was 
elected  sheriff  of  the  county,  with  Mr.  John  T.  Pierson  as  deputy 


116  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

sheriff.  In  filling  the  office  of  deputy  sheriff  for  four  years  Mr.  Pier- 
son  gave  entire  satisfaction,  having  proven  himself  a  man  of  acknowl- 
edged ability.  He  won  a  host  of  friends,  and  in  1878  was  nominated 
and  elected  to  the  office  of  sheriff  of  Iroquois  county  by  the  green- 
back party.  This  office  he  now  fills.  Mr.  Pierson's  first  vote  was  cast 
for  U.  S.  Grant  for  president.  Since  then  he  has  been  liberal  in  his 
politics.  In  1877  Mr.  Pierson  was  constable  of  Watseka. 

Charles  G.  Culver,  merchant,  Watseka',  is  one  of  the  best  known  and 
most  highly  respected  business  men  of  Watseka.  He  was  born  in 
Washington  county,  New  York,  October  8,  1840.  His  parents  are 
Nathan  and  Eliza  (Gilmore)  Culver,  both  natives  of  New  York.  His 
father  was  a  farmer.  On  the  farm  Mr.  Culver  remained  until  he  was 
about  sixteen  years  of  age.  In  1857  he  took  Horace  Greeley's  advice 
and  came  west.  He  located  first  in  Sandwich,  DeKalb  county,  Illinois, 
and  there  entered  one  of  the  leading  dry-goods  houses  as  clerk.  At 
the  breaking  out  of  the  late  civil  war,  when  Fort  Sumter  was  fired 
upon,  he  enlisted  in  Co.  H,  7th  111.  Yol.  Inf.  This  company  was  the 
first  company  that  reported  for  duty  at  Chicago,  in  Illinois.  The  7th 
was  commanded  by  Col.  Dick  Oglesby.  This  regiment  was  ordered  to 
Cairo,  Illinois,  where  it  did  duty  for  three  months.  Being  a  three- 
months  regiment,  it  was  then  mustered  out.  Mr.  Culver  then  reen- 
listed  for  three  years  in  Co.  H,  105th  111.  Yol.  Inf.,  as  orderly-sergeant. 
He  participated  in  some  of  the  most  severe  battles  of  the  war: 
Resaca,  Atlanta  (known  as  the  one-hnndred-day  fight),  Peach  Tree 
Creek,  with  Sherman's  march  to  the  sea,  through  the  swamps  of  the 
Carolinas,  on  to  Washington,  where  he  participated  in  the  grand  parade 
at  Washington,  D.  C.  Mr.  Culver  entered  Co.  H  as  orderly-sergeant ; 
from  that  he  was  appointed  to  second  lieutenant,  then  first  lieutenant, 
and  when  he  was  transferred  from  Co.  H  to  Co.  C,  he  was  made  cap- 
tain, which  office  he  filled  some  eighteen  months.  He  was  a  brave 
soldier.  He  never  lost  a  day  from  duty,  served  full  time,  and  was 
honorably  mustered  out  at  Washington  in  1865  at  the  close  of  the  war. 
He  returned  to  Sandwich,  Illinois,  and  entered  the  general  merchan- 
dising business.  In  1869  he  came  to  Watseka  and  commenced  his 
present  business.  In.  1878  Mr.  Culver  was  elected  supervisor  of  Mid- 
dleport  township,  which  office  he  filled  with  marked  ability.  He  is  a 
republican  in  politics,  being  a  member  of  the  republican  state  cen- 
tral committee.  Mr.  Culver  was  married  in  Sandwich,  DeKalb 
county,  Illinois,  to  Miss  Maria  Barnes,  of  New  York.  They  have 
one  child,  a  son. 

L.  W.   Roberts,  dentist,  Watseka,   was   born    in    Kentucky,  near 
Lexington,  January  14,  1843,  and  is  the  son  of  the  Rev.  Richard  B. 


MIDDLEPORT   AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  117 

Eoberts.  Mr.  Koberts  moved  with  his  parents  to  Indiana  when  he 
was  very  young ;  and  moved  with  his  father  and  family  on  the 
circuit  through  Indiana,  his  father  being  a  preacher.  In  1862,  during 
the  late  civil  war,  he  enlisted  from  Kokomo,  Indiana,  in  Co.  I, 
21st  Ind.  Yol.  Inf.,  which  was  transferred  to  Co.  L,  1st  Ind.  Artil- 
lery; he  enlisted  for  three  years.  This  artillery  did  service  at  New 
Orleans  and  Baton  Rouge,  Louisiana ;  he  was  honorably  discharged  on 
account  of  sickness.  Dr.  Roberts  commenced  the  study  of  dentistry 
in  1858 ;  he  practiced  at  Valparaiso,  Indiana,  and  Fairmount,  Illinois. 
In  1869  he  came  to  Watseka  and  began  the  practice  of  his  profession. 
He  is  meeting  with  very  good  success ;  his  office  is  located  over  C.  G. 
Culver's  store. 

J.  J.  Carlock,  merchant,  "Watseka,  was  born  in  McLean  county, 
Illinois,  November  24,  1829,  and  is  the  son  of  Reuben  and  Amy 
(Jones)  Carlock,  who  immigrated  to  Illinois,  and  located  in  Dry  Grove, 
McLean  county,  in  1827.  His  father,  who  was  born  in  1795,  died 
in  1856;  he  was  a  .soldier  of  two  wars, —  the  war  of  1812,  and  the 
Black  Hawk  war  of  1832.  His  wife,  Amy  (Jones)  Carlock,  is  still 
living,  in  Woodford  county,  at  the  good  old  age  of  eighty-two  years ; 
she  is  a  pensioner  of  the  war  of  1812.  Mr.  Carlock  remained  on  the 
farm  in  McLean  and  Woodford  counties,  engaged  in  farming  and 
stock  dealing,  until  1869,  when  he  moved  to  Iroquois  county  and 
located  in  Belmont  township ;  here  he  remained  until  1876,  when 
he  moved  to  Watseka.  He  has  been  engaged  in  the  lumber  business. 
He  was  married,  in  Woodford  county,  to  Miss  Susan  Allen,  of  Bloom- 
ing Grove,  daughter  of  Isaac  Allen,  who  was  an  early  settler  of  Mc- 
Lean county  ;  they  have  four  children. 

Judge  Manliff  B.  Wright,  county  judge,  Watseka,  whose  portrait 
appears  in  this  work,  is  one  of  the  leading  and  prominent  men  of 
Iroquois  county ;  and,  while  speaking  of  some  of  the  old  settlers  and 
prominent  men  of  Iroquois  county,  a  short  sketch  of  his  life  is  most 
appropriate  as  one  of  the  latter.  He  is  a  native  of  the  province  of 
Ontario,  Canada  —  Kemptville,  Greenville  county,  being  his  native 
town,  where  he  was  born  April  6,  1839  ;  and  is  the  son  of  Frederick  and 
Sarah  (Parkinson)  Wright,  both  natives  of  Canada.  Th'e  early  part 
of  the  judge's  life  was  spent  at  his  native  place.  In  1856  he  came 
west  and  located  in  the  town  of  Henry,  Marshall  county,  Illinois.  At 
Sparland  in  that  county,  from  1862  to  1866,  he  was  engaged  in  the 
mercantile  trade.  Turning  his  attention,  however,  to  the  study  of 
law  he,  in  1868,  was  admitted  to  practice  at  the  Illinois  bar;  and  in 
1869  he  removed  to  Iroquois  county  and  located  at  Watseka,  where 
he  has  since  resided.  At  the  Iroquois  county  bar  his  natural  talent 


118  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

and  ability  soon  won  for  him  respect  and  distinction.  In  1873  he 
was  nominated  and  elected  by  the  independents  to  the  office  of  county 
judge,  receiving  a  majority  of  1,250  votes;  in  1877  he  was  reflected 
to  the  same  office  by  the  greenback  party,  with  a  majority  of  906 
votes;  in  1879  he  was  the  nominee  of  the  democrat  and  greenback 
party  for  the  circuit  judgeship,  but  was  defeated  by  the  republican 
nominee,  Franklin  Blades.  In  the  discharge  of  his  duties  as  a  public 
officer  Judge  Wright  has  been  and  is  both  honorable  and  con- 
scientious, allowing  neither  political  nor  personal  prejudice  to  warp 
his  judgment  or  sway  his  decision  when  the  liberty  or  property  of 
another  is  at  stake :  but  being  governed  by  a  high  sense  of  honor, 
his  decisions  have  been  just ;  by  this  course  he  has  only  increased  his 
already  enviable  reputation.  In  1874  he  was  was  married,  in  Chats- 
worth,  Livingston  county,  Illinois,  to  Miss  Helen  E.  Hoyt,  formerly 
of  Henry,  Illinois.  They  have  three  children,  two  daughters  and  one  son. 

Burlew  &  Smith,  wagon  and  carriage  makers,  Watseka,  compose 
one  of  the  leading  firms  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  wagons  and 
carriages.  Mr.  J.  E.  Burlew  was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  where  he  learned 
the  trade  of  a  blacksmith.  He  came  west  and  was  engaged  at  his 
trade  at  Plainfield,  Will  county.  Some  ten  years  ago  he  came  to  Mid- 
dleport  and  engaged  in  the  blacksmith  business  with  Mr.  C.  W.  Smith. 
He  then  came  to  Watseka  and  was  engaged  in  business  in  the  shop  in 
the  rear  of  Wade's  hardware  store.  In  1876  he  came  to  his  present 
shop.  Mr.  L.  N.  Smith  is  a  native  of  New  Jersey.  He  learned  the 
trade  of  a  wagon-maker  in  Rockaway,  New  Jersey.  In  1872  he  came 
west,  and  was  for  a  short  time  working  in  Danville  and  Indianapolis, 
and  finally  came  to  Watseka.  These  gentlemen  occupy  a  building, 
size  20  X  30  feet,  two  stories  high.  They  are  doing  a  good  business 
and  employ  three  hands. 

Henry  Upsall,  jeweler,  Watseka,  is  the  oldest  watchmaker  and  jew- 
eler of  Watseka.  He  first  came  here  in  1870.  Ever  since  that  date 
he  has  held  a  leading  though  unostentatious  position  as  a  business  man 
of  the  city,  and  done  a  gradually  increasing  business,  until  to-day  there 
is  hardly  a  man,  woman  or  child  within  many  miles  but  knows  Henry 
Upsall.  He  is  a  practical  and  thoroughly  educated  watchmaker  and 
jeweler,  and  no  doubt  this  has  contributed  largely  to  the  success  he  has 
attained.  He  has  had  practical  experience  in  his  business  for  over 
thirty  years,  learning  his  trade  in  England,  and  makes  a  specialty  of 
repairing  fine  time  pieces,  large  numbers  of  which  the  public  have  con- 
fidence in  entrusting  in  his  hands.  Henry  Upsall  was  born  in  Lincoln- 
shire, England,  December  25.  1830,  and  is  the  son  of  Henry  Upsall, 
who  was  a  fisherman.  At  fifteen  years  of  age  lie  commenced  to  learn 


X 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


MIDDLEPORT   AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  121 

his  trade  with  his  uncle  in  Boston,  England.  He  served  as  an  appren- 
tice for  five  and  a  half  years.  In  1857  he  sailed  for  America  and  landed 
in  New  York  city.  He  came  directly  west  to  Indiana  and  located  in 
Koscinsko  county  and  worked  at  his  trade.  He  saved  sufficient  money 
to  purchase  a  farm,  on  which  he  remained  until  1863,  when  he  enlisted 
in  the  late  civil  war  in  the  23d  Ind.  Art.  for  three  years,  but,  on 
account  of  disability,  he  was  honorably  discharged.  He  returned  to 
Indiana,  where  he  worked  at  his  trade  in  Leesburgh  and  Warsaw 
until  1870,  when  he  came  to  Watseka  and  commenced  to  work  for  "W. 
P.  Stephens  at  $18  per  week.  In  1872  he  commenced  business  for 
himself,  and  since  then  he  has  been  meeting  with  good  success.  To- 
day he  owns  a  large,  well  stocked  jewelry  store  that  would  be  a  credit 
to  a  large  city.  Mr.  Upsall  is  a  fine  scholar  in  astrology,  and  is  known 
as  such  throughout  America.  He  is  the  owner  of  some  old  works  on 
astrology,  one  published  in  1652  and  restored  by  William  Ramsey. 
Mr.  Upsall's  father  and  mother,  Henry  and  Maria  (Wallhead)  Upsall, 
are  both  living  in  England.  His  father's  age  is  eighty-eight  years ; 
his  mother's  seventy-six.  He  has  one  brother  and  one  sister  in  Aus- 
tralia; one  brother  and  two  sisters  in  England.  Plis  brother  John, 
who  came  with  him  to  America,  died  a  soldier,  in  1863,  at  Cairo,  Illi- 
nois, during  the  late  civil  war. 

Alexander  Gillfillan,  merchant,  is  one  of  the  leading  business  men 
of  Watseka.  He  was  born  in  Ross  county,  Ohio,  February  12,  1850. 
In  1854,  with  his  parents,  he  moved  on  a  farm  in  Madison  county,  Indi- 
ana. Here  he  remained  until  1870,  working  on  the  farm.  From  Madison 
county  he  came  to  Watseka,  and  entered  the  store  of  Daniel  Fry  as 
clerk.  He  then  occupied  the  position  of  clerk  with  C.  G.  Culver.  In 
1878  he  entered  the  mercantile  business  for  himself,  and  to-day  is  doing 
a  good  business,  occupying  a  large  room  20x80  feet,  located  next  to 
Arnold's  drug  store. 

Z.  Hockett,  tile  and  flower-pot  manufacturer,  Watseka,  was  born  in 
Clinton  county,  Ohio,  in  1820.  His  first  experience  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  tile  began  in  his  native  county,  where  he  made  the  first  ever 
manufactured  in  Clinton  county.  When  he  first  began  business  his 
tile  factory  was  the  only  one  in  the  county,  but  after  remaining  in  busi- 
ness for  seven  years  there  were  fourteen  there.  In  1871  Mr.  Hockett 
came  to  Iroquois  county  and  located  in  Ash  Grove,  where  he  com- 
menced the  drug  business,  which  he  followed  until  1875,  when  he 
came  to  Middleport.  In  1875  he  commenced  his  present  business. 
He  has  one  tile  machine  of  the  latest  pattern,  patented  by  his  brother, 
A.  Hockett.  The  factory  has  one  kiln,  size  13x16.  The  drying-shed 
is  132x22.  The  dirt  is  near  the  factory  in  abundance,  and  of  a 


122  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

superior  quality.  He  receives  orders  from  the  immediate  vicinity,  and 
ships  quite  an  amount.  He  makes  all  the  standard  sizes,  3,  4,  5  and  6. 
Mr.  Hockett  is  also  engaged  very  extensively  in  manufacturing  flower- 
pots. This  firm  is  Z.  Hockett  &  Son,  and  their  flower-pots  are  pro- 
nounced the  best  quality  in  the  market.  They  get  their  clay  from  the 
Iroquois  river  and  cart  it  to  their  factory,  where  it  is  well  mixed,  and 
then  molded  into  pots  of  from  one  and  a  half  to  seventeen  inches  inside. 
These  goods  are  of  a  bright  cream  color,  and  are  easily  disposed  of  in 
the  leading  markets,  Bloomington,  La  Fayette,  Indianapolis  and  Terre 
Haute,  their  orders  amounting  to  as  high  as  10,000  flower-pots  at  a 
time.  Mr.  Z.  Hockett  was  alderman  from  his  district  one  term.  He 
married  Lucinda  Bandy,  of  Ohio,  and  they  have  nine  children. 
Mr.  Hockett  has  three  sons  working  in  the  factory.  He  had  one  son. 
in  the  late  war,  Lewis,  who  enlisted  in  the  79th  Ohio,  and  did  good 
service  for  three  years  and  was  honorably  mustered  out. 

Held  Bros.,  butchers,  Watseka,  own  one  of  the  neatest,  best  arranged 
and  most  attractive  meat-markets  in  Iroquois  county.  They  are  prac- 
tical butchers  of  life-long  experience,  and  have  the  reputation  of 
exposing  for  sale  the  finest  quality  of  all  kinds  of  meats,  through 
which,  and  their  fairness  of  prices  and  strict  probity  in  business  trans- 
actions, they  have  secured  there  a  paying  trade.  They  have  for  their 
use  a  large  ice-box,  which  cost  them  $300,  for  the  storing  of  their 
meats.  John  Held  was  born  in  Germany,  April  11,  1844.  Lewis 
Held  was  born  in  Germany,  March  30,  1850.  They  emigrated  to 
America  and  landed  in  New  York  city  in  1865,  and  came  direct  to 
Illinois  and  located  in  Chicago ;  here  they  were  engaged  in  the  butcher 
business  and  remained  until  1871,  when  they  came  to  Watseka,  where 
they  have  been  engaged  ever  since  in  the  butcher  business,  and  to-day 
are  the  oldest  butchers  doing  business  in  Watseka.  Their  parents  are 
Chris,  and  Mary  Margaret  Held,  both  natives  of  Germany. 

John  Fagan,  Watseka,  is  the  pioneer  harness-maker  of  Iroquois 
county.  He  was  born  March  29,  1822,  in  Greene  county,  Ohio. 
He  commenced  to  learn  the  trade  of  a  harness-maker  when  fourteen 
years  of  age,  in  Xenia,  Ohio,  where  he  served  an  apprenticeship 
of  six  years.  He  wrorked  at  his  trade  in  Xenia  until  1847,  when 
he  went  to  La  Fayette,  Indiana,  where  he  worked  at  his  trade,  and 
remained  there  until  1848,  when  he  returned  to  Xenia.  He  then 
went  to  Williamsport,  then  to  Attica,  and  subsequently  to  Danville, 
Illinois,  where  he  worked  at  his  trade  until  1849.  He  then  came  to 
Middleport,  Iroquois  county,  and  commenced  the  harness  business, 
being  the  first  harness-maker  to  establish  in  business  in  Iroquois  county. 
At  Middleport  and  Watseka  he  has  been  engaged  in  business  ever  since, 


MIDDLEPORT    AND    BELMONT   TOWNSHIPS.  123 

with  the  exceptions  of  1868, 1869  and  1870,  when  he  was  in  business  in 
Champaign  county,  Illinois.  In  1877  he  moved  to  his  present  stand, 
which  is  located  on  the  corner  next  to  the  First  National  Bank  build- 
ing. When  Mr.  Fagan  first  commenced  business  in  Middleport  his 
customers  came  from  far  and  wide.  He  did  work  for  people  as  far 
away  as  Joliet,  Will  county,  and  also  in  neighboring  counties.  Mr. 
Fagan  was  married  in  Middleport,  in  1852,  to  Miss  Caroline  Hogle,  of 
Vermont,  and  they  have  two  children. 

W.  A.  Mott,  confectioner  and  restaurant-keeper,  Watseka,  was  born 
in  Kankakee  county,  Illinois,  June  4,  1851,  and  is  the  son  of  Gardner 
Mott,  who  was  born  in  Canada,  and  at  an  early  day  moved  to  Illinois, 
where  he  was  engaged  at  the  carpenter's  trade.  He  came  to  Kankakee 
city  and  helped  to  build  the  first  frame  house  in  that  place.  In  Kan- 
kakee city  the  subject  of  this  sketch  remained  a  short  time,  and  then, 
with  his  parents,  moved  to  Momence,  where  his  mother  died  when  he 
was  about  three  years  of  age.  From  Momence  he  went  to  Champaign 
county,  where  he  remained  until  he  was  about  ten  years  of  age,  when 
he  went  to  Berrien  county,  Michigan.  He  returned  to  Momence,  and 
in  1871  he  came  to  Watseka,  where  he  entered  Doyle's  wagon-shop 
and  learned  the  painter's  trade.  This  he  followed  until  1875,  when  he 
embarked  in  the  mercantile  business.  Mr.  Mott  was  married,  in  1878, 
to  Miss  Mary  Weston,  of  England,  who  came  to  America  when  very 
young. 

T.  B.  Harris,  state's  attorney,  Watseka,  was  born  in  Trumbull  county, 
Ohio,  February  28,  1844,  and  is  the  son  of  Sidney  W.  and  Mary 
(Bronson)  Harris.  His  mother  was  born  in  Ohio,  and  his  father  in 
Yermont.  Sidney  Harris  was  a  lawyer,  who  graduated  from  the  Cin- 
cinnati Law  School.  He  practiced  law  at  Cincinnati,  and  in  1855,  with 
his  family,  moved  to  Illinois  and  located  in  Morris,  Grundy  county. 
He  became  one  of  the  leading  attorneys  of  that  vicinity.  He  was 
elected  judge  of  the  then  eleventh  judicial  circuit,  which  office  he  held 
about  five  years.  He  died  in  Morris,  September,  1876,  at  sixty-one 
years  of  age.  Mr.  Harris,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  in  1855,  came  west 
with  his  parents,  to  Morris,  Illinois.  In  August,  1862,  during  the  late 
civil  war,  Mr.  Harris  enlisted  in  Co.  D,  91st  111.  Vol.  Inf.  He  was 
immediately  appointed  sergeant-major,  which  position  he  filled  until 
December  5,  1864,  when  he  was  made  adjutant  of  the  91st,  in  which 
he  served  until  July,  1865.  Mr.  Harris  participated  in  several  severe 
engagements :  at  the  siege  and  capture  of  Mobile ;  in  the  capture  of 
the  Blakeley  batteries — this  was  the  last  battle  fought  during  the  war. 
Lee  surrendered  his  army  April  9,  at  ten  o'clock.  The  battle  at  the 
capture  of  the  Blakeley  batteries  was  fought  the  same  day,  which  was, 


124  HISTORY   OF  IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

perhaps,  the  most  severe  fought  battle  of  the  war.  It  lasted  ten  min- 
utes, and  during  that  time  the  Union  forces  lost  600  men.  They  cap- 
tured 3,000  prisoners,  the  Blakeley  batteries  and  the  city  of  Mobile. 
Mr.  Harris  was  captured  by  the  notorious  guerilla,  John  Morgan,  and 
remained  a  paroled  prisoner  about  five  months.  He  was  finally 
exchanged  at  the  close  of  the  war.  Mr.  Harris  returned  to  Morris, 
where  he  began  the  study  of  law  with  his  father.  He  was  a  student 
in  the  Wayland  University,  of  Michigan.  In  1867  he  was  admitted  to 
the  bar,  and  began  the  practice  of  law  at  Morris,  where  he  remained 
until  1872,  at  which  date  he  came  to  Watseka,  where  he  has  been 
engaged  in  the  practice  of  law  ever  since,  and  to-day  he  ranks  among 
the  leading  attorneys  of  the  Iroquois  county  bar.  In  1876  he  was 
elected  by  the  democrats  and  green  backers  to  the  office  of  state's  attor- 
ney of  Iroquois  county.  He  was  elected  by  75  majority,  being  tjie 
only  one  elected  on  that  ticket.  In  this  office  Mr.  Harris  is  giving 
entire  satisfaction.  He  is  a  democrat  in  politics.  He  was  married,  in 
1868,  to  Miss  Hettie  L.  Roseman,  of  Ohio,  and  they  have  two  children. 

Free  P.  Morris,  attorney-at-law,  Watseka,  was  born  in  Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania,  March  19,  1853,  and  is  the  son  oY  Charles  arid  Sarah 
(Thomas)  Morris,  both  natives  of  the  Keystone  State.  Mr.  Morris' 
father  was  engaged  in  the  coal  business  in  Pennsylvania,  and  in  1863 
came  west  with  his  family  and  located  in  Cook  county,  Illinois.  From 
there  he  moved  to  Chicago,  thence  to  Iroquois,  Iroquois  county.  Mr. 
Free  P.  Morris  came  west  with  his  parents  to  Cook  county,  Illinois, 
and  at  the  Northwestern  University  at  Evanston  he  received  his  prin- 
cipal education.  He  graduated  from  that  school  [n  1872,  having 
attended  a  course  of  law  lectures  while  a  student  there.  He  then  went 
to  Chicago  and  began  the  reading  of  law  in  the  office  of  T.  S.  McClel- 
land, Esq.,  a  prominent  attorney  of  the  Cook  county  bar.  In  1874 
Mr.  Morris  was  admitted  to  practice  law  at  the  Illinois  state  bar.  He 
then  came  to  Watseka  and  began  the  practice  of  law,  where  he  has 
remained  ever  since.  Mr.  Morris  is  a  democrat  in  politics. 

Dr.  D.  E.  Sabin,  druggist,  Woodland,  was  born  in  Muskingum 
county,  Ohio,  near  Zanesville,  in  1834.  He  came  west  to  Illinois  in 
1856,  and  began  the  drug  business  in  Piper  city,  where  he  remained  for 
a  number  of  years,  doing  a  leading  business  in  the  drug  line.  In  Feb- 
ruary, 1877,  Dr.  Sabin  came  to  Woodland  and  purchased  the  drug  store 
of  Brown  &  Endicott,  which  business  he  is  now  carrying  on,  owning 
one  ot  the  neatest  and  best  stocks  of  drugs  in  the  vicinity.  Dr.  Sabin 
commenced  the  practice  of  medicine  in  1867,  and  attended  lecture 
courses  at  the  Eclectic  College  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

J.    S.  Near,  physician,  Watseka,  was    born    near   Chambersburg, 


MILFORD   TOWNSHIP.  125 

Pennsylvania,  March  16,  1848,  and  is  the  son  of  Robert  E.  Near,  a 
cabinet-maker  by  trade,  but  now  engaged  in  farming  in  Lee  county, 
Illinois.  When  three  years  of  age,  Dr.  Near  came  to  Ohio  and  received 
his  principal  education  at  Akron  Seminary.  In  1865  he  came  to 
Illinois,  and  located  in  Joliet,  and  began  the  study  of  medicine 
in  1871  under  Dr.  C.  W.  Williams,  a  leading  physician  of  Joliet.  In 
1876  he  graduated  from  the  Hahnemann  Medical  College  of  Chicago,  one 
of  the  leading  medical  colleges  of  the  Northwest.  Dr.  Near  began 
practice  at  Joliet,  and  from  there  he  went  to  Frankfort  Station,  where 
he  remained  until  1878,  and  then  came  to  Watseka,  where  he  is  meet- 
ing with  good  success  in  the  practice  of  medicine. 

Hockett  Brothers,  furniture  dealers,  Watseka,  have  been  in  business 
in  Watseka,  since  November,  1878,  during  which  time  they  have 
exhibited  an  amount  of  caution  and  care  in  their  business  transactions, 
that  to-day  they  rank  among  the  solid  men  of  Watseka.  Their  store  is 
located  on  the  main  business  street,  and  has  a  front  of  twenty-five 
feet  and  a  depth  of  about  fifty-five  feet.  Their  salesrooms  are  nicely 
arranged,  and  in  them  are  goods  to  suit  all  tastes  and  purses.  These 
gentlemen  buy  their  furniture  mostly  in  the  white;  they  buy  from  the 
best  manufacturers  in  the  country,  and  goods  can  be  bought  from  them 
as  cheap  as  in  large  cities.  The  firm  of  Hockett  Brothers  is  composed 
of  L.  C.  Hockett,  who  was  born  in  Clinton  county,  Ohio,  August  13, 
1846.  He  has  had  a  number  of  years'  experience  in  the  furniture 
business  in  Ohio.  In  1862  he  enlisted  in  Co.  F,  88th  Ohio  Yol.  Inf., 
as  corporal,  and  served  until  the  close  of  the  late  war.  He  participated 
in  the  battles  of  Dutch  Gap  and  the  siege  of  Richmond,  Yirginia.  He 
was  a  brave  soldier  and  did  good  duty,  and  was  honorably  mustered 
out  in  1865.  J.  B.  Hockett  was  also  born  in  Clinton  county,  Ohio. 


MILFORD  TOWNSHIP. 

Milford,  meaning  Ford-at-the-mill,  is  one  of  the  oldest  settled  town- 
ships in  Iroquois  county.  For  this  reason  its  settlement  is  historically 
interesting.  At  the  time  of  its  settlement  it  formed  a  part  of  Ver- 
milion county,  and  was  the  only  settlement,  except  Bunkum  (now 
Iroquois),  between  North  Fork  and  Chicago. 

Milford  is  situated  in  the  southeastern  part  of  Iroquois  county,  and  is 
bounded  on  the  north  by  Belrnont,  on  the  east  by  Stockland,  on  the 
south  by  Lovejoy,  and  on  the  west  by  Ash  Grove.  It  is  described  in 
the  original  survey  as  town  25  north,  range  12  west  of  the  2d  prin- 
cipal meridian.  The  north  tier  of  sections  in  this  township  is  each 


126  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

about  two  and  a  half  miles  long.  Owing  to  the  bungling  manner  in 
which  the  first  survey  was  made,  many  irregularities  occur  in  the  sec- 
tion lines  of  this  and  adjoining  townships.  On  the  south  side  a  dis- 
crepancy of  about  fifty-seven  steps  exists  between  the  section  lines  of 
townships  24  and  25.  These  irregularities  in  Iroquois  county  are 
found  principally  south  of  the  north  line  of  the  tier  of  townships 
numbered  25.  So  irremediable  were  these  blunders,  and  to  prevent 
their  continuation,  an  arbitrary  line  was  established,  constituting  the 
north  line  of  this  tier  of  townships,  and  forming  a  new  base  line  from 
whence  the  surveys  to  the  north  were  measured.  The  strip  of  land 
south  of  this  line  was  included  in  the  north  tier  of  sections,  hence 
their  unusual  length,  the  northeast  and  northwest  quarters  being 
respectively  divided  into  eight  lots  of  about  eighty  acres  each,  and 
numbered  accordingly. 

The  earliest  settlement  in  Milford,  of  which  any  account  can  be 
obtained,  was  made  in  the  timber  on  the  banks  of  Sugar  creek,  in  the 
spring  of  1830.  Some  traces  of  an  earlier  settlement  were  found,  but 
by  whom  made,  or  at  what  time,  it  is  impossible  to  ascertain.  Indeed, 
some  of  the  information  given  by  the  few  old  settlers  still  living  is 
somewhat  obscure  and  uncertain,  but  it  is  believed  that  the  statements 
here  given  can  be  relied  upon  as  generally  correct. 

Early  in  the  year  1830,  Samuel  Rush,  Eobert  Hill  and  Elisha 
Miles  emigrated  from  Indiana  and  settled  upon  land  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  township.  Mr.  Rush,  indeed,  claimed  that  he  was  the  first 
white  settler,  and  it  is  said  that  he  was  here  in  the  fall  of  1829.  How- 
ever this  may  be,  it  is  nearly  certain  that  these  families  came  into  the 
town  at  nearly  the  same  time.  Mr.  Rush  settled  on  the  west  side  of 
the  creek,  in  section  4 ;  Hill  established  himself  on  the  east  side,  in 
section  3,  and  Miles  located  in  the  same  belt  of  timber,  not  far  from 
Hill.  During  this  year  other  settlers  moved  into  the  township.  Daniel 
Barbee  settled  on  what  was  afterward  called  Barbee's  Run,  near  where 
Henry  Fanning  now  lives.  Two  others  are  mentioned :  Thomas  J. 
Mountz  and  Joseph  Cox.  These  settlers,  however,  together  with 
Miles  and  Hill,  did  not  remain  many  years,  but  sold  their  claims  to 
others  who  came  into  the  county,  of  whom  mention  will  presently  be 
made.  James  Singleton,  an  Indian  trader  and  trapper,  an  unmarried 
man  of  a  taciturn  disposition,  is  mentioned  as  living  with  the  Indians 
in  this  township  when  the  first  permanent  settlers  came;  but  he, 
together  with  Abram  Miller  and  Joseph  Reading,  departed  in  a  year 
or  two,  and  no  trace  of  them  remains. 

In  the  fall  of  1830  a  large  accession  was  made  to  the  population 
by  the  coming  of  the  Stanleys  from  Clinton  county,  Ohio.  Anthony 


MILFORD   TOWNSHIP.  127 

Stanley,  the  father,  entered  a  claim  and  built  a  cabin  on  the  north- 
west quarter  of  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  15,  on  the  east  side 
of  a  spring  branch.  William  Stanley,  who  was  married,  made  a  claim 
on  the  southwest  part  of  section  10,  near  the  bank  of  Sugar  creek, 
and  erected  a  log  house,  but  deeming  the  location  to  be  an  unhealthy 
one,  sold  out  his  claim  to  William  Cox,  who  arrived  the  next  spring. 
He  then  took  up  a  claim  covering  a  portion  of  the  ground  where  the 
village  now  stands,  and  built  a  cabin  just  south  of  the  present  school- 
house.  John  Stanley,  another  married  son,  located  some  distance  west 
of  his  father's  place  and  also  commenced  opening  a  farm.  It  must  be 
remembered  that  the  land  in  this  township  was  not  yet  subject  to 
entry.  The  unmarried  children  of  Anthony  Stanley  were  Micajah, 
Isaac,  Elizabeth  and  Rebecca.  Micajah  was  married  some  time  later, 
and  built  a  cabin  on  a  hillock  west  of  his  father's  house,  on  the  place 
now  occupied  by  John  Hollander.  Rebecca  married  John  Gray,  a  son 
of  William  Gray,  who  in  1833  built  a  cabin  on  section  14,  just  east  of 
Milford  village ;  John  Gray  opened  a  farm  on  the  northeast  quarter  of 
section  24.  Elizabeth  married  a  Mr.  Chamberlain,  who  located  on 
section  23.  Isaac  did  not  live  many  years  after  coming  into  the  town- 
ship. With  the  Stanleys  came  William  Pickerel,  who  located  on  the 
noj'th  side  of  the  creek,  near  where  the  mill  now  stands ;  he  was  a 
blacksmith,  and  his  shop  stood  near  the  spot  now  occupied  by  Wing- 
field  Cooper's  stable.  Reuben  Gardner  at  the  same  time  settled  on 
the  south  side  of  the  creek.  All  these  settlers  were  Quakers.  Single- 
ton and  Reading,  before  mentioned,  had  built  a  cabin  on  the  north 
side  of  the  creek,  southwest  of  Stanley's  house.  Miller  also  built  a 
cabin  on  the  south  side.  The  parents  of  Singleton,  an  aged  and  infirm 
couple,  lived  in  his  cabin  in  1831  ;  no  one  seemed  to  know  anything 
about  them. 

In  the  spring  of  1831  other  settlers  began  to  arrive.  Many  of  these 
were  from  Ohio  and  Indiana.  Prominent  among  them  were  Asa 
Thomas  and  family,  William  Thomas,  and  William  and  Lemuel  Johns. 
Mr.  Thomas  was  a  native  of  Maryland.  Ho  had  at  an  early  age 
removed  to  Kentucky,  where  he  learned  the  trade  of  brick  and  stone 
mason.  He  afterward  came  to  Ohio.  Here  he  married  and  remained 
several  years.  Mr.  Thomas  and  his  brother  William  both  served  in  the 
war  of  1812,  and  were  at  Hull's  surrender.  In  the  spring  of  1830  they 
moved  to  Indiana  and  raised  a  crop  of  corn.  In  the  winter  following 
the  two  brothers,  Asa  and  William,  together  with  the  Johns  brothers, 
came  to  Milford  and  built  two  log  cabins  on  section  14.  Returning  to 
their  families,  they  all  made  preparations  to  move,  which  was  accom- 
plished with  ox-teams  in  the  spring  of  1831.  Asa  Thomas  had  a 


128  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

numerous  family  of  children.  He  remained  on  this  claim  for  nearly 
two  years,  and  when  the  land  came  into  market  he  was  ''entered  out" 
by  an  "  enterprising  settler."  He  then  removed  south  of  Sugar  creek, 
and  located  on  the  Mud,  a  tributary  of  Sugar  creek.  It  may  seem 
strange  that  none  of  the  early  settlers  located  on  the  prairie,  but  at 
that  time  it  was  believed  that  the  prairie  was  unfit  for  cultivation.  This 
opinion  was,  however,  soon  exploded, .and  large  tracts  of  prairie  land 
were  entered.  Lemuel  and  William  Johns  settled  further  up  the  creek, 
near  the  east  side  of  section  14.  Here  Mrs.  Johns  discovered  an  excel- 
lent spring.  This  is  now  known  as  the  "  Cleaver  Place."  They  came 
from  Adams  county,  Ohio.  William  Johns  broke  and  fenced  80  acres, 
and  then  sold  to  ISTathan  Cleaver.  He  next  entered  a  tract  of  120 
acres  of  timber  in  section  4,  which  was  afterward  sold  to  Col.  Thomas 
"Vennum.  Both  the  brothers  afterward  moved  into  Belmont,  where 
Lemuel  died.  Mention  is  also  made  of  John  and  Hiram  Miles  as  well 
as  of  several  others,  who  came  during  this  year ;  but  no  reliable  infor- 
mation can  be  obtained  regarding  them,  and  it  is  presumed  that  they 
remained  but  a  short  time  and  then,  anticipating  Horace  Greeley's 
advice,  "  went  west." 

Another  actor  in  this  work  of  pioneering  was  Charicey  Webster. 
Mr.  Webster  located  in  the  edge  of  the  timber,  north  of  Johns,*on 
land  now  owned  by  Elijah  Bunnell.  He  afterward  settled  on  lot  5 
in  the  N.E.  ^  of  Sec.  4.  Here  he  constructed  a  dam  in  the  bend  of 
the  creek,  and  erected  a  small  saw  and  grist  mill  which  was  soon  after 
burnt.  His  daughter  married  Richard  Scott.  Mr.  Webster  was  a  zeal- 
ous Methodist,  and  occasionally  preached.  He  was  among  the  earliest 
to  interest  himself  in  the  religious  work  of  the  community.  Other 
settlers  are  also  deserving  of  notice.  Among  them  were  Samuel 
McFall  and  a  Mrs.  Parker.  McFall  sold  200  acres  of  land  in  1842  to 
Richard  Scott,  who  still  occupies  the  same.  Mrs.  Parker  came  from 
Indiana  with  her  children,  her  husband  being  dead,  and  settled  on 
land  to  the  west  of  McFall  and  nearer  the  creek.  She  seems  to  have 
been  a  woman  of  great  energy  and  business  capacity,  for  to  farming 
she  added  the  business  of  dealing  in  live-stock.  She  it  was  who,  on 
hearing  the  report  of  hostile  Indians,  sent  her  son  to  warn  the  settlers 
living  above  her  along  Sugar  creek.  • 

The  period  between  the  years  1831  and  1833  was  indeed  one  of 
peculiar  trial  and  hardship  to  the  settlers.  The  country  swarmed  with 
Indians,  who,  although  quite  friendly  and  generally  peaceable,  were 
often  too  socially  inclined,  and  constantly  begging  or  wanting  to  barter 
for  sugar,  meat,  flour  or  meal,  supplies  with  which  the  settlers  at  the 
best  were  scantily  provided.  Besides,  their  uncouth  manners  and  for- 


MILFORD    TOWNSHIP.  129 

bidding  appearance  were  calculated  to  keep  up  a  constant  state  of  appre- 
hension. No  wonder,  then,  that  when,  in  1832,  during  the  Indian 
war,  an  alarm  was  raised  that  the  Sauk  Indians  were  actually  advanc- 
ing southward  from  the  Fox  river,  murdering  all  within  their  reach, 
the  settlers  were  ready  to  take  counsel  of  their  fears  and  fly  before  an 
imaginary  foe.  One  or  two  families  on  Fox  river  had  actually  been 
murdered,  and  two  girls  carried,  into  captivity.  The  accounts  given  of 
the  cause  of  this  famous  "  scare "  are  somewhat  conflicting,  yet  the 
fact  remains  that  to  the  settlers,  in  their  unprotected  condition,  it  was 
a  "  fearful  reality."  The  time  is  not  clearly  indicated,  but  it  was  evi- 
dently about  "  planting  time"  in  the  year  1832,  and  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  day,  when  the  report  spread  with  wonderful  rapidity  along  Sugar 
creek  :  "  The  Indians  !  The  Indians  !  Fly  for  your  lives  !  "  At  the 
Thomas  settlement  it  was  added :  "  They  have  killed  everybody  north 
of  us."  The  Stanleys  were  planting  corn  in  a  field  where  now  is  the 
village.  The  Thomases  were  also  at  work  distant  from  their  house. 
Mrs.  Stanley  was  at  home,  and  on  hearing  the  report  from  Mrs.  Parker's 
son,  immediately  started  for  the  field  to  notify  the  others.  William 
Stanley  had  just  driven  his  team  to  his  house  (south  of  the  present 
school-house).  Hastily  throwing  some  blankets  and  provisions  into 
tine  wagon,  Mr.  Stanley,  with  the  women  and  children,  immediately 
started  for  Walnut  Grove,  driving  the  entire  night  and  reaching  the 
grove  by  morning.  Micajah  and  Isaac  returned  from  the  field  to  their 
home,  and,  turning  loose  the  stock,  Micajah  mounted  a  horse  and  pushed 
after  the  fugitives,  Isaac  going  up  to  Pickerel's  house.  The  Stanleys 
had  better  means  for  flight  than  most  of  the  others.  The  Thomases, 
with  others,  started  for  Parrish  Grove,  which  they  also  reached  by 
morning.  In  this  company  there  was  but  one  horse,  and  this  Mrs. 
Thomas,  who  was  a  corpulent  woman,  was  obliged  to  ride;  the  others 
were  obliged  to  walk.  There  were  no  roads,  and  these  weary  fugitives 
could  only  guess  at  their  route.  All  through  the  night  the  shouts  and 
cries  of  the  frightened  people  from  the  different  settlements  could  be 
heard,  as  they  made  their  way  across  the  trackless  prairie  amid  the 
gloom  and  darkness.  It  was  indeed  a  dreadful  night ;  women  and 
children,  young  and  old,  most  of  them  on  foot,  with  insufficient  cloth- 
ing, hurrying  from  what  they  believed  to  be  a  dreadful  fate.  Those 
who  were  young  then  are  old  now,  yet  the  memory  of  that  fearful 
night  can  never  be  effaced  from  their  minds.  Of  course  the  alarm 
was  a  false  one,  and  many  a  laugh  is  indulged  as  the  scenes  of  the  flight 
are  vividly  recalled.  The  settlers  soon  returned,  but  to  many  the  con- 
sequences were  serious,  and  doubtless  some  never  entirely  recovered 
from  the  fright.  There  were  two  families  who  did  not  leave — Miles 


130  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

and  Moore.  These  men  had  been  engaged  in  many  Indian  fights  in 
the  war  of  1812,  and  they  could  not  be  induced  to  go,  although  their 
families  begged  hard  for  them  to  do  so.  Micajah  Stanley  nearly  lost 
his  life.  After  leaving  the  house,  as  he  came  out  on  the  prairie,  he 
met  a  peddler,  who  had  reached  William  Stanley's  house  after  the  fam- 
ily had  left.  Hearing  the  report,  he  had  mounted  his  horse  and  was 
pushing  after  the  fugitives  when  he  saw  Micajah,  and  in  the  gloom 
supposed  him  to  be  an  Indian ;  he  was  on  the  point  of  shooting  him 
when  he  discovered  who  he  was.  The  route  taken  by  William  Stanley 
led  to  a  ford  two  or  three  miles  above  Milford.  As  he  was  driving  up 
the  opposite  bank,  he  thought  he  saw  two  Indians,  who  seemed  to  slip 
back  into  the  brush  as  his  wagon  came  into  view.  He  had  already  con- 
sidered the  probability  of  the  Indians  waylaying  the  fugitives  at  this 
point,  and,  seeing  these,  he  imagined  that  his  surmise  was  correct. 
Much  alarmed,  his  father  and  brother  immediately  jumped  from  the 
wagon  and  commenced  a  search.  The  supposed  Indians  turned  out  to 
be  Pickerel  and  Isaac  Stanley,  who,  having  fled  by  a  different  way,  had 
met  them  at  this  point.  In  the  Thomas  party  a  mother  and  child  nearly 
perished  before  they  could  be  rescued  from  a  sink-hole  filled  with  water 
into  which  they  had  fallen.  When  this  party  reached  Parrish  Grove, 
about  daylight,  they  saw  some  soldiers  who  were  encamped  there,  and 
this  caused  another  alarm,  for  many  supposed  them  to  be  Indians.  The 
Thomas  boys  and  some  others  here  first  heard  the  sound  of  a  fife  and 
drum.  It  is  said  that  all  this  alarm  and  flight  was  caused  by  a  man 
who  saw  a  party  of  friendly  Indians  riding  rapidly  out  of  a  grove  near 
Bunkum,  and  imagining  them  to  be  hostiles,  had  rushed  away  and 
spread  the  alarm.  Another  story  was  that  a  mail-carrier  had  been 
chased  by  some  Indians.  Soon  after  this  stampede,  in  consequence  of 
the  many  rumors  of  Indian  depredations,  and  to  provide  against  further 
trouble  on  that  account,  Gen.  Brown  came  down  into  the  Wabash  coun- 
try and  raised  a  company  of  mounted  men.  They  came  to  Milford  on 
their  way  northward,  and  encamped  on  the  bottom  between  Anthony 
Stanley's  house  and  the  creek.  The  troops  remained  until  next  day, 
Gen.  Brown  staying  at  Stanley's  house,  when  they  left  for  Fort 
Dearborn. 

Many  incidents  connected  with  the  Indians  living  on  Sugar  creek 
are  related  by  the  settlers.  These  Indians  were  principally  Pottawat- 
omies.  Several  hundred  Kickapoos  were  also  encamped  at  Crab  Apple 
Grove,  now  in  Stockland.  The  Indians  never  gave  the  settlers  any 
serious  trouble,  nor  were  they  given  to  stealing;  yet  they  were  very 
fond  of  whisky,  and  whenever  a  supply  could  be  obtained,  would  "  go 
on  a  spree."  The  "Blue  Ribbon  "  movement  had  not  been  heard  of ; 


MILFOBD   TOWNSHIP.  131 

still,  it  was  not  an  easy  matter  for  them  to  get  whisk}',  as  those  who 
kept  it  were  very  careful  in  this  matter.  There  was,  however,  a  small 
grocery  in  the  neighborhood,  and  to  this  the  Indians  usually  resorted 
when  they  wanted  a  supply.  On  occasions  of  this  kind,  i.e.  "going 
on  a  drunk,"  the  squaws  invariably  took  away  all  knives  and  other 
weapons,  and  carefully  hid  them,  so  that  no  serious  mischief  could 
arise  from  that  source — a  practice  that  might  be  profitably  imitated  at 
the  present  time. 

As  illustrative  of  the  "manners  and  customs"  of  the  "olden  time" 
this  incident  is  related :  A  party  of  Indians,  somewhat  the  worse  for 
liquor,  were  collected  together  at  a  cabin  with  a  few  whites.  A 
general  frolic  ensued.  The  Indians  had  been  dancing  and  insisted  that 
the  white  men  should  dance  also,  at  the  same  time  leading  them  "  unto 
the  floor."  While  there,  the  Indians  sent  to  the  grocery  for  more 
whisky.  As  soon  as  it  was  received  they  repaired  to  an  unoccupied 
cabin  that  was  partially  inclosed,  and  seating  themselves  on  the  ground 
within,  one  of  the  number  who  had  been  detailed  to  "  keep  sober" 
proceeded  to  "pass  around  the  drinks,"  and  soon  everything  wras  going 

"  Merry  as  a  marriage  bell." 

As  the  fun  was  getting  "fast  and  furious,"  the  sober  Indian  said  to  the 
whites,  *  "  Schomokoman  better  go  home — wigwam.  Inge  get  high- 
cok-koo-sie — no  good  ;  maybe  kill  Schomokoman."  The  whites,  who 
had  also  drank  some  whisky,  did  not  heed  this  warning  until  it  had 
been  repeated  several  times.  As  they  went  out  one  of  them  observed 
a  bed  of  live  coals  glowing  in  the  darkness.  Finding  a  clap-board,  he 
gathered  up  a  large  quantity,  and  going  to  the  rear  of  the  cabin,  which 
was  partially  open,  threw  the  coals  over  the  crowd  within.  A  fearful 
howl  was  the  response,  and  the  whites  scattered.  The  next  morning 
a  negro  who  lived  with  the  Indians,  and  was  named  "  John,"  came  to 
William  Johns'  house  and  said  that  the  Indians  were  very  angry  at  the 
trick  played  upon  them,  and  had  threatened  to  kill  the  white  men- 
The  settlers  in  the  neighborhood  were  much  alarmed  at  this  threat, 
but  Johns  told  the  negro  to  say  to  the  Indians,  "  Schomokoman  was 
high-cok-koo-sie — no  good,"  and  invited  them  to  attend  a  shooting- 
match  at  his  house  the  next  day.  The  Indians  were  thus  led  to  believe 
that  the  whole  affair  was  done  in  a  drunken  frolic,  and  were  easily 
pacified.  The  following  day  several  Indians  repaired  to  Johns'  house, 
and  with  William  and  Lemuel  Johns,  spent  the  entire  day  in  shooting, 
the  target  being  a  large  stump.  Mrs.  Johns  provided  an  excellent 
dinner  for  them.  At  the  close  of  the  day,  they  agreed  to  "shoot  for 

*  The  writer  confesses  his  ignorance  of  Indian  orthography. 


132  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

the  lead,"  i.e.  who  should  have  the  lead  that  had  been  fired  into  the 
stump.  The  Indians  were  permitted  to  win,  whereat  they  were  greatly 
pleased  and  went  away  in  excellent  humor.  Mr.  Johns  tells  of  the 
amusement  afforded  him  in  witnessing  the  grotesque  attempts  of  the 
Indians  to  use  forks;  holding  the  meat  in  the  hand,  they  first  cut  it  in 
pieces,  then  carefully  taking  a  piece  in  the  fingers,  solemnly  impaled  it 
on  a  fork  and  then  carried  it  to  the  mouth. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  rough  sports  of  the  period,  a  story  is  told 
of  a  foot-race  between  Elijah  Sapp  and  a  fleet-footed  Pottawatomie. 
Sapp  was  considered  exceedingly  swift,  and  the  Indian  had  distanced 
all  the  runners  of  several  tribes.  As  Sapp  had  beaten  all  the  Indians 
in  his  neighborhood,  they  sent  for  this  runner  to  come  and  try  his 
speed  with  him.  They  could  not  agree  on  the  distance  to  be  run,  as 
Sapp,  conscious  that  the  Indian  could  beat  him  in  a  long  race,  pur- 
posely opposed  every  suggestion.  They  finally  agreed  on  a  game 
of  "  base."  The  Pottawatomie  was  chosen  captain  of  the  Indians, 
Sapp  of  the  whites.  Sapp  gave  the  signal  and  started  up  the  road,  on 
"  trace,"  and  the  Indian  after  him.  Seeing  that  the  Indian  was  likely 
to  catch  him,  Sapp  took  to  the  brush,  and  as  the  Indian  was  nearly 
naked,  this  dodge  gave  him  a  decided  advantage.  They  had  run  sev- 
eral hundred  yards,  and  the  Indian  was  rapidly  closing  the  gap  between 
them,  when  Thomas'  dog  getting  loose  joined  in  the  race,  and  catch- 
ing the  Indian  by  the  leg  threw  him  down.  At  this  mishap  everybody 
laughed,  which  so  enraged  the  Indian  that  he  went  into  a  wigwam,  and 
donning  his  war  paint  came  out  and  challenged  any  one,  Indian  or 
white,  to  fight  him  to  the  death.  As  no  one  seemed  disposed  to  fight 
on  such  terms,  the  Indian  retired  in  disgust. 

As  showing  the  Indian  mode  of  burying  the  dead,  Mrs.  Gray  relates 
that  she,  as  well  as  others,  saw  an  Indian  grave  near  her  father's  house. 
The  bones  were  found  in  a  log  which  had  been  split,  and  each  portion 
hollowed  out  sufficiently  to  contain  the  body;  the  parts  had  then  been 
replaced,  and  secured  by  heaping  small  logs  upon  it.  With  the  remains 
were  also  found  portions  of  a  blanket  and  some  tin  utensils,  among 
them  a  small  pail. 

A  noted  character  in  his  way  was  Jimmie  Cain.  He  came  into  the 
county  at  an  early  day  and  settled  east  of  Milford.  He  was  an  exceed- 
ingly rough  and  eccentric  character ;  a  "  champion  fighter,"  and  engaged 
in  numerous  quarrels,  yet  a  man  of  many  good  qualities.  He  was 
exceedingly  fond  of  practical  jokes,  and  lost  no  opportunity  to  play  them 
off,  especially  upon  the  Indians.  Cain  had  some  sheep,  and  also  a  dog 
that  was  somewhat  too  fond  of  mutton.  This  dog  he  determined  to 
kill,  and  meeting  a  couple  of  Indians,  proposed  that  one  of  them  should 


MILFOED   TOWNSHIP.  133 

cut  off  the  dog's  tail  with  his  tomahawk,  while  he  (Cain)  should  hold 
the  dog  across  a  convenient  log,  offering  at  the  same  time  to  give  a 
pipe  of  tobacco  for  doing  the  job.  Arrangements  were  at  once  made 
for  the  "execution,"  and  as  the  Indian  was  in  the  act  of  bringing  his 
hatchet  down  on  the  devoted  tail,  Cain  adroitly  moved  the  dog  so  that 
the  blow  fell  upon  the  body,  severing  the  back-bone ;  of  course  the  dog 
was  instantly  killed.  The  Indian  was  frightened,  and  exclaimed,  "  Oh  ! 
oh  !  me  miss  him  !  "  Cain  pretended  to  be  terribly  angry,  and  told  the 
Indian  that  as  he  had  killed  his  dog  he  would  kill  him.  Both  Indians 
then  ran  away.  Cain  is  credited  with  saying,  in  view  of  the  petty  law- 
suits that  sprang  up  after  the  country  began  to  indulge  in  justice's 
courts,  and  something  like  regular  preaching  had  become  established, 
that  "  We  used  to  live  like  brothers,  but  now  that  the  law  and  gospel 
have  come,  we  are  more  like  devils." 

Among  the  Indians  was  an  old  chief  called  Washcuck,  who  had 
fought  under  Harrison  in  the  war  of  1812.  At  the  battle  of  Tippeca- 
noe  he  was  wounded  and  placed  upon  a  horse.  He  always  retained 
this  horse,  and  still  owned  him  when  the  Stanleys  came.  The  horse 
was  evidently  very  old.  Mrs.  Gray,  a  daughter  of  Anthony  Stanley, 
says  that  she  knew  this  chief  very  well.  She  used  to  visit  his  camp  at 
the  mouth  of  Barbee's  Run,  when  the  Indians  were  making  sugar,  and 
he  always  gave  her  at  such  visits  a  large  cake  of  maple  sugar.  . 

Indians  were  last  seen  in  this  region  in  1834.  Robert  ISTilson  remem- 
bers seeing  a  large  band  of  several  hundred,  on  Coon  creek,  as  they 
were  taking  their  departure  that  spring.  These  Indians  were  Kicka- 
poos.  The  Pottawatomies  had  gone  in  1833.  These  Kickapoos  were 
an  exceedingly  well  disposed,  and  even  a  religious  tribe.  They  were 
very  orderly,  and  every  Sunday  conducted  a  religious  service  in  Crab 
Apple  Grove,  to  which  the  whites  were  usually  invited.  These  services 
always  ended  with  a  "  big  dinner,"  managed  as  follows:  A  number  of 
large  kettles,  having  been  first  suspended  in  a  long  row,  were  filled  with 
the  flesh  of  all  kinds  of  game,  and  such  vegetables  as  could  be  had,  and 
corn, — not  much  attention  was  given  to  dressing  the  meat, — and  the 
fires  kindled.  While  the  cooking  progressed,  the  Indian  preacher 
occupied  the  time  in  talking  to  the  assembled  company,  an  interpreter 
usually  translating  his  discourse  to  the  whites  as  he  proceeded.  At  the 
conclusion  of  the  sermon  the  Indians  arranged  themselves  on  each  side 
of  the  row  of  kettles,  and  having  first  furnished  each  white  person 
present  with  a  wooden  bowl  or  ladle,  accompanied  with  a  cordial  invi- 
tation to  partake,  proceeded  to  ladle  up  the  "savory  mess"  in  a  most 
primitive  fashion.  The  whites  invariably  contented  themselves  with 
simply  observing  the  gastronomic  performances  of  their  copper-colored 


134  HISTOKY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

entertainers.  After  the  dinner  was  concluded,  all  who  wished  joined 
in  the  games  which  followed ;  the  squaws  amusing  themselves  with 
petting  the  white  children. 

The  Indians  carried  on  a  species  of  rude  husbandry  on  a  very 
limited  scale,  cultivating  small  patches  of  corn  and  peas.  All  manual 
labor  was  performed  by  the  squaws,  the  men  being  entirely  occupied 
in  hunting  and  fishing.  Some  traces  of  the  Indians  still  remain.  One 
of  their  "plantations"  may  still  be  seen  just  east  of  the  artesian  well 
on  B.  F.  Thomas'  farm.  The  Indians  had  a  large  encampment  or 
village  in  a  bend  of  Sugar  creek,  in  the  north  part  of  the  township, 
on  the  east  part  of  what  is  now  Robert  Webster's  farm.  The  low,  flat 
mounds  upon  which  they  erected  their  wigwams  can  still  be  distinctly 
seen.  This  village  covered  an  area  of  several  acres,  and  was  admirably 
selected  with  a  view  to  shelter  from  cold  storms,  and  facilities  for  water 
and  grazing.  At  one  time  nearly  4,000  Indians  were  encamped  on 
what  is  now  Aaron  Thomas' farm.  They  remained  here  several  weeks, 
waiting  to  receive  the  payment  for  their  lands  which  had  been  trans- 
ferred to  the  United  States  government  under  treaty  stipulations. 
While  here  the  Indians  got  on  a  "  big  spree,"  and  it  is  said  that  two  of 
them  were  killed.  Some  accounts  place  the  killing  at  Lone  Tree,  four 
miles  south.  They  were  soon  after  removed  to  their  far  western 
homes. 

Not  pages  only,  but  books  could  be  filled  with  accounts  of  the 
privations  endured  by  the  hardy  pioneers  in  their  efforts  to  subdue  the 
wilderness..  The  people  of  the  present  generation  little  realize  what 
scenes  of  hardship  and  heroic  endurance  have  transpired  on  the  very 
ground  they  now  tread  upon ;  that  where  now  are  found  the  peaceful, 
smiling  fields,  the  quiet  homes,  the  grazing  herds,  the  busy  marts  of 
trade,  the  rushing  trains  or  the  varied  appliances  of  the  mechanic  arts, 
was  heard,  but  a  few  years  ago,  the  wild  whoop  of  the  Indians,  the 
scream  of  the  panther,  and  the  howl  of  the  wolf.  Tet  all  this  wonder- 
ful transformation  is  but  the  outgrowth  of  the  work  wrought  by  these 
brave  men  and  women,  who  so  resolutely  held  their  way  amid  dangers, 
and  sickness,  and  death.  But  few  of  those,  who  may  well  be  called 
the  advance  guard  of  civilization,  now  remain ;  some  of  them  lie  in 
forgotten  graves.  Yet  of  those  who  still  live,  what  emotions  must  fill 
their  souls  as  they  think  of  the  past  and  behold  the  present !  They 
have  indeed  well  earned  the  peace  and  prosperity  that  so  abundantly 
crown  their  later  years. 

In  order  to  have  a  better  understanding  of  this  subject,  let  us 
examine  more  minutely  the  history  of  the  "early  time." 

Samuel  Rush,  Sr.,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  May  19,  1793.     He 


MILFORD    TOWNSHIP.  135 

lived  there  until  early  manhood,  when  he  removed  to  Indiana,  and  in 
1829  or  1830  came  to  Milford.  Arriving  at  his  destination  he  camped 
beside  a  large  log,  the  only  house  for  the  family  being  a  tent  con- 
structed of  the  wagon  cover.  He  proceeded  to  build  a  cabin  with  floor 
and  roof  made  of  bark.  One  end  of  this  cabin  was  left  open,  the  roof 
projecting  so  as  to  protect  the  fire  of  logs  which  was  kept  burning  in 
this  open  space.  In  this  manner  the  family  passed  their  first  winter. 
As  has  been  already  mentioned,  several  families  came  in  during  the 
year  1830.  The  settlers  of  that  date  now  living,  well  remember  the 
terrible  winter  of  1830-31.  Snow  fell  early,  and  before  spring  opened 
had  accumulated  to  a  great  depth.  The  driving  winds  heaped  the 
drifting  snow,  and  along  the  edges  of  the  groves  drifts  were  formed 
eight  or  ten  feet  high.  Large  numbers  of  deer,  caught  in  these  drifts 
by  the  pursuing  wolves,  were  destroyed.  Cattle  also  suffered  severely. 
Little  provision  had  been  made  for  man  or  beast,  and  in  the  long  and 
fearful  journeys  which  were  necessarily  undertaken  to  the  Wabash 
country  for  food,  terrible  sufferings  were  endured.  One  of  these  expe- 
ditions, undertaken  by  Mr.  Rush  and  two  others,  is  thus  described : 
They  had  three  teams.  At  the  moment  of  starting  Mr.  Rush  was 
delayed  from  some  cause.  The  others  pushed  on,  having  a  large  kettle 
and  some  firewood  with  them.  This  kettle  was  used  for  carrying  fire, 
and  answered  the  purpose  of  a  stove.  It  was  expected  that  Rush 
would  soon  overtake  them.  Soon  after  it  began  to  snow,  and  by  the 
time  that  Rush  was  on  the  way  the  snow  was  falling  very  fast.  He 
drove  on  all  day  but  did  not  see  his  companions,  and  as  night  drew 
near  he  found  himself  lost  in  the  snow.  Still  he  pushed  on,  hoping  at 
least  to  find  some  shelter.  In  order  to  keep  from  freezing  he  had  to  keep 
moving,  and  during  all  that  night  and  the  next  day  he  wandered  over 
the  trackless  prairie.  The  storm  still  continued,  and  late  in  the  evening 
he  thought  he  saw  a  light,  and  started  his  team  toward  it,  when  sud- 
denly the  cattle  dropped  into  a  deep  drift  and  could  go  no  farther. 
Leaving  the  team  he  pushed  on  for  the  light,  and  found  that  it  pro- 
ceeded from  a  cabin  occupied  by  James  Crow.  After  warming  him- 
self and  getting  something  to  eat,  he  asked  Crow  to  go  with  him  and 
take  some  food  to  the  cattle,  which  he  knew  were  suffering  for  want 
of  it,  but  no  persuasion  could  induce  him  to  peril  his  life  in  what  he 
believed  would  be  a  vain  attempt.  In  the  morning  they  started  out 
to  find  the  team,  but  all  trace  of  them  had  disappeared.  At  length  a 
column  of  steam  was  seen  rising  from  the  snow,  and  on  searching,  the 
oxen  were  found  lying  comfortably  underneath,  but  nearly  famished. 
After  feeding  them  he  proceeded  to  his  destination,  where  he  found 
his  companions.  While  he  was  wandering  about  during  the  first  night 


136  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

he  found  a  man  who  was  nearly  frozen ;  he  had  great  difficulty  in  per- 
suading him  to  make  any  effort,  and  was  obliged  to  compel  him  to 
exert  himself  in  order  to  keep  him  from  perishing.  On  another  occa- 
sion, while  returning  from  a  trip  after  provisions,  he  attempted  to 
cross  Sugar  creek.  The  water  was  at  a  very  high  stage,  and  while 
making  the  ford  his  wagon-bed  floated  away,  and  the  cattle  were  also 
carried  down  stream  some  distance.  He  finally  recovered  the  bed,  but 
lost  a  considerable  part  of  his  provisions.  Asa  Thomas  arid  his  brother 
also  encountered  a  somewhat  similar  experience,  being  obliged  to 
return  to  La  Fayette  for  food  while  engaged  in  building  a  cabin  for  his 
family  when  they  should  arrive  next  spring.  On  one  occasion  they 
worked  half  a  day  to  get  one  mile. 

The  Stanleys  and  some  others  made  trips  after  provisions.  They 
had  endeavored  to  get  their  supplies  before  winter  should  set  in,  but 
the  severfe  weather  came  on  before  a  sufficiency  was  obtained,  and  corn 
became  very  scarce  by  the  first  of  January.  They  were,  on  one  trip, 
blinded  by  a  furious  snow-storm,  and  were  compelled  to  camp  in 
Hickory  Grove.  They  were  obliged  to  feed  the  fire  in  their  kettle 
with  corn  all  night  to  keep  from  freezing.  Many  similar  instances 
occurred  ;  two  others  who  were  exposed  to  the  intense  cold  were  so 
frozen  as  to  remain  cripples  for  life.- 

The  snow  did  not  begin  to  melt  until  the  first  of  March,  and  then, 
in  one  night,  the  water  in  Sugar  creek  rose  over  twelve  feet.  In  many 
shaded  places  along  the  creek  the  snow  did  not  melt  until  May.  An 
old  Indian,  named  Pesque,  said  that  no  such  snow  had  been  seen  for 
sixty  years.  Previous  to  that  time  the  country  had  abounded  in  buffalo 
and  elk,  but  after  that  winter,  Pesque  says,  they  entirely  disappeared. 
Mr.  Johns  and  others  say  that,  in  a  hickory  grove  about  four  miles 
above  Milford,  they  have  seen  the  remains  of  buffalo,  and  elk  horns, 
that  then  covered  the  ground.  But  the  trouble  did  not  end  with  the 
departure  of  jack  frost.  During  the  following  summer  severe  sickness 
prevailed.  So  prevalent  was  this  sickness,  chills  and  fever,  that  the 
most  necessary  work  in  house  and  field  was  left  undone.  The  settlers 
were  without  medical  aid,  and  frequently  without  bread.  The  country 
was  very  wet,  and  the  exhalations  were  the  fruitful  cause  of  sickness. 
The  country  at  the  present  time  presents  a  widely  different  appearance. 
What  was  then  swamp  is  now  the  best  arable  land.  What  were  once 
denominated  "  swamp  and  overflowed  lands,"  are  now  dry  and  readily 
cultivated.  Teams  became  mired  where  now  is  firm  ground.  It  is 
certainly  curious  to  observe  that  as  the  country  becomes  settled  and 
improvements  are  made,  the  wet  portions  become  dry  and  tillable. 

The  only  road  in  the  country  was  what  was  known  as  the  "  Hub- 


MILFORD   TOWNSHIP.  137 

bard  trace,"  between  Danville  and  the  lake  shore,  by  way  of  Bnnknm. 
Mr.  Hubbard  lived  in  Danville,  and  had  a  trading-post  at  Bnnknm;  as 
there  was  no  regularly  laid  out  road,  the  route  he  followed  was  named 
for  him.  This  trace  crossed  Sugar  creek  at  the  ford,  a  short  distance 
below  the  place  now  spanned  by  the  iron  bridge,  and  continued  in  a 
northerly  direction,  near  Anthony  Stanley's  house,  to  Bunkum. 

The  first  post-office  in  Mil  ford  was  established  at  the  house  of  Levi 
Thompson,  about  the  year  1833,  and  was  named  Driftwood.  Thompson 
was  postmaster.  His  house  stood  near  the  trace,  north  of  Stanley's 
house,  and  near  the  center  of  the  S.E.  \  of  Sec.  10.  The  mails  were 
usually  carried  on  horseback  ;  the  carrier  stopping  at  Thompson's  house 
over  night.  Previous  to  this  time,  letters  Avere  brought  from  La  Fay- 
ette  or  Danville  by  any  person  who  might  chance  to  come  to  Miltbrd. 
The  post-office  was  kept  at  Thompson's  house  till  about  1835,  when  it 
was  moved  to  Charles  Axtell's  house,  who  had  bought  Thompson's  and 
Stanley's  land,  and  built  his  house  near  the  northeast  corner  of  sec- 
tion 15. 

Asa  Thomas  built  the  first  house  in  the  township  south  of  Sugar 
creek.  It  is  nearly  certain  that  Samuel  Rush  built  the  first  one  north 
of  the  creek,  and  the  first  in  the  township,  if  we  except  a  log  house 
which  stood  on  the  land  claimed  by -William  Pickerel,  and  into  which 
he  moved.  It  is  not  known  who  built  this  house. 

As  time  passed  and  settlers  began  to  gather  around  themselves  some 
of  the  comforts  of  life,  they  began  to  make  trips  to  Chicago.  The 
first  of  these  was  made  in  the  fall  of  1830,  by  Micajah  Stanley.  He 
went  at  the  urgent  request  of  Hubbard  to  bring  a  quantity  of  goods  to 
Danville  that  were  to  arrive  at  Chicago  by  vessel.  Miles  went  with 
him.  "William  Johns  also  went  in  1831,  and  took  a  load  of  such 
"truck  "  as  could  be  gathered  up;  he  mentions  a  lot  of  dried  pumpkin 
which  sold  for  $1  per  bushel.  The  difficulties  on  the  road  were  great. 
Teams  were  obliged  to  cross  extensive  swamps,  ford  streams,  and  often 
sank  in  the  mud.  There  was  not  a  house  between  Bunkum  and 
Chicago,  and  but  one  store  in  Chicago.  As  the  country  became  settled 
and  more  abundant  crops  raised,  the  business  of  hauling  goods  to  and 
from  Chicago  and  Danville  increased,  and  at  the  time  railroads  were 
talked  of  had  assumed  vast  proportions. 

The  first  mill  for  grinding  was  constructed  by  "William  Pickerel. 
It  was  certainly  a  unique  affair,  consisting  of  two  "  hard-heads"  dressed 
in  a  circular  form,  like  a  grindstone,  and  placed  in  a  frame  in  an  up- 
right position,  with  cranks  attached.  The  inner  surfaces  were  so 
adjusted  as  to  nearly  touch  each  other,  and  the  whole  was  inclosed  in 
a  sort  of  box  with  a  hopper  placed  above  to  receive  the  grain.  The 
9 


138  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

machine  could  be  worked  by  two  or  four  men.  Pickerel  made  it  for 
his  own  use,  but  others  had  the  benefit  of  it  as  well ;  while  he  sharp- 
ened their  plows,  they  ground  their  corn.  It  was  a  decided  improve- 
ment over  the  wooden  mortar,  and  when  one  could  not  go  thirty-five 
or  forty  miles  to  mill  certainly  a  great  convenience.  Pickerel  next 
built  a  horse-mill,  sending  to  Cincinnati  for  the  stones.  These  stones 
were  large  "  nigger-heads,"  dressed  in  single  pieces.  This  mill  stood  in 
a  bend  of  the  bank  a  short  distance  above  the  present  one.  The  horse- 
mill  was  followed  by  a  wrater-mill,  built  about  1835.  The  building 
was  of  logs  and  stood  just  east  of  the  present  site.  The  burrs  in  the 
horse-mill  were  transferred  to  the  water-mill.  The  dam  was  built 
somewhat  above  the  present  one,  and  its  location  is  indicated  by  three 
or  four  stakes  still  standing  in  the  water.  To  this  was  added  a  frame 
saw-mill.  In  1837,  Pickerel  sold  out  his  entire  property  to  Maj.  John 
B.  Strickler.  The  first  dam  failing,  Mr.'Strickler  built  another  farther 
up  the  stream  and  cut  a  race  to  the  mill.  The  property  next  passed 
into  the  hands  of  Jacob  Wagner,  who  at  once  proceeded  to  build  a 
new  saw  and  grist-mill  a  few  rods  below  the  old  one.  One  of  the 
timbers*  of  this  mill  can  still  be  seen  under  water  on  the  north  side  of 
the  creek.  Mr.  Wagner  continued  in  this  business  until  his  death.  In 
consequence  of  legal  difficulties  arising,  the  mill  remained  idle  for 
several  years.  In  1852  the  property  passed  into  possession  of  William 
Clement  and  Aaron  Thomas,  who  rebuilt  the  saw-mill  and  constructed 
the  present  dam.  These  owners  remained  in  possession  until  1859, 
when  they  sold  to  Barnabas  Brown,  who  afterward  built  the  mill  now 
standing.  The  present  owner  is  John  Van  Meter. 

In  1833  William  Gray  located  on  section  14,  and  built  a  hewed  log 
house  just  east  of  the  present  limits  of  Milford  village.  The  house 
is  still  standing,  but  has  since  undergone  considerable  alterations.  The 
property  is  now  owned  by  James  Blanchfill.  With  the  year  1834, 
came  a  numerous  and  valuable  accession  to  the  population  of  the  town- 
ship. In  the  spring  of  this  year  John  Nilson  and  family  came  from 
Fountain  county,  Indiana,  and  bought  out  Robert  Hill.  Mr.  Nilson 
had  means  with  which  he  was  able  to  push  forward  improvements 
vigorously.  The  frame  house  that  he  built  is  still  standing  on  lot  5  in 
the  N.E.  £  of  Sec.  3,  and  is  now  occupied  by  his  grandson,  John 
Nilson.  Robert,  son  of  John.  Nilson,  Sr.,  has  been  for  many  years 
largely  identified  with  the  growth  of  the  county.  He  was  for  many 
years  county  surveyor,  and  says  that  he  has  tramped  over  every  forty- 
acre  tract  in  this  region.  This  year  also  witnessed  the  advent  of 
Thomas  Vennum  and  a  large  company  from  Washington  county, 
Pennsylvania.  They,  too,  were  possessed  of  considerable  means,  and 


MILFORD    TOWNSHIP.  139 

emigrated  with  teams,  driving  some  very  fine  Durham  cattle  with 
them.  With  Col.  Yennum  came  his  wife  and  three  sons:  George, 
Urias  and  Hiram ;  also  Charles  and  John  Axtell  and  families.  This 
company  numbered  in  all  thirty-two  persons.  Hiram  was  the  only  son 
unmarried.  Columbus  Yennum,  another  son,  came  in  the  spring  of 
1835.  The  Yennums  entered  land  in  sections  1,  2  and  3.  Charles 
Axtell  bought  out  the  Stanleys  and  Levi  Thompson.  The  present  site 
of  the  new  village  of  Milford  is  on  land  that  Charles  Axtell  bought. 
John  Axtell  located  on  or  near  the  center  of  section  2.  C.  C.  Yennum 
located  on  section  4.  For  two  years  after  coming  to  this  township, 
severe  sickness  prevented  anything  being  done  in  making  improve- 
ments. At  present  the  largest  two  land  owners  in  this  town  probably 
are  Robert  Nilson  and  Hiram  Yennum.  Among  others  who  came 
during  this  year  should  be  mentioned  John  Strain  and  family,  who 
located  on  sections  19  and  20.  Robert  Williams  came  in  1835  and  settled 
on  section  21.  Isaac  Body  came  with  his  family  in  1835  and  settled 
on  section  10.  Mr.  Body  is  still  living  at  the  advanced  age  of  ninety- 
five  years.  He  certainly  can, in  truth,  be  called  the  "oldest  settler." 
In  1837,  George  Rothgeb  settled  in  the  southern  part  of  the  town  on 
section  34.  The  family  came  from  Yirginia.  The  cabin  that  he  occu- 
pied is  still  standing.  Mrs.  Rothgeb  is  still  living.  She  distinctly 
remembers  "  Long  John "  Wentworth's  visit  at  their  house,  although 
she  cannot  recall  the  "  clap-board  "  story.  The  old  loom  made  by  her 
husband  and  upon  which  the  family  cloth  was  made  is  still  in  use. 
Mrs.  R.  wove  about  300  yards  of  rag  carpet  last  year.  She  also  says 
that  she  has  seen  100  wagons  pass  their  house  in  one  day. 

In  1837  Maj.  John  B.  Strickler  moved  into  the  township  with  his 
family.  He  was  originally  from  Yirginia,  where  he  had  been  exten- 
sively engaged  in  milling.  When  he  came  the  village  of  Milford  con- 
tained one  cabin.  His  purchase  from  Pickerel  included  the  unsold 
village  lots.  At  this  time  but  little  progress  had  been  made  in  opening; 
up  the  country.  Many  of  the  earlier  settlers  had  gone,  others  had 
moved  in.  Milling  facilities  were  limited,  and  flour  must  still  be 
obtained  from  long  distances.  The  march  of  improvement  was  very 
slow.  Mr.  Strickler  built  the  first  brick  house  in  Milford.  Mud  was 
used  as  mortar.  This  house  was  the  first  tavern  that  had  a  sign ;  it 
was  also  the  post-office,  and  Mr.  Strickler  was  postmaster. 

The  first  marriage  ceremony  performed  was  that  of  Elijah  Sapp  and 
Miss  Ally  Thomas,  daughter  of  A.sa  Thomas.  Sapp  was  obliged  to  go 
to  Danville,  a  distance  of  thirty-five  miles,  for  his  license. 

There  is  some  uncertainty  about  the  first  birth,  but  probably  the 


140  HISTORY   OF    IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

first  child  born  was  Susannah,  daughter  of  William  and  Judith  Stan- 
ley. Mrs.  Johns,  however,  claims  this  honor  for  her  own  child. 

The  first  adult  person  who  died  was  old  Mrs.  Singleton,  who  was 
fatally  burned  while  alone  in  the  house.  Her  body  was  found  l}'ing  in 
the  fire-place.  Her  grave  was  prepared  by  first  laying  poles  on  the 
bottom  and  sides,  then  putting  in  the  body  it  was  covered  in  the  same 
manner.  This  constituted  her  coffin.  Her  husband  died  shortlj-  after, 
and  was  buried  in  a  coffin  made  of  puncheons.  '  These  persons  were 
buried  on  the  south  side  of  Sugar  creek  ;  scarcely  a  vestige  now  marks 
the  place.  An  old  burial  ground,  situated  a  short  distance  west  of  the 
village,  is  known  as  the  "Quaker  Graveyard."  The  earliest  burial 
here,  so  far  as  known,  was  Agnes,  wife  of  John  Stanley,  who  died  the 
"  20th  day  of  the  5th  mo.,  1834."  Less  than  a  dozen  head-stones  are 
found  in  this  place.  The  Nilson  graveyard,  on  lot  5,  N.E.  •£•  Sec.  3, 
contains  the  earliest  recorded  death  in  the  township,  that  of  Sarah,  wife 
of  Robert  Hill,  who  died  October  19,  1831.  Robert  Nilson's  parents 
are  also  buried  in  this  ground.  The  Yennutn  graveyard,  on  lot  8, 
N.W.  £  Sec.  2,  contain  the  graves  of  Col.  Thomas  Yennum  and  wife, 
Elizabeth.  Mrs.  Yennum  died  at  the  advanced  age  of  ninety-three 
years.  The  first  burial  here  was  a  son  of  George  Yennum,  aged  eleven 
years.  An  old  and  disused  burial-ground  is  situated  near  the  forks  of  Lit- 
tle Mud  creek.  Another  is  known  as  the  Rothgeb  graveyard,  in  the 
KW.  i  of  the  KW.  i  of  Sec.  34.  The  first  recorded  burial  in  Milford 
cemetery  is  that  of  Charlotte  Wagner,  who  died  September  1,  1838. 
The  first  burial,  however,  is  that  of  a  stranger,  name  unknown. 

The  first  regularly  laid  out  road  was  the  Chicago  and  Yincennes, 
connecting  these  and  intermediate  points.  The  first  store  in  the  town- 
ship was  kept  in  the  village  by  Jacob  Wagner.  The  building  was 
located  near  where  James  Yates'  house  now  stands.  Jesse  Hobbs  was 
the  first  blacksmith.  His  shop  stood  just  north  of  where  Dr.  Brown's 
tile  works  now  are.  It  is  true  that  William  Pickerel  did  some  work 
in  that  line,  but  only  in  a  small  way.  The  first  regular  physicians 
were  Dr.  Wilson  and  Dr.  Farmer.  The  first  newspaper  printed  is  of 
recent  date,  and  will  be  mentioned  in  another  place.  The  first  religious 
•society  was  the  Quakers  or  Friends.  Meetings  were  held  during  the 
first  year  of  settlement,  and  doubtless  continued  until  most  of  the  mem- 
bers were  gone.  The  leading  religious  body  has  been  the  Methodists. 
The  first  Sabbath  school  was  established  in  the  Thomas  school-house  by 
John  Hudson,  who  kept  a  saloon  near  where  Wingfield  Cooper's  house 
now  stands.  Hudson  was  not  a  religious  man,  but  he  took  an  interest 
in  this  matter,  and  bore  a  good  name  among  his  neighbors. 

The  first  school  taught  was  in  a  log  building  that  stood  near  the 


MILFORD   TOWNSHIP.  141 

Quaker  graveyard,  and  was  called  the  Quaker  meeting-house.  This 
school  was  taught  by  Mrs.  Judith  Stanley,  wife  of  William  Stanley,  in 
the  year  1831.  During  this  year  a  school-house  was  built  in  the 
Thomas  settlement.  William  Thomas  taught  the  first  school  in  this 
building.  A  graphic  description  of  this  house  and  of  the  books  first 
used  is  furnished  by  B.  F.  Thomas.  "  The  building  was  of  logs, 
14x28  feet.  The  floor  was  of  puncheons,  i.e.  logs  split  in  halves, 
and  the  split  surfaces  smoothed  with  an  ax.  The  door  was  made  of 
rived  boards,  and  secured  with  wooden  hinges.  The  '  shingles  '  were 
made  in  the  same  manner.  The  hearth  was  made  of  clay,  and  extended 
entirely  across  one  end  of  the  house.  A  wall  of  clay  about  eight  feet 
high  formed  the  back  of  the  fireplace ;  it  had  no  sides  or  jams.  The 
chimney  was  formed  of  sticks  daubed  with  clay.  The  desks  were 
puncheons  resting  on  wooden  pins  inserted  into  the  sides  of  the  house. 
The  seats  were  slabs  supported  on  sticks.  The  windows  were  formed 
by  cutting  out  a  log  on  each  side,  the  entire  length  of  the  house,  and 
the  opening  thus  formed  closed  with  greased  paper  '  puttied '  with 
mud."  Mr.  Thomas  says  that  the  first  book  he  used  was  made  by 
marking  letters  on  a  smooth  "paddle."  The  ink  was  an  infusion  of 
maple  bark ;  the  pens  of  goose  quills.  The  teacher  was  paid  by  sub- 
scription. Such  was  the  "make-up"  of  the  "shooting  galleries"  of 
those  primitive  days.  Hiram  Vennum  says  that  his  father  put  in  the 
first  glass  window  seen  in  the  town. 

The  first  justice  of  the  peace  in  Milford  was  Robert  Hill.  The 
election  was  held  in  1831  in  Bunkum,  and  it  was  more  than  a  year 
afterward  before  he  received  his  commission.  The  township  was  at 
that  time  in  Vermilion  county.  The  first  county  court  held  in  Iro- 
quois  county  was  at  the  house  of  John  Nilson.  Hugh  Newell  was  the 
first  clerk.  The  first  brick  were  made  by  John  Skillman  in  1834.  His 
yard  was  located  a  few  yards  from  where  John  Hollander's  house  stands. 
Traces  of  it  are  still  to  be  seen.  The  first  shoemaker  was  John  Reeder. 

In  addition  to  the  mill  already  described,  several  other  mills  have 
been  built  along  the  banks  of  Sugar  creek,  only  one  of  which  now 
remains.  Webster's  mill  has  been  mentioned.  A  steam  mill  was 
erected  in  1867  near  the  creek,  on  the  northeast  corner  of -lot  5  in  sec- 
tion 4.  This  mill  is  now  removed.  The  mill  now  standing  near  the 
north  line  of  the  township,  and  known  as  the  McConnell,  or  artesian 
mill,  was  first  built  by  West  and  McMann.  Samuel  Rush  had  at  one 
time  an  interest  in  this  mill.  It  disappeared,  and  the  property  passed 
into  the  hands  of  Barnabas  Brown,  who  built  the  present  mill.  Three 
large  flowing  artesian  wells  were  bored  in  order  to  increase  the  supply 
of  water. 


142  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

In  1856  township  organization  was  adopted.  All  official  records 
previous  to  this  date  were  in  the  county  clerk's  office  at  the  county- 
seat,  and  were  destroyed  when  the  court-house  was  burnt.  The  first 
township  election  was  held  April  1,  1856.  At  this  election  fifty-one 
votes  were  cast.  M.  A.  Thompson  was  moderator,  and  John  Gray 
clerk.  The  first  town  officers  elected  were:  for  supervisor,  Elihu  K. 
Farmer;  town  clerk,  C.  Secrest;  assessor,  William  Gray;  collector, 
George  Gray;  overseer  of  poor,  John  Gray;  commissioners  of  high- 
ways, C.  C.  Vennum,  C.  W.  Dawson,  Amos  White. 

INCIDENTS. 

The  early  history  of  any  section  cannot  well  be  written  without  at 
the  same  time  recounting  the  incidents  that  serve  to  illustrate,  and 
that  in  fact,  constitute,  such  history.  Such  incidents  as  have  a  distinc- 
tive character  may  well  be  brought  under  this  head.  The  following 
account  of  his  terrible  experience  during  the  "freezing  time  "was 
furnished  by  Mr.  Hildreth  himself  to  Hobert  Williams,  and  by  him 
related  to  the  writer.  In  February,  1836,  occurred  the  sudden  change. 
Snow  had  fallen  the  preceding  day  and  night.  The  next  day  a  driz- 
zling rain  fell  so  that  the  snow  became  a  mass  of  slush.  Some  time  in 
the  afternoon — some  accounts  say  in  the  morning — a  change  almost 
instantly  occurred.  One  says,  "the  clouds  boiled  like  a  pot."  The 
wind  veered  from  south  to  northwest,  the  rain  froze  as  it  fell  and  in  a 
few  minutes  the  entire  surface  of  the  country  was  covered  with  ice. 
The  streams,  which  in  the  morning  were  bank-full  of  rushing  water, 
were  quickly  filled  with  floating  ice,  and  the  small  runs  and  pools  of 
water  frozen  solid  enough  to  bear  a  man's  weight.  It  was  terribly 
cold.  On  the  morning  of  this  day,  two  men  left  Danville  on  horse- 
back, intending  to  go  to  Ash  Grove  before  night.  One  of  these  men 
was  Thomas  Frame,  a  young  man  living  on  Spring  creek.  The  other 
was  James  Hildreth.  who  was  going  to  Joliet;  they  were  simply 
traveling  acquaintances.  They  took  dinner  at  Bicknell's  Point  and 
fed  their  horses.  They  then  pushed  on  across  the  prairie,  being  com- 
pelled to  swim  their  horses  across  the  creeks,  and  their  clothing  damp 
with  rain.  When  the  cold  blast  struck  them  they  were  approaching 
Burson's  (now  Fountain)  creek.  Burson's  house  stood  on  the  oppo- 
site or  west  side  of  the  creek.  On  the}*-  went,  but  were  soon  obliged 
to  dismount  and  could  not  proceed.  They  were  obliged  to  spend  the 
night  on  the  prairie.  They  continued  to  move  about  until  Frame 
became  so  benumbed  that  he  could  not  keep  up.  Hildreth  was  much 
more  warmly  clad  than  his  companion.  They  then  resolved  to  kill 
their  horses  and  get  inside  the  bodies.  They  had  but  orie  knife. 


MILFORD   TOWNSHIP.  143 

Frame's  horse  was  killed  first,  but  in  attempting  to  open  the  body  the 
knife  was  lost  and  in  the  darkness  could  not  be  found.  They  suc- 
ceeded, however,  in  opening  the  body  so  that  they  were  able  to  insert 
their  feet  and  legs.  They  remained  in  this  position  as  long  as  possible, 
and  were  then  obliged  to  exercise  their  bodies.  Thus  the  night  was 
passed,  until  about  two  hours  before  day,  when  Frame  died.  As  soon 
as  he  could  see,  Hildreth  managed  to  mount  his  horse  and  pushed  on 
for  Burson's  Grove,  a  distance  of  nearly  ten  miles.  On  reaching  the 
creek  he  succeeded  in  attracting  Burson's  attention,  but  he  could  not 
cross  as  the  channel  was  not  entirely  closed.  Burson  was  afraid  to 
attempt  getting  him  over,  and  advised  him  to  go  six  miles  further  to 
another  house.  Hildreth  did  so,  but  found  the  house  empty ;  this 
Burson  knew,  but  had  in  this  heartless  manner  sent  him  oft'.  It  was 
nearly  night  again  before  Hildreth  got  back  to  Burson's,  and  sliding 
off  his  horse  resolved  to  cross  or  perish  in  the  attempt.  '  He  succeeded, 
and  crawling  up  to  the  house,  he  at  length  obtained  what  he  so  much 
needed,  food  and  warmth.  At  Hildreth's  urgent  request,  Burson 
aroused  some  people,  and  a  general  search  for  Frame's  body  was  begun. 
Burson  would  not  permit  the  body  to  be  brought  to  his  house,  neither 
would  he  keep  Hildreth.  The  body  of  Frame  was  taken  to  Mr. 
Williams'  house,  whence  it  was  removed  to  his  father's  house  for 
burial.  Two  days  afterward  Hildreth  was  removed  to  Williams' 
house,  where  he  remained  for  six  weeks  in  a  perfectly  helpless  condi- 
tion. The  horse  was  also  found  and  cared  for.  Hildreth  lost  all  his 
fingers  except  one,  and  both  his  feet  up  to  the  instep. 

In  1854  the  cholera  appeared  in  Milford,  supposed  to  have  been 
brought  in  some  infected  clothing.  A  family  living  in  a  house  about 
one-half  mile  east  of  Aaron  Thomas'  place  became  victims  of  the 
scourge.  Three  persons  who  died  there  were  buried.  An  attempt 
was  made  to  remove  a  sick  woman  to  Parrish  Grove,  but  she  died  on 
the  way.  Two  other  persons  died  in  this  house,  but  no  one  could  be 
induced  to  go  there  and  bury  the  decaying  bodies.  The  physician 
declared  that  the  house,  with  the  bodies,  must  be  burned,  or  the  whole 
county  would  be  infected.  This  was  accordingly  done.  About  six- 
teen persons  died  of  cholera. 

On  June  20,  1866,  a  tornado  swept  over  this  township  in  a  south- 
easterly direction.  Mr.  C.  W.  Dawson  was  the  principal  sufferer. 
His  farm  is  in  sections  27  and  34.  The  house  stands  on  the  east  side 
of  the  road,  the  barn  on  the  west  side,  some  sixty  yards  away.  He 
says :  "  I  first  saw  a  funnel-shaped  cloud  coming  from  the  west.  It 
came  near  the  ground  in  the  timber  on  Mud  creek,  cutting  off  the  tops 
of  the  trees;  then  rising,  it  struck  the  ground  about  one-fourth  of  a 


144  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

mile  west  of  the  barn.  It  made  a  clean  sweep  of  my  farm.  The  barn 
was  utterly  demolished,  some  of  the  timbers  being  driven  through  the 
side  of  the  house.  A  long  building  standing  near  was  carried  in  frag- 
ments about  200  yards.  Not  a  panel  of  fence  remained  on  the  place. 
The  shutters  were  torn  from  the  house,  and  my  son,  a  married  man, 
was  carried  from  the  yard  about  eighty  yards,  and  deposited  in  a 
spring.  One  mule  was  killed  outright,  and  iive  hogs,  each  weighing 
over  200  pounds,  were  never  heard  of  afterward.  It  was  a  lively  time 
for  about  a  minute." 

In  June,  1848,  a  quarrel  arose  between  Robert  Gay  and  his  son 
William  about  some  grass.  An  ill  feeling  had  existed  between  them 
for  some  time.  The  father  had  forbidden  the  son  cutting  any  grass  on 
some  land  near  his  house.  One  morning  the  son,  regardless  of  this 
injunction,  was  mowing  grass  for  his  horses  when  the  old  man  came 
out,  and  in  the  quarrel  that  ensued  William  cut  a  terrible  gash  with 
his  scythe  across  his  father's  shoulders,  near  the  base  of  the  neck.  The 
son  left  his  father  lying  where  he  fell.  The  matter  soon  became  known 
to  a  neighbor,  who  cared  for  the  old  man,  and  summoned  a  doctor. 
The  wound  proved  to  be  not  necessarily  fatal  and  was  in  a  fair  way  to 
heal,  when  about  two  weeks  after  he  suddenly  died,  as  was  supposed, 
by  his  own  hand.  The  son  was  tried  and  acquitted. 

B.  P.  Williamson's  house,  on  the  S.W.  ^  of  Sec.  24,  was  destroyed 
by  fire,  with  nearly  all  of  its  contents,  early  on  the  morning  of  January 
2,  1875.  A  furious  snow-storm  was  raging  at  the  time.  The  family 
barely  escaped,  saving  such  articles  of  clothing  as  they  were  able  to 
snatch  up  as  they  left  the  burning  building.  The  wind  was  from  the 
northwest  and  intensely  cold.  The  origin  of  the  fire  was  never  known. 

A  remarkable  apple  tree  is  still  growing  on  the  spot  where  it  was 
planted  forty-nine  years  ago.  This  tree  was  planted  by  William  Stan- 
ley's wife  on  the  land  that  Stanley  sold  to  William  Cox.  It  stands  on 
section  10,  about  forty  yards  north  of  the  southwest  corner  of  the  sec- 
tion. It  is  a  seedling,  and  last  year  (1879)  produced  about  thirty  bush- 
els of  fine  apples.  Two  feet  from  the  ground  the  trunk  is  eight  feet  in 
circumference.  The  top  is  very  symmetrical  and  of  immense  size, 
having  a  diameter  or  spread  of  about  fifty-six  feet.  It  is  exceedingly 
thrifty,  with  not  a  dry  twig  among  its  branches.  It  is  undoubtedly  the 
largest  apple  tree  in  the  county. 

The  only  fire  of  any  magnitude  that  lias  occurred  in  the  village  of 
Milford,  was  on  August  10,  1876.  Charles  Jones'  elevator,  standing 
on  the  same  ground  now  occupied  by  Fairman's  elevator,  was  burned, 
together  with  several  cars  containing  produce.  Loss  about  $7,000. 

October  31,  1876,  Charles  D.  Morehouse,  a  brakeman  on  the  Chi- 


MILFOKD   TOWNSHIP.  145 

cago  &  Eastern  Illinois  railroad,  was  run  over  by  a  freight  train  at 
Milford  station  and  killed. 

DESCRIPTION. 

Milford  township  extends  seven  and  a  half  miles  north  and  south, 
and  six  miles  east  and  west.  The  political  township  is  identical  with 
the  congressional.  It  contains  an  area  of  about  28,302  acres.  The 
township  is  traversed  by  two  considerable  streams — Sugar  creek  and 
Mud  creek.  Sugar  creek  enters  the  township  from  the  east,  near  the 
southeast  corner  of  section  13  ;  thence  flowing  in  a  west-by-north  course 
until  it  reaches  the  N.W.  £  of  Sec.  15.  At  this  point  the  waters  of 
Sugar  and  Mud  creeks  unite ;  the  latter  entering  the  township  at  the 
center  of  the  west  side  of  section  30,  and  pursuing  a  very  irregular 
course  northeast  to  this  point  of  intersection.  From  this  point  the 
united  waters  flow  in  a  north-by-east  course  to  within  a  mile  of  the 
north  boundary  line  of  the  town,  when  it  bends  to  the  northwest,  leav- 
ing the  township  near  the  quarter-line  of  section  5.  Several  smaller 
streams  flow  into  these.  The  Little  Mud,  in  the  south  part  of  the  town, 
is  one  of  them.  Fountain  creek,  coming  from  the  southwest,  joins  the 
Mud  near  the  center  of  section  30.  A  small  creek  flows  across  the 
northwest  corner  of  the  township. 

The  general  surface  is  level  or  gently  rolling.  The  valley  or  bot- 
tom lands  along  the  courses  of  Mud  and  Sugar  creeks  are  alluvial  and 
of  great  fertility,  and  are  at  a  few  feet  lower  level  than  the  adjoining 
lands.  A  few  gullies  or  ravines  break  the  uniform  line  of  banks,  but 
these  are  of  extremely  limited  extent.  Broad  belts  of  timber,  consist- 
ing of  white,  burr  and  black  oak,  walnut,  hickory,  elm,  ash,  sassafras, 
and  hard  and  soft  maple,  originally  existed  along  all  the  streams ;  some- 
times spreading  into  wide  reaches,  extending  into  the  prairie  for  con- 
siderable distances.  The  timber  covered  more  than  one-fourth  of  the 
area  of  the  township,  but  at  least  one-half  of  the  original  quantity  has 
been  removed.  This  diversified  arrangement  of  prairie  and  woodland 
presents  a  most  pleasing  landscape,  and  no  more  beautiful  region  exists 
than  is  found  in  this  township.  The  soil  in  the  timber  portions  is  clay 
mixed  with  some  gravel ;  on  the  prairie  a  black  loam  over  gravel,  clay 
or  sand.  It  is  exceedingly  fertile,  producing  large  crops  of  corn,  oats 
and  flax;  and  it  is  now  abundantly  shown  that  winter  wheat  can  be 
grown  with  great  profit.*  The  coming  year  will  doubtless  mark  a  new 
era  in  wheat-growing.  In  its  adaptedness  to  stock-raising,  this  town- 
ship is  not  excelled.  Immense  numbers  of  cattle  and  hogs  are  raised, 

*  The  average  yield  per  acre  in  this  county,  as  shown  by  statistics,  being  twenty- 
six  bushels. 


146  HISTORY   OF   IKOQUOIS   COUNTY. 

and  much  attention  is  given  to  improving  the  breeds  of  stock.  Not 
only  is  the  country  well  watered  by  streams,  but  the  artesian  wells, 
which  are  made  at  small  expense,  furnish  in  nearly  every  locality  a 
never-failing  source  of  pure,  cold  water.  These  wells  are  invaluable 
to  those  engaged  in  stock-raising,  besides  which  they  facilitate  the 
making  of  butter  and  cheese. 

VILLAGE   OF    MILFORD. 

This  village,  which  is  situated  one  mile  east  of  the  center  of  the 
township,  was  originally  located  on  and  covered  the  N.E.  ^  of  the  S.E.  \ 
of  Sec.  15,  T.  25  N.,  E.  12  W.  2d  principal  meridian.  This  land  was 
entered  by  William  Pickerel,  October  4, 1832.  The  village  was  platted 
by  Pickerel,  September  24, 1836  ;  Jonas  Smith,  county  surveyor,  making 
the  survey.  The  plat  was  certified  October  6,  and  recorded  October  10, 
1836,  and  described  as  "  situated  at  Wm.  Pickerel's  mills  on  Sugar 
creek,  one  of  the  main  branches  of  the  Iroquois  river."  Pickerel  sold 
the  whole  tract  to  John  B.  Strickler,  May  31,  1837.  Railroad  addition 
to  the  village  of  Milford  was  laid  out  and  platted  by  John  L.  Donovan, 
August  7,  1871,  and  recorded  the  same  date.  The  survey  was  made  by 
George  Dalton,  a  deputy  of  B.  F.  Masters,  county  surveyor.  It  is 
located  on  land  formerly  owned  by  Charles  Axtell.  The  tract  thus 
platted  lies  on  both  sides  of  the  line  separating  sections  14  and  15,  and 
is  described  by  metes  and  bounds.  The  depot  grounds  of  the  Chicago 
&  Eastern  Illinois  railroad  are  located  in  this  addition.  Donovan's 
addition  adjoins  railroad  addition  on  the  east,  and  is  laid  out  on  land 
bought  of  Samuel  Grant.  On  the  west  of  railroad  addition  is  Dawson's 
addition  of  out-lots,  surveyed  by  B.  F.  Masters.  This  addition  extends 
west  to  the  new  cemetery,  and  lies  on  both  sides  of  the  road  running  west 
from  the  depot. 

Few  villages  in  any  sections  of  the  country,  can  boast  of  more 
improvements,  backed  up  with  abundant  promise  of  greater  substantial 
prosperity,  than  Milford.  On  the  east,  west  and  south  sides  are  beautiful 
groves,  while  immediately  to  the  north,  and  also  beyond  these  groves, 
extend  in  all  directions  vast  rolling  prairies,  well  drained  and  yielding 
enormous  crops  of  all  kinds  of  grain,  and  sustaining  thousands  of 
cattle.  Of  this  region  Milford  is  the  most  available  market,  and  the 
enterprise  of  its  citizens  is  fast  binding  this  extensive  trade,  and  con- 
stantly extending  every  facility  and  offering  every  encouragement  that 
superior  business  sagacity  and  a  liberal  outlay  of  money  can  present,  to 
maintain  and  extend  their  commercial  relations. 

The  village  of  Milford  was  incorporated  March  3,  1874.  The  first 
officers  were:  H.  Y.  Brown,  president  board  of  trustees;  George  S. 


MILFORD   TOWNSHIP.  147 

Blanchfill,  secretary  ;  "W.  T.  Sheridan,  treasurer ;  James  "Woodworth, 
police  justice  ;  Samuel  Caughron,  street  commissioner.  At  the  election 
held  to  vote  upon  the  question  of  incorporation  sixty-one  votes  were 
cast;  sixty  were  in  favor  of  the  measure  and  only  one  negative  vote. 

The  first  elevator  put  up  in  the  village  was  burnt  as  already  stated. 
The  elevator  now  standing  on  the  same  ground  was  erected  by  John 
Fairman  in  1877.  Mr.  Fairman  is  a  man  of  great  business  enterprise 
and  sagacity,  and  foreseeing  the  advantages  of  such  an  investment, 
determined  to  build  an  elevator  of  sufficient  capacity  to  accommodate 
the  grain  trade  of  this  section.  He  pushed  forward  his  undertaking 
amid  many  prophesies  of  failure,  but  the  result  has  justified  his  expec- 
tations. The  capacity  of  the  building  is  25,000  bushels.  It  is  run  by 
an  engine  of  thirty-five  horse  power,  with  which  is  connected  a  mill 
for  grinding  corn.  The  elevator  can  receive  and  deliver  4,000  bushels 
per  day.  Mr.  Fairman  was  the  first  grain  buyer  in  Watseka. 

The  general  character  of  the  inhabitants  of  a  city  or  village  is  often 
indicated  by  the  quality  and  style  of  their  buildings.  This  certainly 
is  true  of  Milford.  No  village  in  eastern  Illinois  can  boast  of  a  better 
class  of  buildings,  either  for  business  or  residence.  Nearly  all  of  the 
business  houses  are  substantial  brick  buildings,  well  finished,  and  filled 
with  large  and  complete  stocks  of  goods. 

During  the  past  season  many  substantial  and  expensive  buildings 
have  been  constructed.  Postmaster  James  Woodworth  and  A.  J.  Mil- 
ler have  erected  a  two-story  brick  block,  which  will  be  occupied  as  a 
post-office  and  for  dry-goods.  Goldstein  &  Son  have  also  put  up  a 
building  of  equal  size  with  their  present  one,  thus  doubling  their  facil- 
ities for  doing  business.  Fairman  and  McConnell  have  also  built  an 
extensive  brick  addition  to  their  very  large  store.  These  facts  are 
more  convincing  than  words  in  estimating  business  prospects.  As  a 
further  evidence  of  a  sure  progress,  it  may  be  stated  that  the  amount  ol 
sales  exceed  $200,000  annually. 

Strickler  Bros,  have  an  extensive  wagon  manufactory.  Their 
establishment  also  embraces  a  planing-mill  containing  three  planers, 
a  blacksmith  and  repair  shop,  a  large  saw-mill  and  a  machine  for  cut- 
ting felloes,  besides  mortise  and  boring  machines.  The  machinery  is 
driven  by  a  powerful  engine.  They  manufactured  last  year  over  400 
wagons,  and  are  constantly  turning,  out  an  immense  amount  of  work. 
John  Bentson  is  largely  engaged  in  manufacturing  wagons  and  cabinet 
work. 

The  clay  deposits  in  this  region  are  of  considerable  extent  and  great 
value.  The  varieties  usually  found  are  blue  and  brick  clay,  and  also 
what  is  called  joint  clay,  which  seems  to  be  composed  of  magnesia  and 


148  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

lime,  since  the  articles  made  from  it  "  burn  white."  The  clay  is  more 
readily  found  near  the  timber,  and  wherever  the  surface  is  broken  into 
banks  or  plateaus.  These  sources  of  wealth  are  made  available  through 
the  extensive  works  of  Dr.  Ira  Brown  and  George  Hix.  The  manu- 
facture of  drain-tile  was  commenced  on  Mr.  Hix's  land  in  the  year 
1873  by  Elson  Lee,  but  the  enterprise  was  not  successful,  and  the 
works  passed  into  Mr.  Hix's  hands.  Perseverance  and  energy,  with  a 
practical  knowledge  of  working  and  burning  clay  have,  however,  tri- 
umphed over  all  obstacles.  The  demand  for  tile  had  become  so  great, 
that  in  1878  Dr.  Brown  established  his  present  extensive  works,  and 
still  the  want  is  not  supplied.  The  doctor  is  constantly  adding  new 
and  improved  machinery ;  he  has  also  substituted  steam  instead  of 
horse  power.  An  excellent  quality  of  brick  is  also  made  at  these 
works  in  large  quantities.  The  amount  of  tile  made  the  past  season  by 
both  manufactories  is  about  22,552  rods,  equal  to  a  distance  of  over 
seventy  miles.-  Several  different  sizes  of  tile  are  made,  ranging  from 
two  and  a  half  to  eight  inches.  Mr.  Jasper  Pretzman  is  also  largely 
engaged  in  the  making  of  brick.  The  aggregate  amount  of  brick 
made  during  the  season  amounts  to  about  700,000.  With  a  continua- 
tion of  the  present  general  prosperity  this  amount  will  be  largely 
exceeded  in  the  future. 

SOCIETIES. 

Milford  Lodge,  No.  168,  A.F.  &  A.M.,  was  organized  October  2, 
1855  ;  James  Anderson,  G.M.  The  charter  members  were :  Darius 
Hartwell,  Dr.  Hartwell,  Joshua  Seth,  Allen  Latham  and  others.  Pres- 
ent membership  about  forty-two. 

Farmers  Lodge,  I.O.O.F.,  No.  253,  instituted  March  31,  1858,  by 
John  Hogle,  deputy  district  G.M.  The  charter  members  and  officers 
were:  William  Yennum,  N.G. ;  Conrad  Secrest,  V.G. ;  E.  K.  Farmer, 
P.S. ;  J.  V.  Fullinwider,  R.S. ;  James  Hazlett,  treasurer.  This  lodge 
continued  in  operation  until  June  13,  1863,  when  meetings  were  dis- 
continued until  June  22,  1867,  when  it  was  reorganized. 

Phoanix  Lodge,  No.  212,  of  Good  Templars,  was  organized  Decem- 
ber 7,  1877,  with  the  following  officers :  William  Sommers,  W.C.T. ; 
Maggie  J.  Woodworth,  W.Y.f. ;  S.  S.  Gruber,  W.  Chap.;  Otena  Gru- 
ber,  W.A.S. ;  J.  J.  Stevens,  W.F.S. ;  James  A.  Laird,  W.T. ;  Johnson 
Hix,  W.M. ;  Howard  Hix,  W.I.G. ;  Anna  McConnell,  W.R.H.S.,  Tiny 
Hastings,  W.L.H.S. ;  N.  H.  Gasaway,  P. W.C.T. 

CHURCHES. 

The  first  Methodist  Episcopal  class  was  organized  in  1834,  in  John 
Nilson's  house,  by  Rev.  Elihu  K.  Springer.  His  circuit  comprised 


MILFORD   TOWNSHIP.  149 

Kankakee,  Spring  Creek,  Ash  Grove  and  Milford.  Preaching  services 
had  indeed  been  held  at  irregular  intervals  previous  to  this  time,  but 
no  regular  service.  Mr.  Springer  preached  once  in  four  weeks.  After 
the  first  school-house  was  erected  in  the  village  of  Milford,  these  ser- 
vices were  held  there  so  long  as  this  building  was  used  for  school 
purposes;  afterward  the  class  met  frequently  in  Isaac  Bennett's  tavern, 
and  after  a  new  school-house  was  built  the  meetings  were  held  there 
until  the  erection  of  the  present  church  building,  in  1861.  The  pres- 
ent membership  is  170 ;  of  the  Sabbath  school,  95. 

Of  the  United  Brethren  no  very  definite  information  can  be  obtained. 
It  lias  been  organized  for  several  years.  They  worship  in  the  M.  E. 
house  at  regular  intervals.  Among  the  early  preachers  were  the  Ken- 
overs — father  and  son.  The  Milford  society  belongs  to  the  Milford 
circuit.  Present  number  of  members  in  circuit  about  seventy. 

The  Christian  chapel  was  organized  April,  1879,  by  Rev.  C.  B. 
Austin.  This  church  has  recently  completed  a  new  and  tasteful  house, 
30x50  feet  in  size,  and  having  a  beautiful  spire.  It  is  centrally  located, 
and  together  with  the  lot  cost  about  $1,600.  The  first  service  in  the 
new  house  was  held  September  13, 1879.  The  members  number  about 
fifty. 

SCHOOLS. 

The  first  public  institution  established  in  Milford  was  a  school- 
house.  In  1836  or  1837  a  log  school-house  was  built  in  the  village  of 
Milford,  and  a  number  of  the  present  inhabitants  received  their  first 
induction  into  the  mysteries  of  science  in  that  building.  It  served  the 
purposes  of  school-house,  church,  and  public  hall  until  about  1854, 
when  it  was  sold  to  Mr.  Samuel  Bowers,  who  converted  it  into  a  black- 
smith's shop.  About  the  last  meeting  held  in  it  was  a  political  one 
during  the  Fremont  campaign.  A  new  and  larger  building  was  then 
erected  some  distance  east  of  the  log  house.  It  may  be  of  interest  to 
know  that  Mr.  Bovvers  continued  to  use  this  building  as  his  shop  until 
September  23,  1879,  when  it  was  torn  away  to  make  room  for  a  new 
building.  The  new  brick  school-house  is  a  very  fine  and  commodious 
structure.  It  was  erected  in  1875  at  a  cost  of  $4,000.  The  building 
is  of  brick,  45x55  feet,  and  32  feet  high.  It  contains  four  large  rooms, 
well  lighted  and  furnished  with  first-class  appliances,  as  seats,  charts, 
globes,  etc.,  at  an  additional  cost  of  $1,000.  The  school  population  of 
this  district,  including  all  under  twenty-one,  is  328;  the  average 
attendance  is  about  200.  The  board,  under  whose  supervision  this 
building  was  erected,  were:  A.  J.  Endsley,  William  Sommers  and  M. 
A.  Thompson. 

The  township  is  divided  into  nine  school  districts,  eight  of  which 


150  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

contain  good  school-houses.  District  ~No.  3  is  not  organized.  The 
amount  of  township  school-fund  is  $6,027 ;  the  number  of  persons  in 
the  town  under  twenty-one  and  over  six  years  of  age  is  483;  amount 
of  school-fund  apportioned  the  last  year  and  paid  to  township  treasurer 
was  $448.43. 

Milford  was  made  a  money-order  office  July  1,  1874.  The  present 
postmaster,  James  Woodworth,  was  commissioned  October  18,  1872. 
The  number  of  money-orders  issued  since  that  date  up  to  August  20, 
1879,  was  3,775,  of  an  aggregate  amount  of  $75,000.  In  the  year 
1872  the  post-office  business  amounted  to  $150.  In  1879  it  had 
increased  to  $25,000.  It  was  made  a  third-class  office  January  1, 1878. 
This  remarkable  result  is  due  to  the  untiring  efforts  of  Mr.  Wood- 
worth.  The  estimation  in  which  his  work  is  held  by  the  Post-office 
department,  is  indicated  by  the  remark  of  a  special  agent,  publicly 
made :  "  It  is  the  best  conducted  office  on  the  road."  And  when  the 
new  office  is  completed  there  will  be  nothing  left  to  be  desired. 

The  cemetery  in  Milford  is  situated  southeast  of  the  village  and 
just  east  of  the  Methodist  church.  This  cemetery  is  located  in  a  grove, 
and  burials  continue  to  be  made  there,  as  also  in  the  Vennum  grave- 
yard. Mr.  John  Fairman  has  recently  purchased  ten  acres  just  west  of 
the  village  tot  be  used  as  a  cemetery.  The  location  is  a  beautiful  one : 
of  a  gently  rolling  surface  and  covered  with  a  growth  of  young  forest 
trees.  The  site  of  Anthony  Stanley's  log  house,  erected  in  1830,  is  at 
the  western  extremity  of  this  tract. 

The  Milford  "Herald  "  was  first  issued  July  21, 1876,  by  J.  R.  Fox, 
editor  and  proprietor.  Mr.  Fox  continued  its  publication  nearly  two 
years,  when  the  entire  outfit  was  purchased  by  Edward  L'Hote,  of 
Marshall,  Illinois.  Mr.  L'Hote  is  a  practical  printer,  and  under  his 
management  the  circulation  is  rapidly  increasing.  The  "  Herald  "  ably 
represents  the  interests  of  the  township  and  advocates  the  principles  of 
the  greenback  party.  It  has  over  400  subscribers. 

The  Milford  "  Genius "  is  a  lively  paper  recently  established,  and 
is  edited  and  published  by  J.  W.  Sargent.  It  has  a  good  patronage 
both  in  subscription  and  advertisements,  and  bids  fair  to  become  one 
of  the  leading  journals  of  the  county. 

The  township  is  traversed  by  the  Chicago  &  Eastern  Illinois 
(formerly  the  Chicago,  Danville  &  Vincennes)  railroad.  This  road, 
which  divides  the  town  into  nearly  equal  parts,  was  completed  to  Mil- 
ford  village  July  4,  1871.  Its  construction  has  given  a  wonderful 
impetus  to  every  department  of  business.  It  has  been  justly  remarked 
that  the  eras  or  periods  of  development  in  this  state  are  marked  by 


MILFORD   TOWNSHIP.  151 

the  building  of  the  railroads  across  the  country.  This  is  emphatically 
true  as  regards  this  section. 

The  Milford  Live  Stock  Importing  Company  was  organized  May 
17,  1875,  by  twelve  substantial  farmers  of  this  township,  largely 
through  the  influence  of  B.  F.  Masters.  The  first  officers  were  :  John 
Webster,  president ;  P.  Crink,  secretary ;  and  Geo.  Martin,  treasurer. 
The  object  of  the  association  is  to  improve  the  breed  of  draft  horses  in 
this  township  by  importing  blooded  animals  from  abroad.  Mr.  Martin 
was  sent  to  France  to  make  purchases,  and  two  Norman  stallions  and 
one  Percheron  were  received  July  31,  1875.  The  company  has  since 
obtained  a  fine  Clydesdale  horse.  These  were  the  first  importations 
into  the  eastern  part  of  the  county. 

Milford  was  not  behind  her  sister  towns  in  responding  to  the  call 
"  to  arms'"  at  the  beginning  of  the  civil  war.  Many  of  her  sons  made 
a  brilliant  record  during  these  years  of  strife  and  bloodshed.  Many  of 
her  homes  were  made  desolate  by  the  loss  of  loved  ones  who  took  up 
arms  to  maintain  the  integrity  of  our  country.  Some  who  returned 
will  carry  to  their  graves  the  marks  of  that  memorable  conflict.  A 
minute  history  of  the  war  will  be  found  on  another  page. 

At  present  Milford  can  boast  of  but  one  literary  society,  "  The 
Blue  Ribbon  Society,"  which  is  well  sustained ;  and  it  may  be  here 
remarked  that  not  a  saloon  or  place  where  liquor  is  sold  can  be  found 
within  the  limits  of  Milford  village. 

The  present  population  of  Milford  township  is  about  2,000.  The 
population  of  the  village  is  estimated  at  800. 

BIOGRAPHICAL. 

The  biography  of  Mr.  Aaron  Thomas  cannot  be  written  without 
writing  the  early  history  of  Milford  township.  A  large  part  of  this 
early  history,  as  presented  in  the  "  History  of  Iroquois  County,"  was 
obtained  from  Mr.  Thomas  himself.  His  father,  Mr.  Asa  Thomas,  was 
one  of  the  earliest,  if  not  the  earliest,  settler  in  this  township.  Aaron 
Thomas  was  born  in  Adams  county,  Ohio,  May  21,  1822.  In  1831  he 
came  into  this  township  with  his  father's  family,  and  has  since  lived  on 
or  near  the  place  he  now  occupies  in  section  22.  Aaron  was  married  in 
May,  1855,  to  Barbara  J.  Pankake,  whose  parents  were  also  early  settlers 
in  this  township.  Mr.  Thomas  is  a  republican ;  he  is  also  a  Master 
Mason,  and  a  member  of  the  Sons  of  Temperance.  For  a  more  ex- 
tended notice  of  Mr  Thomas'  life,  reference  is  made  to  the  early  history 
of  Milford  township. 

Asa  Thomas,  farmer,  Milford,  was  the  fourth  son  and  seventh  child 
of  Asa  Thomas,  the  pioneer  settler  in  this  township.  He  was  born  in 


152  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

Adams  county,  Ohio,  August  14, 1824.  With  his  brothers,  his  boyhood 
days  were  passed  amid  the  privations  and  alarms  incident  to  frontier 
life.  While  his  brothers  became  heads  of  families,  Asa  seemed  to  be 
designated  as  the  one  to  remain  at  home  and  care  for  the  aged  father. 
Consequently  he  married  much  later  in  life  than  his  brothers.  He  was 
married  July  14,  1867,  to  Mary  Jane  Bragg,  and  continues  to  reside 
quietly  among  scenes  made  memorable  by  the  incidents  of  former  years. 
Mr.  Thomas  is  a  republican,  and  has  always  manifested  a  strong  interest 
in  local  affairs. 

Benjamin  F.  Thomas,  farmer,  Milford,  son  of  Asa  and  Eleanor 
Thomas,was  born  in  "Wehaw  Plains,  Indiana,  May  20,1830.  TheThomas' 
settlement  in  Milford  township  is  fully  described  in  the  history  of  that 
town.  He  was  one  of  the  children  carried  away  in  the  flight  that 
occurred  on  the  supposed  advance  of  hostile  Indians.  Mr.  Thomas  has 
lived  in  this  town  since  very  early  childhood,  and  from  him  are  derived 
many  of  the  early  reminiscences,  particularly  the  description  of  the 
"ancient"  log  school-house,  given  in  the  same  history.  He  located  on 
section  4,  where  he  now  resides.  Mr.  Thomas  was  married  to  Miss 
Amanda  A.  Hoover,  March  11, 1858,  who  died  December  5, 1874.  His 
brother  Fantleyroy  was  killed  at  the  Raymond,  near  Vicksburg,  after 
having  served  three  years  in  the  20th  111.  Vol.,  without  a  scratch.  Mr. 
Thomas  is  a  republican,  and  also  a  Master  Mason,  having  served  as 
Master  of  Milford  Lodge.  He  has  always  been  a  pronounced  temperance 
man. 

Samuel  Thomas,  farmer,  Milford,  son  of  Asa  Thomas,  the  original 
settler  in  this  township,  was  born  October  30,  1826,  in  Adams  county, 
Ohio.  He  came  to  Illinois  with  his  father's  family  in  1831,  where  he 
has  since  resided.  Mr.  Thomas  has  been  twice  married.  His  first  wife 
was  Catherine  Pankake,  to  whom  he  was  married  December  23,  1850. 
In  November,  1858,  he  married  Maria  L.  Lewis,  with  whom  he  is  still 
living.  Man}r  of  the  incidents  contained  in  the  early  history  of  Mil- 
ford  township  are  furnished  by  Mr.  Thomas.  He  was  an  eye-witness 
of  all  that  he  relates,  and  the  early  history  of  Milford  is  a  record  of  the 
Thomas  family  since  1831.  Mr.  Thomas  is  a  republican. 

Bcthuel  P.  Williamson,  farmer,  Milford,  son  of  Samuel  and  Sarah 
Williamson,  was  born  in  Adams  county,  Ohio,  April  7,  1816.  Mr. 
Williamson's  grandfather  manufactured  gunpowder  for  the  American 
army  during  the  American  revolution.  For  this  powder  he  received 
his  pay  in  Continental  money,  and  in  the  financial  collapse  at  the  close 
of  the  war  he  lost  the  avails  of  his  seven  years'  work.  Mr.  Williamson's 
father  served  in  the  war  of  1812,  under  McArthur,  and  was  present 
when  Flynn  and  Coy  were  murdered  by  Indians.  He  was  one  of  the 


MILFORD   TOWNSHIP.  153 

scouts  sent  after  the  Indians.  The  family  removed  to  Fountain  county, 
Indiana,  in  1825,  where  they  remained  seven  years.  They  then  came 
to  Iroquois  county  and  settled  in  Crab  Apple,  where  they  remained 
seventeen  years.  The  father  died  in  Belmont.  Mr.  Williamson  con- 
tinued with  his  father  until  his  marriage,  in  1840,  to  Miss  Margaret 
Williams.  His  second  wife  was  Ellen  Kelley.  He  was  married  to  his 
third  wife,  Miss  Ellen  Huston,  November  22,  1860.  Miss  Huston  is 
the  daughter  of  Mrs.  Susannah  Tullis,  who  was  born  in  Hamilton 
county,  Ohio,  December  21,  1808.  Mr.  Williamson's  house  was  en- 
tirely consumed  by  fire  early  on  the  morning  of  January  2,  1875,  dur- 
ing a  furious  snow-storm.  The  family  barely  escaped,  saving  but  few 
articles.  The  origin  of  the  fire  was  never  discovered.  Mr.  Williamson 
is  one  of  the  very  early  settlers  of  Iroquois  county,  and  has  experienced 
the  hardships  and  vicissitudes  of  frontier  life.  He  saw  many  Indians. 
He  also  witnessed  the  first  hanging  in  this  county,  at  Bunkum.  Mr. 
Williamson,  together  with  his  father  and  brother,  assisted  in  building 
Pickerel's  horse-mill,  at  Mil  ford.  Two  of  his  sons  served  through  the 
civil  war  in  the  76th  Ind.  Vol.  These  sons  were  engaged  in  the  battles 
around  Yicksburg,  and  at  Fort  Blakeley,  and  were  nearly  lost  in  the 
steamer  Peabody  during  the  passage  from  New  Orleans  to  Mobile. 
Many  of  the  incidents  related  in  the  history  of  Mil  ford  are  furnished 
by  Mr.  Williamson.  In  politics  he  is  a  republican. 

Hiram  Venn  urn,  Milford,  farmer,  was  born  in  Washington  county, 
Pennsylvania,  July  31,  1814.  His  parents  were  Thomas  and  Elizabeth 
Vennum.  His  father  held  the  rank  of  colonel  in  the  war  of  1812,  and 
was  detailed  to  serve  on  a  court-martial  summoned  to  try  a  company 
of  soldiers  who  were  enlisted  in  his  county,  and  left  the  field  and  re- 
turned home  without  being  discharged.  The  family  came  to  Milford 
in  the  fall  of  1834,  and  first  settled  on  Sugar  creek,  where  they  re- 
mained three  years.  Mr.  Thomas  Vennum  then  entered  a  large  tract  of 
land  on  the  prairie  in  the  north  part  of  the  township,  and  their  future 
home  was  established  on  "  The  Mound,"  lot  8  in  the  N.  W.  £  of  Sec.  2, 
where  Hiram  Vennum  now  resides.  Mr.  Vennum  was  married  March, 
1844,  to  Miss  Nancy  Wagner.  Many  of  the  details  of  the  early  history 
of  Milford  are  furnished  by  Mr.  Vennum.  He  has  been  intimately 
connected  with  the  events  that  have  transpired  during  his  long  resi- 
dence here.  Mr.  Vennum's  parents  and  many  relatives  now  lie  buried 
in  the  graveyard  west  of  Mr.  Vennum's  house.  Mr.  Vennum  is  still 
in  the  enjoyment  of  good  health.  He  says  that  he  never  used  liquor 
or  tobacco  in  any  form,  nor  ever  played  a  game  of  chance  in  his  life. 

Robert  Nilson,  Milford,  farmer,  son  of  John  and  Susanna  Nilson, 
was  born  in  Brown  county,  Ohio,  September  20, 1817.    His  father  served 
10 


154  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

under  Gen.  Harrison  in  the  war  of  1812.  In  1827,  they  moved  from 
Ohio  to  Fountain  county,  Indiana,  where  they  remained  five  years. 
In  the  spring  of  1834  they  removed  to  Milford  township,  where  their 
parents  died.  Mr.  Nilson  was  married,  March  12, 1839,  to  Miss  Susan 
L.  Wagner,  and  has  since  continued  to  reside  in  the  township.  Mr. 
Nilson  was  for  many  years  county  surveyor,  and  there  is  scarcely  a  forty- 
acre  tract  that  he  has  not  traversed.  At  the  time  of  his  coming  here  the 
county-seat  had  not  been  located,  and  the  county  court  was,  for  one  or 
two  years,  held  at  Mr.  Nilson's  house.  At  that  time  not  a  house  stood 
on  the  prairie.  Mr.  N".  has  been  largely  identified  with  the  growth 
and  progress  of  Iroquois  county,  and  is  held  in  high  estimation  by  his 
townsmen.  He  has  held  many  important  local  offices,  and  both  he 
and  Mrs.  Nilson  are  still  in  the  enjoyment  of  health  and  vigor.  Mr. 
Nilson  has  a  vivid  remembrance  of  the  "  olden  time,"  and  many  of  his 
experiences  are  recorded  in  the  history  of  Milford  township. 

Mrs.  Susannah  Beck,  Milford,  was  born  in  Mrfflin  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, June  2,  1821.  Her  father,  Isaac  Body,  is  still  living  and  in 
his  ninety-sixth  year.  The  family  removed  to  Indiana,  near  Coving- 
ton,  where  they  remained  several  years,  and  in  1835  came  to  Milford 
and  settled  near  Sugar  creek  on  section  10.  Miss  Body  was  first  married 
to  George  Gray,  October  21,  1841,  who  was  born  June  26,  1819,  in 
Warren  county,  Ohio,  and  died  August  8,  1861.  She  afterward  mar- 
ried Jacob  Beck,  in  August,  1863,  with  whom  she  is  still  living.  Mrs. 
Beck  well  remembers  and  describes  the  peculiar  incidents  of  pioneer 
life.  She  is  a  member  of  the  United  Brethren  church.  Her  father 
has  been  a  man  of  remarkable  physical  powers,  as  is  shown  by  the 
great  age  he  has  already  attained. 

Robert  L.  Williams,  Milford,  farmer,  was  born  in  Indiana,  February 
19,  1828.  His  parents  came  from  Ohio  to  Indiana,  where  they  lived 
several  years.  They  then  removed  to  Illinois,  and  settled  where  Joliet 
now  stands.  At  the  commencement  of  the  Black  Hawk  war,  the 
parents  returned  to  Indiana,  settling  in  Warren  county.  About  the  year 
1835  they  again  left  Indiana,  and  located  on  Sugar  creek  in  Milford 
township,  and  died  there.  The  son,  Robert,  came  with  them,  and  has 
remained  ever  since  in  this  township  with  the  exception  of  seven  years, 
from  1840  to  1847,  when  he  lived  in  Vermilion  county.  In  1850  he 
married  Diana  Rothgeb ;  she  died  March  28,  1855.  He  was  subse- 
quently married  to  Mrs.  Priscilla  Sturdevant,  February  13,  1865.  Mr. 
Williams  has  a  fine  location,  and  is  a  prosperous  farmer.  He  was  a 
democrat  until  two  years  since,  when  he  united  with  the  greenback 
party. 

Michael  Harness,  Milford,  farmer,  was  born  in  Ross  county,  Ohio, 


MILFORD   TOWNSHIP.  155 

September  12,  1813.  His  parents  were  John  and  Prudy  Harness. 
The  family  emigrated  to  Indiana  in  the  fall  of  1829,  when  soon  after 
the  father  died.  The  mother  died  in  1820.  Mr.  Harness'  father  and 
an  uncle,  George  Clifford,  served  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  were  among 
the  forces  surrendered  by  Hull  at  Detroit.  His  uncle  died  while  in 
the  United  States  service.  Mr.  Harness  came  to  Illinois,  and  afterward 
returned  to  Warren  county,  Indiana,  where  he  remained  several  years. 
Returning  to  Illinois,  in  1836,  he  settled  in  Iroquois  county,  town  of 
Milford,  where  he  was  married  July  22,  1836,  to  Miss  Sally  Thomas. 
She  died  in  the  fall  of  1857.  As  will  be  seen,  Mr.  Harness  is  one  of 
those  who  participated  in  all  the  privations  incident  to  frontier  life,  and 
whose  record  is  a  part  of  the  early  history  of  this  county.  Mr.  Har- 
ness did  not  marry  again,  but  himself  reared  the  eight  young  children 
left  by  his  wife,  giving  them  his  undivided  and  devoted  attention. 
Mr.  Harness  is  still  in  vigorous  health,  and  lives  with  his  children.  He 
is  one  of  the  men  who  make  history.  In  politics  he  is  a  stanch 
republican. 

Asa  B.  Thomas,  Milford,  farmer  and  constable,  was  born  in  Milford 
township,  September  27,  1838.  His  parents  were  William  and  Mary 
Jane  Thomas.  The  family  moved  from  Wehaw  Plains,  Indiana,  to 
Illinois.  He  received  the  rudiments  of  a  common-school  education  in  a 
log  house  southwest  one  mile.  His  parents  were  among  those  who 
were  occasionally  alarmed  by  reports  of  hostile  Indians,  mentioned  in 
township  history  of  Milford.  Mr.  Thomas  was  employed  on  the  farm 
until  twenty-one  years  of  age.  No  events  of  special  interest  had 
occurred  in  his  life  up  to  this  time.  On  December  9,  1863,  Mr. 
Thomas  enlisted  at  Danville  in  Co.  K,  76th  111.  Yol.  Inf.,  and  served 
in  this  regiment  until  August,  1865,  when  he  was  transferred  to  Co. 
K,  37th  111.  Vet.  Yol.  Inf.,  at  Galveston,  Texas.  While  in  the  76th 
Mr.  Thomas  saw  severe  service,  participating  in  the  battles  of  Jackson 
and  Canton,  Mississippi,  and  of  Fort  Blakeley,  Alabama.  In  July, 
1864,  while  on  the  skirmish  line,  he  was  sun-struck  and  fell  into  the 
enemy's  hands.  He  remained  a  prisoner  about  sixty  days;  was  also- 
sick  three  months  with  measles;  has  been  twice  wounded.  From  Fort 
Blakeley  he  was  sent  to  Selma,  thence  to  Mobile,  thence  to  Galveston, 
where  he  was  actively  employed  until  honorably  discharged  May  15, 
1866.  After  working  as  carpenter  for  eighteen  months  at  Hempstead, 
Texas,  Mr.  Thomas  went  to  Limestone  county  and  followed  the  busi- 
ness of  potter.  Here  he  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  E.  Knox  in 
November,  1866,  whose  parents  had  previously  moved  to  Texas  from 
Illinois.  Mr.  Thomas  continued  to  work  as  a  potter  until  1871.  At 
this  time  he  became  involved  in  a  serious  difficulty  with  Shirley  Hen- 


156  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

derson,  who  had  attacked  him.  The  result  of  this  was  the  death  of 
Henderson.  Thomas  gave'  himself  up,  but  fearing  mob  violence 
subsequently  made  his  escape  to  Illinois.  While  working  here  he 
was  arrested  by  the  sheriff  of  Limestone  county,  taken  to  Texas, 
tried,  convicted  and  sentenced  to  be  hung.  He  succeeded  in  obtain- 
ing a  new  trial ;  a  change  of  venue  was  had,  and  Thomas  was  hon- 
orably acqui'tted.  To  show  the  direction  of  public  opinion  in  the 
matter,  it  is  only  necessary  to  state  that  bail  to  the  amount  of  $50,000 
was  promptly  offered,  but  refused  by  the  court  through  fear.  He 
has  since  resided  in  Milford,  and  served  as  constable  in  this  township. 

Mrs.  Sarah  Strain,  Milford,  was  born  in  "Washington  county,  Indi- 
ana, September  22, 1823.  Her  parents  were  Robert  and  Sarah  Harvey. 
Two  of  her  brothers  served  through  the  Mexican  war,  and  four 
brothers:  William,  Elliott,  James  and  Wallace  served  through  the 
war  of  secession.  William  fell  at  Shiloh,  while  acting  colonel  of  the 
8th  reg.  111.  Yol.  Elliott  was  a  captain  in  an  Iowa*regiment ;  James 
and  Wallace  in  Indiana  regiments.  Sarah  Harvey  was  married  to 
David  Strain,  April  2, 1840,  having  come  to  Illinois  in  1839.  He  died 
January  12,  1866.  He  was  a  farmer.  Of  two  sons,  one  is  living;  the 
other,  James  H.,  enlisted  in  the  113th  111.  Inf.,  and  died  at  Memphis 
of  measles,  December  24,  1862.  John  Strain,  father  of  David,  one  of 
the  earliest  settlers  of  Iroquois  county,  served  in  the  war  of  1812, 
moved  to  Illinois  in  1834,  and  died  March  29.  1866.  Mrs.  Strain  has 
six  daughters  living,  and  through  life  has  been  a  devoted  member  of 
the  Methodist  church. 

Zimri  Hobson,  farmer  and  local  preacher,  Milford,  son  of  Andrew 
and  Ruthea  Hobson,  was  born  in  Highland  county,  fOhio,  January 
27,  1820.  The  family  left  Ohio  in  1827,  and  settled  in  Warren  county, 
Indiana,  and  afterward  moved  to  Iowa,  where  the  parents  died.  Mr. 
Hobson  was  married  in  Indiana,  March  21, 1841,  to  Miss  Mary  A.  Way- 
mire,  and  settled  in  Iroquois  county,  Stockland  township,  until  the  fall  of 
1876,  when  -he  came  to  Milford.  Having  sold  his  farm  [he  invested  a 
large  share  of  his  means  in  merchandise,  but  lost  his  investment.  He 
is  domiciled  in  a  pleasant  home.  Mr.  H.  has  been  a  prominent  and  con- 
sistent Methodist  for  thirty-nine  years.  He  is  a  Master  Mason,  and  has 
filled  several  township  offices  acceptably.  Mr.  H.  has  shown  in  his 
life  how  a  strong  determination  can  triumph  over  early  defects  in 
education.  He  is  entirely  self-taught,  and  yet  is  proficient  in  the 
ordinary  branches  of  an  English  education.  He  has  led  a  laborious 
and  Christian  life,  and  is  highly  esteemed. 

The  Strickler  family  was  among  the  first  located  in  the  present  town 
of  Milford.  The  father,  John  B.  Strickler,  was  born  in  Page  county,  Yir- 


MILFOKD   TOWNSHIP.  157 

ginia,  in  1803,  and  in  1824  was  married  to  Miss  Barbara  Brubaker,  who 
survives  him.  While  living  in  Virginia  Mr.  Strickler  was  extensively 
engaged  in  milling  on  the  Shenandoah.  In  1837  the  family  came  to 
Milford,  where  he  again  engaged  in  milling.  He  also  kept  a  store  and 
erected  the  first  brick  [house  in  town.  In  this  house  he  lived  many 
years  keeping  tavern,  and  was  also  postmaster.  Mr.  Strickler's  father 
served  through  the  American  revolution  with  the  rank  of  colonel.  He 
himself  served  in  the  Mexican  war  with  the  rank  of  major.  The 
incidents  connected  with  the  early  settlement  of  this  family  in  Milford 
will  be  found  in  the  township  history.  The  father  died  in  March,  186T. 
Of  the  children,  three  sons  and  two  daughters  survive.  Of  the  sons, 
Isaac  N.  was  born  in  Newton,  Indiana,  August  10, 1846.  He  attended 
school  for  two  years  in  Chicago.  At  the  4age  of  eighteen  years  he 
enlisted  in  Co.  D,  150th  reg.  111.  ^Yol.  Inf.  This  regiment  was  sent 
to  Tennessee,  and  served  in  the  closing  campaigns  of  the  war.  He  was- 
honorably  discharged,  February,  1866,  at  Atlanta,  Georgia.  He  received 
a  saber-wound  on  the  hand  which  nearly  disabled  him.  With  the 
exception  of  three  months,  he  was  always  ready  for  duty.  He  was 
married,  April  22,  1874,  to  Miss  Minnie  Misch,  of  Milford.  John 
M.  Strickler  was  born  at  Milford,  May  27,  1842,  and  in  October 
1874,  was  married  to  Miss  Hannah  Collins.  John  M.  has  always  lived 
in  Milford ;  he  was  brought  up  on  the  farm.  He  has  filled  several 
important  local  offices.  The  brothers,  John  M.  and  Isaac  N.,  constitute 
the  firm  of  Strickler  Bros.,  and  since  the  close  of  the  war  have  been 
engaged  in  manufacturing  wagons.  They  are  now  conducting  an 
extensive  and  prosperous  business.  Isaac  is  a  Master  Mason  ;  John  is 
a  member  of  the  United  Brethren  church.  Both  the  brothers  are 
democrats. 

Harvey  Rush,  farmer,  Woodland,  son  "of  Samuel  Rush,  Jr.,  and 
Anna  Rush,  is  a  native  of  Milford  township,  and  was  born  August  12, 
1851.  He  attended  the  school  in  his  district  until  he  was  sufficiently 
advanced  in  his  studies,  when  he  was  sent  to  Onarga  Seminary,  where 
he  remained  two  years.  From  the  school  he  returned  to  the  farm,  and 
has  since  devoted  his  energies  to  the  successful  conduct  of  his  farm. 
He  was  married,  November  7,  1876,  to  Miss  Hattie  Garner.  He  is  now 
living  on  lot  8  of  the  N.E.  ^  of  Sec.  6,  which  he  inherited  from  his 
father.  It  is  known  as  the  "  Grandfather  Rush  "  farm.  That  Mr.  Rush 
has  established  a  character  for  business  enterprise  and  capacity  is  well 
shown  by  the  fact  that  he  was  named  in  his  grandfather's  will  as  the 
executor  of  his  estate.  In  politics  he  is  a  republican. 

Royal  Smith,  physician,  Milford,  son  of  Oliver  and  Littlefield  Smith, 
was  born  in  Jefferson  county,  New  York,  July  10,  1820.  His  mother 


158  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

was  a  lineal  descendant  of  a  "  Pilgrim  "  family.  His  father  was  an 
eminent  millwright ;  and  was  noted  for  the  accuracy  of  his  work.  He 
also  served  as  a  lieutenant  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  as  such  was  pen- 
sioned. The  family  removed  in  1839  to  La  Grange  county,  Indiana, 
where  the  parents  died.  Dr.  Smith  was  litted  for  college  at  Whites- 
boro  Academy,  and  graduated  from  Hamilton  College.  His  medical 
studies  \vere  commenced  at  Whitesboro  and  finished  at  New  York 
University,  of  which  institution  he  is  a  graduate.  In  1851  Dr.  Smith 
established  himself  in  practice  at  Milford,  where  he  has  since  resided. 
In  March,  1851,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Lucinda  Woodworth.  The 
doctor  is  one  of  the  veteran  practitioners  of  this  county.  At  one  time 
he  was  compelled  to  take  a  long  vacation,  on  account  of  impaired 
health.  He  is  at  the  present  time  conducting  a  successful  drug  busi- 
ness in  connection  with  an  extensive  practice.  Many  interesting  in- 
cidents of  "  early  times  "  are  related  by  the  doctor. 

Archibald  0.  Parkes,  farmer,  Milford,  son  of  William  and  Sarah 
Parkes,  was  born  in  Preble  county,  Ohio,  March  19, 1830.  His  grand- 
father, and  also  an  uncle,  Isaac  Creason,  served  in  the  war  of  1812. 
His  brother  James  served  through  the  Mexican  and  civil  wars.  The 
family  left  Ohio  in  1840  and  settled  in  Grant  county,  Indiana,  where 
his  father  died.  In  1852  Mr.  Parkes  and  mother  came  to  Milford 
township,  and  occupied  C.  Yennum's  farm  one  year.  In  1853  he  en- 
tered several  hundred  acres  of  government  land  in  section  1,  and  after- 
ward bought  the  place  where  he  now  resides.  On  May  3, 1857,  he  was 
married  to  Miss  Margaret  B.  Deeds,  of  Miami  county,  Indiana.  Miss 
Deeds,  daughter  of  William  and  Matilda  Deeds,  was  born  in  Coshocton 
county,  Ohio.  Her  parents  removed  to  Indiana.  Mr.  Parkes'  grand- 
father built  the  first  mill  in  Preble  county.  Mr.  Parks  now  has  a  fine 
farm  of  about  600  acres;  300  in  pasture  and  300  under  cultivation. 
Besides  this  property  he  owns  several  houses  and  lots  in  Milford. 
Every  year  he  feeds  and  ships  off  a  large  number  of  cattle  and  hogs. 
Yet  Mr.  Parkes  commenced  here  with  little  more  than  his  hands  and 
an  unbounded  supply  of  energy.  Some  of  the  township  history  is 
furnished  by  Mr.  Parkes. 

Charles  W.  Davis,  farmer  and  trader,  Milford,  T.  25  N.,  R.  12  W. 
2d  principal  meridian,  was  born  in  Fairfield  county,  Ohio,  May  20, 
1837.  His  parents  were  Jonathan  and  Elizabeth  Davis.  The  family 
moved  to  Milford  in  1853,  where  the  parents  died.  Mr.  Davis  received 
a  good  common-school  education.  His  life  was  passed  in  active  busi- 
ness pursuits  up  to  the  year  1863,  when  he  enlisted  in  Co.  H,  llth 
Ind.  Cav.,  at  La  Fayette.  This  regiment  made  an  honorable  record, 
finally  culminating  in  the  battle  of  Nashville.  Soon  after  enlisting, 


MILFORD   TOWNSHIP.  159 

Mr.  Davis  contracted  a  violent  rheumatic  complaint,  which  has  since 
permanently  disabled  him.  He  was  furloughed  in  1864,  then  returned 
to  his  regiment  at  Edgefield,  Tennessee ;  afterward  had  a  relapse,  arid 
was  honorably  discharged  in  May,  1865.  He  was  married,  December  6, 
1868,  to  Miss  Anna  Curalie,  and  has  continued  to  reside  in  Milford. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  United  Brethren  church ;  was  a  war  democrat, 
and  now  of  the  greenback  party. 

Jasper  Burt,  farmer,  Milford,  is  a  native  of  Milford.  He  was  born 
July  9,  1853.  His  parents,  Solomon  and  Elizabeth  Burt,  lived  on  the 
northeast  quarter  of  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  24.  They  died  in 
the  fall  of  1858.  Mr.  Burt  was  married,  June  9,  1875,  to  Miss 
Lucinda  A.  Johnson,  in  Stockland  township,  where  he  resided  two 
seasons.  His  education  was  obtained  at  the  old  Gothic  school-house. 
Mr.  Burt  is  an  enterprising  and  industrious  young  man,  and  bids  fair 
to  make  a  successful  career. 

James  T.  Yates,  laborer,  Milford,  was  born  in  Licking  county, 
Ohio,  August  21,  1830.  His  parents  were  William  and  Anna  Yates. 
They  died  when  James  was  an  infant,  leaving  him  to  the  care  of  an 
uncle.  In  1853  he  came  to  Milford,  where  he  engaged  in  milling 
until  1861,  when  he  enlisted  in  the  42d  111.  Vol.  He  remained  in 
the  service  until  1862,  when  he  was  discharged,  having  lost  an  eye. 
He  reenlisted  in  1864  in  the  134th  111.  Yol.  and  mustered  out  the  fol- 
lowing November.  He  was  married,  December  6, 1868,  to  Mrs.  Anna 
Yaining,  whose  husband  had  died  in  Andersonville.  Mr.  Yates  is  a 
member  of  the  M.  E.  church;  also  an  Odd-Fellow.  In  politics  he  is 
a  republican. 

Mrs.  Lucretia  Laird,  Milford,  was  born  in  Tippecanoe  county,  Indi- 
ana, March  4, 1827.  Her  parents  were  John  and  Barbara  Pruitt.  She 
was  married,  April  4,  1847,  to  Elias  Laird.  In  1854  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Laird  left  Indiana,  and  coming  to  Milford  township  settled  on  section 
32,  put  up  a  shanty,  fenced  thirty  acres  of  land  and  put  in  a  crop  of 
wheat.  Mr.  Laird  turned  his  attention  principally  to  raising  cattle. 
Mr.  Laird  was  born  in  Ohio,  February  20,  1824,  and  died  October  1, 
1874.  Mrs.  Laird  retains  the  farm,  but  at  present  is  living  in  the  vil- 
lage of  Milford.  She  is  a  member  of  the  United  Brethren  church. 

Charles  W.  Dawson,  farmer,  Milford,  was  born  in  Ross  county, 
Ohio,  May  15,  1814.  His  parents,  Leonard  and  Mary  Jane  Dawson, 
died  in  Ohio.  Mr.  Dawson  left  Ohio  in  1834,  and  came  to  Warren 
county,  Indiana,  where  he  was  married,  December  18,  1834,  to  Miss 
Mary  J.  Hooker.  He  remained  in  Warren  county  about  fifteen  years, 
and  then  removed  to  Benton  county".  Here  he  remained  about  five 
years.  He  again  removed,  settling  in  Milford  township  in  1854,  on 


160  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

section  27,  where  he  still  lives.  Two  sons,  Lewis  and  Smiley,  enlisted 
in  the  late  war.  Smiley  enlisted  in  1861  in  Co.  B,  51st  Ind.  Vol. ; 
discharged  November  15, 1862.  He  again  enlisted  in  the  fall  of  1863, 
and  died  in  a  rebel  prison  from  the  effects  of  a  wound  received  at  Gun- 
town.  Lewis  enlisted  in  Co.  D,  150th  111.  Yols.,  and  was  discharged 
January  16,  1866.  Mr.  Dawson's  farm  lay  in  the  track  of  the  tornado 
which  passed  over  this  county  in  1866.  He  is  a  republican.  Mr. 
Dawson  is  one  of  the  best  known  men  in  this  county. 

Andrew  J.  Endsley,  stock-dealer  and  farmer,  Milford,  son  of  Peter 
and  Mary  Endsley,  was  born  in  Wayne  county,  Indiana,  June  22,  1824, 
and  raised  in  Shelby  county.  His  father  served  in  the  Black  Hawk 
war ;  was  a  farmer.  A.  J.  Endsley  was  married  December  27, 1846,  to 
Miss  Matilda  Scott.  In  1854  he  removed  to  Iroquois  county,  and  settled 
four  miles  south  of  Milford,  where  he  remained  twelve  years,  engaged 
in  farming  and  stock-raising ;  thence  to  Milford,  where  he  now  re- 
sides. Mr.  Endsley  is  essentially  a  self-made  'man,  having  never  at- 
tended school  except  six  months  in  a  log  house.  His  brother  Henry 
served  in  the  Mexican  war  under  Gen.  Scott,  marching  to  the  city  of 
Mexico,  and  participated  in  all  the  battles  of  that  campaign.  Mr. 
Endsley  has  filled  several  minor  offices ;  is  a  Royal  Arch  Mason,  being 
one  of  two  charter  members  of  the  lodge  in  Milford  now  living. 
He  has  been  successful  in  business  pursuits. 

Samuel  Bower,  blacksmith,  Milford,  was  born  -  in  Pennsylvania, 
December  24, 1829  ;  moved  to  Milford  in  1855.  Since  that  time  he  has 
worked  steadily  at  his  trade,  not  being  from  home  more  than  seven 
months  in  that  time.  He  was  married,  in  1859,  to  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Moffit. 
He  is  entirely  self-taught.  His  early  life  was  spent  as  canal  boy,  and  he 
has  passed  through  the  usual  rough  and  exciting  scenes  of  canal  life. 
Mr.  Bower  occupies  as  a  smithy  the  first  school-house  built  in  Milford. 
In  politics  he  is  a  republican. 

Henry  L.  Fanning,  farmer,  Milford,  was  born  in  Fauquier  county, 
Virginia,  September  6,  1828.  The  family  record  will  be  found  in  the 
biography  of  John  Fanning,  Sr.,  whose  brother  he  is.  Mr.  Fanning 
went  from  Ohio  to  California  in  1852,  whence  he  returned  in  1856, 
and  came  to  Milford  the  same  year.  He  located  on  section  11,  where  he 
has  since  resided,  wholly  engaged  in  farming.  Mr.  Fanning  has  a  very 
fine  farm,  and  has  been  successful  in  business.  On  January  1,  1852, 
he  was  married  to  Miss  Marcissa  Johnson,  whose  grandfather  served 
through  the  war  of  independence.  Mr.  Fanning  enjoyed  such  educa- 
tional advantages  as  were  afforded  by  the  schools  of  the  early  period, 
and  has  witnessed  the  sweeping  changes  that  have  occurred  in  this 
county.  He  is  a  Master  Mason,  and  has  held  no  important  office. 
He  belongs  to  the  greenback  party. 


MILFORD    TOWNSHIP.  161 

Jonas  M.  Rush,  farmer,  "Woodland,  son  of  Samuel  Rush,  Jr.,  and 
Anna  Rush,  and  brother  of  Harvey,  was  born  in  Milford,  February 
11,  1856.  Jonas  and  George  Rush  are  twin  brothers.  He  received  a 
good  common-school  education,  and  was  married,  March  14,  1878,  to 
Miss  Josie  Johnson.  He  is  residing  upon  and  cultivating  his  farm  of 
110  acres,  whic,h  he  also  inherited  from  his  father,  the  same  being  lot 
8  in  the  N.W.  %  of  Sec.  5.  Mr.  Rush  is  giving  especial  attention  to 
raising  stock.  |He  is  a  member  of  t  the  United  Brethren  church  ;  and, 
like  all  of  his  family,  republican  in  politics. 

James  A.  Laird,  policej  justice  and  assistant  postmaster,  Milford, 
was  born  in  Ohio  May  30,  1830.  His  parents  were  Samuel  J.  and 
Delila  Laird.  The  father  was  engaged  in  farming,  milling  and  dealing 
in  live-stock.  The  family  moved  to  Indiana  in  1840,  where  he  engaged 
in  a  variety  of  occupations.  In  1856  he  removed  to  Illinois,  having 
previously  secured  a  large  tract  of  land  near  Milford.  He  gave  each 
of  his  sons,  six  in  number,  160  acres  of  land,  and  afterward  each  of 
his  three  daughters  80  acres  or  an  equivalent,  reserving  240  acres 
for  himself.  He  died  in  August,  1871;  the  mother  in  February,  1877. 
Three  sons,  Elias,  John  and  George,  died  within  one  week,  and  Charles 
shortly  after,  all  of  the  same  disease.  Another  brother,  Robert, 
enlisted  in  the  76th  111.  Vol.  in  1861,  and  soon  after  died  of  same 
disease — typhoid  fever.  James  A.  removed  to  Milford  October,  1877, 
where  he  still  resides.  He  was  married,  March  4, 1852.  to  Miss  Permelia 
Long.  His  life  has  been  an  uneventful  one. 

Milton  L.  Biggs,  keeper  of  livery  and  feed  stable,  Milton,  son  of 
Matthew  and  Mary  Biggs,  was  born  November  22,  1841,  in  Dearborn 
county,  Indiana.  His  father  was  a  farmer,  and  is  supposed  to  have  per- 
ished in  the  explosion  of  a  steamboat  on  which  he  was.  Mr.  Biggs  came 
to  Milford  in  1857  and  remained  until  1868,  engaged  in  farming.  He 
then  returned  to  Indiana,  and  was  married,  October  23,  1868,  to  Adeline 
Mote.  He  again  came  to  Milford  in  January,  1879,  and  bought  the  livery 
stock  where  he  now  is.  Mr.  Biggs  is  a  notable  example  of  what  energy 
will  accomplish  under  very  adverse  circumstances.  "When  seventeen 
years  of  age  he  was  severely  injured  and  made  a  cripple  for  life,  having 
his  breast  crushed  under  the  hoof  of  a  horse  from  which  he  had  fallen. 
He  is  a  democrat. 

Edward  Reed,  school  teacher,  Milford,  son  of  Thomas  and  Elmyra 
Reed,  was  born  in  Newark,  Ohio,  August  18, 1848  ;  obtained  his  educa- 
tion in  the  common  schools  of  his  native  state ;  came  to  Milford, 
Illinois,  alone,  in  August,  1857,  and  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits  for 
about  three  years.  He  was  married,  November  10,  1870,  to  Miss  Sarah 
E.  Lemley.  Mr.  Reed  was  in  active  business  until  1870,  when  he  com- 


162  HISTORY    OF   IKOQUOIS   COUNTY. 

menced  teaching  in  this  and  Stockland  townships,  and  has  continued 
to  teach,  with  a  short  interruption,  to  the  present  time.  He  has 
held  the  offices  of  assessor  and  assistant  postmaster,  and  is  now  village 
clerk.  Mr.  Reed  offered  himself  as  a  soldier,  but  the  military  authori- 
ties refused  him,  in  consequence  of  his  having  lost  three  fingers  from 
his  left  hand  when  a  child.  Mr.  Reed  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist 
church  and  an  Odd-Fellow,  and  belongs  to  the  greenback  party. 

Samuel  Euans,  farmer,  Milford,  was  born  in  Logan  county,  Ohio, 
April  15,  1807.  His  father,  Joseph  Euans,  served  in  the  war  of  1812, 
and  was  under  Harrison  at  Fort  Meigs  at  the  time  of  Hull's  surrender. 
He  held  a  captain's  commission  and  raised  a  company  for  the  war. 
Mr.  Euans  says,  that  during  his  father's  absence  his  mother  frequently 
went  out  and  chopped  wood  in  the  deep  snow  to  keep  her  children 
warm  ;  and  that  for  six  months  at  a  time  the  family  did  not  see  a  mor- 
sel of  bread  ;  they  lived  on  meat  and  corn  pounded  in  a  hollow  block. 
Mr.  Euans'  grandfather  served  seven  years  under  the  immediate  com- 
mand of  Gen.  Washington.  When  a  boy  he  has  often  visited  the 
Indians  and  witnessed  their  sports.  His  parents  lived  and  died  in  Ohio. 
In  1830  he  was  married  to  Miss  Jemima  Buckley.  His  son  William 
served  in  an  Illinois  volunteer  regiment  fifteen  months.  The  family 
came  to  Iroquois  county  in  1858,  and  to  Milford  in  1877,  where  Mr. 
Euans  and  wife  have  since  resided. 

Thomas  Loveless,  stock-dealer,  Milford,  was  born  in  Ross  county, 
Ohio,  May  4,  1839.  His  parents  were  William  and  Mary  Loveless. 
The  family  removed  from  Ohio  in  1841,  and  came  to  Tippecanoe 
county,  Indiana.  His  father  was  a  farmer,  and  continued  to  reside  in 
Indiana  until  his  death.  His  mother  also  died  there.  Mr.  Loveless 
continued  to  reside  with  his  parents  until  the  year  1858.  He  was  mar- 
ried, July  27,  1858,  to  Miss  Harriet  Funk,  and  in  1859  removed  to 
Milford,  and  settled,  where  he  now  resides,  on  section  21.  Mr.  Love- 
less' grandfather  served  in  the  war  of  1812. 

William  Misch,  grocer,  Milford,  was  born  in  Germany,  September 
20,  1852.  His  parents  are  August  and  Rachel  Misch.  His  father  was 
a  soldier  in  the  Prussian  army.  The  family  came  to  the  United  States 
in  1861,  and  located  in  Milford.  Mr.  Misch  obtained  his  education  in 
the  Milford  public  school.  He  afterward  worked  on  a  farm  four  years ; 
then  spent  eleven  years  as  a  clerk.  In  April,  1879,  he  purchased  the 
stock  of  groceries  of  Mr.  John  Holmes,  and  is  now  successfully  con- 
ducting the  business  on  an  extensive  scale.  Mr.  Misch  is  a  member  of 
the  Odd-Fellow  and  Good  Templar  lodges  of  Milford. 

Mrs.  Phoebe  Laird,  farmer,  Milford,  daughter  of  John  and  Catherine 
Burget,  and  widow  of  John  Laird,  was  born  in  Tippecanoe  county, 


MILFORD    TOWNSHIP.  163 

Indiana,  November  28,  1833.  She  was  married  to  John  Laird,  March 
27,  1851.  In  the  spring  of  1858  they  removed  to  Iroquois  county,  and 
settled  in  the  town  of  Milford,  section  29.  One  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  of  this  tract  was  given  to  Mr.  Laird  by  his  father,  who  had  en- 
tered the  land.  Mr.  Laird  was  one  of  three  brothers,  Elias,  John  and 
George,  all  of  whom  died  within  the  same  week  of  typhoid  fever; 
John  dying  September  30,  1874.  Mrs.  Laird  continues  to  reside  at 
the  homestead  where  her  husband  died. 

George  W.  Haines,  farmer,  Milford,  son  of  Havey  H.  and  Jane 
Haines,  was  born  in  Stockland,  Illinois,  January  27,  1861.  His  mother 
was  Jane  Freeman.  The  father  died  in  1867,  the  mother  in  1870. 
Mr.  Haines  is  unmarried,  and  is  living  with  his  brother-in-law,  James 
~W.  Haxton.  Mr.  Haxton  was  born  in  Connecticut,  February  15,  1836, 
which  state  he  left  in  1855.  In  1861  Mr.  Haxton  came  to  Milford 
township,  and  October  21,  1869,  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Haines. 
He  enlisted,  July  28,  1862,  in  Co.  E,  76th  111.  Yol.  Inf.,  and  was  dis- 
charged as  sergeant  August  6,  1865.  He  was  wounded  at  Jackson, 
Mississippi,  in  1864 ;  served  in  all  the  battles  in  which  his  regiment 
was  engaged  up  to  the  time  of  being  wounded.  Mr.  Haxton's  paternal 
grandfather  served  through  the  American  revolution.  He  was  edu- 
cated in  Connecticut,  and  is  a  Master  Mason ;  in  politics  a  republican. 

John  Fanning,  Jr.,  farmer  and  stock-dealer,  Woodland,  is  the  son 
of  John  Fanning,  Sr.,  and  Mary  Fanning.  He  was  born  in  Fairfield 
county,  Ohio,  September  18,  1850.  He  came  to  the  town  of  Milford 
with  his  parents,  but  has  been  acting  on  his  own  account  since  he  was 
sixteen  years  of  age.  At  this  early  age  he  commenced  dealing  in  cattle 
for  himself,  and  has  shown  great  aptitude  for  business,  and  has  been 
generally  successful  in  his  operations.  His  education  was  obtained  at 
the  Milford  public  school,  than  which  there  is  none  better  in  this  sec- 
tion of  the  state.  He  was  married,  December  28,  1876,  to  Miss  Mar- 
garet A.  Montgomery,  and  has  a  beautiful  home  on  lot  6  in  the  north- 
east corner  of  section  4.  Like  his  father,  Mr.  Fanning  is  a  young  man 
of  great  energy  of  character,  and  a  successful  business  man.  He  is. an 
Odd-Fellow  and  a  republican. 

John  D.  Webs,ter,  farmer,  Milford,  son  of  Robert  and  Mary  Jane 
Webster,  was  born  November  24,  1841,  in  Armagh  county,  Ireland. 
The  family  emigrated  to  the  United  States  in  1842,  landing  at  Quebec, 
and  settling  in  Fairfield  county,  Ohio,  where  they  remained  about  six 
years.  They  then  removed  to  Montgomery  county,  Indiana,  and  in 
1861  came  to  Milford,  and  settled  upon  the  land  now  occupied  by 
Robert  Webster.  Mr.  Webster  was  married,  April  5,  1876,  to  Miss 
Sarah  E.  Williamson.  Mr.  Webster  had  decided  to  prepare  himself  for 


164  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

a  professional  career,  and  to  this  end  was  studying  and  teaching ;  but 
while  diligently  working  to  accomplish  this  cherished  purpose,  his 
brother,  who  was  living  with  the  parents,  was  drowned  in  Sugar  creek. 
This  sad  event  changed  the  entire  current  of  his  life.  He  was  now 
the  only  son,  and  he  yielded  to  the  desire  of  his  parents,  and  devoted 
himself  to  the  farm.  Mr.  Webster,  together  with  his  father,  has  taken 
a  prominent  part  in  the  movement  for  improving  the  breed  of  horses 
in  this  county,  and  is  at  present  president  of  the  Milford  Live  Stock 
Importing  Co. 

Mrs.  Mary  Hoover,  Milford,  daughter  of  William  and  Elizabeth 
Lovelace,  was  born  in  Pickaway  county,  Ohio,  September  25,  1816. 
Mrs.  Hoover  comes  of  a  patriotic  family.  Her  father  served  in  the  war 
of  1812,  and  was  surrendered  at  Detroit.  Her  grandparents  were 
among  the  pioneers  in  Kentucky,  and  endured  for  a  time  a  terrible 
captivity  among  the  Indians.  In  1836  she  married  Josiah  B.  Hoover, 
whose  father  was  also  surrendered  at  Detroit.  J.  B.  Hoover  was  born 
in  Ross  county,  Ohio,  February  25,  1815.  The  family  removed  to 
Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana,  in  1854,  where  they  remained  until  1861, 
when  the  parents  with  several  of  the  children  came  to  Milford  to  care 
for  the  family  of  a  son,  who  had  already  enlisted.  Mrs.  Hoover  is  the 
mother  of  ten  sons  and  six  daughters.  The  husband,  six  sons  and  one 
son-in-law  enlisted  and  served  through  the  civil  war ;  the  father,  J. 
B.  Hoover,  in  the  116th  Ind.  Yol.  Of  the  sons,  William  H.,  Harvey, 
Ethan,  and  Michael  served  in  the  51st  111.  Yol.  Harvey  and  Michael 
were  afterward  transferred  to  the  marine  service.  George  enlisted  in 
Co.  B,  17th  Ind.  Yol.  Inf.  John  E.  served  in  the  26th  Ind.  Yol. 
Michael  was  engaged  in  nearly  all  the  severe  battles  in  which  his 
regiment  participated.  At  Corinth,  with  ten  others,  he  was  captured 
and  sent  to  Libby  prison,  where  he  remained  four  months,  and  was  then 
exchanged.  Ethan  was  severely  wounded  in  the  leg  at  Chickamauga, 
where  he  was  made  a  prisoner.  He  was  in  Richmond  prison  seven 
months  and  ten  days.  He  still  suffers  from  the  effects  of  that  wound. 
It  would  be  impossible  to  write  the  entire  war  record  of  this  remarkable 
family.  Few  families  have  made  a  better  record,  or  have  contributed 
more  to  secure  the  results  of  the  war.  The  father  has  filled  the  office 
of  justice  of  the  peace  for  seven  years.  Mrs.  Hoover  is  still  in  vigorous 
health,  though  prematurely  gray  in  consequence  of  the  great  trials  of 
her  life.  She  bravely  sent  her  husband  and  sons  to  the  war,  and  during 
their  absence  provided  and  cared  for  a  numerous  family  of  children  and 
grandchildren.  Not  one  of  the  family  has  ever  received  a  dollar  of 
pension  money.  The  sons  are  now  working  at  their  various  trades. 
*  John  Fanning,  Sr.,  stock-dealer,  Milford,  was  born  in  Fauquier 


MILFORD   TOWNSHIP.  165 

county,  Virginia,  April  13,  1823.  His  parents  were  Joseph  and  Lucy 
Fanning.  His  father  served  in  the  war  of  1812,  was  in  active  service, 
and  died  in  Fairfield  county,  Ohio.  Mr.  Fanning  came  to  Iowa  in 
1854,  and  after  several  changes  of  residence  settled  in  Milford  in  1861. 
He  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Spitler  in  1844,  and  after  her  death  to 
Miss  Charlotte  Clark,  November  28,  1876.  He  has  led  an  active  life, 
and  been  successful  in,  business.  He  is  a  republican  ;  a  member  of  the 
Blue  Lodge,  and  especially  prides  himself  on  the  fact  that  he  has  been 
pathmaster.  Everybody  knows  "  Uncle  John." 

"Wingfield  Cooper,  retired  farmer,  Milford,  was  born  in  county 
Wicklow,  Ireland,  April  5,  1812.  His  parents  belonged  to  that  highly 
respectable  class  known  as  "  gentlemen  farmers."  Mr.  Cooper  was  edu- 
cated at  the  school  in  his  native  place  and  at  a  boarding-school  of  con- 
siderable reputation  at  that  time.  After  leaving  school,  his  father's  health 
being  very  infirm,  young  Cooper  was  entrusted  with  the  entire  con- 
trol of  his  father's  extensive  estate.  His  father  died  in  1833.  In  the 
division  of  this  estate  the  homestead,  with  considerable  property,  fell  to 
him.  In  1835  he  married  Miss  Susanna  Coates,  and  continued  his 
farm  business,  until  her  failing  health  necessitated  a  permanent  change. 
Under  medical  advice,  in  July,  1851,  the  family  came  to  the  United 
States  ;  destination,  La  Fayette,  Indiana.  Here  they  remained  some 
time,  farming  rented  land.  Finally  they  removed  to  Milford  in  1862, 
bought  a  farm  of  80  acres,  and  lived  here  until  his  wife's  death  in 
1869,  when  Mr.  C.  retired,  leaving  his  children  on  the  farm,  and  finally 
married  Mrs.  Eliza  Thomas,  with  whom  he  is  quietly  living  in  Milford. 

Gerrit  Hix,  farmer,  Milford,  son  of  William  and  Martha  Hix, 
was  born  in  Kentucky,  May  1,  1821.  The  family  removed  to  Parke 
county,  Indiana,  in  1839,  where  they  lived  about  fifteen  years, 
engaged  in  farming.  The  parents  then  came  to  Iroquois  county,  Illi- 
nois, where  they  died.  Mr.  Hix  was  married,  June  2,  1841,  to  Miss 
Elizabeth  Sellers.  During  his  residence  in  Indiana  Mr.  Hix  conducted 
a  cabinet  shop.  In  1862  he  removed  to  Milford  township,  where  he 
was  engaged  in  farming,  and  at  one  time  bought  and  run  a  saw-mill. 
This  mill  was  on  land  now  owned  by  George  Hix.  Mr.  Hix  is  proud 
of  the  fact  that  during  all  his  wedded  life  he  never  had  a  family 
quarrel,  nor  ever  struck  a  child,  although  they  have  raised  a  family  of 
ten  children.  Mr.  Hix  has  experienced  all  the  hardships  and  changes 
incident  to  pioneer  life,  and  has  closely  followed  his  own  convictions 
in  matters  of  politics  and  religion.  His  wife  is  a  member  of  the  M.  E. 
church. 

James  A.  McConnell,  dealer  in  general  merchandise,  Milford,  was 
born  in  Highland  county,  Ohio,  March  9,  1824.  His  father,  John 


166  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

McConnell,  served  through  the  war  of  1812,  with  the  rank  of  colonel 
(as  his  son  thinks),  under  Gen.  Harrison.  He  saw  active  service,  and 
was  in  the  defense  of  Fort  Meigs.  Col.  McConnell  also  served  in  the 
Black  Hawk  war.  He  also  drilled  and  prepared  the  first  company  that 
went  from  his  county  to  the  late  war.  Col.  McConnell's  brother  also 
served  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  was  made  a  prisoner  At  Hull's  surrender  of 
Detroit.  This  brother  was  present  when  notice  of  the  surrender  was 
given  to  Gens.  Cass  and  McArthur,  and  he  relates  that  these  officers 
broke  their  swords  rather  than  give  them  up.  Mr.  James  McConnell 
has  in  his  possession  a  remarkable  sword  which  his  father  wore,  and 
which  his  father  gave  to  him.  It  is  of  English  manufacture,  bears  the 
royal  coat  of  arms  and  the  monogram  of  Richard  III.  Mr.  McConnell's 
family  left  Ohio,  in  1828,  for  Covington,  Kentucky,  where  they  resided 
several  years ;  from  whence,  after  several  changes,  they  came  to  Ben- 
ton  county,  Indiana,  where  the  father  died  in  1875.  The  mother's 
name  was  Elizabeth.  In  March,  1848,  Mr.  James  McConnell  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Sarah  Mcllvain,  who  died  in  1861.  He  afterward  mar- 
ried Miss  Anna  Brown  in  1863.  He  came  to  Milford  in  February, 
1862,  and  established  a  general  store.  The  business  has  steadily 
increased,  until  the  firm  of  Fairman  &  McConnell  occupy  one  of  the 
finest  blocks  in  Iroquois  county.  Mr.  McConnell  built  a  grist-mill  on 
section  5,  which  is  still  in  operation.  It  is  called  the  artesian  mill,  from 
the  fact  that  three  artesian  wells  supply  a  large  portion  of  the  motive 
power.  Mr.  McConnell  has  been  always  a  democrat.  He  is  a  Master 
Mason,  an  Odd-Fellow  and  a  member  of  the  Christian  church.  An 
incident  at  Col.  McConnell's  death  is  worthy  of  mention.  Ten  chil- 
dren, the  youngest  of  whom  was  forty  years  old,  surrounded  his  death- 
bed. Mr.  James  McConnell  is  one  of  the  prominent  men  of  Iroquois 
county. 

George  Hix,  drain-tile  manufacturer,  Milford,  was  born  in  Ken- 
tucky, November  25,  1825.  His  parents  were  William  and  Martha 
Hix.  His  grandfather's  family,  with  one  exception,  were  killed  by 
Indians  in  the  early  days  of  Kentucky's  history.  Mr.  Hix  went  to 
Pike  county,  Indiana,  in  1843,  where  he  learned  the  potter's  trade. 
Becoming  of  age  he  bought  and  run  a  saw-mill  until  his  removal  to 
Iroquois  county  in  1863.  Here  he  built  a  saw-mill,  which  he  run  for 
eight  years.  He  then  engaged  in  farming.  The  first  tile-works  were 
erected  on  Mr.  Hix's  land.  These  works  are  now  actively  operated  by 
Mr.  Hix's  sons.  November  1,  1849,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Eliza- 
beth Cix.  Mr.  Hix  has  led  an  active  life,  and  has  always  taken  a 
lively  interest  in  local  affairs,  filling  various  township  offices  usefully. 
For  thirty-five  years  he  has  been  identified  with  the  temperance  cause. 


MILFORD   TOWNSHIP.  167 

In  politics  he  was  formerly  a  democrat,  but  during  later  years  his  con- 
victions have  caused  him  to  act  with  the  greenback  party.  Mr.  Hix 
is  still  in  vigorous  health.  His  business  enterprises  have  been  gener- 
ally successful. 

James  Mayfield,  farmer,  Milford,  was  born  October  10,  1828,  near 
Nashville,  Tennessee.  His  parents,  James  arid  Maria,  lived  and  died 
in  Tennessee.  Mr.  Mayfield's  first  experience  in  life  was  as  a  cabin- 
boy,  and  afterward  first  cook  on  steamboats  running  on  the  Ohio  and 
Mississippi  rivers.  He  continued  his  river  life  for  three  years,  when 
he  came  to  Cincinnati,  where  he  remained  about  six  months.  He  then 
went  to  Union  county,  Indiana,  to  work  on  a  farm.  He  remained  in  this 
county  for  many  years,  working  by  the  month  as  a  farm  hand.  He 
was  married,  September  1,  1858,  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Connell,  who  was 
born  March  29,  1838.  In  October,  1863,  he  came  to  Milford  and 
bought  the  east  half  of  lot  5,  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  2.  He 
soon  after  sold  out,  and  bought  a  farm  in  Belmont.  He  again  sold  out 
and  purchased  lot  7,  northeast  quarter  section  4,  in  Milford  township. 
Again  he  sold,  and  removed  to  Milford  village,  where  he  resided 
several  years,  and  served  five  years  as  police  and  township  constable. 
March  20,  1879,  he  exchanged  his  village  property  for  the  farm  on 
which  he  now  resides.  His  children  are  William  T.,  Sidney  A.,  John 
A.,  George  T.,  Daniel  J.,  Sarah  E.  and  James  L.  Mr.  Mayfield  is  a 
very  energetic  man,  a  Master  Mason,  and  in  politics  a  republican. 

Jasper  Prutsman,  brickrnaker,  Milford,  son  of  David  and  Maxy  M. 
Prutsrnan,  was  born  in  Fountain  county,  Indiana,  February  12,  1836. 
His  father  was  from  Virginia,  his  mother  from  Kentucky.  His  father 
served  through  the  war  of  1812,  and  was  engaged  in  building  block- 
houses at  Detroit.  He  died  in  1837;  was  by  trade  a  wagon-maker. 
In  1852  Jasper,  with  his  mother  and  sister,  came  to  Prairie  Green 
township,  where  he  entered  80  acres  of  land.  Here  he  engaged' in 
farming;  besides,  in  company  with  his  brother,  he  purchased  a  break- 
ing team,  and  for  three  years  broke  land  for  others.  September  7, 
1856,  Mr.  Prutsman  was  married  to  Lucinda  Crow,  daughter  of  David 
and  Mary  Crow,  who  was  born  August  1,  1833.  In  1864  he  removed 
to  Milford  township  and  became  a  timber-dealer.  For  the  past  five 
years  he  has  been  engaged  in  making  brick,  three  quarters  of  a  mile 
west  of  Milford.  They  have  had  eight  .children :  Alfred,  born  Feb- 
ruary 12,  1858 ;  Mary  M.,  born  April  29,  1860 ;  Smilinda  E.,  born 
February  9,  1862;  Orea,  born  March  8,  1864;  Martha  E.,  born  April 
26,  1865 ;  Frank,  born  July  6,  1867 ;  Arata,  born  April  11,  1870,  and 
an  infant.  Smilinda  died  October  3,  1875.  In  politics  Mr.  Pruts- 
man is  a  greenbacker.  He  is  one  of  the  substantial  men  of  this  town- 
ship. The  business  is  prosperous. 


168  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

Dr.  Ira  Brown,  physician,  Milford,  was  born  near  Brockville, 
Canada  West,  May  '6,  1832.  His  parents,  James  and  Lydia  Brown, 
removed  from  Hartford  county,  Connecticut,  to  Canada  in  1794.  The 
British  authorities  endeavored  to  compel  his  father  to  serve  against  the 
United  States  in  the  war  of  1812,  but  he  escaped  into  Massachusetts, 
where  he  remained  during  the  war.  He  then  returned  to  Canada,  and 
died  there.  He  never  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  British  gov- 
ernment. Dr.  Brown's  grandfather  served  seven  years  in  the  war  of  the 
revolution,  and  afterward  assisted  in  making  the  government  sur- 
vey of  Ohio.  Ira  Brown  came  to  .Jefferson  county,  ]S"ew  York,  in 
1850.  He  had  already  acquired  the  miller's  art,  and  for  eighteen 
months  attended  school,  working  in  a  mill  nights  and  mornings, 
in  this  manner  obtaining  means  to  pay  his  expenses.  He  afterward 
was  engaged  as  clerk  in  a  dry-goods  house  for  some  time.  In  the 
spring  of  1854  he  came  to  Brantford,  Canada,  where  he  commenced 
the  study  of  medicine.  In  1856  he  went  to  Ann  Arbor,  Michigan, 
and  there  prosecuted  his  studies,  graduating  March,  1858.  He  then 
came  west,  and  after  traveling  through  Missouri,  finally  located  in 
Boone  county,  Illinois,  and  began  the  practice  of  medicine.  He  con- 
tinued in  practice  here  until  January  1,  1862,  when  he  entered  the 
65th  reg.  111.  Vol.  as  assistant  surgeon ;  he  was  appointed  surgeon 
October,  1864.  This  regiment  was  captured  at  Harper's  Ferry  at 
Mile's  surrender.  Dr.  Brown  was  left  at  Martinsburg,  Virginia,  in 
charge  of  sick  soldiers  twenty-one  days,  and  afterward  allowed  to  de- 
part without  parole.  He  next  found  himself  assigned  to  duty  at  Fort 
McHenry,  and  in 'April,  1863,  appointed  post-surgeon  at  Camp  Doug- 
lass. In  December,  18£3,  he  was  ordered  to  join  his  regiment  near 
Knoxville,  Tennessee,  and  remained  with  it  through  the  Atlanta  cam- 
paign ;  was  in  the  battles  of  Columbia,  Franklin  and  Nashville,  and 
finally  mustered  out  with  the  regiment  May,  1865.  Dr.  Brown  then 
came  to  Milford,  and  soon  found  himself  established  in  an  extensive 
practice.  He  was  married  to  Mrs.  Nellie  Best,  October  30,  1873.  Dr. 
Brown  has  always  been  actively  identified  in  developing  and  promot- 
ing the  business  interests  of  this  section.  In  1878,  he  established  his 
extensive  tile  and  brick  yard,  of  which  a  more  extended  notice  occurs 
in  the  history  of  Milford. 

Elam  H.  Patterson,  school  teacher,  Milford,  son  of  Amos  and  Esther 
Patterson,  was  born  in  Grant  county,  Indiana,  October  28,  1857.  His 
father  combined  the  business  of  merchant  and  farmer.  He  enlisted 
in  Co.  H,  118th  Ind.  Vol.  Inf.,  August  12,  1863.  This  regiment 
did  good  service  at  Blue  Springs,  Clinch  River,  and  at  Taswell. 
At  one  time  their  daily  rations  per  man  for  nine  days  were  one  half 


MILFOED   TOWNSHIP.  169 

ear  of  corn  and  a  cubic  inch  of  meat.  He  was  discharged  March  3, 
1864.  One  of  his  brothers  was  in  thirty-five  battles,  and  came  out 
without  a  serious  wound.  Elam  H.  Patterson  was  educated  at  the 
Sheldon  High  School  and  at  Onarga  Institute.  He  has  been  engaged 
in  teaching  since  sixteen  years  of  age.  He  was  for  one  year  principal 
of  Sheldon  High  School. 

James  Woodworth,  postmaster,  Milford,  son  of  John  and  Phoabe 
Woodworth,  was  born  in  Ohio,  September  12, 1844.  The  mother  died 
in  1861.  In  1844  the  family  removed  to  La  Grange  county,  Indiana, 
afterward  going  to  Noble  county,  where  the  father  still  resides.  James 
attended  school,  and  two  years  of  the  time  were  passed  at  Kalamazoo, 
Michigan.  In  1861  he  enlisted  in  the  4th  Mich.  Cav.,  but  being 
under  age  was  rejected.  In  October,  1861,  he  was  enrolled  in  the  1st 
Michigan  Engineers  and  Mechanics,  where  he  remained  three  years. 
While  in  this  regiment  he  participated  in  the  battle  of  Lavergne,  Ten- 
nessee. This  regiment  consisted  of  391  officers  and  men,  commanded 
by  Col.  Inness.  This  regiment  was  posted  at  Lavergne,  midway  be- 
tween Nashville  and  Murfreesboro,  to  protect  communications.  It  was 
here  their  position  was  attacked  by  Wheeler's  rebel  cavalry,  consisting 
of  3,000  men  and  two  pieces  of  artillery.  After  successfully  resisting 
seven  distinct  charges  of  the  enemy,  the  rebels  finally  withdrew.  The 
regiment  received  the  highest  praise  from  Gen.  Rosencrans  for  gallant 
conduct  on  this  occasion.  After  his  discharge  Mr.  Woodworth  en- 
gaged as  engineer  to  Platt  J.  Wise,  of  Fort  Wayne,  where  he~continued 
two  years,  at  the  same  time  continuing  his  studies.  The  next  two 
years  were  spent  as  clerk  in  two  grocery  houses  in  the  same  city.  He 
then  came  to  Ash  Grove,  Illinois,  where  he  was  engaged  in  teaching 
school  during  the  winters  of  1869  and  1870.  On  May  17,  1870,  Mr. 
Woodworth  commenced  business  in  old  Milford,  selling  goods  on  his 
own  account.  While  here  the  Chicago,  Danville  &  Vincennes  (now 
known  as  the  Chicago  &  Eastern  Illinois)  railroad  was  in  course  of  con- 
struction, and  was  completed  to  Milford,  June  24,  1871.  On  May  10, 
1872,  Mr.  Woodworth  opened  the  first  stock  of  goods  in  the  new  town, 
and  continued  here  until  1877.  Mr. Woodworth  has  held  for  several  years 
the  office  of  police  magistrate  and  notary  public,  and  is  at  present  post- 
master, which  office  he  has  held  since  October,  1872.  At  that  time  the 
business  of  the  office  amounted  to  but  $150  per  year.  It  now  amounts 
to  about  $25,000  per  year.  Mr.  Woodworth  was  married,  December 
11,  1871,  to  Miss  Martha  J.  Lane.  He  is  a  Master  Mason  and  a  Good 
Templar.  Although  still  a  young  man,  Mr.  Woodworth's  life  is  an 
example  of  what  can  be  accomplished  by  energy  and  determination. 

William  T.  Sheridan,  general  merchandise,  Milford,  was  born  in 
11 


170  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

New  London,  Connecticut,  June  25,  1842.  He  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools  of  his  native  state.  In  1861  Mr.  Sheridan  enlisted  in 
the  1st  reg.  Conn.  Heavy  Artillery.  He  was  soon  detailed  as  orderly 
on  Gen.  R.  O.  Tyler's  staff,  where  he  remained  for  three  years,  arid 
during  this  time  was  frequently  sent  with  important  orders,  requiring 
skill  and  courage  to  execute,  as  well  as  incurring  great  danger.  Mr. 
Sheridan  participated  in  the  battles  of  Second  Bull  Run,  and  on  the 
Chickahominy  and  James  rivers.  He  was  also  at  Antietam  and  Get- 
tysburg, and  through  the  "Wilderness.  He  also  served  as  general  super- 
intendent of  land  transportation.  He  was  mustered  out  in  1864,  and 
for  two  years  after  was  government  inspector  and  auctioneer.  During 
this  time  a  vast  amount  of  government  property  passed  through  his 
hands,  and  he  has  many  testimonials  of  his  ability  and  fidelity  in  the 
discharge  of  duty.  During  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  he  succeeded  in 
securing  Gen.  Tyler's  saddle  and  accouterments,  after  his  horse  had 
fallen,  carrying  them  a  long  distance  under  the  enemy's  heavy  fire ;  for 
his  daring  he  was  highly  complimented  by  Gen.  Tyler.  In  1866  Mr. 
Sheridan  came  to  Rockford,  Illinois,  where  he  engaged  in  the  auction 
and  commission  business,  afterward  removing  to  Milford  in  1871, 
where  he  continues  to  reside.  In  October,  1867,  Mr.  Sheridan  was 
married  to  Miss  Minnie  Mosley,  who  died  in  March,  1873.  In  Novem- 
ber, 1874,  he  married  Miss  Carrie  Mason.  He  is  a  Master  Mason;  in 
politics  a  republican. 

Philip  Holloway,  farmer,  Milford,  was  born  in  Union  county,  Ohio, 
January  14,  1825.  His  parents  were  Elijah  and  Elizabeth  Holloway. 
The  father  was  a  wheelwright,  and  worked  at  his  trade  during  his  life. 
The  family  moved  to  Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana,  in  1839.  The  son 
worked  with  the  father.  April  5,  1849,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Sally 
Dawson,  and  in  1854,  with  her,  removed  to  Iroquois  county,  and  set- 
tled in  the  town  of  Stockland,  where,  with  nothing  but  his  brain  and 
muscle,  he  commenced  to  open  a  farm.  In  this  calling  he  continued 
to  prosper,  and  cultivated  his  farm  until  the  year  1862,  when  he  enlisted 
in  Co.  E,  76th  111.  Yol.  for  three  years.  At  the  battle  of  Jackson, 
Mississippi,  July  7, 1864,  he  was  severely  wounded,  being  shot  through 
the  leg.  He  remained  in  hospital  for  fifty-two  days,  when  he  was 
sent  home  on  a  furlough.  Here  he  remained  until  his  regiment 
returned  to  Chicago,  when  he  was  discharged.  Mr.  Halloway  has  wit- 
nessed the  great  changes  which  have  occurred  within  the  last  twenty- 
five  years.  He  continued  on  his  farm  until  1873,  when  he  came  to 
Milford.  His  wife  died  July  5,  1874.  He  is  now  in  receipt  of  a  pen- 
sion. His  father  died  in  1862;  his  mother  in  1827.  August  20,  1876, 
he  was  married  to  Miss  Levina  Hix.  He  is  a  republican. 


MILFORD   TOWNSHIP.  171 

George  H.  Barber,  farmer,  Milford,  son  of  David  C.  and  Louisa 
S.  Barber,  was  born  in  Charlemont,  Massachusetts,  February  21,  1851. 
His  father  was  born  in  Massachusetts,  September,  1820.  His  mother 
was  from  Vermont,  born  August  28,  1820.  Jn  1856  the  family  re- 
moved to  La  Fayette,  Indiana,  and  carried  on  a  farm  for  four  years. 
In  1860  they  came  to  Iroquois  county  and  settled  in  Beaver  township. 
In  1875  they  again  removed,  going  to  Missouri,  where  the  parents  still 
reside.  Here,  February  22,  1872,  George  H.  was  married  to  Miss 
Margaret  Logan.  He  then  returned  to  Iroquois  county  in  1874,  and 
is  now  conducting  the  Strain  farm  on  section  19,  Milford  township. 
Mr.  Barber  has  received  a  good  common-school  education,  and  for  five 
years  was  clerk  in  a  general  store  in  Missouri.  Two  of  his  brothers 
served  three  years  during  the  civil  war.  Charles  was  in  the  63d  Ind. 
Yol.,  and  D.  C.  was  in  the  76th  111.  Yol.  Mr.  Barber  is  an  energetic 
and  thriving  farmer.  He  has  kept  out  of  debt,  and  therefore  never 
has  had  occasion  to  complain  of  hard  times. 

James  P.  Button,  dealer  in  general  merchandise,  Milford,  the  son 
of  James  P.  and  Sarah  E.  Button,  was  born  in  Fountain  county,  In- 
diana, December  9,  1849.  The  family  moved  to  Ford  county,  Illinois, 
1853.  The  father  was  a  farmer,  and  has  filled  many  offices.  He  "was 
treasurer  of  Ford  county  two  years.  A  township  in  that  county  bears 
his  name.  He  died  March  14,  1863.  The  younger  James  P.  came  to 
Milford  in  1875,  and  entered  the  mercantile  business.  He  was  married 
to  Miss  Sarah  E.  Lane,  May  18,  1875.  His  brother,  W.  J.  Button, 
became  a  partner  in  the  business  March  1,  1879.  Their  business  is 
rapidly  increasing. 

Andrew  J.  Shorey,  grocer,  Milford,  was  born  in  Penobscot  county, 
Maine,  September  15,  1829,  and  received  a  common-school  education. 
His  parents  were  Nathaniel  and  Elizabeth  Shorey.  Mr.  Shorey  was 
engaged  in  business  at  an  early  age,  being  in  the  lumber  trade  until 
1853,  when  he  went  to  California,  where  he  remained  five  years ;  ha 
afterward  extensively  engaged  in  manufacturing  lumber  in  Wisconsin,, 
which  he  sent  down  the  Mississippi.  He  removed  to  Milford  in  1875,. 
and  started  again  in  the  lumber  trade ;  sold  out,  and  established  his. 
present  successful  business.  Mr.  Shorey  was  married  October,  1862,  to 
Miss  Susan  Woodworth.  He  is  a  republican  in  politics,  and  was  pres- 
ident of  the  town  council  one  year. 

John  F.  Fairman,  merchant  and  grain-dealer,  Milford,  the  son  of 
Henry  and  Mary  Fairman,  was  born  in  Tioga  county,  Pennsylvania, 
April  3,  1829.  When  he  was  three  years  of  age  his  parents  removed 
to  La  Fayette,  Indiana,  and  in  1845  came  to  Illinois,  and  settled  in  Will 
(now  Kankakee)  county,  where  Kankakee  city  now  stands.  The  conn- 


172  HISTOKY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

try  was  wild  and  covered  with  timber.  The  family  sought  shelter  in 
an  old  log  cabin,  which  was  repaired  and  made  to  answer  the  purpose 
of  a  home.  Young  Fairman's  health  was  frail,  yet  he  assisted  some- 
what in  this  labor.  Mr.  Fairman  describes,  in  a  graphic  manner,  his 
exultation  on  killing  his  first  deer.  His  health  becoming  established,  he 
struck  out  for  himself,  and  proceeding  to  the  "Wabash,  procured  a  job 
of  making  rails  at  50  cents  per  hundred.  He  afterward  worked  on  a 
farm  at  $8  per  month.  Returning  to  his  parents,  he  still  continued  at 
farming.  "When  about  eighteen  years  of  age  he  spent  the  winter  in 
chopping,  and  occasionally  hunting  and  trapping,  and  succeeded  in 
procuring  a  large  quantity  of  venison  and  peltries,  which  he  hauled  to 
Chicago  and  sold  at  good  profit.  Having  accumulated  considerable 
money,  in  1859  Mr.  Fairman  came  to  "Watseka  and  erected  the  first  ele- 
vator and  business  house  ever  built  in  that  town.  He  continued  in  busi- 
ness there  for  five  years,  buying  and  shipping  grain  and  selling  goods  and 
agricultural  implements.  His  business  was  very  successful.  In  1865 
he  went  to  Logansport,  and,  with  a  partner,  bought  400  acres  of  tim- 
ber. They  erected  a  saw-mill  and  commenced  selling  lumber.  These 
operations  were  suddenly  checked  by  the  loss  of  the  mill  and  100,000 
feet  of  walnut  lumber  by  fire.  The  energy  of  the  man  is  displayed  in 
the  fact  that  in  ten  days  the  mill  was  entirely  restored  and  in  full  opera- 
tion. Mr.  Fairman  retired  from  this  business  with  a  handsome  addition 
to  his  capital.  He  has  always  been  a  very  active  man,  finding  his  highest 
pleasure  in  the  activities  of  business.  He  has  also  traveled  extensively, 
and  has  been  keenly  observant  of  men  and  things.  In  1876  Mr.  Fairman 
entered  into  partnership  with  James  A.  McConnell,  in  a  general  mer- 
chandise business  and  dealing  in  grain,  at  Milford.  They  are  doing  an 
extensive  business.  Mr.  Fairman  was  married,  in  1852,  to  Miss  Mary 
E.  Parks.  He  is  a  republican,  and  a  strong  temperance  man. 

Andrew  J.  Miller,  dealer  in  general  merchandise,  Milford,  was  born 
in  Germany,  October  23,  1845.  He  came  with  his  parents  to  Cham- 
paign county,  Ohio,  in  1854,  and  worked  on  the  farm  until  July  4, 
1862,  when  he  enlisted  in  the  45th  Ohio  Vol.  Inf.  At  this  time  he 
was  but  sixteen  years  of  age.  He  served  three  years  and  participated 
in  all  the  battles  the  regiment  was  engaged  in.  Some  of  them  are  as 
follows :  the  Morgan  raid  through  Ohio  and  Indiana ;  siege  of  Knox- 
ville ;  battles  of  Resaca  and  Kenesaw  Mountain  ;  and  through  the 
Atlanta  campaign,  and  battle  of  Frankford,  1864.  At  the  close  of 
the  war  Mr.  Miller  came  to  Ford  county,  Illinois,  where  he  was  ex- 
tensively engaged  in  farming,  and  cultivated  a  section  of  land  near 
Paxton,  Illinois.  January  28, 1868,  Mr.  Miller  was  married  to  Mary  J. 
Bently  ;  they  have  four  children  now  living :  two  boys,  Louis  and  Charlie, 


MILFORD   TOWNSHIP.  173 

and  two  girls,  Minnie  and  Nora.  The  eldest  child  is  ten,  and  the  youngest 
three  years  old.  During  the  eleven  years  Mr.  Miller  was  engaged  in 
farming,  he  accumulated  a  large  amount  of  property.  He  raised  large 
numbers  of  cattle  and  hogs.  His  farming  operations  were  very 
successful.  In .  1876  he  sold  his  farm  and  stock,  and  engaged  in 
mercantile  pursuits  at  Miller's  Station,  on  the  Lafayette,  Bloomington  & 
Muncie  railroad.  This  station  was  named  after  his  brother.  His  store, 
with  all  its  contents,  was  destroyed  by  fire  August  1,  1876.  At  the 
time  of  the  fire  his  family  were  living  over  the  store.  A  hired  boy 
was  burned  to  death,  and  one  of  his  children  was  so  badly  burned  that 
it  died  next  day.  The  remainder  of  the  family  barely  escaped.  Mr. 
Miller  then  removed  to  Donovan,  Illinois,  where,  in  the  fall  of  1876, 
he  again  embarked  in  merchandising  and  opened  with  a  large  stock  of 
goods.  But  the  fire-fiend  seemed  to  follow  him.  March  7,  1877,  five 
buildings  with  their  contents  were  burned — Mr.  Miller's  among  them. 
Not  discouraged  by  these  severe  losses,  he,  in  September,  1878,  removed 
to  Milford,  Illinois,  and  bought  Jacob  "Wittenmeyer's  stock  of  goods, 
together  with  the  brick  building,  and  again  commenced  business.  Mr. 
Miller  is  an  active,  enterprising  business  man.  In  August,  1879,  in 
connection  with  James  Woodworth,  he  erected  the  large  double  brick 
block,  known  as  "  Woodworth  and  Millers  New  Block."  Mr.  Miller 
is  carrying  on  a  large  business  at  the  present  time. 

John  Bentson,  wagon  and  cabinet-maker,  Milford,  was  born  in 
Sweden,  September  26,  1838,  where  his  parents  still  reside.  On  his 
arrival  in  this  country  he  first  came  to  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  and  finally 
established  himself  in  Chicago,  where  he  lived  seven  years.  He  was 
married,  February  20, 1875,  to  Miss  Matilda  Johnson.  Mr.  Bentson  has 
experienced  many  changes  in  life.  The  parents  met  a  great  grief  in 
the  loss  of  a  son,  Johnnie  T.,  who  died  June  27,  1877.  They  have  one 
son  living.  Mr.  Bentson  removed  to  Milford  in  the  fall  of  1878,  and 
is  now  established  in  a  prosperous  business. 

Edward  L'Hote,  editor  of  "Milford  Herald,"  Milford,  was  born  on 
the  island  of  Gaudaloupe,  March  3,  1819,  of  French  parentage.  Pre- 
vious to  leaving  France  his  father  served  through  several  of  Napoleon's 
campaigns,  terminating  his  military  career  at  the  battle  of  Waterloo  as  a 
soldier  of  the  "  Old  Guard  "  under  Marshal  Ney.  In  recognition  of  honor- 
able service  he  was  decorated  with  the  cross  of  the  Legion  of  Honor. 
Parents  and  son  left  Gaudaloupe  in  1824,  came  to  the  United  States  in 
1826,  and  settled  in  New  Orleans  in  1827.  There  his  parents  died. 
The  son  attended  school  until  1839,  when  he  entered  a  printing  office, 
and  followed  this  business  as  apprentice  and  journeyman  till  1851, 
having  in  the  mean  time  removed  to  Marshall,  Clark  county,  Illinois, 


174  HISTORY   OF   IEOQUOIS   COUNTY. 

in  1849.  He  here  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits  for  a  short  time. 
He  afterward  published  the  "Hornet,"  a  campaign  paper,  and  on  Mr. 
Lincoln's  accession  to  the  presidency  was  appointed  postmaster.  Mr. 
L'Hote  also  held  the  position  of  deputy  circuit  clerk  for  three  years, 
and  is  a  notary  public.  In  June,  1878,  Mr.  L'Hote  removed  to  Mil- 
ford,  and  purchased  the  "  Herald  "  of  J.  R.  Fox,  Esq.,  which  paper  he 
has  since  continued  to  publish,  advocating  the  principles  of  the  green- 
back party.  The  only  break  in  his  life  as  a  printer  occurred  in  1846, 
when  he  enlisted  in  the  six-months  Louisiana  troops,  called  out  by 
Gen.  Taylor,  served  out  his  time,  and  was  honorably  discharged.  He 
was  married  November  29,  1849,  to  Miss  Charlotte  Whaley.  He  is  a 
Mark  Master  Mason  and  Good  Templar. 

Alba  M.  and  Edgar  A.  Jones,  dealers  in  hardware,  stoves,  lumber 
and  coal,  Milford,  are  twin  sons  of  John  and  Anna  Jones.  They  were 
born  in  Stockland,  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  in  1857.  The  brothers 
have  never  separated ' from  each  other,  always  attending  the  same 
schools,  and  joining  in  the  same  pastimes.  They  were  educated  in  the 
schools  of  their  native  town  and  at  Valparaiso,  Indiana.  Together  they 
commenced  business  March  1,  1879.  They  have  quite  recently 
established  a  lumber  and  coal-yard,  and  already  have  a  profitable 
trade.  Under  the  firm  name  of  Jones  Brothers  they  are  already 
widely  and  favorably  known.  They  are  rapidly  taking  the  lead  in 
their  special  lines  of  business. 

Charlie  E.  Smith,  saddles  and  harness,  Milford,  was  born  in  Warren 
county,  Ohio,  May  6,  1855.  His  parents  are  Thomas  and  Hope  Smith. 
His  grandfather  served  through  the  war  of  1812.  In  1859  the  family 
moved  to  Thornton,  Indiana,  and  thence  to  Vermilion  county,  Illinois, 
in  1877,  where  the  parents  still  reside.  Mr.  Smith  came  to  Milford  in 
July,  1879,  where  he  has  succeeded  in  establishing  himself  in  a  thriv- 
ing business.  He  was  married,  February  2,  1879,  to  Miss  Rosa  Haas. 
He  is  a  republican,  an  Odd-Fellow,  and  a  member  of  the  Methodist 
church. 

Daniel  G.  Lee,  dealer  in  general  merchandise,  Milford,  the  son  of 
Benjamin  G.  and  Polly  M.  Lee,  was  born  in  Griffin's  Corners,  New 
York,  October  2,  1854.  The  father  dealt  in  grain  and  merchandise. 
In  1857  the  family  came  to  Minnesota  and  conducted  a  farm.  In  1862 
Benjamin  G.  Lee  was  appointed  a  provost-marshal,  and  materially 
assisted  in  suppressing  the  Indian  outbreak  in  that  state.  The  town  of 
Hutchinson,  where  the  family  lived,  was  once  attacked  by  200  Indians. 
Many  settlers  were  killed  before  reaching  the  stockade,  but  Mr.  Lee's 
family  escaped.  Their  house,  barns,  crops,  etc.,  were  entirely 
destroyed.  The  family  came  to  Kankakee  in  1866,  where  they  still 


SHELDON  TOWNSHIP.  175 

reside.  Daniel  G.  Lee  came  to  Milford  in  May,  1879,  and  at  once 
engaged  in  mercantile  business.  He  was  married  to  Miss  Alice  Merrick 
at  Kankakee,  January  1,  1874. 


SHELDON  TOWNSHIP. 

This  township  was  named  after  Sheldon,  a  village  within  -its 
limits.  It  comprises  town  26  north,  range  11  west ;  and  fractional 
town  26  north,  range  10  west  of  the  second  principal  meridian.  The 
fraction  is  six  miles  long,  north  and  south,  and  has  an  average  breadth 
of  about  half  a  mile.  It  is  occasioned  by  the  divergence  of  the 
meridian  from  the  state  line.  Sheldon  township  therefore  has  an 
area  of  thirty-nine  square  miles,  or  about  25,000  acres.  It  is  located 
in  the  eastern  tier  of  townships,  nearly  equidistant  from  the  county 
limits  north  and  south,  and  is  bounded  on  the -north,  south  and  west 
by  Concord,  Stockland  and  Belmont  townships,  and  on  the  east  by 
the  state  of  Indiana. 

The  surface,  except  about  300  acres  of  timber,  though  formerly 
900,  located  in  the  extreme  northwest  portion  of  the  township,  and 
known  as  Lister's  Point,  is  prairie.  The  southeastern  portion  is  high 
and  rolling  land,  known  as  the  Blue  Ridge,  from  which  the  country 
descends  and  becomes  nearer  level  toward  the  north.  The  western 
side  of  the  township  is  also  high  and  very  rolling,  the  ascent  in  some 
places  being  so  abrnpt  as  to  form  knolls.  In  the  central  portion  and 
extending  north  the  land  is  depressed  and  nearly  level.  The  higher 
elevations  of  the  township  unfold  to  the  sight  a  beautiful  and  far  ex- 
tending landscape, — the  scattering  residences  with  their  dense  groves 
relieving  the  monotony  of  a  purely  prairie  view  and  adding  grandeur 
to  the  scene. 

Owing  to  the  lay  of  the  land,  effectual  drainage,  that  essential 
feature  necessary  for  the  more  successful  cultivation  of  the  prairie, 
is  easily  secured,  and  it  is  probable  that  within  the  near  future  not 
one  acre  in  all  the  township  will  suffer  for  want  of  efficient  drainage. 
There  are  no  continuous  water-courses,  the  nearest  approach  being 
Lister's  branch,  which  was  named  after  an  early  settler  on  its  banks, 
and  is  caused  by  the  drain  from  the  center  and  eastern  portion  of  the 
township.  It  forms  a  junction  near  the  northwestern  portion,  and 
leaves  the  township  about  one-quarter  mile  east  of  the  northwest 
corner.  From  the  junction  on  down  the  stream  the  wooded  banks 
gradually  increase,  until  they  become  high  and  precipitous,  forming 
a  permanent  pathway  for  the  onward  march  of  the  waters  in  their 


176  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

headlong  race  to  the  Iroquois.  The  southern  portion  of  the  town- 
ship is  also  drained  to  the  Iroquois  by  those  streams  bearing  the 
unromantic  titles  of  Coon  creek  and  Possum  Trot  run,  the  latter  a 
tributary  of  the  former.  Both  are  slough  or  drain  streams,  existing 
only  during  the  wet  seasons,  and  disappear  during  the  dry. 

The  soil  for  the  greater  part  is  a  heavy,  black  sandy  loam.  In 
certain  localities,  principally  confined  to  the  high  lands  of  the  western 
portions,  it  becomes  a  light  sand.  In  general  it  is  well  adapted  for 
growing  the  cereals  common  to  this  climate,  and  well  sustains  the 
accredited  productiveness  of  the  prairie,  of  which  this  locality  is  a 
part.  Corn  is  the  prevailing  crop,  and  in  favorable  seasons  the  yield 
is  enormous ;  wheat,  oats  and  flax  do  well  and  are  extensively  raised, 
and  grazing  is  carried  on  to  a  considerable  extent. 

EARLY    HISTORY. 

Formerly  Sheldon  township  was  embraced  within  that  of  Concord, 
and  therefore  the  early  history  of  the  one  could  include  that  of  the 
other.  But  in  the  present  instance  we  shall  endeavor  to  give  a  reci- 
tation of  the  events  occuring  within  the  present  limits  of  the  town- 
ship of  Sheldon,  and  form  a  separate  account  of  same.  In  the  early 
days,  when  ox-teams  were  the  rule  and  distant  markets  a  necessity, 
the  now  much  lauded  prairie  was  literally  a  desert  waste  without 
habitation,  and  remained  so  until  quite  a  recent  period,  the  friendly 
shelter  of  forests,  skirting  the  neighboring  streams,  luring  the 
pioneers. away ;  and  so  we  find  in  all  the  early  settlement  of  our 
country,  the  timbered  water-courses  peered  out  to  the  hardy  pioneer, 
like  the  north  star  to  the  mariner,  directing  him  across  the  mighty 
sea.  So  it  was  with  Sheldon  in  the  extreme  northwest  corner,  a 
little  point  of  timber  skirting  the  Iroquois  extends  into  the  township. 
It  was  in  this  timber  that  the  first  settlement  was  made,  the  date  of 

which  is 

"  Away  far  back  in  the  bygone  times, 
Lost  mid  the  rubbish  of  forgotten  things." 

It  is  highly  probable,  however,  that  Jesse  Eastburn  and  family  made 
the  first  settlement  within  the  present  limits  of  the  township.  He 
was  a  native  of  Maryland,  and  was  born  in  the  year  1770.  The 
exact  date  of  his  settlement  is  not  known,  but  he  settled  in  the  timber 
on  section  5,  near  the  center  of  its  western  side,  where  he  built  a 
mansion,  18x20,  of  unhewn  logs.  The  cracks  were  plastered  with 
mud.  A  stick  chimney  reared  up  at  the  end,  a  little  old  quaint  door 
and  window,  and  an  oak  clap-board  roof  completed  the  house,  near 
which  stood  the  sweep  stake  with  "the  old  oaken  bucket  that  hung 


SIIKLDOX    TOWNSHIP.  177 

in  the  well,"  which  was  curbed  up  with  the  gums  of  an  old  sycamore. 
A  certificate  of  entry,  in  the  possession  of  one  of  his  descendants, 
bears  date  October  10,  1833,  and  is  probably  near  the  date  of  his 
settlement.  Next,  and  probably  early  in  1834,  came  William  Lister 
and  family ;  he  was  a  native  of  Tennessee,  and  settled  on  section  6, 
in  the  point  of  timber  on  the  branch  (both  of  which  bear  his  name), 
and  in  addition  to  the  farm  he  conducted  a  blacksmith  shop,  it  being 
the  first  in  this  portion  of  the  country.  Next  came  Samuel  Jones,  a 
native  of  Kentucky,  who  is  living  near  his  early  settlement  at  this 
writing.  He  came  here  from  Indiana  in  December,  1834.  An  in- 
strument of  writing,  dated  September  25,  1835,  between  Jesse  and 
his  son,  J.  B.  Eastburn,  shows  that  the  latter  sold  his  place  in 
Concord  township,  and  came  to  and  got  possession  of  his  father's 
farm,  and  conducted  the  same,  and  looked  after  him  in  his  old  age. 
Other  early  settlers  were :  P.  Shearls,  R.  Lister,  Frank  Clark,  and 
William  Young,  none  of  whom  are  here  now,  locating  in  the  timber 
which  was  the  scene  of  all  settlement  until  about  1848 ;  when  Zedic 
Parks — a  native  of  Coshocton  county,  Ohio,  who  had  been  living 
near  Iroquois  for  a  number  of  years  —  Cortez-like  marched  far  out 
into  the  sea  of  prairie,  and  pitched  his  tent  in  its  midst  on  the  road 
leading  from  La  Fayette  to  Chicago,  via  Iroquois,  at  a  point  about 
one-third  of  a  mile  northeast  of  the  present  railroad  crossing  at 
Sheldon ;  he  engaged  in  keeping  hotel,  which  was  probably  con- 
ducted on  the  "  corn  bread  and  common  doings  plan,"  and  also  did  a 
little  at  farming ;  but  he  seemed  to  be  a  migratory  character,  for  soon 
he  moved  back  to  the  timber,  and  later  he 

"  Folded  his  tent  like  the  Arab, 
And  as  silently  stole  away." 

In  1850  O.  P.  Bookless  settled  in  the  timber  on  section  6,  and  in 
1851  he  moved  to  his  present  place  on  the  prairie  adjoining  same. 
The  year  1852  brought  Robert  and  Isaac  N".  Caldwell,  who  settled 
on  the  prairie  about  two  miles  southwest  of  the  present  village  of 
Sheldon ;  J.  Davis,  also,  is  said  to  have  settled  here  the  same  year. 
The  next  year  brought  J.  Daisy,  and  in  1854,  ]ST.  II.  Waity,  Stephen 
Amos  and  John  Darrough  were  added  to  the  residents ;  and  in  1855, 
E.  B.  Bishopp,  from  England,  and  J.  W.  Murray  made  settlements. 
The  latter  had  been  living  near  Iroquois  since  1836.  Thus  the 
prairie,  so  long  unnoticed,  and  that  seemed  a  place  unfit  for  the 
habitation  of  man,  gradually  became  settled  and  was  soon  trans- 
formed to  a  land  of  beauty,  "flowing  with  milk  and  honey,"  where 
the  vine  and  plant  thrive,  and  where  beautiful  and  pleasant  homes 
have  become  too  numerous  to  mention.  The  panting  deer  and 


178  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

howling  wolf  have  given  way  to  the  domestic  animals  that  may  be 
seen  on  every  hand  in  countless  numbers  browsing  on  the  grasses 
and  adding  life  to  the  beauty  and  grandeur  of  the  great  prairie, 
which,  brightened  by  the  sun's  rays,  seems  to  smile  at  the  early 
pioneer  who  formerly  chose  the  dark  and  lonesome  forest  for  his 
abode. 

Midst  all  their  trials  and  privations,  the  early  settlers  also  had 
their  joys  and  woes.  As  early  as  August  11,  1836,  death  invaded 
the  then  young  settlement,  and  called  Rebecca,  daughter  of  William 
Lister,  from  earthly  care.  To  this  family  is  also  accredited  the  first 
birth,  that  of  Riley  Thomas  Lister,  April  15,  183V.  Another  early 
birth  was  that  of  Parker  T.  Eastburn,  November  20,  1838.  The 
latter  is  a  present  resident  of  the  township.  The  first  marriage 
occurred  August  19,  1860 ;  the  contracting  parties  were  David 
Mathews  and  Catharine  Robbins ;  the  hymeneal  knot  was  tied  by 
Robert  Caldwell,  who  was  also  the  first  justice  of  the  peace. 

RELIGIOUS  MATTERS. 

The  little  strip  of  timber  in  the  northwest  portion  of  the  township 
was  the  scene  of  the  early  religious  gatherings.  In  those  times  no 
cloud-piercing  spire  marked  the  spot,  nor  silver-toned  church-bell 
the  hour,  when 

"  Amidst  the  cool  and  silence  they  knelt  down, 
And  offered  to  the  Mightiest  solemn  thanks  and  supplication." 

As  early  as  1834  a  minister  by  the  name  of  Springer,  of  the  Methodist 
persuasion,  preached  in  the  residence  of  Jesse  Eastburn  on  section  5. 
Owing,  however,  to  the  death  of  his  horse  he  soon  turned  his  charge 
over  to  brother  Essex,  who  completed  the  year.  The  following  year 
brother  Walker  presided.  He  was  succeeded  by  brother  Olivar,  who 
seemed  to  begin  in  earnest.  He  went  among  the  people  and  asked 
them  if  they  wanted  religion.  Receiving  answers  in  the  affirmative, 
he  set  about  organizing  a  society  which  soon  numbered  twenty-four ; 
but  owing  to  a  disagreement  regarding  the  Methodist  discipline  he 
would  not  make  them  full  members.  When  his  year  was  up  he  left,'; 
Brother  Kenoyer,  a  United  Brethren  missionary,  came  and  preached, 
giving  the  discipline  of  the  United  Brethren  church,  which  was  accepted 
and  all  joined.  Frederick  Kenoyer  preached  the  first  two  years. 
J.  F.  Miller  is  the  present  minister,  and  preaches  at  the  West  Union 
school,  district  No.  3,  every  third  Sunday.  The  society  numbers 
sixty-four  members.  Connected  with  the  same  is  a  Sabbath  school  of 
forty  members.  It  was  organized  about  1862.  The  next  and  success- 
ful advent  of  the  Methodists  in  this  township,  was  in  the  spring  of 


SHELDON   TOWNSHIP.  179 

1858,  when  meetings  were  held  in  the  Hesperian  (West)  school-house, 
district  No.  2 — the  Revs.  D.  Ackerman,  A.  Irving  and  O.  Smithson, 
members  of  the  Iroquois  circuit,  rotating  every  four  weeks.  In  1861 
a  six-room  frame  parsonage  was  built  at  Sheldon.  On  July  27  of  the 
same  year,  at  a  meeting  of  the  Iroquois  circuit,  it  was  unanimously 
decided  to  change  the  circuit  from  Iroquois  to  that  of  Sheldon.  The 
first  quarterly  conference  was  held  at  the  Hesperian  school-house  in 
April,  1862.  Preaching  continued  to  be  held  at  this  school,  and  at 
a  house  in  Sheldon,  until  1867,  when  the  present  church  used  by  this 
denomination  was  built.  It  is  a  frame  building,  size  34x48,  and  cost, 
when  ready  for  occupancy,  about  $3,000.  It  was  dedicated,  July  14, 
1867,  by  Rev.  Dr.  Munsel,  of  Bloomington,  and  now  has  236  members. 
Connected  with  this  organization  is  a  Sabbath  school,  organized  the 
first  Sabbath  in  January,  1868,  with  forty  members,  which  has  flourished 
to  this  day,  the  attendance  now  numbering  140.  The  second  society 
of  United  Brethren  in  this  township  was  organized  in  the  Enslen 
school-house,  near  Iroquois,  about  the  year  1850,  by  Jacob,  son  of 
Frederick  Kenoyer.  This  school-building  served  as  rneeting-house 
until  the  winter  of  1875.  On  December  19  of  this  year,  the  present 
church  at  Sheldon,  used  by  this  denomination,  was  dedicated  by  the 
Rev.  J.  W.  Hott.  It  is  a  frame  building,  20  foot  story,  size  30x50. 
and  cost  about  $2,500.  They  have  preaching  every  Sunday  by  Rev. 
J.  Cowgill.  Connected  with  this  church  is  a  Sabbath  school,  organized 
in  1876,  and  has  a  fair  attendance. 

SCHOOLS. 

Education,  that  bright  and  glittering  gem,  the  peer  of  prince  or 
fortune,  early  received  that  consideration  from  the  inhabitantstof  this 
township  which  its  importance  demands.  From  the  beginning  they 
manifested  an  interest  in,  and  lent  their  support  to,  the  establish- 
ment of  schools  in  their  midst.  Thus  as  early  as  1850  when  scarce  half 
a  dozen  families  lived  in  the  township,  we  find  Olivar  P.  Bookless 
busied  in  the  cares  of  a  subscription  school, — an  old  log  house  on  the 
farm  of  Jesse  Eastburn  serving  as  school-building,  in  which  he  taught 
several  terms.  December,  1856,  he  began  a  term  in  the  first  district 
school  in  the  township, —  an  old  log  building,  12x14,  located  on 
section  8,  being  the  scene  of  this  event.  The  logs  of  this  ancient  tem- 
ple of  learning  now  form  a  shed  in  Mr.  Bookless'  yard,  not  far  from 
where  they  stood  in  their  former  grandeur.  Another  early  instructor 
was  Charles  B.  Harrington,  who  taught  as  early  as  1857 ;  and  though 
schools  may  have  been  in  their  infancy,  the  fact  did  not  enhance  the 
salaries  paid,  at  least  not  so  in  all  cases,  as  about  this  time  Mrs.  Eliza- 


180  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

beth  Waity  furnished  the  building  and  taught  a  three-months  term  for 
$40.  The  first  school-house  built  in  the  township  was  in  district 
No.  9,  during  1859, — Sarah  Darrough  being  the  first  teacher  in  the 
same.  At  present  there  are  nine  districts  and  ten  schools  in  the  town- 
ship. District  No.  1  has  two  schools ;  one,  a  graded  school,  is  located 
in  Sheldon.  It  is  a  large  two-story  frame  building,  which  was  put  up 
at  a  cost  of  nearly  $7,000  including  furniture.  It  is  presided  over  by  a 
competent  faculty,  and  a  board  of  directors  ever  watchful  of  its  best 
interests,  who  make  it 

"A  temple  of  learning  and  monument  of  enterprise,11 

of  which  the  citizens  of  this  thriving  village  and  surrounding  county 
may  well  be  proud.  The  remaining  schools  of  this  township  are  in 
good  order,  well  located,  and  presided  over  by  competent  instructors. 
The  first  school  treasurer  was  John  McDermet. 

ORGANIZATION. 

Sheldon  township  was  organized  April  7,  1868,  by  the  election  of 
the  following  officers :  Supervisor,  Dr.  L.  B.  Brown ;  town  clerk,  D. 
W.  Ayers ;  assessor,  Parker  T.  Eastburn ;  collector,  Owen  King ;  mag- 
istrates, Robert  Caldwell  and  D.  W.  Ayers;  highway  commissioners, 
A.  B.  Caldwell,  W.  Ewen  and  Jacob  Wingard ;  constables,  Seth  Bur- 
dick  and  John  Danough.  The  present  officers  are:  Supervisor,  B. 
Bishopp ;  town  clerk,  D.  J.  Eastburn ;  assessor,  E.  J.  Allhands ;  col- 
lector, A.  C.  Man  tor;  commissioners  of  highways,  A.  D.  Russell, 
George  W.  Eastburn  and  John  Fleming,  Jr. ;  magistrates,  Dr.  D. 
Greenlee  and  J.  R.  Russell ;  constables,  James  R.  Burk  and  James  T. 
Dunn.  The  number  of  votes  polled  at  organization  was  99  ;  at  present 
the  number  reaches  500.  The  first  assessed  valuation  of  property  was 
about  $120,000.  The  last  assessment  reached  $343,472.  The  popula- 
tion is  estimated  at  2,000.  Though  very  close  and  uncertain,  it  is  con- 
sidered to  be  republican  in  politics. 

The  first  road  within  the  township  was  one  skirting  the  timber  in 
the  northwest  portion  of  the  township ;  it  led  to  Chicago  via  Iroquois. 
Another  early  road  was  one  from  La  Fayette  to  Chicago  via  Iroquois. 
It  passed  through  the  eastern  side  of  the  township.  Owing  to  the  late 
settlement  of  the  township  there  were  few  permanent  roads  until  quite 
a  recent  date.  At  present  the  township  has  roads  laid  out  on  all  the 
section-lines,  and  excepting  a  few  miles  extend  their  entire  length. 
Liberal  appropriations  have  been  made  for  the  improvement  of  the 
roads,  nearly  all  of  which  have  been  graded,  and  their  condition  com- 
pares favorably  with  those  of  the  other  townships  of  the  county. 


SHELDON   TOWNSHIP.  181 

The  township  has  splendid  railroad  facilities.  The  Toledo,  Peoria 
&  "Warsaw  passes  through  the  northern  tier  of  sections  from  east  to 
west,  and  the  Cincinnati,  La  Fayette  &  Chicago  crosses  the  northeastern 
portion,  furnishing  an  outlet  north  and  south.  The  Toledo,  Peoria  & 
"Warsaw  was  finished  in  1860,  and  proved  the  beginning  of  the  era  of 
settlement,  which  was  pushed  to  a  wonderful  extent  after  the  comple- 
tion of  the  Cincinnati,  La  Fayette  &  Chicago  in  1871.  Owing  to  the 
very  sparse  settlement  in  1860,  but  little  was  done  in  aid  of  the  Toledo, 
Peoria  &  Warsaw  railroad,  the  few  residents  along  the  line  of  road 
subscribing  limited  amounts  of  stock.  The  Cincinnati,  La  Fayette  & 
Chicago  was  put  through  in  1871.  Previous  to  this  the  township  voted 
$25,000  bonds  to  the  Chicago,  Danville  &  Vincenues  railroad,  the  pro- 
gramme of  which  was  carried  out  by  the  Cincinnati,  La  Fayette  &  Chi- 
cago, to  which  company  the  bonds  were  delivered.  But  owing  to  some 
misunderstanding  or  disagreement,  the  payment  of  the  bonds  was  re- 
fused, and  the  matter  has  been  awaiting  the  decision  of  the  courts. 

VILLAGE    OF    SHELDON. 

The  years  1859  and  1860  will  ever  be  memorable  in  the  history  of 
the  broad  prairies  south  of  the  Iroquois.  The  latter  days  of  the  former 
year  dawned  on  the  completion  of  the  Toledo,  Peoria  &  "Warsaw  rail- 
road, which  proved  to  be,  comparatively,  the  beginning  of  the  era  of 
settlement  of  the  vast  prairies  through  which  it  passed.  As  early  as 
January,  1860,  a  switch  was  placed  on  Sec.  2,  T.  26  IN".,  R.  11  "W.,  and 
named  Sheldon ;  thus,  during  that  cold  winter  month,  the  seed  of  a 
future  city  was  planted.  Soon  after  the  completion  of  the  switch, 
Messrs.  Sherman  &  Smith  put  up  a  small  shed  and  pair  of  scales,  and 
began  grain-buying.  This  firm  was  the  first  to  ship  goods  outward 
from  the  switch.  Probably  the  first  goods  shipped  to  the  switch  were 
five  cars  of  lumber  to  Mr.  Jacob  Wingard,  who  was  improving  on  his 
farm  about  one  mile  south  of  the  switch.  The  business  of  the  station 
was  transacted  from  Gilman  until  March  1,  1860,  when  William  B. 
Fleager  came  from  there  and  took  charge  of  the  switch — a  charge  that 
would  have  sent  less  energetic  men  away  in  despair.  The  first  day  he 
failed  to  find  a  place  to  board,  and  so  returned  to  Gilman  that  night. 
But  the  next  day  found  him  there  again,  and  he  was  more  successful, 
finding  a  boarding  place  with  Mr.  William  Bussert,  who  lived  about 
three-quarters  of  a  mile  from  the  switch.  He,  however,  remained  there 
but  a  short  time,  as  the  walking  was  so  very  bad,  and  so  he  concluded 
to  "  batch  "  it.  Accordingly  he  procured  a  car,  placed  it  on  the  switch, 
and  had  it  serve  as  residence,  depot,  freight-house  and  all  combined. 
He  dwelt  there  until  some  time  in  May,  when  he  erected  the  first  resi- 


182  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

dence  at  the  switch,  the  style  of  which  was  two  buildings,  size  14x20 
and  12x16,  one  placed  two  feet  behind  the  other.  Upon  their  com- 
pletion they  were  occupied  by  himself  and  family.  In  September  fol- 
lowing, Mr.  H.  Messer,  the  county  surveyor,  surveyed  the  village  of 
Sheldon,  the  plat  consisting  of  one  ten-acre  piece  along  the  railroad,  and 
about  200  lots  around  the  same.  The  place  was  laid  out  on  land  be- 
longing to  the  Hon.  Judge  Chamberlain  and  James  Lawrence,  who 
became  the  proprietors  of  the  town.  The  lots  were  priced  from  $25 
to  $75,  and  the  sale  began  at  once.  The  first  purchase  was  two  lots 
for  $100,  made  by  William  B.  Fleager,  who  in  October  following  built 
the  first  store  at  the  place,  and  occupied  the  same  with  a  stock  of  gro- 
ceries in  November.  Later  he  received  the  appointment  of  postmaster. 
Other  early  settlers  in  the  village  were  William  Smith,  Dr.  Barry 
(who  was  the  first  physician  to  take  up  a  residence  in  the  township), 
Hugh  McCutcheon  and  William  Wood.  Dock  Brandon  opened  the 
first  blacksmith  shop  in  the  village  about  1862.  October  8,  1865, 
Messrs.  E.  G.  Collins  and  John  Steele  began  business  in  their  steam 
flour-mill.  In  1870  a  steam  elevator  was  erected  by  William  B.  Fleager. 
Thus  the  village  steadily  increased,  and  on  December  26,  1871,  it  was 
incorporated;  the  vote  stood,  for  incorporation,  24;  against,  1.  Janu- 
ary 2,  1872,  the  following  trustees  were  elected :  William  B.  Fleager, 
S.  A.  Barry,  Thomas  Thornil,  W.  B.  Fowler  and  J.  E.  Tyler.  At  a 
meeting  held  January  8,  they  elected  S.  A.  Barry,  president,  and  David 
Greenl'ee,  clerk.  On  May  5,  1874,  under  Art.  II  of  the  act  for  the 
organization  of  villages,  Sheldon  was  reorganized ;  the  vote  standing, 
for  reorganization,  44;  against,  13.  The  trustees  were  B.  Bishopp, 
J.  E.  Tyler,  R.  Eoss,  William  Sloan,  O.  King  and  E.  Carroll ;  A.  B. 
Caldwell,  police  magistrate,  and  David  Greenlee,  clerk.  The  first 
meeting  of  the  new  board  was  held  June  17,  1874.  B.  Bishopp  was 
elected  president,  and  J.  E.  Tyler,  treasurer ;  all  were  sworn  in  by  D. 
Greenlee,  justice  of  the  peace.  The  village  pursued  the  even  tenor  of 
its  way,  each  year  adding  to  the  number  of  its  residents  and  business 
houses  until  1875,  when  a  movement  initiated  by  W.  B.  Fleager,  and 
joined  by  other  leading  citizens,  produced  a  scene  of  activity  seldom 
ever  witnessed  outside  of  the  larger  cities, —  it  being  no  less  than  the 
building  in  one  continuous  block  of  fifteen  two-story  brick  store-build- 
ings, known  as  "  Central  Block,"  thus  securing  to  Sheldon  not  only  the 
best  business  block  in  the  county,  but  the  best  for  many  miles  around. 
But  such  has  been  the  magnitude  of  the  improvements  of  this  thriv- 
ing, growing  city,  that  they  are  not  confined  alone  to  the  "  Central," 
south  of  which  stands  the  old  pioneer,  "  Fleager's  Bank  Block,"  which 
is  a  two-story  brick,  containing  the  bank  and  a  large  double-front  store- 


SHELDON   TOWNSHIP. 


183 


room,  between  which  a  broad  hallway  leads  to  Fleager's  hall  and  the 
"  Enterprise  "  office.  East  of  the  north  end  of  the  "  Central "  is  "  Com- 
mercial Block,"  which  consists  of  three  adjoining  one-story  brick  store- 
rooms. These  blocks,  with  the  single  one-story  brick  store-room  oppo- 
site the  "  Central,"  complete  the  list  of  brick  business  stands  in  the 
city,  the  remaining  places  of  business  being  frame. 

The  city  is  located  at  the  crossing  of  the  Toledo,  Peoria  &  Warsaw 
and  Cincinnati,  Lafayette  &  Chicago  railroads,  and  is  noted  for  its 
activity  in  all  branches  of  trade,  more  particularly  the  grain  trade,  in 
which  it  has  a  great  and  growing  interest,  stimulated  by  an  active  com- 
petition. 

March  10,  1871,  Messrs  J.  B.  Spotswood  and  E.  A.  Burns  began  the 
publication,  from  a  press  in  Kentland,  Indiana,  of  a  six-column  folio, 
weekly  independent  newspaper,  called  the  "  Sheldon  Courier."  It  was 
supported  by  a  liberal  number  of  cash  advertisements  and  subscrip- 
tions, but  expired  in  a  few  months. 

The  "  Sheldon  Enterprise  "  is  a  five-column  quarto,  weekly  inde- 
pendent newspaper,  first  published  December  31,  1874,  by  H.  R. 
Fields  and  H.  L.  Henry.  The  first  copy  was  sold  for  $2.50  at  auction, 
to  Joe  Bell.  Since  February  1,  1877,  it  has  been  under  the  manage- 
ment of  D.  J.  Eastburn,  the  present  editor  and  proprietor. 


FIKES. 


Though  comparatively  a  new  township,  many  of  its  citizens  have 
been  sufferers  by  fire,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  following  tabular  state- 
ment : 


NAME. 

PROPERTY. 

MONTH. 

DAY. 

YEAR. 

LOCATION. 

E   B    Bishopp  

Residence  

October  .  . 

9 

1859 

it 

9 

1860 

John  Brandon  

Blacksmith  Shop  

Village 

J.  Russell  

Hotel  

April  .... 

28 

1871 

K 

George  Hayby  

Residence  

February  . 

1873 

Township 

T.,P.  &  W.  R.R.Co 

Hotel  

1874 

E.  Julien  

Tenement  House  

October. 

30 

1874 

(i 

J.  F.  Goods  

General  Store  

September 

12 

1876 

Village 

C.  W  Loy  

Barn  and  Implements.  . 

July  . 

24 

1877 

J.  T.  Dunn  

Livery  Stable  

May  •  .    .  . 

11 

1879 

Village 

Job  Voak    

Steam  Flour  Mill  

29 

1879 

P.  O'Brien  

Barn  

August 

2 

1879 

SOCIETIES.    ETC. 


Sheldon  Lodge,  No.  609,  A.F.  and  A.M.,  was  chartered  October 
5,  1869.  The  charter  members  were:  James  Cauvins,  "William  Wood, 
John  Hill,  L.  B.  Brown,  C.  B.  Willard,  Scott  A.  King,  Enos  T.  Soper, 
A.  C.  Man  tor,  A.  J.  Willard,  H.  J.  Miller,  William  Warrick  and  Jacob 


184  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

Wingard.  The  first  officers  were  :  James  Oauvins,  W.M. ;  William 
Wood,  S.W. ;  John  Hill,  J.W. :  L.  B.  Brown.  Treas.;  C.  B.  Willard, 
Sec.  The  present  officers  are:  A.  C.  Mantor,  W.M. ;  S.  H.  Atwood, 
S.W. ;  William  Wood,  J.W. ;  J.  R.  Tyler,  Treas. ;  J.  A.  Day,  Sec. 
The  lodge  has  a  fine  hall,  and  is  in  a  flourishing  condition.  It  num- 
bers thirty-eight  members. 

Sheldon  Lodge,  No.  349,  I.O.O.F.,  was  chartered  October  9,  1867. 
The  charter  members  were:  W.  B.  Fleager,  D.  D.  Tullis,  James 
Greese,  M.  H.  Soper,  J.  W.  Darrough,  D.  M.  Brenner  and  0.  L.  Hogle. 
The  present  officers  are :  B.  M.  Michaels,  N.G. ;  G.  W.  Enslen,  Y.G. ; 
Charles  E.  Tullis,  R.  Sec.  and  P.  Sec.,  and  J.  S.  B.  Jewett,  Treas. 
The  lodge  has  a  fine  hall,  and  is  in  a  flourishing  condition.  It  num- 
bers thirty  members. 

Sheldon  Lodge,  No.  209,  I.O.G.T.,  was  reorganized  by  John  Q. 
Detweyler,  December  2, 1877.  The  present  officers  are  :  J.  A.  Holmes, 
W.C.T. ;  Mrs.  John  Steele,  W.Y.T. ;  Miss  Lydia  Patterson,  W.S. ; 
John  Steele,  W.T.S.  ;  Mrs.  E.  Patterson,  W.T. ;  John  Brubaker, 
P.W.C.T. 

Sheldon  Lodge,  No.  1098,  Knights  of  Honor,  is  a  mutual  benefit 
society,  and  was  organized  by  L.  D.  Roberts,  D.G.D.,  May  30,  1878. 
It  meets  in  Odd-Fellows'  hall  every  two  weeks.  It  has  a  membership 
of  thirteen. 

The  village  of  Haxby  was  surveyed,  May  19,  1868,  by  E.  W.  Dod- 
son,  for  George  Haxby,  on  land  belonging  to  the  latter.  The  survey 
was  recorded  July  17,  1868.  The  plat  contains  about  12  acres,  located 
on  the  north  side  of  the  railroad,  at  the  state  line,  in  Sheldon  township. 
The  population  is  about  75  to  100.  Albert  Salsbury  bought  the  first 
two  lots  for  $50.  Oscar  Bishop  built  the  first  house  in  the  winter  of 
1862,  and  sold  liquor  in  the  same.  In  the  winter  of  1862  the  railroad 
company  built  two  frame  engine-houses  and  a  hotel.  A  few  other 
saloons,  and  a  general  store  for  a  short  period,  constituted  the  business 
of  the  place.  Its  close  proximity  to  Sheldon  excludes  a  post-office.  In 
the  spring  of  1879  a  school-house  was  erected  on  a  lot  donated  by  Mr. 
Haxby.  The  chief  and  perhaps  only  object  of  the  village  is  to  afford 
convenient  accommodations  to  the  railroad  hands  who  constitute  the 
population. 

Though  a  few  pioneers  made  settlements  within  the  present  limit 
of  this  township  as  far  back  as  the  thirties,  they  were  confined  to  the 
timber  in  the  northwest  corner.  The  vast  prairie,  embracing  almost 
the  entire  township,  was  not  settled  until  a  much  later  date,  and  surely 
the  pioneer  period  extended  until  1860^  if  not  later.  Since  that  time 
the  broad  expanse  of  wild  prairie  has  been  transformed  into  a  scene  of 


SHELDOIST   TOWNSHIP.  185 

industrial  activity,  scarcely  equaled  by  any  township  in  the  county. 
Since  that  time  two  railroads  have  passed  within  the  bounds  of  the 
township,  affording  an  outlet  to  all  the  cardinal  points  of  the  compass 
for  the  surplus  products;  nearly  2,000  people  have  become  residents; 
a  city  of  1,000  people  has  sprung  up,  as  if  by  magic ;  the  rude  log 
cabins  and  shanties  have  all  disappeared,  and  have  been  replaced  by 
beautiful  specimens  of  modern  architecture,  until  on  every  hand  we 
seem  to  be  reminded  that  this  is  wonderland. 

BIOGRAPHICAL. 

The  Eastburns.  Prominent  among  the  names  of  the  early  settlers 
of  Iroquois  county  is  that  of  Eastburn.  The  name  appears  as  early  as 
1830,  since  which  time  five  generations  have  appeared  in  this  county. 
The  early  history  of  the  Eastburns  traces  through  a  long  line  of  ances- 
try back  to  England.  Those  who  came  to  this  county  were  descendants 
of  Jesse  Eastburn,  who  was  born  in  Maryland  in  the  year  1770.  He 
was  twice  married,  first  to  Miss  Abigail  Phillips,  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
next  to  Mrs.  Barbara  Pitinger,  of  Ohio.  By  the  second  marriage  there 
was  one  child,  which  died  in  Ohio,  where  Mrs.  Eastburn  had  returned 
after  the  death  of  her  husband.  By  the  first  marriage  there  were  nine 
children,  four  of  whom  have  lived  in  this  county  :  Hezekiah,  Joseph 
B.,  Jesse  Jr.,  and  William,  all  of  whom  were  born  in  Adams  county, 
Ohio.  Jesse  Eastburn,  Sr.,  came  to  this  county  about  the  year  1833, 
and  settled  on  section  5  of  the  present  township  of  Sheldon,  where  he 
lived  until  his  death.  He  had  been  preceded  by  his  son  Hezekiah, 
who  settled  about  three  miles  southwest  of  the  present  village  of  Iro- 
quois in  the  spring  of  the  year  1830,  and  died  October  29,  1832.  June 
6,  1822,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Ann  Black,  by  whom  he  became  the 
father  of  five  children,  three  of  whom  are  living :  Margaret,  Jesse  R., 
and  Mary  J.  May  4,  1836,  Mrs.  Eastburn  married  James  Crozzar, 
who  settled  in  this  county  in  the  fall  of  1830,  and  died  in  1869.  Mrs. 
Crozzar  is  now  living  with  her  daughter,  near  the  place  of  her  early 
settlement.  Joseph  B.  Eastburn  settled  in  Iroquois  county  about  the 
year  1833.  He  married  Miss  Sarah  A.  Truitt,  a  native  of  Adams 
county,  Ohio.  They  settled  in  what  is  now  Concord  township,  and  in 
1835  moved  to  his  father's  farm  in  the  present  township  of  Sheldon, 
where  he  lived  until  his  death,  April  14,  1850;  she  died  August  28, 
1870.  Of  their  nine  children  four  are  living :  William  L.,  Parker  T., 
A.  M.,  and  David  C.  Jesse  Eastburn,  Jr.,  married  Miss  Jane  Smedley 
in  Ohio,  April  7,  1831.  She  was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  January  18, 
1809.  They  settled  near  Iroquois,  in  this  county,  in  1835.  In  1870 
they  moved  to  Sheldon,  where,  September  3,  1873,  he  died.  They 

12 


186  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

had  nine  children,  four  of  whom  are  living :  Isaac  H.,  James  JL,  Annie 
A.  and  David  J.  Mrs.  Eastburn  married  Mr.  Harrison  Hedge  Novem. 
ber  21,  1875.  He  was  born  in  Massachusetts,  February  2,  1813,  and 
moved  to  New  York  when  quite  young,  thence  to  Indiana,  where, 
September  8,  1836,  he  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Ewan,  of  New  York. 
She  died  in  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  in  1868.  They  had  six  children  : 
Mercy  H*,  Arthur  S.,  Mary,  Samuel,  Amanda  E.  and  Cordelia.  In 
1871  Mr.  Hedge  moved  to  Sheldon,  and  has  lived  there  since.  While 
in  Indiana  he  learned  the  carpenter's  trade,  and  followed  it  and  farm- 
ing, but  of  late  years  he  has  lived  retired.  William  Eastburn  married 
Miss  Julia  A.  Moore,  a  native  of  Kentucky.  They  were  married  in 
Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana.  He  first  came  to  this  county  in  1833, 
then  returned  to  Indiana  and  came  with  his  family  in  1835,  and  lived 
here  until  their  deaths,  March  11, 1870,  and  February  22,  1871,  respect- 
ively. Of  their  ten  children  four  are  living :  Henry  H.,  George  W., 
Montgomery  and  Sidney  T. 

Jesse  R.  Eastburn,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Sheldon,  was  born  in 
Adams  county,  Ohio,  November  4,  1824,  and  came  to  this  county  with 
his  parents  in  the  spring  of  1830,  and  in  the  latter  part  of  the  same 
year  they  settled  on  his  present  place.  In  1832  his  father  died,  and  in 
1833  he  went  among  his  relatives  in  Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana,  and 
lived  there  until  1845,  when  he  returned  here  and  bought  out  the  heirs, 
and  lived  on  the  old  homestead  since.  November  6,  1848,  he  was 
married  to  Miss  Tabitha  Critchfield,  of  Ohio.  She  died  November  9, 
1854.  They  had  two  children  :  Ann  and  Ellen.  May  1,  1856,  he 
was  married  to  Miss  Margaret  Howry.  She  was  born  in  Warren 
county,  Indiana.  They  had  four  children,  three  living :  Sarah  J., 
Mattie  and  Jesse.  He  owns  290  acres  in  this  county,  located  three  and 
and  a  half  miles  northwest  of  Sheldon.  He  has  held  the  offices  of 
school  director,  road  commissioner  and  supervisor. 

William  L.  Eastburn,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Sheldon,  is  probably 
the  first  child  born  in  Concord  township,  Iroquois  county,  Illinois. 
He  was  born  February  22,  1834.  May  12,  1854,  he  was  married  to 
Miss  Massa  Hougland.  She  was  born  in  Coshocton  county,  Ohio. 
Of  their  eleven  children  nine  are  living:  Charles,  Joseph  B.,  James, 
Minnie  F.,  Ella  J.,  Maggie,  George,  Cynthia  and  William  P.  Mr. 
Eastburn  lived  with  his  parents  until  one  year  after  his  marriage,  when 
he  moved  to  his  present  place.  He  owns  500  acres  in  this  county, 
which  he  has  earned  mostly  by  his  own  labor.  Two  of  his  children 
are  married  :  Charles  and  Joseph  B.  The  latter  was  married,  October 
18, 1877,  to  Miss  Sarah  E.  Gooding.  Charles  was  married  to  Berthenia 
McKimson,  February  14, 1877.  His  two  children,  George  B.  and  Jesse, 
represent  the  fifth  generation  of  the  family  in  this  county. 


SHELDON    TOWNSHIP.  187 

Parker  T.  Eastbnrn,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Sheldon,  is  a  native  of 
Sheldon  township,  Iroquois  county,  Illinois.  He  was  born  November 
20,  1838,  and  is  probably  the  second  child  born  within  the  present 
limits  of  the  township.  He  began  farming  for  himself  in  1858.  August 
9,  1871,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Julia  A.  Moore,  who  was  born  in 
Scioto  county,  Ohio,  July  25,  1843.  Of  their  four  children  three  are 
living:  Luther  F.,  Clara,  and  an  infant.  He  has  held  the  offices  of 
school  director,  trustee  and  township  assessor,  and  has  served  as  super- 
visor for  three  years.  He  owns  326  acres  in  this  county,  which  he  has 
earned  by  his  own  labor.  The  farm  is  located  three  miles  east  of  the 
village  of  Sheldon,  and  is  well  adapted  to  stock-raising,  in  which  he  is 
extensively  engaged. 

A.  M.  Eastburn,  farmer,  Sheldon,  was  born  on  his  present  place 
August  29,  1842,  and  has  always  made  this  his  home.  In  1861  he 
began  working  on  his  own  account,  farming  part  of  the  present  place, 
and  improved  an  eighty-acre  farm  about  four  miles  southeast  of  here. 
In  the  fall  of  the  same  year  he  enlisted  in  Co.  C,  51st  reg.  111. 
Yol.  Inf.,  and  remained  in  service  four  years  and  one  month.  From 
1863  he  was  sergeant.  He  was  in  the  battles  of  Island  No.  10,  Stone 
River,  Chickamauga,  Resaca,  and  Atlanta  campaign.  At  Chickamauga 
he  was  wounded,  and  was  in  the  hospital  four  months.  With  others  he 
was  captured  at  Stone  River,  but  was  recaptured  in  a  few  hours.  From 
the  army  he  returned  home  and  bought  out  one  of  the  heirs  to  the  old 
homestead,  and  has  lived  on  the  place  since.  April  5, 1868,  he  married 
Miss  Sarah  E.  Pinneo,  who  was  born  in  Clark  county,  Ohio.  They  had 
five  children,  three  living  :  Grace,  Nellie  and  Allen  P.  He  owns  286 
acres  in  this  county,  which  he  has  earned  mostly  by  his  own  labor. 

David  C.  Eastburn,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Sheldon,  is  a  native  of 
Sheldon  township,  this  county.  He  was  born  August  12,  1845,  and 
lived  at  home  until  1862,  when  he  enlisted  in  the  76th  111.  Vol.,  and 
remained  in  the  service  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He  was  in  the  battles 
of  Sabine  Cross  Roads,  siege  of  Vicksburg,  Mobile,  and  the  other 
engagements  of  the  regiment.  After  the  war  he  returned  home  and 
engaged  in  farming.  April  21,  1866,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Annie 
E.  "Webster,  of  England.  They  have  h' ve  children,  Francis  H.,  Edith 
C.,  Barton  T.,  John  C.  and  William  P.  In  1868  he  moved  to  his 
present  place  and  has  lived  here  since.  He  owns  200  acres  of  land, 
which  he  has  earned  mostly  by  his  own  labor  and  management. 

Isaac  H.  Eastburn,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Sheldon,  was  born  in 
Lawrence  county,  Ohio,  December  5,  1833,  and  with  his  parents  settled 
in  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  in  1835.  He  lived  with  his  parents  until 
he  was  twenty-four  years  of  age.  February  1,  1857,  he  was  married  to 


188  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY.    ' 

Miss  Susannah  Foy,  of  Coshocton  county,  Ohio.  After  their  marriage 
they  moved  to  their  present  place  and  lived  there  since.  In  August, 
1862,  he  enlisted  in  the  76th  111.  Yol.,  and  was  in  the  service  three 
years,  serving  first  as  corporal  and  then  as  sergeant.  He  was  in  the 
siege  of  Yicksburg,  and  the  battles  of  Jackson,  Mobile,  and  the  other 
engagements  of  the  regiment.  After  the  war  he  returned  home  and 
resumed  business  on  the  farm  which  contains  253  acres,  located  two 
miles  northeast  of  Sheldon. 

James  H.  Eastburn,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Sheldon,  was  born  in 
Concord  township,  this  county,  January  2,  1838,  and  lived  at  home 
until  August,  1862,  when  he  enlisted  in  the  67th  111.  Vol.  He  was 
made  second  sergeant  and  was  later  promoted  to  first  lieutenant. 
He  was  in  the  service  three  years  and  took  part  in  the  siege  and  cap- 
ture of  Yicksburg,  and  of  Mobile,  also  the  other  engagements  of  the 
regiment.  He  returned  home  after  the  war,  and  October  26, 1865,  was 
married  to  Miss  Mattie  "Watkins,  of  Montgomery  county,  Indiana. 
After  his  marriage  he  began  farming  on  his  own  account.  In  1866  he 
moved  to  his  present  place  and  has  lived  here  since.  He  owns  300 
acres  of  land  in  this  county,  located  three  miles  northeast  of  the  village 
of  Sheldon. 

Annie  A.  Eastburn  was  married  to  B.  H.  Thornton,  who  was  born 
in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  February  21,  1834.  He  came  to  Iroquois  county 
'in  1854.  The  marriage  took  place  November  29,  1857.  After  the 
marriage  he  bought  and  improved  a  piece  of  wild  land,  on  which  he 
lived  until  1865,  when  they  sold  out  and  moved  to  Bates  county, 
Missouri,  where  they  lived  until  1873,  at  which  time  they  returned  to 
Iroquois  county,  and  in  1874  settled  on  the  present  place,  which  was 
the  old  homestead  farm  of  Jesse  Eastburn,  Jr.,  settled  in  1835.  Mr. 
Thornton  has  held  the  office  of  assessor,  and  also  the  school  offices. 
Of  their  eleven  children  ten  are  living :  Ella,  Benjamin,  Minnie, 
Annie,  Edward,  Charles,  Ross,  Frank,  Nettie  and  Albert. 

D.  J.  Eastburn,  editor  and  proprietor  of  the  "  Sheldon  Enterprise," 
is  a  native  of  Iroquois  county,  Illinois.  He  was  born  in  Concord 
township,  May  10,  1845.  His  early  life  was  spent  on  the  farm  and 
attending  the  district  school  until  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  when  he 
attended  school  at  Battle  Ground,  in  Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana, 
remaining  there  during  the  winters  and  working  on  the  farm  during 
summers  until  he  was  nineteen  years  of  age.  He  then  attended  the 
Asbury  University  at  Greencastle,  Indiana,  at  which  place  he  re- 
mained for  five  years,  graduating  in  1869.  He  then  returned  home 
and  engaged  as  teacher  in  the  High  School  at  Kentland,  Indiana.  In 
1870  he  formed  a  partnership  with  Dr.  Brown,  the  firm  being  Brown 


SHELDON   TOWNSHIP.  189 

&  Eastburn.  They  conducted  the  drug  business  in  Sheldon  for  four 
years,  when  he  sold  his  interest  and  visited  Kansas,  returning  in  the 
fall  of  1874,  and  soon  after  engaging  as  book-keeper  with  Daniel  Fry, 
of  Watseka.  March  8,  1875,  he  bought  an  interest  in  the  "  Sheldon 
Enterprise,"  and  June  1  of  the  same  year  became  sole  editor  and  pro- 
prietor, and  with  the  exception  of  a  few  months  has  continued  as  the 
same  since.  February  12,  1873,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Caroline  H« 
Lyon,  who  was  born  in  Clearh'eld  county,  Pennsylvania.  They  have 
one  child,  Ethel  C. 

Henry  II.  Eastburn,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Sheldon,  was  born  in 
Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana,  January  31,  1839,  and  came  to  Iroquois 
county  in  1843  with  his  parents,  and  with  the  exception  of  two  years 
in  Tippecanoe  county,  has  lived  here  since.  He  lived  twenty-one  years 
with  his  parents.  In  1862  he  enlisted  in  the  76th  111.  Vol.,  and  served 
over  three  years.  He  was  at  the  siege  of  Yicksburg,  Fort  Blakeley, 
and  the  other  battles  of  the  regiment.  After  the  war  he  returned  home 
and  went  to  farming  on  his  father's  farm.  December  25, 1868,  he  was 
married  to  Miss  Susie  Hougland.  She  was  born  in  this  county. 
They  have  two  children :  Samuel  and  William  A.  In  1871  he  came 
to  his  present  place  and  has  lived  on  the  same  since.  His  residence 
was  burned  January  23, 1879,  and  he  at  once  built  his  present  residence. 

Geo.  W.  Eastburn,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Sheldon,  is  a  native  of 
Iroquois  county,  Illinois.  He  was  born,  August  11,  1841,  and  lived- 
with  his  parents  until  1862,  when  he  enlisted  in  the  76th  111.  Vol.,  and 
was  corporal  of  Co.  A.  He  remained  in  the  service  three  years.  He 
was  in  the  battles  of  Vicksburg,  Fort  Blakeley,  Alabama,  and  the  other 
engagements  of  the  regiment.  After  the  war  he  returned  home  and 
attended  school  and  worked  on  the  farm.  March  22,  1870,  he  was 
married  to  Miss  Mary  E.  Bussert,  of  Ohio.  They  have  two  children  : 
Arthur  "W.  B.  and  Zelda  A.  After  his  marriage  Mr.  Eastburn  began 
farming  in  Sheldon  township,  and  in  the  spring  of  1872  he  came  to  his 
present  place,  and  has  lived  here  since.  He  has  held  no  office  except 
connected  with  the  school  and  road. 

Sidney  T.  Eastburn,  farmer,  Sheldon,  was  born  in  Tippecanoe  county, 
Indiana,  in  the  year  1852,  and  came  to  Iroquois  county.  Illinois,  in 
1854.  He  lived  with  his  parents  for  sixteen  years,  and  then  worked  by 
the  month  until  1879.  February  14  of  that  year  he  married  Miss 
Ada  Ray,  who  was  born  in  Wisconsin,  and  came  to  this  county  with 
her  mother  when  very  young.  After  his  marriage  Mr.  Eastburn 
settled  on  his  present  place  and  has  lived  here  since.  He  owns  170 
acres  in  this  county,  which  he  has  principally  earned  by  his  own  labor 
and  management. 


190  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

S.  D.  Fry,  fanner  and  stock-raiser,  Watseka,  is  a  native  of  Coshoc- 
ton  county,  Ohio.  He  was  born  January  16,  1832.  In  1834  he  came 
to  Illinois  with  his  parents,  who  settled  near  Bunkum,  where  he  lived 
until  he  was  twenty-one.  April  21,  1853,  he  was  married  to  Miss 
Harriet  Smith.  She  was  born  in  Ohio,  and  died  January  30,  1856. 
Soon  after  his  marriage  he  moved  to  Belmont  township  and  farmed 
until  1867.  He  then  came  to  his  present  place  and  has  lived  here 
since.  March  22,  1857,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Emily  Moore,  who 
was  born  in  Belmont  township,  this  county,  November  24,  1837. 
They  had  five  children,  four  living :  Marion,  Annie,  Minor  and  Dicie. 
He  owns  160  acres  in  this  county.  He  has  made  many  trips  by  team 
to  Chicago.  His  first  trip  was  about  1842  or  1843,  and  he  has  since 
made  as  many  as  nine  trips  in  one  fall.  His  parents,  John  and  Sarah 
(Doran)  Fry,  were  born  in  Virginia.  They  were  married  September  27, 
1827,  in  Ohio,  where  they  moved  when  young.  They  settled  near 
Bunkum,  in  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  in  the  year  1834.  In  1836  he 
served  as  a  juryman  on  the  trial  of  Thomason.  He  has  delivered  hogs 
in  Chicago  as  early  as  1834.  Of  his  eight  children  seven  are  living. 
He  has  always  lived  in  this  county.  February  12,  1879,  his  wife  died 
in  Watseka,  since  which  time  he  has  been  living  with  his  son. 

James  W.  Murray,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Sheldon,  was  born  in 
Greene  county,  Ohio,  August  14,  1832,  and  lived  there  four  years, 
when  with  his  parents  he  came  to  Illinois  and  settled  near  Iroquois. 
He  lived  there  until  he  was  twenty  years  of  age.  He  then  moved  two 
and  a  half 'miles  to  his  brother-in-law's,  and  made  his  home  with  him 
for  three  years.  July  23,  1855,  he  married  Miss  M.  Johnson,  who 
was  born  in  Coshocton  county,  Ohio,  and  died  November  25,  1871. 
They  had  eight  children,  four  of  whom  are  living :  Mary  A.,  Sarah  E., 
Elva  and  Samuel.  In  the  following  December  after  his  marriage  he 
settled  on  his  present  place,  which  he  entered  in  1853,  and  has  lived 
here  since.  He  has  not  been  an  office  seeker,  his  only  office  being  con- 
nected with  the  school.  He  owns  129  acres  in  this  county. 

James  Hougland,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Sheldon,  was  born  in 
Coshocton  county,  Ohio,  March  31,  1818.  He  was  born  on  the  farm 
and  his  education  was  limited  to  less  than  three  months'  schooling.  At 
the  age  of  twenty  he  began  renting  land  of  his  father.  December  25, 
1837,  he  married  Miss  Hannah  Fox,  who  was  born  in  Muskingum 
county,  Ohio.  After  his  marriage  he  moved  to  a  house  on  his  father's 
farm  and  lived  there  three  years,  then  went  to  his  father-in-law's  farm, 
where  he  lived  until  1845.  He  subsequently  came  to  Illinois  and 
rented  of  Squire  Courtright  three  years,  and  in  1848  came  to  his 
present  place.  He  owns  1,161  acres  in  this  county,  which  he  has 


SHELDON   TOWNSHIP.  191 

earned  by  his  own  labor.  Of  their  ten  children  seven  are  living  :  Eli, 
Levina,  Sarah,  Ira,  James,  Nancy  and  Charles.  His  parents,  Isaac  and 
Polly  (Carpenter)  Hougland,  were  natives  of  Virginia.  Her  brother, 
Thomas  Carpenter,  is  supposed  to  be  the  first  white  child  born  in 
Ohio.  Eli  and  Levina  (Andrews)  Fox  were  natives  of  Connecticut, 
and  moved  to  Ohio  at  an  early  day. 

Christian  Zumwalt,  farmer  and  stock- raiser,  Sheldon,  was  born  in 
Harrison  county,  Kentucky,  September  8,  1824.  At  the  age  of  four 
years  his  parents  moved  to  Fountain  county,  Indiana,  and  there  con- 
ducted a  saw  and  grist  mill.  In  1835  while  there  his  father  died.  In 
1842  with  his  mother  he  moved  to  Illinois  and  settled  in  Yermilion 
county,  where  he  followed  farming.  In  1847  he  moved  to  Belmont 
township  in  Iroquois  county.  In  1849  his  mother  died  in  Fountain 
county,  Indiana,  while  on  a  visit.  He  then  moved  to  Yermilion  county, 
thence  to  Iowa,  thence  to  Tazewell  county,  Illinois,  living  short 
periods  at  each  place.  He  then  came  to  his  present  place  and  has  lived 
here  since.  He  owns  180  acres  in  this  county,  which  he  has  earned 
by  his  own  labor  and  management.  He  has  not  been  an  office 
seeker,  his  only  offices  being  connected  with  the  school  and  roads.  In 
February,  1847,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Salinda  A.  Oder,  who  was 
born  in  Kentucky,  and  moved  to  Vermilion  county,  Illinois,  while 
young.  They  had  eight  children,  seven  living :  Mary  J.,  Martha, 
Sarah  J.,  Adelia,  Charles,  George  and  Franklin. 

O.  P.  Bookless,  farmer,  Sheldon,  was  born  in  Coshocton  county, 
Ohio,  January  15,  1820.  He  was  born  on  the  farm  and  lived  there 
about  twenty  years.  He  then  took  a  trip,  visiting  Philadelphia,  Balti- 
more, etc.,  and  in  1842  traveled  south,  going  by  water  to  Helena,  Ar- 
kansas, thence  to  White  river,  thence  on  foot  two  hundred  miles  up  the 
river,  and  returned  by  canoe,  thence  to  St.  Louis  via  Helena,  thence 
to  Peoria,  Illinois,  thence  on  foot  to  Middleport,  the  county-seat  of 
Iroquois  county,  and  worked  through  harvest.  He  then  went  east  on 
horseback  to  his  home  in  Ohio.  In  1846  he  went  to  Parke  county, 
Indiana,  and  in  the  spring  of  1848  came  to  Illinois  and  settled  near 
Middleport.  He  engaged  in  farming  and  lived  there  until  the  fall  of 
1850,  when  he  came  to  Concord  (now  Sheldon)  township,  and  one 
year  later  settled  on  his  present  place.  January  1,  1850,  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Emily  Lister,  who  was  born  in  Fountain  county,  Indiana, 
April  18,  1830.  They  had  seven  children,  five  living:  Rebecca  A., 
William,  Emily  J.,  Leonard  and  James.  All  but  William,  who  is  in 
Kansas,  live  in  this  county. 

Robert  Caldwell,  farmer,  insurance  agent  and  notary  public,  Sheldon, 
is  a  native  of  Pickaway  county,  Ohio.  He  was  born  February  22,  1831. 


192  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  moved  to  Rensselaer,  Indiana,  and  in 
July  of  the  same  year  came  to  Illinois  and  settled  on  a  farm  located 
two  miles  southwest  of  the  present  village  of  Sheldon.  He  and  his 
brother  Isaac  M.  were  in  partnership.  Both  came  and  lived  together 
until  the  war,  when  Isaac  M.  enlisted  in  the  76th  111.  Vol.,  and  took 
sick  and  died  at  Memphis.  Mr.  Robert  has  always  lived  in  this  town- 
ship since  his  settlement  here  in  1852.  In  October,  1878,  he  moved 
from  his  farm  and  occupied  his  present  brick  residence  in  Sheldon.  In 
1858  and  1859  he  was  assessor  of  Concord  township.  In  1860  he  was 
elected  justice  of  the  peace  and  held  the  office  until  1876.  In  1878  he  was 
appointed  notary,  and  engaged  in  the  insurance  business,  representing 
the  Springfield  Fire  and  Marine,  and  the  !New  York  Life.  On  August 
12,  1856,  he  was  joined  in  wedlock  to  Miss  Cynthia  Pinneo,  who  is  a 
native  of  Springfield,  Ohio.  They  have  had  four  children,  three  living : 
Orlando  B.,  Leroy  and  Olive  A. 

J.  R.  Tyler,  hardware  dealer,  Sheldon,  was  born  in  Waldo  county, 
Maine,  March  28,  1832,  and  lived  there  until  he  was  eighteen  years  of 
age,  \vhen  with  his  parents  he  moved  to  Shelby  county,  Ohio,  and 
lived  there  two  years.  While  there  he  finished  his  trade  of  a  carpenter. 
In  the  fall  of  1852  he  came  to  Illinois,  and  settled  in  Texas,  Iroquois 
county,  and  worked  at  his  trade  and  carried  on  his  farm  for  the  follow- 
ing fifteen  years.  He  then  came  to  Sheldon  and  worked  at  his  trade 
two  years,  and  then  went  to  Gilman.  The  following  year  he  returned 
to  Sheldon,  and  worked  one  year  at  his  trade.  After  this  he  engaged 
in  the  hardware  business,  and  continued  in  the  same  two  years.  For 
awhile  he  worked  at  his  trade  again,  until  1879,  when  he  engaged  in 
his  present  business.  September  22,  1861,  he  was  married  to  Miss  C. 
V.  Amos,  who  was  born  in  Indiana,  and  died  October  8,  1871.  They 
had  three  children  :  Ora  W.,  Sarah  F.  and  Clara.  July  22,  1873,  he 
married  Miss  Kate  Tullis,  who  was  born  in  Tippecanoe  county, 
Indiana. 

David  D.  Tullis,  proprietor  of  livery  and  feed  stables,  Sheldon,  was 
born  in  Wayne  county,  Indiana,  December  4,  1822,  and  lived  there 
six  years,  when  with  his  parents  he  moved  to  Randolph  county,  Indi- 
ana, where  he  lived  two  years  during,  which  time  his  father  died.  In 
company  with  his  mother  and  family  he  then  moved  to  Shelby  county, 
where  they  lived  until  January,  1839.  He  afterward  went  to  Tippe- 
canoe county,  where,  July  27,  1849,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Jane 
Murdock.  She  was  born  in  Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana.  In  1850  his 
mother  died  at  the  residence  of  her  daughter  in  Wayne  county,  Indi- 
ana. In  January,  1853,  he  came  to  Illinois  and  settled  in  Belmont 
township,  this  county,  and  engaged  in  farming.  In  March,  1855,  he 


SHELDON   TOWNSHIP.  193 

moved  to  Middleport  township,  and  in  the  winter  of  1862  he  came  to 
what  is  now  Sheldon  township.  March  1,  1859,  he  came  to  Sheldon 
and  engaged  in  his  present  business.  He  has  held  the  office  of  con- 
stable in  Middleport  township,  and  for  twelve  years  in  Sheldon  town- 
ship. He  has  also  served  as  deputy  sheriff.  He  has  four  children 
living :  Charles  E.,  George  W.,  Francis  F.  and  Eleanor  J.  In  1843  Mr. 
Tullis  drove  a  family  from  near  La  Fayette,  Indiana,  to  Yellowhead 
Point,  in  Kankakee  county.  He  passed  through  here,  but  there  were 
no  settlements  between  Parrish  Grove  and  Iroquois  (old  Bunkum). 
His  parents,  John  and  Eleanor  (Conwell)  Tullis,  were  natives  of  Vir- 
ginia, where  they  were  married.  They  moved  from  Virginia  to 
Middletown,  Ohio,  and  thence,  in  1816,  to  Wayne  county,  Indiana. 
They  raised  ten  children,  live  boys  and  five  girls,  all  of  whom  married 
and  raised  families.  Mr.  David  D.  is  the  youngest  and  only  surviving 
one  of  the  family. 

Dr.  Lucian  B.  Brown,  physician  and  druggist,  Sheldon,  is  a  native 
of  Jamaica,  Vermont.  He  was  born  June  7,  1834,  and  lived  there 
seventeen  years.  He  then  moved  to  Fitchburg,  Massachusetts,  and 
the  following  year  returned  to  Vermont.  In  1853  he  moved  to  Iro- 
quois (old  Bunkum),  Illinois,  and  began  reading  medicine  under  Dr. 
S.  A.  Barry,  and  continued  the  same  four  years.  During  the  winter 
of  1855-6  he  attended  Ann  Arbor,  Michigan ;  and  in  185T  he 
graduated  from  the  Rush  Medical  College,  Chicago,  Illinois.  He 
began  to  practice  regularly  in  1856,  in  Bunkum,  and  resided  there 
until  1862,  when  he  was  commissioned  first  assistant  surgeon  113th 
111.  Vol.,  3d  Board  of  Trade,  and  was  in  service  until  June  20,  1865. 
He  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  major-surgeon  of  the  regulars  in 
April,  1864,  and  March  8,  1865,  he  was  detached  and  assigned  as 
surgeon-in-chief  of  the  post  of  Memphis  and  defenses,  by  an  order  of 
Maj.-Gen.  C.  C.  Washburue.  He  was  relieved  June  19,  1865,  by 
Brig.-Gen.  A.  L.  Ch'etlain,  and  came  to  Sheldon,  Illinois,  where  he 
again  resumed  his  practice,  adding  the  drug  business  in  1870.  He  has 
been  identified  with  that  business  since,  with  the  exception  of  two 
years.  Mr.  Brown  was  elected  the  first  supervisor  of  Sheldon  town- 
ship, and  has  served  as  village  trustee  and  president  of  the  board  of 
same.  November  14,  1866,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Ella  Soper,  who 
was  born  in  Maine.  They  had  five  children,  three  living:  Nellie, 
Grace  and  Blanche. 

A.  C.  Mantor,  carpenter  and  builder,  Sheldon,  was  born  in  Franklin 
county,  Massachusetts,  August  4,  1809,  and  lived  there  four  years,  when 
with  his  parents  he  moved  to  New  York,  where  he  lived  until  1831, 
during  which  time  his  parents  died.  He  then  went  to  Cincinnati  and 


194  HISTORY    OF   IEOQUOIS   COUNTY. 

engaged  at  his  trade  of  carpenter  and  builder.  He  lived  there  until 
1853,  when  he  came  to  Illinois  and  settled  in  Iroquois  county,  living 
one  year  at  Iroquois  or  old  Bunkum.  He  then  went  on  a  farm  he 
bought,  and  followed  farming  until  1875,  when  he  sold  out  and  built 
his  present  residence  in  Sheldon,  occupying  it  in  the  spring  of  1876. 
April  23,  1835,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Rebecca  Wardall,  who  was 
born  in  England.  They  had  eight  children,  five  living:  Lyman,  Cor- 
nelia, Childs,  Annie  and  Emma. 

Dr.  S.  A.  Barry  (deceased),  was  born  in  Vermont,  December  27, 
1817.  He  became  a  physician,  and  removed  to  Anderson,  Indiana, 
where,  April  30,  1854,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Moriah  Tharp.  She 
was  born  in  Madison  county,  Indiana.  From  Anderson  they  moved  to 
Wabash  county,  Indiana,  thence  to  Danville,  Illinois,  thence  to 
Momence,  and  in  about  1854  he  came  to  Iroquois  county,  and  settled 
in  Iroquois.  In  1860  he  came  to  Sheldon.  He  was  the  first  physician 
in  Sheldon  township.  He  continued  his  residence  and  practice  here 
until  his  death,  April  12,  1878.  Mrs.  Barry  is  living  in  the  old  home- 
stead here  in  Sheldon.  Of  the  three  children,  two  are  living  :  Winnie 
B.  and  Birdie  B. 

Andrew  M.  Darrough,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Sheldon,  was  born  in 
Bracken  county,  Kentucky,  October  23,  1847,  and  lived  there  four 
years,  when  with  his  parents  he  moved  to  Montgomery  county,  Indiana, 
and  lived  there  until  1854,  when  they  came  to  Illinois,  and  settled 
in  Sheldon  township,  where  he  lived  until  he  was  twenty-two 
years  of  age.  He  then  moved  to  Benton  county,  Indiana,  and 
taught  school  in  the  winters,  and  improved  a  farm  he  had  bought 
during  summers,  living  there  six  years,  except  one  year  spent  teaching 
in  Parke  county,  Indiana.  He  subsequently  came  to  his  present  place. 
October  23,  1873,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Matilda  Camper,  who  was 
born  in  Parke  county,  Indiana.  They  have  three  children :  Ethan, 
Bicey  and  Truman.  He  owns  240  acres  of  land,  located  five  and  a 
half  miles  southwest  of  Sheldon.  His  parents,  Samuel  V.  and  Ricey 
(Quaintarice)  Darrough,  were  natives  of  Kentucky.  They  were  married 
in  Maysville,  and  came  here  as  stated. 

J.  W.  Johnson,  undertaker  and  dealer  in  furniture,  Sheldon,  was 
born  in  Sweden,  November  13.  1847,  and  came  to  the  United  States 
with  his  parents  in  the  spring  of  1854.  In  the  fall  of  the  same  year 
they  settled  in  Beaver  township,  Iroquois  county,  Illinois.  In  the 
fall  of  1855  his  father  died,  and  with  his  mother  he  went  to  Chicago, 
where  they  lived  two  years ;  when,  upon  the  marriage  of  his  mother, 
they  moved  back  to  the  farm,  and  lived  there  until  the  fall  of  1863, 
at  which  time  he  enlisted  in  Co.  C,  51st  reg.  111.  Inf.,  and  served 


SHELDON   TOWNSHIP.  195 

until  October  21,  1865.  He  was  in  the  battles  of  Rocky  Face,  Resaca, 
Kenesaw  Mountain,  Atlanta  campaign  and  Franklin,  where  he  was 
twice  wounded  and  carried  from  the  field,  and  confined  in  the  hospital 
until  February,  1865.  He  soon  after  joined  his  regiment  and  remained 
with  it  until  his  discharge  from  the  army.  He  returned  home  and 
bought  out  the  other  heirs  to  the  farm,  and  conducted  it  until  1869. 
He  then  rented  his  farm,  and  visited  his  native  country  and  the  prin- 
cipal countries  of  Europe.  He  returned  home  and  spent  the  summer 
of  1870  in  a  grocery  store  in  Kentland,  Indiana,  and  taught  school  in 
the  following  fall.  In  1872  he  engaged  in  buying  grain  at  Donovan. 
He  also  acted  as  station-agent  and  built  the  first  house  of  the  place. 
He  lived  there  until  1878,  when  he  came  to  Sheldon  and  engaged  in 
the  hardware  business,  and  in  January,  1879,  sold  out  and  engaged  in 
the  real-estate  business,  the  firm  being  Fields  &  Johnson.  In  July  of 
the  same  year  he  added  the  furniture  and  undertaking  business. 
March  16,  1873,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Emma  C.  Johnson,  who  was 
born  in  Sweden.  They  had  three  children,  two  living:  Lillie  G.  and 
Helma  May.  In  addition  to  his  business  interests  Mr.  Johnson  retains 
his  farm  of  190  acres  in  Beaver  township,  which  he  has  rented. 

IS".  H.  Waity,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Sheldon,  was  born  in  Nor- 
way, August  24,  1825,  and  lived  there  twelve  years.  With  his  parents 
he  then  came  to  the  United  States  and  settled  at  Beaver  Creek,  Illinois, 
where  his  parents  died.  He  lived  there  but  a  few  months,  when  he 
went  to  Moriticello,  Illinois,  and  lived  there  about  one  year.  He  returned 
to  Beaver  Creek  and  hired  to  a  Mr..Enslen,  living  on  the  Iroquois,  and 
soon  after  was  bound  out  for  four  years  to  a  Mr.  Seritchfield,  with 
whom  he  lived  six  years.  He  then  farmed  for  himself,  and  in  1854 
settled  on  his  present  place.  He  owns  413  acres  in  this  county,  which 
he  has  earned  by  his  own  labor.  September  13,  1849,  he  was  married 
to  Miss  Elizabeth  Enslen,  who  was  born  in  Indiana,  and  died  August 
3,  1868.  Of  their  three  children  one  is  living,  Henry  E.  February 
13,  1870,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Rosanna  Coughenour,  who  was  born 
in  Iroquois  county,  Illinois.  Of  their  five  children  four  are  living: 
Delia  E.,  Ella  S.,  Charles  N.  and  Frank. 

B.  Bishopp,  dealer  in  lumber,  coal  and  agricultural  implements, 
Sheldon,  was  born  in  Kent  county,  England,  in  November,  1838,  and 
lived  there  nearly  sixteen  years,  when  with  his  parents  he  came  to 
the  United  States,  and  settled  in  what  is  now  Sheldon  township,  in 
1855,  and  lived  there  for  fifteen  years,  during  which  time  he  learned 
the  carpenter's  trade.  September  4,  1867,  he  was  married  to  Miss 
Martha  A.  Moore,  who  was  born  in  this  county.  After  the  marriage 
he  moved  to  Stockland  township,  and  lived  there  four  years.  He 


196  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

then  came  to  Sheldon  and  engaged  in  the  lumber  business,  and  took 
contracts  for  building.  They  have  five  children  :  Eddie  B.,  "W.  Frank, 
Virginia  M.,  Harry  B.  and  John  D.  In  1878  he  was  elected  super- 
visor of  this  township,  and  has  held  the  office  since.  He  has  also  held 
school  offices,  and  the  office  of  village  trustee.  He  owns  about  500 
acres  of  land  in  this  county,  of  which  he  manages  250,  and  has  250 
rented. 

Stephen  Buckley,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Sheldon,  was  born  in 
Preble  county,  Ohio,  January  2,  1823,  and  lived  there  three  years, 
when  with  his  parents  he  moved  to  Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana,  and 
lived  there  until  1856.  He  then  came  to  Illinois  and  settled  on  his 
present  place,  which  he  bought  from  the  government  in  1854.  June 
3,  1848,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Eliza  Jane  Harper,  who  was  born  in 
Montgomery  county,  Indiana.  They  had  six  children,  five  living: 
Samuel,  Delila,  Sarah,  Alonzo  and  Moriah  E.  He  owns  645  acres  in 
this  county,  which  he  has  earned  by  his  own  labor.  His  parents, 
James  and  Sarah  (Lincoln)  Buckley,  were  natives  of  North  Carolina 
and  Ohio.  She  died  in  Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana,  in  1844.  He 
later  married  Mrs.  Jacobs,  and  in  1854  settled  in  this  county,  where 
he  lived  about  eighteen  months.  He  then  moved  to  Carroll  county, 
Indiana,  where  he  now  lives. 

R.  "W.  Foster,  grocer,  Sheldon,  is  a  native  of  Northampton  county, 
North  Carolina.  He  was  born  April  3,  1829,  and  when  quite  young 
in  years,  with  his  parents  moved  to  Ohio  and  settled  in  Logan 
county,  where  they  engaged  in  farming.  He  lived  in  Ohio  until  1856, 
when  he  came  to  Illinois  and  settled  in  Iroquois  county,  in  Crab  Apple 
(now  Stockland)  township,  and  lived  there  until  1875,  when  he  came 
to  Sheldon  and  worked  in  a  lumber  yard  about  one  year.  Then,  in 
partnership  with  Mr.  Carroll,  he  bought  out  the  lumber  business  and 
conducted  it  one  year.  They  sold  out  and  Mr.  Foster  engaged  in  his 
present  business.  In  August,  1862,  he  enlisted  in  the  76th  111.  Vol. 
Inf.,  and  remained  in  service  two  years.  He  was  in  the  battles  of 
Yicksburg,  Jackson,  Benton  and  the  other  battles  in  which  his  regi- 
ment was  engaged.  In  March,  1851,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Huldah 
Inskeep,  who  was  born  in  Logan  county,  Ohio.  They  had  three 
children,  one  living,  Annettie. 

A.  B.  Caldwell,  real-estate  and  insurance  agent,  Sheldon,  was  born 
in  Pickaway  county,  Ohio,  December  17, 1833,  and  lived  there  twenty- 
three  years.  He  then  traveled  in  the  west  for  one  year,  and  in  the 
fall  of  1857  settled  in  what  is  now  Sheldon  township.  He  was 
engaged  in  farming  in  the  summers  and  taught  school  in  the  winters 
for  the  first  ten  years,  and  then  confined  himself  to  farming  until  1874, 


SHELDON   TOWNSHIP.  197 

when  he  moved  to  the  village  of  Sheldon.  He  engaged  in  the  hard- 
ware business,  the  firm  being  Holmes  &  Caldwell,  which  continued 
until  June,  1875,  when  they  sold  out.  In  1876  Mr.  Caldwell  bought 
back  the  business  and  continued  the  same  until  September  1,  1878, 
when  he  again  sold  out,  and  has  since  confined  himself  to  the  duties  of 
his  office  as  justice  of  the  peace,  and  to  his  real-estate  and  insurance 
business.  March  13,  1859,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Margaret  Pinneo, 
who  was  born  in  Clark  county,  Ohio,  and  died  June  17,  1863.  They 
had  one  child,  Eva.  February  13,  1866,  he  was  married  to  Miss 
Elizabeth  L.  Holmes,  who  was  born  in  Highland  county,  Ohio.  They 
have  four  children  :  Maimie,  Nellie,  Alburtos  H.  and  Fred  B. 

A.  V.  Gard,  proprietor  of  a  general  store,  Sheldon,  was  born  in 
Butler  county,  Ohio,  March  28,  1820.  He  lived  on  the  farm,  working 
by  the  month,  until  he  was  twenty-two  years  of  age ;  then  married  Miss 
Mary  Ann  Robertson,  who  was  born  in  Germantown,  Ohio,  and  died 
November  5, 1854.  After  his  marriage  he  began  farming  on  his  own 
account,  and  about  two  years  later  he  engaged  in  the  mercantile  busi- 
ness in  Trenton,  Ohio.  In  1848  he  moved  to  near  Yernon,  Indiana, 
where  he  engaged  in  farming;  thence  to  Indianapolis,  where  he  con- 
ducted the  Holmes  House.  In  1853  he  move  to  Newton  county,  Indi- 
ana, and  settled  near  the  state  line,  farming  for  about  two  years; 
thence  to  Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana;  and  about  1857  he  came  to 
Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  and  settled  in  Beaver  township,  where  he 
served  as  supervisor  and  justice  of  the  peace,  and  established  the  Bea- 
ver Grove  post-office  during  the  administration  of  Mr.  Lincoln.  In 
1863  he  engaged  in  the  general  merchandise  business  in  Kentland, 
Indiana,  and  in  1865  returned  to  his  farm,  where  he  remained  until 
1872,  except  one  year  in  Pontiac,  Illinois,  where  he  was  engaged  in 
the  general  store  business.  In  1872  he  again  went  to  Kentland,  and 
was  engaged  selling  lumber  and  agricultural  implements.  He  also 
conducted  a  grocery  for  two  years.  In  February,  1879,  he  came  to 
Sheldon,  Illinois,  and  engaged  in  his  present  business.  November  17, 
1855,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Josephine  A.  Hanger,  who  was  born  in 
Tippecanoe  county.  Indiana.  Of  their  six  children  four  are  living : 
Orris,  Victory  A.,  Fannie  M.  and  Frederick  H.  There  were  three 
children  by  first  marriage :  Isaac  N.,  Alexander  J.  and  Ezra  P. 

William  B.  Fleager,  banker,  Sheldon,  whose  portrait  appears  in 
this  work,  was  born  in  Carlisle,  Pennsylvania,  September  30,  1830,  and 
lived  there  twenty-one  years,  during  which  time  he  received  a  limited 
education.  In  1851  he  came  west  and  settled  in  Peoria,  where  he 
engaged  as  clerk  in  an  iron  store,  remaining  in  the  same  four  years. 
He  then  took  the  agency  of  the  Toledo,  Peoria  &  Warsaw  rail- 


198  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

road,  at  Conger,  Illinois,  and  in  addition  to  the  agency  engaged  in 
the  grain  and  lumber  business  at  that  point.  At  the  end  of  two 
years  he  was  offered  the  agency  of  the  P.  &  O.  E.  Ex.  and  Illinois 
Central  railroads,  at  Gilrnan,  Illinois,  but  was  allowed  only  three 
days'  time  in  which  to  decide.  He  concluded  to  go,  and  at  once 
sold  his  business,  receiving  $3,000,  and  at  the  end  of  the  three  days 
was  at  his  post  in  Gilman,  and  there  remained  until  March  1,  1860, 
when  he  took  charge  of  Sheldon  Station,  and  subsequently  became  the 
leading  spirit  of  the  village.  Short  after  his  arrival  he  built  the  first 
house  of  the  place,  and  later  built  the  first  store,  in  which  he  conducted 
the  grocery  business,  and  receiving  the  appointment  of  postmaster  he 
used  his  store  as  the  office.  He  also  added  the  lumber  business  in 
1861,  and  began  buying  grain  and  selling  agricultural  implements. 
Under  his  careful  and  energetic  management  all  branches  of  his  busi- 
ness were  successful,  and  within  a  few  years  his  grocery  business,  at  first 
confined  to  a  room  16x26  feet,  became  a  general  store  with  a  stock 
valued  at  $10,000,  and  occupying  a  room  16x100  feet.  The  grain 
business  that  started  in  a  small  shed  soon  occupied  a  steam  elevator. 
In  short,  his  business  was  prosperous  throughout  in  every  branch,  with 
the  exception  of  two  years  when  he  served  as  railroad  agent  and  post- 
master until  1873,  when  he  sold  out  his  business  and  built  the  present 
Fleager's  Bank  Building.  He  engaged  in  the  banking  business,  and  has 
since  invested  $25,000  in  buildings — championing  a  movement  that 
has  secured  to  Sheldon  one  of  the  finest  brick  business  blocks  in  the 
county.  He  owns  .about  500  acres  of  land  in  this  township,  on  a  part 
of  which  he  has  built  his  present  elegant  brick  residence.  In  1858  he 
married  Miss  Mariah  Brubaker,  of  Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania; 
she  died  in  Sheldon,  May  15,  1875.  There  were  four  children,  two  of 
whom  are  living :  Charles  G.  and  Arthur  B.  March  1,  1877,  he  mar- 
ried Miss  Florence  M.  Milliman,  who  was  born  in  New  York.  They 
have  one  child,  Clarence  Earl.  On  account  of  strictly  temperate  habits 
and  indomitable  energy,  Mr.  Fleager  has  been  successful  in  business. 
He  is  a  consistent  member  of  the  Methodist  church,  and  has  the  proud 
satisfaction,  while  remembering  that  he  has  been  the  architect  of  his 
own  fortune,  to  know  that  he  has  so  lived  as  not  only  to  win,  but  also 
to  deserve,  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  all  who  know  him. 

Jacob  Wingard,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Sheldon,  was  born  in  Frank- 
lin county,  Pennsylvania,  March  18,  1819,  and  lived  there  nineteen 
years.  With  his  parents  he  then  moved  to  Indiana  and  settled  in 
Carroll  county,  where  he  lived  until  1861,  at  which  time  he  came  to 
Illinois,  and  settled  on  his  present  place.  January  5,  1841,  he  was 
married  to  Miss  Susanna  Zook,  who  was  born  in  Pennsylvania.  They 


SHELDON   TOWNSHIP.  199 

• 

had  seventeen  children,  twelve  living:  Abraham,  John,  Catharine, 
Susanna,  Jacob,  Alexander,  James,  Elizabeth,  Rosanna,  Benjamin, 
Mary  E.  and  Emily.  Formerly  he  owned  over  800  acres  of  land,  but 
has  since  divided  all  but  185  among  his  children.  Two  years  before 
he  came  here  he  shipped  five  cars  of  lumber  to  his  sons,  at  Sheldon, 
and  they  improved  the  farm.  The  shipment  was  the  first  of  the  kind 
to  Sheldon,  and  later  he  sold  Sherman  &  Smith  the  first  wheat  sold  at 
Sheldon.  In  addition  to  his  land  in  this  county  he  owns  640  acres  in 
Missouri,  all  earned  by  his  own  labor. 

George  Haxby,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Sheldon,  was  born  in  York- 
shire, England,  October  8,  1811,  and  lived  there  twenty-six  years.  He 
came  to  the  United  States  and  settled  in  Dearborn  county,  Indiana, 
and  farmed  there  until  February,  1862,  when  he  came  to  Illinois  and 
settled  on  his  present  place.  In  August,  1840,  he  married  Miss 
Rachel  Brown,  who  was  born  in  England,  and  died  here  in  1870.  Of 
their  eight  children  five  are  living:  Martha  J.,  Ellen,  Mary,  William 
and  Joseph.  In  November,  1874,  he  married  Mrs.  Ellsworth,  formerly 
Miss  Mary  Ketchler,  who  was  born  in  England.  He  owns  580  acres 
in  this  county,  which  he  has  earned  by  his  own  labor,  and  upon  which 
he  has  laid  out  the  village  of  Haxby,  an  account  of  which  will  be  seen 
elsewhere.  He  is  no  office  seeker,  and  has  held  no  office  except  con- 
nected with  the  roads. 

R.  G.  Risser,  of  the  firm  of  P.  Risser  &  Son,  dealers  in  general 
merchandise,  Sheldon,  is  a  native  of  Ashland  county,  Ohio.  He  was 
born  in  July,  1841,  and  lived  in  Ohio  until  1862,  wh,en  with  his  parents 
he  came  to  Illinois  and  settled  in  Onarga,  Iroquois  county,  where  his 
father  engaged  in  mercantile  business,  in  which  Mr.  Risser  assisted  for 
five  years.  He  then  became  a  partner  in  thte  business,  and  the  firm  of 
P.  Risser  &  Son  was  formed  and  has  continued  to  the  present  time. 
In  November,  1878,  the  firm  opened  a  branch  in  Sheldon,  Illinois, 
known  as  the  New  York  store,  of  which  Mr.  R.  G.  Risser  has  the 
active  control.  He  is  also  interested  in  the  grain  business,  for  which 
purpose  he  uses  the  large  steam  elevator  lately  erected.  He  is  also 
connected  with  the  firm  of  Risser  &  Dashiell,  tailors  and  clothiers, 
Sheldon,  Illinois.  The  active  management  of  the  latter  firm  is  left 
with  Mr.  Dashiell.  Mr.  Risser  has  his  time  occupied  in  the  man- 
agement of  the  business  of  P.  Risser  &  Son,  and  in  attending  to  his 
grain  interests.  October  2,  1878,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Eva  Dun- 
lapp,  of  Champaign,  Illinois. 

T.  N.  Marquis,  farmer  and  apiarist,  Woodland,  Illinois,  was  born 
in  Knox  county,  Ohio,  February  1,  1834.  When  he  was  yet  quite 
young  his  parents  moved  to  Logan  county,  and  he  lived  there  with  his 


200  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

1 

parents  until  he  was  twenty-three  years  old.  March  12,  1857,  he  was 
married  to  Miss  Hulda  A.  Curl,  who  was  born  in  Logan  county,  Ohio, 
and  died  in  Illinois  in  1869.  After  the  marriage  he  farmed  on  his 
father's  farm  until  1863.  He  afterward  came  to  Illinois,  and  farmed  a 
year  in  Richland  county.  He  then  came  to  Iroquois  county  and  set- 
tled in  Stockland  township,  where  he  lived  one  year,  and  then  went  to 
Belmont  township,  and  in  the  spring  of  1867  settled  on  his  present 
place.  By  his  first  marriage  he  had  six  children,  five  living :  Eliza- 
beth A.,  Edith  E,  Alice  E.,  Mary  F.,  and  Caloin.  In  the  fall  of  1874 
he  married  Miss  Sarah  B.  Canaday,  who  was  born  in  Virginia.  They 
have  one  child,  Ellen.  He  owns  90  acres  of  land  in  this  county.  In 
1869  he  turned  his  attention  to  the  culture  of  the  bee,  starting  with  a 
swarm  he  caught  on  the  fence.  From  information  he  obtained  from 
books  on  the  subject,  his  business  has  been  successful,  and  he  now  has 
sixty-five  hives.  His  crop  of  honey  for  1878  was  3,200  pounds. 

David  White,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Sheldon,  was  born  in  Ayr- 
shire, Scotland,  January  21,  1841,  and  lived  there  about  seventeen 
years,  during  which  time  he  received  a  limited  education.  He  then 
came  to  the  United  States,  and  settled  in  Cuyahoga  county,  Ohio,  and 
lived  there  four  years,  working  on  a  farm.  He  then  went  to  Noble 
county,  Indiana,  where  he  worked  in  the  woods ;  thence  to  Warren 
county,  Indiana,  where  he  farmed.  In  1866  he  came  to  Illinois  and 
settled  on  his  present  place,  and  has  lived  here  since.  At  first  he 
bought  40  acres,  and  has  since  increased  his  farm  to  165.  January  3, 
1864,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Amanda  Hemrnilright,  who  was  born  in 
Ohio.  They  have  seven  children :  William  T.,  John  D.,  Nettie  J., 
Agnes,  Emma  A.,  Artie  and  Ann.  He  is  no  office  seeker,  and  has 
held  no  ofiice,  except  those  connected  with  the  school  or  road. 

Thomas  Thornill,  insurance  agent,  Sheldon,  was  born  in  Lincoln- 
shire, England,  November  15,  1825,  and  lived  there  seventeen  years. 
He  then  came  to  the  United  States  and  settled  in  Wheeling,  Cook 
county,  Illinois,  where  he  lived  seven  years,  and  then  went  to  Wil- 
mington, Illinois,  where  he  lived  until  1863.  From  there  he  went  to 
La  Fayette,  Indiana,  where  he  engaged  in  the  insurance  business,  and 
lived  there  until  1867,  when  he  went  to  Reynolds  and  engaged  in  the 
drug  business.  In  1868  he  came  to  Sheldon  and  engaged  in  the  drug 
business.  He  was  appointed  postmaster  that  year,  and  held  the  office 
seven  years.  In  1876  he  closed  out  his  drug  business,  and  has  since 
been  insurance  agent.  June  17,  1851,  he  was  married  to  Miss  E.  J. 
Waldron,  who  was  born  in  Onondaga  county,  New  York.  They  had 
four  children,  three  living:  Franklin  P.,  Endora  E.  and  Jessie  B. 

Joseph  Brubaker,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,    Sheldon,  was  born    in 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


SHELDON   TOWNSHIP.  203 

Richland  county,  Ohio,  July  7,  1826,  and  lived  there  twenty-five 
years,  when  with  his  parents  he  moved  to  Illinois,  and  settled  in 
"Woodford  county,  near  Eureka,  where  they  engaged  in  farming.  In 
1853  he  went  to  Ohio,  and  February  22  of  that  year  he  was  married  to 
Miss  Anna  M.  Charles,  who  was  born  in  Ashland  county,  Ohio.  After 
his  marriage  he  returned  to  Woodford  county,  Illinois,  and  engaged  in 
farming  on  his  own  account,  remaining  there  until  1868,  when  he  came 
to  his  present  place  and  has  lived  here  since.  He  has  served  as  road 
commissioner  four  years,  and  as  school  director  'ten  years.  He  owns 
490  acres  in  this  county,  which  he  has  principally  earned  by  his  own 
labor.  Of  his  four  children  three  are  living:  Charles  H.,  Wesley  Y. 
and  Frank  A.  Mr.  Brubaker  has  been  a  member  of  the  M.  E.  church 
for  nineteen  years,  and  steward  of  the  same  during  that  period. 

George  F.  Hull,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Sheldon,  was  born  in 
Warren  count}^  Pennsylvania,  November  1,  1840,  and  lived  there  seven 
years,  when  with  his  parents  he  moved  to  Aurora,  Illinois,  and  lived 
there  until  1859.  He  then  engaged  as  salesman  for  Hewitt  &  Bro., 
general  jobbers,  Chicago,  and  traveled  for  them  ten  years,  receiving 
the  first  month  $30  ;  the  next  six  months  he  worked  at  the  rate  of  $50, 
and  then  $125  per  month  and  expenses.  On  his  way  from  Louisville, 
Kentucky,' to  Chicago,  he  passed  this  county,  and  liking  its  appearance, 
returned  and  bought  half  of  section  36,  which  he  has  sold,  with  the 
exception  of  his  present  place  of  140  acres.  November  24,  1868,  he 
was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Filer,  who  was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  and 
died  in  1875  here  in  Illinois.  Of  their  three  children  two  are  living : 
Clara  and  Frank.  April  24,  1877,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Margaret 
Roberts,  a  native  of  Indiana.  They  have  one  child,  Bertha.  Mr.  Hull 
lived  on  his  farm  three  years,  and  then,  owing  to  sickness,  moved  to 
Sheldon  and  lived  there  five  years,  during  which  time  he  was  engaged 
as  traveling  salesman  for  J.  Bronson,  of  Detroit,  Michigan,  in  the 
notion  business ;  J.  O.  Ely,  wholesale  jewelry,  Chicago ;  and  B.  F. 
Boston,  of  Pennsylvania,  for  whom  he  sold  patent-rights  in  the  middle 
and  western  states. 

Dr.  David  Greenlee,  justice  of  peace,  Sheldon,  was  born  in  Rock- 
bridge  county,  Virginia,  September  7,  1807,  and  lived  there  fifteen  years. 
He  then  moved  to  Ross  county,  Ohio,  with  his  parents.  He  lived 
there  until  1837,  and  studied  medicine  under  Dr.  S.  Burnham,  a  class- 
mate, at  Harvard,  of  Daniel  Webster.  He  afterwards  moved  to  High- 
land county,  and  began  the  practice  of  medicine,  and  then  moved  to 
Adarns,  thence  to  Defiance,  and  thence  to  Henry  county.  In  1869  he 
came  to  Sheldon,  Illinois,  and  began  the  practice  of  medicine.  February 
24,  1847,  he  graduated  at  the  medical  branch  of  the  Ohio  Hudson 
13 


204  HISTORY   OF   IEOQUOIS   COUNTY. 

College,  his  diploma  being  signed  by  President  Pierce.  He  is  now  living 
with  his  third  wife.  Her  maiden  name  was  Lydia  A.  Parker,  and  she 
was  born  in  Ohio.  They  have  four  children  living :  Willie  F.,  Irene 
A.,  Ida  K.  and  Mary  A.  In  1873  Mr.  Greenlee  was  elected  justice  of  the 
peace,  and  was  reflected  in  1877. 

John  Glass,  farmer,  Sheldon,  was  born  in  Allegheny  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, January  25,  1833,  and  lived  there  until  1855.  He  then  went 
to  California  via  New  York  and  Panama,  and  remained  there  five 
years.  He  was  engaged  in  mining,  and  after  returning  the  money  he 
borrowed  with  which  to  go,  he  came  back  with  $3,200.  He  went  to 
Pennsylvania  and  lived  with  his  mother,  engaging  in  the  sand  business 
in  partnership  with  Thomas  Murdock.  They  furnished  sand  for  many 
of  the  leading  buildings  of  Allegheny.  They  continued  two  years. 
Mr.  Glass  then  went  to  the  oil  regions,  and  superintended  the  Guepner, 
Heln  &  Co.  Oil  Company,  and  took  interest  in  other  wells.  In  1869 
he  came  to  Illinois  and  settled  on  his  present  place.  March  23,  1871, 
he  was  married  to  Miss  Alice  J.  Darrough,  who  was  born  in  Kentucky, 
and  died  February  1,  1877.  They  had  four  children,  three  living: 
Mattie,  Gracie  and  Alice.  He  owns  175  acres  in  this  county,  which 
he  has  earned  by  his  own  labor. 

Robert  Ross,  carriage  and  wagon-maker  and  blacksmith,  Sheldon, 
was  born  in  Canada  East,  December  8,  1843,  and  lived  there  fifteen 
years.  He  then  moved  to  Lisbon,  Illinois,  and  lived  there  ten  years, 
during  which  time  he  learned  the  carriage  and  wagon-making  trade. 
February  7,  1866,  he  married  Miss  Margaret  Graham  ;  she  was  born 
in  Canada  East.  After  his  marriage  he  returned  to  Lisbon,  where  he 
had  opened  a  shop  in  1863,  and  lived  there  until  1869,  when  he  sold 
out  and  came  to  Sheldon,  Illinois.  He  bought  out  the  carriage  and 
wagon-shop  formerly  owned  by  Scott  King,  and  in  1871  moved  the 
business  to  its  present  location.  There  are  three  children  in4he  family : 
Olive  V.,  Scott  G.  and  Mary  E.  In  addition  to  his  business  interests 
Mr.  Ross  owns  350  acres  of  land  in  this  county.  In  1873  he  was 
elected  village  trustee,  and  reflected  in  1879.  He  has  also  served  as 
treasurer  during  the  same  period. 

J.  A.  Holmes,  postmaster,  Sheldon,  was  born  in  Ken  ton,  Hardin 
county,  Ohio,  in  December,  1842,  and  lived  there  until  1870,  when  he 
came  to  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  and  settled  in  Sheldon.  He  taught 
school  the  first  winter,  and  then  superintended  an  elevator  for  Mr. 
Fleager  for  two  years,  when  he  engaged  in  the  hardware  business,  the 
firm  becoming  Holmes  &  Wilkinson,  which  later  changed  to  Holmes 
&  Caldwell,  and  they  continued  the  business  until  1878,  when  he  re- 
ceived the  appointment  of  postmaster,  and  has  held  the  position  since. 


SHELDON   TOWNSHIP.  205 

May  11,  1869,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Willmoth,  who  was  born 
in  Ohio.  They  have  two  children  :  Herman  R.  and  Mary. 

W.  A.  Weeks,  dealer  in  general  merchandise,  Sheldon,  was  born  in 
St.  Lawrence  county,  New  York,  April  17,  1836,  and  lived  there 
twelve  years,  when,  with  his  parents,  he  moved  to  Monticello,  Indi- 
ana, and  lived  there  until  1871.  He  then  went  to  Goodland,  Indiana, 
and  took  charge  of  an  elevator.  In  March,  1872,  he  came  to  Sheldon 
and  engaged  in  the  grocery  and  provision  business.  He  has  kept 
increasing  his  stock  and  variety,  until  now  he  has  a  general  store  with 
a  stock  of  $7,000  worth  of  goods,  consisting  of  a  full  line  of  dry-goods, 
groceries,  boots  and  shoes,  hats  and  caps,  notions,  queensware  and  glass- 
ware. January  6,  1857,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Ann  Eliza  Moore, 
who  was  born  in  Morgan  county,  Ohio.  They  had  three  children,  two 
living :  Paschal  B.  and  George  A. 

H.  R.  Fields,  real  estate,  loan  and  insurance  agent,  Sheldon,  was 
born  in  Danville,  Kentucky,  June  10,  1837.  At  an  early  age  he 
clerked  in  his  father's  store,  and  later  in  the  Batterton  House,  of  which 
his  father  became  proprietor.  In  1860  he  engaged  in  the  dry-goods 
business  in  St.  Joseph  county,  Indiana,  and  continued  the  business 
until  1863,  when  he  enlisted  in  Co.  H,  12th  Ind.  Yol.  He  was  pro- 
moted to  second  and  then  to  first  lieutenant.  His  first  year's  service 
was  among  the  guerillas  of  northern  Alabama.  September  14, 1864  he 
was  appointed  ordnance  officer  on  the  staff  of  Maj.-Gen.  Millroy.  He 
was  at  Murfreesboro,  second  battle  of  Stone  River  and  the  other  engage- 
ments of  the  regiment.  After  the  war  he  Fre turned  to  St.  Joseph 
county,  Indiana,  and  farmed  until  1868.  He  then  went  to  Morocco, 
Indiana,  and  engaged  in  the  dry-goods  business.  This  he  continued 
until  1872,  when  he  engaged  in  the  business  at  Iroquois,  Illinois,  and 
remained  there  until  1873,  when  he  came  to  Sheldon,  and  in  the  latter 
part  of  1874,  in  company  with  H.  L.  Henry,  began  the  publication 
of  the  "  Sheldon  Enterprise."  In  June,  1875,  he  sold  his  interest  in 
the  paper,  and  has  since  been  engaged  in  the  real  estate,  loan  and 
insurance  business.  In  the  real  estate  department  of  his  business  he 
has  associated  with  him  Mr.  J.  W.  Johnson,  the  firm  being  Fields  & 
Johnson.  They  publish  the  "Real  Estate  Bulletin,"  and  do  a  thriving 
business,  in  addition  to  which  Mr.  Fields  represents  several  of  the 
leading  insurance  companies,  and  is  agent  for  the  Anchor,  Inman  and 
State  line  ocean  steamers.  By  unceasing  toil  and  honest  effort  he  has 
earned  for  himself  the  reputation  of  an  active,  energetic  business  man, 
and  carries  this  trait  into  all  branches  of  his  business. 

Risser  &  Dashiell,  tailors  and  gents'  furnishers,  Sheldon.  Mr. 
Risser,  of  this  firm,  is  spoken  of  under  the  firm  of  P.  Risser  &  Sons. 


206  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

Chas.  E.  Dashiell,  who  is  the  active  partner  and  business  manager  of 
the  firm  of  Risser  &  Dashiell,  was  born  in  Dearborn  county,  Indiana, 
January  24,  1849.  During  his  infancy  his  parents  moved  to  Kanka- 
kee  county,  Illinois,  where  they  lived  about  twelve  years ;  then  moved 
to  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  near  St.  Mary ;  thence  to  Kankakee  city ; 
thence  to  Chebanse,  where  his  father  died.  The  family  then  moved  to 
Kankakee  city.  In  1871  he  made  a  trip  to  Griffin's  Corners,  New 
York,  where,  September  6  of  that  year,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Cara  E. 
Lee.  They  returned  to  Kankakee  and  lived  there  one  year,  he  being 
engaged  as  clerk  in  the  merchant  tailoring  business.  He  then  bought 
grain  at  Waldron,  Illinois,  and  subsequently  sold  merchandise  there 
and  at  Morocco,  Indiana.  In  18T6  he  came  to  Sheldon,  Illinois,  and 
bought  the  business  of  O.  King  and  conducted  the  same  until  January, 
1879,  when  the  present  firm  of  Risser  &  Dashiell  was  formed,  occupy- 
ing No.  5,  Central  Block.  The  first  floor,  25  X  60  feet,  is  used  as  a 
salesroom,  in  which  is  exhibited  a  large  stock  of  piece  goods  of  great 
variety.  The  second  floor  (same  size)  is  used  as  a  work  room,  and  is 
thronged  with  a  busy  set  of  city  workmen  of  the  best  ability,  thus 
affording  to  the  city  of  Sheldon  and  surrounding  country  facilities  in 
the  tailoring  line  rarely  to  be  found  outside  of  the  larger  cities.  In 
addition  to  their  splendid  tailoring  establishment,  the  firm  carries  a 
large  stock  of  ready-made  clothing  and  a  full  line  of  gents'  furnish- 
ing goods. 

W.  EL  Harry,  attorney-at-law,  Sheldon,  is  a  native  of  Woodford 
county,  Illinois,  and  was  born  on  his  father's  farm,  near  Eureka, 
November  28,  1853.  In  1865,  with  his  parents,  he  moved  to  Living 
ston  county,  Illinois,  to  their  farm,  two  and  a  half  miles  from  Chats- 
worth.  He  received  a  common-school  education,  and  at  the  age  of 
twenty  taught  a  four-months  term  of  school.  April  1,  1874,  he  began 
reading  law  with  the  Hon.  Samuel  T.  Fosdick,  present  state  senator 
from  the  eighteenth  district,  comprising  Livingston  and  Ford  counties. 
He  continued  his  residence  at  home,  walking  the  two  and  a  half  miles 
morning  and  evening,  and  thus  pursued  his  studies  during  the  sum- 
mers and  taught  school  during  the  fall  and  winter  until  June  1,  1876, 
when  having  completed  his  course  of  reading,  he  was  admitted  to  the 
bar,  passing  an  examination  before  the  supreme  court,  then  holding  at 
Mt.  Yernon,  Illinois,  and  July  24,  1876,  he  came  to  Iroquois  county, 
Illinois,  and  began  the  practice  of  law  in  Sheldon,  and  has  remained 
here  since.  He  was  married  to  Miss  Minnie  Yale,  of  Livingston 
county,  Illinois,  April  4,  1877.  They  have  one  child,  Edward  S.  His 
parents,  Thomas  S.  and  Arena  J.  (Compton)  Harry,  were  natives  of 
Kentucky.  They  were  born  August  31,  1823,  and  December  11, 
1823,  respectively.  They  were  married  October  2,  1844. 


SHELDON   TOWNSHIP.  207 

H.  G.  Dryer,  grocer,  Sheldon,  is  a  native  of  Butler  county,  Ohio. 
He  was  born  March  9,  1830,  and  lived  there  two  years,  when,  with 
his  parents,  he  moved  to  Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana,  and  lived  there 
until  November,  1865.  He  then  moved  to  Champaign  county,  Illinois, 
and  engaged  in  farming.  In  February,  1£73,  he  went  to  Newton 
county,  Indiana,  and  engaged  in  the  general  merchandise  and  stock 
business  at  the  village  of  Brook,  and  continued  there  until  September, 
1877,  when  he  came  to  Sheldon  and  engaged  in  his  present  business. 
February  28,  1858,  he  married  Miss  Catharine  Lindley.  They  had 
four  children,  two  living,  Irven  and  Charlie. 

J.  Watkins,  dealer  in  lumber,  grain,  coal  and  agricultural  imple- 
ments, Sheldon,  was  born  in  Montgomery  county,  Ohio,  December  24, 
1820,  and  lived  there  eleven  years,  during  which  time  his  father  died. 
"With  his  mother  he  then  moved  to  Montgomery  county,  Indiana,  and 
lived  there  until  1851.  He  was  principally  engaged  in  farming.  He 
afterward  came  to  Illinois  and  settled  in  Momence,  and  farmed  three 
years,  after  which  time  he  came  to  Iroquois  county  and  settled  near 
Bunkum,  and  lived  there  until  1863.  He  went  to  Onargaand  engaged 
in  the  bakery  business,  continuing  the  same  four  years.  He  then 
went  to  Will  county,  Illinois,  and  farmed  for  ten  years,  and  in  1877 
came  to  Sheldon  and  engaged  in  his  present  business.  September  3, 
1840,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Conner,  who  was  born  in  Ohio. 
They  had  seven  children,  six  living :  Elizabeth  J.,  Clara  E.,  Martha  I., 
James  W.,  John  D.  and  Charles  G. 

Dr.  A.  C.  Speck,  physician  and  druggist,  Sheldon,  is  a  native  of 
Preble  county,  Ohio.  He  was  born  August  3,  1830,  and  lived  there 
ten  years,  when  with  his  parents  he  moved  to  Miami  county,  Indiana, 
where  at  the  age  of  twenty-four  he  began  studying  medicine  with  Dr. 
J.  T.  Speck.  In  1855  he  went  to  Minnesota,  and  settled  in  Dakota 
county,  where  he  improved  a  farm  and  practiced  medicine.  He  also 
continued  reading,  until  January  1,  1863,  when  he  enlisted  in  the  3rd 
Minn.  Cav.,  and  remained  in  the  service  about  two  years  and  nine 
months.  After  the  war  he  went  to  Kentland,  Indiana,  and  practiced 
medicine,  attending  lectures  at  the  Ohio  Medical  College  of  Cincinnati, 
during  the  winters  of  1865,  1866,  1867  and  1868,  graduating  in  the 
latter  term.  In  February,  1878,  he  came  to  Sheldon,  Illinois,  and 
engaged  in  his  profession  and  the  drug  business.  In  1854  he  was 
married  to  Miss  Naomi  Taylor,  who  was  born  in  Henry  county, 
Indiana,  and  died  March  18,  1863.  Of  their  three  children  one  is 
living,  Frank  E.  His  present  wife  was  Miss  Sarah  M.  Brokan,  a 
native  of  Hamilton  county,  Ohio.  They  were  married  July  23,  1868. 


208  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 


CONCORD   TOWNSHIP 

Formerly  comprised  towns  26  and  27  north,  range  11  west,  and  frac- 
tional towns  26  and  27 'north,  range  10  west  of  the  2d  principal 
meridian.  In  1868  a  portion  of  this  territory  was  detached,  and 
formed  into  the  township  of  Sheldon,  and  as  a  separate  account  of 
the  latter  is  given,  we  will  here  confine  ourselves  to  the  events  occur- 
ring within  the  present  limits  of  Concord  township,  which  comprises 
town  27  north,  range  11  west,  and  fractional  town  27  north,  range  10 
west  of  the  2d  principal  meridian.  It  extends  along  the  state  line, 
"between  the  township  of  Beaver  on  the  north  and  Sheldon  on  the 
south,  a  distance  of  six  miles,  and~has  an  average  width,  east  and 
west,  of  six  and  three-quarter  miles,  and  therefore  contains  about 
26,000  acres.  The  township  is  well  watered  by  the  Iroquois  river, 
which  flows  through  it,  entering  near  the  middle  of  the  eastern  side, 
and  leaving  near  the  southwest  corner.  Throughout  the  entire  dis- 
tance there  is  a  heavy  growth  of  timber,  which  extends  for  a  mile  or 
more  on  either  side  of  the  river,  and  comprises  fully  two-fifths  of  the 
total  area  of  the  township,  and  affords  an  abundant  supply  of  wood 
for  fencing,  fuel  and  building  purposes.  Beyond  the  timber,  and 
extending  beyond  the  limits  of  the  township,  the  country  is  prairie. 
North  of  the  river  it  is  high  and  rolling,  and  of  a  generally  light 
sandy  soil,  though  in  portions,  mostly  on  the  eastern  side,  where  the 
surface  becomes  more  level,  areas  of  black  loam  are  found.  South 
of  the  river  the  country  presents  a  level  plain,  gradually  ascending 
to  the  south,  forming  an  immense  river  basin  of  beautiful  and  fertile 
prairie  of  black,  sandy  loam,  and  of  unsurpassed  productiveness. 
Adjoining  the  timber,  the  soil  is  well  adapted  to  wheat,  which  is 
extensively  grown.  Corn  is  the  prevailing  crop  on  the  prairies,  and 
good  average  yields  are  obtained.  The  township  is  well  adapted  to 
stock-raising,  in  which  the  people  are  largely  interested.  The  early 
history  of  this  locality  has  been  so  fully  treated  of  in  other  portions 
of  this  work  that  but  little  remains  for  us  to  write.  The  nucleus  of 
the  settlement,  as  has  already  been  stated,  was  the  trading  post  that 
was  removed  by  Gurdon  S.  Hubbard  from  the  Big  Bend,  near  Mid- 
dleport,  to  this  place.  When  Mr.  Hubbard  had  concluded  to  change 
his  mode  of  transporting  furs  and  other  products  from  the  flat-boat, 
down  the  Iroquois,  to  that  of  the  pack-mule,  by  way  of  the  Hubbard 
trace,  he  found  that  this  point  on  the  Iroquois  was  on  a  more  direct 
and  available  line  from  Danville  (his  southern  post)  to  Chicago. 
He,  with  his  help,  both  white  and  red,  were  then  the  first  settlers  in 


CONCORD   TOWNSHIP.  209 

this  portion  of  the  county.  In  addition  to  their  trading  operations, 
they  also  opened  farms  in  the  vicinity  of  Bunkum.  The  residence  of 
Hubbard  and  Yasseur,  however,  was  but  temporary,  as  the  change 
in  the  policy  of  the  government  toward  the  Indians,  with  whom  their 
trade  was  largely  carried  on,  and  the  growing  scarcity  of  fur-bearing 
animals,  left  them  but  a  modicum  of  their  former  large  business. 
Hubbard  sold  out  to  Yasseur  and  removed  to  Chicago,  about  the  time 
of  the  removal  of  the  Indians  to  their  reservations  beyond  the  Mis- 
sissippi, and  Yasseur  continued  here  for  three  or  four  years  more, 
when  he  removed  to  Bourbonnais  Grove,  in  Kankakee  county,  where 
he  has  recently  died.  William  H.  Dunning  now  occupies  the  place 
formerly  opened  by  Hubbard,  and  B.  F.  Fry  that  of  Yasseur.  These 
two  men  were  the  first  permanent  settlers  of  what  is  now  in  the 
bounds  of  Concord  township.  Elijah  Newcomb,  II.  Eastburn,  R. 
Scritchfield,  J.  Hougland  and  J.  Crozzar  were  here  about  the  same 
time,  or  a  few  months  later.  Mitchell  Dunn  was  a  resident  here  as 
early  as  1831  or  1832.  He  was  one  of  the  first  justices  of  the  peace, 
and  two  or  three  years  after  his  arrival  was  elected  sheriff,  and  was 
acting  in  that  capacity  when  Thomason,  who  was  hanged  here  for 
the  murder  of  Charles  Legree,  a  blacksmith  of  Chicago.  Sheriff 
Dunn  officiated  on  the  occasion.  In  the  winter  of  1830-1,  Mr.  B. 
F.  Fry  husked  the  first  corn  raised  in  this  county  for  exportation, 
and  which  was  raised  on  Mr.  Hubbard' s  farm.  In  the  spring  the 
crop  was  loaded  on  a  flat-boat,  and  accompanied  by  a  half-breed  (Joe 
Babee),  Mr.  Fry  took  the  same  to  Chicago,  by  way  of  the  Iroquois, 
Kankakee  and  DesPlaines  rivers  and  the  Chicago  swamp.  The 
corn  was  delivered  at  Fort  Dearborn,  which,  with  a  few  shanties, 
then  embraced  the  city. 

Other  early  settlers  were :  Henry  Enslen,  Asa  Gaffield,  A.  Pineo 
and  George  Courtright.  Isaac  Courtright  was  the  first  post- 
master. He  was  also  first  justice  of  the  peace  in  what  is  now 
Concord  township.  He  was  elected  in  1833,  when  Iroquois  county 
was  still  a  part  of  Yermilion.  After  the  organization  of  Iroquois 
county,  E.  D.  Boone  was  the  first  justice.  Adam  Karr  was  the 
first  blacksmith  in  the  township.  His  shop  was  located  on  the  north 
branch  of  the  river,  near  the  present  site  of  the  wagon-bridge.  He 
continued  to  ply  the  hammer  from  about  1836  till  1840. 

By  the  year  183T-8,   families  had  located  on  both  sides  of  the 

Iroquois,  so  that  most  of  the  land  in  the  edges  of  the  timber  was 

occupied.     The  first  settlements  here,  as  indeed  all  over  the  prairie 

country,  were  made  in  or  very  near  the  timber  tracts.     It  was  not 

-  dreamed  that  the  broad  expanse  of  country,  destitute  of  trees,  could 


210  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

ever  be  fit  for  aught  else  than  for  a  range  for  stock.  But  slight 
additions  in  the  way  of  new  settlers  or  permanent  improvement  were 
made  from  the  date  mentioned,  for  nearly  twenty  years.  Natural 
causes  account  for  this  standstill  and  for  the  sudden  second  growth, 
which  began  about  the  year  1855,  and  has  continued  ever  since.  In 
1837  came  the  great  financial  crash,  which  stopped  not  only  the 
wheels  of  the  emigrants'  wagons,  but  the  wheels  of  commerce,  trade 
and  every  industry  in  the  country.  The  timber  tracts  had  been 
pretty  generally  settled,  and  what  few  emigrants  there  were,  pushed 
on  further  west,  until  they  could  find  a  spot  more  resembling  their 
old  Kentucky  or  eastern  homes,  than  the  bleak  prairies  still  un- 
occupied. The  advent  of  the  railroads  in  1854,  followed  by  others 
in  quick  succession,  explains  the  late  sudden  development  of  the 
prairies.  The  railroads  have  made  an  outlet  for  the  products  of  the 
prairies,  and  have  neutralized  the  predicted  dearth  of  fuel  and  build- 
ing materials,  by  the  importation  of  coal  and  lumber  from  other 
parts.  Then,  too,  Nature  had  stored  up  under  nearly  every  farm  in 
central  Illinois  enough  fuel  to  supply  each  one  for  untold  genera- 
tions. With  these  advantages,  and  with  the  discovery  that  the 
prairie  soil  was  not  only  fertile,  but  that  it  was  already  cleared  for 
the  plow  of  the  husbandman,  it  does  not  seem  so  wonderful  that 
this  locality,  in  the  short  space  of  two  decades,  should  increase  in 
population  to  its  present  number.  The  improvements  have  been 
wonderful,  but  being  based  on  natural  causes,  which  still  exist  and 
which  will  continue  to  grow,  it  is  not  too  much  to  predict  that  the 
full  development  of  Concord  is  yet  far  from  being  realized. 

IROQUOIS. 

E  Pluribus  Unum  !  The  little  village  of  Iroquois  embraces  within 
its  limits  the  remains  of  several  former  towns,  which,  though  they 
will  never  appear  among  the  incorporated  villages  of  the  county, 
will  ever  retain  a  place  in  the  pages  of  its  history;  and  to  many,  at 
this  day,  the  mention  of  their  names  will  cause  memories  of  those 
good  old  times  of  long  ago,  and  of  the  friends  who  together  formed 
the  characters  in  the  exciting  scenes  and  events  of  that  period ;  and 
no  doubt  among  the  many  pleasant  memories  of  the  survivors  of 
that  old  historic  band  will  mingle  those  of  sorrow,  for  those  friends 
of  old  who  are  no  more,  and  affection  and  regard  will  flit  to  distant 
lands,  where  others  have  gone  to  do  their  battle  of  life.  Mont- 
gomery,—  the  one,  the  ancient  sentinel  of  the  Iroquois,  whose  early 
struggles  were  witnessed  by  the  noble  red  man  of  the  forest,  and 
secured  for  it  the  position  of  first  among  the  pioneer  towns  of  the 


CONCORD    TOWNSHIP.  211 

county, — was  surveyed  May  9, 1835,  by  J.  H.  Reese,  deputy  surveyor, 
holding  his  certificate  of  appointment  from  Dan  Beckwith,  county 
surveyor  of  Vermilion  county.  It  was  located  on  the  south  side  of 
the  river,  and  was  the  first  county-seat.  The  seat  of  justice  was 
fixed  there  on  April  15,  1837.  The  county  records  were  kept  at  the 
house  of  Isaac  Courtright,  three-fourths  of  a  mile  south  of  Mont- 
gomery, until  Monday,  June  5,  1837,  when  the  first  county  commis- 
sioners court  was  held  in  a  frame  building  situated  on  lot  No.  10  in 
the  town  of  Montgomery,  rented  from  William  Armstrong,  for  county 
clerk's  office,  at  $2  per  month.  It  must  not  be  understood  that  Isaac 
Courtright' s  was  the  first  place  where  the  county  commissioners 
court  was  held  and  the  county  business  done  after  the  organization 
of  the  county.  The  seventh  term  of  commissioners  court  was  held 
at  Courtright's,  on  Monday,  June  1,  1835,  when  it  was  removed 
from  John  Nilson's,  near  Milford,  and  the  same  continued  to  be  held 
there  until  the  time  already  stated,  when  the  office  was  removed  into 
Montgomery.  This  place  took  its  name  from  the  proprietor,  Richard 
Montgomery. 

Dr.  Timothy  Locey  was  the  first  tavern-keeper  in  Montgomery, 
he  having  a  stand  there  as  early  as  1831.  Mrs.  Locey  was  a  tasty, 
punctilious  landlady ;  if  her  guests  did  not  order  their  behavior  and 
proceedings  to  her  pleasure,  even  to  cutting  the  butter  straight  at 
the  table,  she  would  promptly  notify  them  of  the  misdemeanor. 
David  Meigs  was  the  next  tavern-keeper  of  any  note.  Richard 
Montgomery  soon  succeeded  him  in  the  same  stand.  John  White 
came  next  after  Montgomery.  The  latter  (Montgomery)  obtained  his 
first  license  to  keep  tavern  on  Monday,  March  2,  1835,  for  which  he 
paid  $5,  at  the  same  time  entering  into  bond  of  $300.  In  those  days 
they  kept  bars.  Bunkum  has  always  been  the  popular  name  for  both 
places  together :  Montgomery  and  Concord.  In  1830  the  following- 
named  persons  settled  at  Bunkum  :  Benjamin  Fry,  George  Court- 
right,  Richard  Courtright,  the  widow  McColloch  and  her  two  sons 
(William  and  Solomon),  Hezekiah  Eastburn,  and  Reuben  Critchfield. 

Concord  was  surveyed  on  the  north  side  of  the  river  and  opposite 
to  Montgomery  by  James  H.  Reese,  who  was  deputed  for  that  par- 
ticular task  by  Jonas  Smith,  surveyor  of  Iroquois  county.  The  place 
was  laid  out  between  May  20  and  28,  1836.  The  plat  bears  the  latter 
date,  at  which  time  the  proprietor,  Henry  Moore,  made  acknowledg- 
ment of  the  same  before  Judge  (Gov.)  Ford. 

Iroquois  has  never  supplanted  the  name  of  Concord  :  Concord  lies 
north  of  the  river,  Montgomery  and  Iroquois  south  of  the  river.  At 
present  there  is  nothing  like  a  town  south  of  the  river.  However, 


212  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

the  plats  of  Montgomery  and  Iroquois  have  never  been  vacated,  and 
the  ground  is  still  taxed  as  lots.  The  actual  location  of  the  county- 
seat  by  the  commissioners  was  at  Iroquois,  adjoining  Montgomery, 
but  as  no  buildings  were  in  Iroquois,  the  county  office  was  kept,  and 
the  courts  held,  in  Montgomery.  The  election  at  Bunkum  in  1833 
was  the  first  held  in  the  county. 

Probably  the  first  white  child  born  in  Concord  township  was 
William  L.  Eastburn;  he  was  born  February  22,  1834.  Another  early 
birth  was  that  of  Mr.  Fry's  daughter,  Amanda;  she  was  born  in 
November,  1835,  and  died  in  infancy. 

The  first  marriage  took  place  October  12,  1832,  the  contracting 
parties  being  George  Courtright  and  Agnes  Newcomb.  The  license 
was  procured  in  Danville,  Illinois,  and  the  ceremony  was  performed 
in  an  old  log  house,  located  on  the  place,  now  known  as  the  Wright 
farm. 

Following  close  in  the  wake  of  the  pioneers  .to  this  township, 
came  that  dreaded  visitor,  death,  whose  presence  had  been  made 
manifest  in  such  varied  forms,  as  seems  to  have  exhausted  the 
agency  of  power. 

"  Old  age  has  been  engaged, 

Tender  infants  low  were  laid, 

Even  the  hangman's  fatal  knot, 

Again  the  landslides  rushing  rock  ; 

Now  the  river  in  its  might, 

Then  the  bold  assassin's  knife  ; 

Disease  so  often  to  the  task, 

And  the  lightning's  vivid  flash, — " 

Have  all  served,  and  form  one  phalanx  in  that  irresistible  army  to 
which  all  must  succumb.  The  first  death  to  occur  within  the  present 
limits  of  Concord  township  was  that  of  Elijah  Newcomb,  in  the 
spring  of  1831.  Another  early  death  was  that  of  Hezekiah  Eastburn, 
October  29,  1832. 

CRIME. 

Gladly  would  we  draw  a  veil  over  the  succeeding  paragraphs  in 
the  annals  of  this  ancient  town,  so  cherished  in  the  memories  of  the 
past.  Certainly  it  is  an  unpleasant  duty  to  record  murders  and  their 
consequences  among  the  chapters  of  a  locality  so  full  of  historic 
gems.  But  such  is  stern  reality.  Joseph  Thomason,  alias  Joseph 
F.  Morriss,  alias  Joseph  F.  Norriss,*  was  tried,  on  a  change  of  venue 
from  another  county,  for  the  crime  of  murdering  Charles  Legree,  a 

*  He  claimed  Morris  when  arrested.  Before  the  justice  he  called  himself  Norriss, 
but  was  afterward  recognized  as  Thomason. 


CONCOKD   TOWNSHIP.  213 

blacksmith  of  Chicago.  The  crime  was  committed  about  eighteen 
miles  south  of  Chicago.  He  was  tried  on  the  third  Monday  of  1836, 
before  Judge  (Gov.)  Ford,  who  at  that  time  presided  over  the  dis- 
trict of  which  Iroquois  county  was  then  a  part.  The  jury  was  out 
six  hours,  when  a  verdict  of  "guilty  "  was  announced.  On  June  10 
he  was  hanged  to  a  tree  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Iroquois,  about 
one  rod  east  of  the  site  of  the  wagon-bridge. 

In  July,  1862,  at  a  dance  held  in  Iroquois  for  the  76th  regiment, 
a  man  by  the  name  of  Landen,  a  resident  of  Middleport,  had  a 
huckster  stand.  He  formerly  lived  in  Rensselaer,  Indiana,  where  he 
met  John  Anderson,  a  blacksmith,  and  at  the  time  of  the  dance  a 
resident  of  Iroquois,  Illinois.  They  had  some  words,  Anderson 
racing  Landoii,  and  shortly  the  latter  was  found  to  be  stabbed,  from 
the  effects  of  which  he  died.  Keport  says  he  named  Joe  Davis,  .then 
John  Anderson  as  the  man  who  stabbed  him.  The  latter  was  tried, 
and  was  discharged  for  want  of  prosecution,  the  witnesses  being  in 
the  army. 

Again :  May  5,  1877,  Iroquois  was  the  scene  of  a  bloody  affray. 
This  time  Charles  Pinkerton  killed  Samuel  Kelly.  Pinkerton  was 
working  for  Kelly  in  the  latter' s  livery  stable.  Pinkerton,  with 
others,  was  on  a  spree  in  the  stable,  and  Kelly  went  to  quiet  them. 
They  had  words,  then  blows,  and  Kelly  was  stabbed,  the  wound 
proving  fatal.  Pinkerton  was  tried  and  sentenced  to  three  years  in 
the  penitentiary. 


INCIDENTS,    ETC. 


Probably  with  all  early  settlements  are  associated  amusing  inci- 
dents and  little  stories,  in  which  the  names  of  the  pioneers  of  their 
respective  localities  appear,  and  as  one  from  Concord,  illustrating 
the  mettle  of  her  pioneers,  we  relate  the  following,  in  which  Mr. 
Benjamin  Fry  was  the  character.  He  settled  here  in  1830,  when  the 
"noble  red  man"  roamed  the  forest  at  will,  and,  as  was  the  case, 
they  had  a  camp  close  by  Mr.  Fry's.  They  had  many  dogs,  and 
these  were  very  unfriendly  to  Mr.  Fry's  hogs,  until,  as  a  last  resort, 
that  gentleman  took  to  shooting  the  offending  canines,  and  some- 
times went  into  the  Indian  camp  to  exact  his  vengeance.  This  un- 
flinching bravery  won  for  him  the  praise  of  the  Indians,  and  the 
squaws  gave  the  title  of  "  Heap  Brave  "  to  the  bold  white  man  ;  and 
as  a  mark  of  respect  for  him,  or  fear  for  their  dogs,  would  always 
shoulder  the  latter  in  passing  his  residence,  and  carry  them  far  out 
of  sight. 


214  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

RELIGIOUS    MATTERS. 

Scarcely  had  the  sound  of  the  pioneer's  ax  died  away  in  the  forests 
of  the  Iroquois  until  religion  appeared,  and  cast  its  benign  influence 
upon  the  scene ;  the  scattered  residents  assembling  in  the  rude  log 
cabins  of  the  day,  there,  in  humble  silence,  to  hear  the  divine  teach- 
ings of  Christianity  expounded  by  those  earnest,  sincere  and  noble 
characters,  the  pioneer  ministers,  who  throughout  our  land  early 
followed  the  first  footsteps  of  man  to  the  western  wilds,  and  brought 
religion,  with  its  christianizing  effect,  in  his  midst.  The  particulars 
relating  to  these  pioneer  religionists,  and  the  societies  they  formed, 
are  somewhat  shrouded  in  doubt,  time  having  wrought  such  changes 
as  in  instances  not  one  member  of  former  religious  societies  remains. 
However,  some  of  the  old  timers  are  yet  here,  as  may  be.  judged 
from  the  following  extract  from  a  letter  written  by  the  Rev.  Stephen 
R.  Beggs,  of  Plainfield,  Illinois,  bearing  date  December  9,  1879 : 
"I  have  preached  several  times  on  both  sides  of  the  Iroquois  river, 
only  as  a  visitor  the  first  time.  In  1832  I  passed  through  on  my 
way  to  La  Fayette,  Indiana.  I  am  well,  thank  the  Lord,  and  able  to 
preach  twice  on  Sabbath.  I  shall  be  seventy-nine  years  old  the  30th 
of  March,  1880."  Perhaps  Mr.  Beggs  was  the  first  to  preach  in 
Concord  township,  and  probably  the  next  was  brother  Essex,  of  the 
Methodist  persuasion,  who  in  1833  was  on  a  circuit  extending  from 
Spring  Creek  to  Rensselaer,  Indiana,  and  from  the  Wabash  to  the 
Kankakee.  During  the  winter  of  that  year  he  preached  at  the  resi- 
dence of  Benjamin  Fry.  He  was  succeeded,  in  1834,  by  Elihu 
Springer,  who  organized  the  first  religious  society  in  the  township. 
It  was  composed  of  eight  members,  and  his  quarterage  was  $24. 14, 
Leonard  Walker,  his  successor,  reported  seventy  members.  The 
society  has  flourished  to  this  day.  In  1872  they  built  a  church  edi- 
fice, which  is  located  on  the  Indiana  side  of  the  state  line,  east  of  the 
village  of  Iroquois.  It  is  a  frame  building,  32x45,  and  18-foot  ceil- 
ing, and  cost  about  $1,500.  The  present  membership  numbers  about 
forty.  In  1873  a  Sabbath  school  was  organized,  and  continues  dur- 
ing the  summers. 

The  village  of  Iroquois  was  also  the  scene  of  early  religious 
gatherings,  though  no  regular  services  were  held  until  the  building 
of  the  present  M.  E.  church,  which  is  a  frame  building,  30x40, 
and  has  a  16-foot  ceiling.  It  was  erected  in  1875,  at  a  cost  of 
$2,300,  and  was  dedicated  by  Elder  Robert  Pearce,  January  9,  1876. 
The  present  membership  numbers  about  one  hundred.  In  1873  a 
Sabbath  school  was  organized,  and  now  has  an  attendance  of  about 
one  hundred. 


CONCORD   TOWNSHIP.  215 

In  1846  John  Dollarliide,  a  United  Brethren,  formed  a  society, 
which  after  a  few  years  joined  the  Methodists. 

In  1850  Jacob  Kenoyer,  also  a  United  Brethren,  formed  a  society 
in  the  Erislen  school,  about  one  mile  south  of  Iroquois,  and  it  has 
nourished  to  this  day.  In  1875  they  moved  to  their  new  church 
building  in  Sheldon. 

In  1854,  a  M.  E.  society  was  formed  at  the  Iroquois  school 
house,  and  nourished  until  the  time  of  the  war,  when  it  disbanded. 
It  is  probably  very  seldom  that  the  church  building  precedes  the 
society,  but  in  the  instance  of  the  Prairie  Dell  M.  E.  church,  we 
find  an  exception.  This  church  is  a  frame  building,  36x50,  and 
has  an  18-foot  ceiling.  It  was  erected  in  1870,  at  a  cost  of 
$2,400.  It  was  dedicated  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Atchinson,  of  Kankakee. 
Mr.  William  Brown  and  Samuel  Warrick  were  the  projectors,  and 
each  donated  about  one-quarter  the  entire  cost,  the  balance  being 
subscribed  in  the  vicinity.  It  is  located  on  the  southeast  of  the 
northwest  of  section  18.  In  the  fall  of  1869  a  cemetery  was  laid 
out  adjoining  the  church.  It  was  deeded  to  Samuel  Warrick,  S. 
Cobb  and  William  Brown,  and  by  them  sold  out  in  lots,  the  pro- 
ceeds going  to  keep  up  the  grounds. 

SCHOOLS. 

The  characteristic  feature  of  America  is  her  public  schools.  In- 
deed it  has  been  said  by  able  ones,  that  the  worth  of  a  people  is 
found  in  their  schools.  If  this  be  so,  surely  the  people  of  Concord 
rank  high  in  the  scale  of  merit,  and  should  ever  be  held  in  grateful 
remembrance,  many  of  whom  owe  their  instruction  to  the  efficient 
institutions  of  learning,  whose  origin  date  away  back  almost  to  the 
first  footsteps  of  the  pioneer.  It  is  probable  that  the  first  school  was 
taught  in  1835  by  Judge  Hugh  Newell,  in  an  old  log  residence. 
Benjamin  Scott  also  taught  near  that  date.  He  was  the  first  school 
treasurer,  and  the  second  sheriff  of  the  county. 

From  Mr.  P.  Y.  Frounfelter,  the  present  school  treasurer,  we  get 
the  following  items  in  his  report  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1879 : 
Number  of  school-houses,  8  ;  number  of  children  under  21,  632 ; 
number  of  children  between  6  and  21,  370  ;  number  of  children 
enrolled  in  the  schools,  335 ;  principal  of  township  fund,  $3,480.90 ; 
tax  levy,  1878,  for  schools,  $2,056.53  ;  value  school  property,  $6,850; 
value  school  library,  $40 ;  value  school  apparatus,  $555  ;  expendi- 
tures for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1879,  $2,401.67. 

There  is  also  one  private  school,  having  an  attendance  of  59 
scholars.  The  first  school  money,  $151,  was  loaned  to  John  White, 


216  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

November  16,  1836.  The  first  school-house  was  built  in  1840,  and 
James  Perry  was  the  first  teacher.  The  present  two-story  brick 
graded  school  in  Iroquois  was  built  in  1875. 

ORGANIZATION. 

Concord  township  was  organized  at  a  meeting  held  in  a  school- 
house  in  Concord  in  April,  1856,  by  tjie  election  of  the  following 
officers :  Jesse  Eastburn,  supervisor ;  A.  O.  Whiteman,  town  clerk ; 
Abraham  Hogle,  assessor ;  P.  Y.  Frounfelter,  collector ;  Samuel 
Warrick,  overseer  of  the  poor ;  A.  C.  Mantor,  Isaac  M.  Caldwell, 
James  H.  Karr,  highway  commissioners.  The  present  officers  are: 
W.  B.  Simonds,  supervisor ;  Jerome  Salkeld,  town  clerk ;  H.  Russell, 
assessor ;  P.  Y.  Frounfelter,  collector ;  Abraham  Hogle,  Robert 
Karr,  George  Pineo,  highway  commissioners. 

SOCIETIES,   ETC. 

With  the  progress  and  development  of  a  community  come  those 
beautiful  little  gems  in  the  panorama  of  life,  those  forms  by  which 
members  are  collected  together  for  the  noble  purpose  of  lending  a 
helping  hand  to  those  in  adversity  and  need,  of  uniting  in  stronger 
bonds  of  friendship,  and  of  promoting  the  general  good.  To  their 
credit,  be  it  said,  most  communities  have  adapted  and  fostered  them, 
and  Iroquois  is  not  the  exception. 

On  October  3,  1866,  was  chartered  O.  H.  Minor  Lodge,  No.  506, 
A. F.  and  A.M.,  Iroquois,  Illinois.  The  following  were  charter 
members :  John  Anderson,  S.  B.  Norton,  Putman  Gaffield,  Edward 
Peachin,  Dr.  Ford,  W.  C.  Shortridge,  Aaron  F.  Kane,  John  Strick- 
ler,  F.  M.  Karr,  Corbin  Treadway,  A.  C.  Mantor,  A.  C.  Taylor  and 
Amos  O.  Whiteman.  The  first  officers  were:  S.  B.  Norton,  W.M. ; 
Edward  Peachin,  S.W.;  Aaron  F.  Kane,  J.W.;  F.  M.  Karr,  Treas.; 
W.  T.  Shortridge,  Sec.  The  present  officers  are :  W.  H.  McClain, 
W.M.;  J.  H.  Karr,  S.W.;  A.  T.  Crozier,  J.W.;  P.  B.  Strickler, 
Treas.;  B.  F.  Hartman,  Sec.  The  lodge  is  in  good  condition,  owns 
a  beautiful  hall,  and  has  forty-three  members. 

River  Lodge,  No.  586,  I.O.O.F.,  Iroquois,  Illinois,  was  instituted 
by  E.  B.  Sherman,  G.M.,  assisted  by  John  Shaftner,  G.W.,  August 
31,  1875.  The  following  are  the  charter  members :  Joseph  Mc- 
Clain, J.  P.  Murray,  W.  H.  McClain,  Daniel  Spitler,  Theodore  T. 
Fields,  Joseph  Laughlin,  and  H.  L.  Easter.  The  first  officers  were: 
Joseph  McClain,  N.G.;  Daniel  Spitler,  Y.G. ;  J.  P.  Murray,  Sec.; 
H.  L.  Easter,  P. Sec. ;  Joseph  Laughlin,  Treas.;  Joseph  McClain,  Rep. 
to  G.  Lodge.  The  present  officers  are :  B.  F.  Hartman,  N.  G. ;  Henry 


CONCORD   TOWNSHIP.  217 

Mee,  Y.G.;  W.  B.  Simonds,  Sec.;  W.  H.  McClain,  P. Sec.;  W.  S. 
Torbet,  Treas.;  W.  B.  Simonds,  Rep.  to  G.  Lodge.  The  lodge  is  in 
good  condition,  holds  meetings  in  the  Masonic  Hall,  and  has  twenty- 
three  members. 

The  Blue  Ribbon  Society  of  the  A.C.T.U.  was  organized^  by 
Mrs.  Trego,  of  Coshocton  county,  Ohio,  in  the  winter  of  1878-9. 
The  records  have  been  destroyed  by  fire.  They  have  about  200 
members,  and  meet  every  Friday  night. 

An  Anti-Profane  Society  was  formed  by  the  Rev.  L.  W.  Bicknell, 
Baptist  minister,  in  the  summer  of  1879.  They  have  over  200  mem- 
bers, meet  every  Wednesday  night,  and  are  working  a  great  good. 

A  Good  Templars'  lodge  organized  May  29,  1876,  has  since  dis- 
banded. 

BIOGRAPHICAL. 

Benjamin  Fry,  deceased,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  and  whose  por- 
trait appears  in  this  work,  was  born  in  Virginia,  July  24,  1803.  Soon 
after  his  birth  his  parents  moved  to  Pennsylvania,  thence  to  Ohio, 
thence  to  Indiana,  and  in  the  fall  of  1830  he  came  to  Iroquois  county, 
Illinois,  and  worked  for  Gurdon  Hubbard  at  $8  per  month  for  the  first 
year,  and  $10  for  the  second.  The  third  year  he  became  a  partner, 
and  continued  as  such  during  the  Black  Hawk  war.  He  was  at  Chi- 
cago at  the  signing  of  the  treaty,  and  was  one  of  the  commissioners 
appointed  by  the  governor  to  distribute  goods  to  the  Indians.  He 
returned  to  Iroquois  county,  and  later  bought  the  old  Yassar  farm,  now 
occupied  by  his  sons,  B.  F.  and  M.  V.  B.,  and  upon  which  he  lived 
until  his  death,  November  23,  1876.  Mr.  Yry  was  one  of  the  first 
white  men  to  brave  the  dangers  of  a  life  among  the  Indians,  and  men- 
tion of  some  of  his  adventures  will  be  made  elsewhere  in  the  history 
of  the  township  in  which  he  was  a  resident. 

William  H.  Dunning,  farmer  and  grain-buyer,  Iroquois,  was  born 
in  Cayuga  county,  New  York,  April  14,  1815,  and  lived  there  until 
1834,  when  with  his  parents  he  came  to  Illinois,  and  settled  on  the  old 
Hubbard  farm  adjoining  Iroquois,  which  his  father  had  previously 
bought.  He  lived  there  two  years  with  his  parents,  and  then  went  to 
Walworth  county,  Wisconsin,  and  fanned  there  for  thirty-two  years. 
In  1870  he  came  here  to  Iroquois  and  occupied  the  old  home- 
stead. In  1874  he  built  his  present  elevator,  which  he  rented  until 
1876.  He  then  engaged  in  grain  buying  and  occupied  his  elevator. 
In  September,  1852,  he  married  Miss  Jessie  M.  Tonkin,  who  was  born 
in  England.  They  have  one  child,  Eber  T.,  who  is  now  practicing  law 
at  Greeley,  Colorado.  He  owns  444  acres  in  this  county,  adjoining  the 
village  of  Iroquois.  His  parents,  Eber  and  Margaret  (Thompson) 


218  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

Dunning,  were  natives  of  Cayuga  county,  New  York  ;  were  married 
there,  and  there  she  died.  His  second  wife  was  Achsah  Rogers.  They 
came  here  in  1834.  He  died  in  1862.  She  then  moved  to  Sheldon, 
where  she  died  in  1875. 

Peter  Strickler,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Iroquois,  was  born  in  Page 
county,  Virginia,  April  6,  1827,  and  lived  there  until  1835,  when  with 
his  parents  he  came  to  Illinois  and  settled  in  this  township.  He  lived 
with  his  parents  until  he  was  twenty -nine  years  of  age.  November  11, 
1856,  he  married  Miss  Mary  Ann  Cline,  who  was  born  in  the  same 
place,  and  died  here  in  Illinois,  November  24,  1870.  Of  their  five 
children  four  are  living :  Laura,  Lewis,  Mary  E.  and  Alice  G.  July 
24,  1871,  he  married  Miss  Martha  Tharp,  who  was  born  in  Indiana. 
They  have  two  children  :  Frank  and  Hattie  L.  In  February,  1865,  he 
enlisted  in  the  155th  111.  "Vol.,  and  was  in  service  until  September  20 
following.  He  owns  80  acres  in  this  county,  located  on  both  sides  of 
the  line  between  this  and  Beaver  townships,  near  the  state  line. 

Robert  Karr,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Iroquois,  was  born  in  Brown 
county,  Ohio,  February  7, 1815,  and  lived  there  until  1833,  when,  with 
his  parents,  he  moved  to  Vermilion  county,  Illinois.  They  settled  near 
Georgetown,  where  they  lived  until  the  spring  of  1836,  when  they 
came  to  Iroquois  county,  and  he  improved  a  farm  adjoining  the  one  on 
which  his  father  settled.  He  lived  with  his  parents  until  October  27, 
1839,  when  he  married  Miss  Caroline  Strickler,  who  was  born  in  Shen- 
andoah  county,  Virginia.  After  his  marriage  he  moved  on  his  farm 
and  lived  there  until  the  fall  of  1866,  wrhen  he  came  to  his  present 
place.  Of  their  five  children  four  are  living:  Catharine,  Harvey, 
Marion  and  Oran.  He  owns  300  acres  in  this  county,  which  he  has 
earned  by  his  own  labor.  Mr.  Karr  was  an  early  visitor  to  Chicago, 
working  there  on  the  piers  as  early  as  1834.  He  drove  a  team  there 
in  1835,  and  many  times  since. 

Elijah  Karr,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Iroquois,  was  born  in  Brown 
county,  Ohio,  March  30,  1822,  and  lived  there  until  1833,  when,  with 
his  parents,  he  moved  to  Vermilion  county,  Illinois,  and  settled  near 
Georgetown.  In  1836  they  came  to  Iroquois  county,  and  settled  near 
Iroquois.  He  lived  with  his  parents  until  he  was  twenty-four  years  of 
age,  when  he  married  Miss  Hester  Lambert,  who  was  born  in  the  same 
locality  as  he.  Of  their  five  children  four  are  living:  Brace,  Ora, 
Flora  and  May  ;  Frank  died.  Mr.  Karr  owns  190  acres  in  this  county 
which  he  has  earned.  He  has  made  many  trips  to  Chicago,  his  first 
being  from  Vermilion  county  while  he  lived  there.  His  parents,  Adam 
and  Rebecca  (Galbreath)  Karr,  were  natives  of  Pennsylvania,  where 
they  were  married.  They  moved  to  Ohio  at  an  early  day,  and  came 


LIBRAHY 

OF  THE 
UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


CONCOKD   TOWNSHIP.  221 

here  as  stated.     He  was  the  first  blacksmith  in  Iroquois.     He  died  in 
1852,  and  she  in  1837. 

James  H.  Karr,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Iroquois,  was  born  in  Brown 
county,  Ohio,  April  2, 1818,  and  lived  there  fifteen  years.  He  received 
a  limited  common-school  education,  and  remembers,  among  other  class- 
mates, U.  S.  Grant.  He  also  worked  in  the  tannery  of  Jesse  R.  Grant 
on  Saturdays.  They  moved  to  Yermilion  county,  Illinois,  and  settled 
near  Georgetown.  In  the  spring  of  1836  they  came  to  Iroquois  county, 
and  settled  on  a  farm  which  now  adjoins  Iroquois.  He  lived  with  his 
parents  until  he  was  thirty-two  years  of  age.  May  9,  1850,  he  married 
Miss  Mary  E.  Pierce,  who  was  born  in  Wood  county,  Ohio.  After  his 
marriage  he  began  farming  on  his  own  account,  and  except  two  years' 
residence  in  Watseka  has  lived  in  this  township  since.  They  had  seven 
children,  three  living :  Ella,  Jennie  and  Burt.  He  has  held  the  office 
of  sheriff  of  the  county  two  years,  also  road  commissioner  and  school 
director.  He  owns  270  acres  in  this  county,  which  he  has  earned  by  his 
own  labor  and  management. 

Ezekiel  Whiteman,  retired  farmer,  Iroquois,  was  born  in  Greene 
county,  Ohio,  February  26,  1814,  and  lived  there  nearly  twenty-three 
years.  He  then  came  to  Illinois  and  settled  on  his  present  place, 
which  is  located  on  both  sides  of  the  state  line,  about  due  east  of  Iro- 
quois. At  first  he  lived  on  the  Illinois  side,  but  at  present  he  resides 
in  Indiana.  January  1,  1837,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Margaret  Grims- 
ley,  who  was  born  in  Page  county,  Virginia.  He  owns  about  300 
acres  in  this  neighborhood  which  he  has  earned  by  his  own  labor.  He 
came  to  Illinois  by  ox-team  and  built  a  14x16  log  cabin  and  lived  in 
it  sixteen  years,  clearing  a  farm  out  of  the  timber.  Most  of  his  land 
was  bought  in  Danville,  Illinois,  and  Logansport,  Indiana,  the  latter 
being  the  office  of  the  canal  lands  commissioner. 

B.  F.  Fry,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Iroquois,  is  a  native  of  Iroquois 
county,  Illinois.  He  was  born  on  his  present  place  June  15,  1837,  and 
has  always  lived  on  the  same.  November  18,  1851,  he  married  Miss 
Carrie  Pelton.  After  his  marriage  he  began  farming  on  his  own 
account,  renting  part  of  his  father's  farm  for  two  years.  He  then  went 
into  a  partnership  with  his  father,  which  continued  until  the  death  of 
his  father,  November  23,  1876.  His  mother  died  in  1847.  His  father 
was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  and  with  his  parents,  moved  to  Coshoc- 
ton  county,  Ohio,  when  he  was  but  three  years  of  age.  He  moved  to 
Indiana  in  the  spring  of  1830,  and  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year  came 
to  Iroquois  county,  Illinois.  He  worked  for  Gurdon  S.  Hubbard,  and 
subsequently  became  the  owner  of  the  old  Trading  Post  farm,  and  took 
a  leading  part  in  the  early  affairs  of  this  neighborhood. 
14 


222  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

Amos  O.  Whiteman,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Iroquois,  was  born  in 
Greene  county,  Ohio,  August  9,  1819,  and  lived  there  twenty  years. 
He  visited  Illinois,  in  this  neighborhood,  in  1838,  but  returned  home 
the  same  winter.  In  1839  he  assisted  his  brother  to  move  to  Newton 
county,  Indiana.  He  put  in  a  crop  there  for  his  father  and  hired  a 
man  to  attend  it.  His  father  came  in  the  July  following  and  harvested 
the  crop,  returning  east  on  August  24  of  the  same  year.  On  the  27th 
of  the  same  month  he  died.  In  the  spring  of  1840  Mr.  A.  O.  White- 
man came  west  to  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  where  he  worked  on  a  farm, 
and  in  April,  1841,  he  went  back  to  Ohio,  returning  November,  1842. 
January  1,  1843,  he  settled  on  his  present  place,  and  has  lived  here 
since,  except  two  years  in  old  Middleport.  He  held  the  office  of  county 
surveyor  from  1843  to  1847 ;  justice  of  the  peace  from  1848  to  1852, 
and  several  terms  since.  He  was  then  elected  to  fill  the  unexpired 
term  of  J.  F.  "Wagner,  county  clerk.  In  1847  he  was  commissioned 
by  Gov.  Ford  as  captain  of  Co.  B,  9th  Odd  battalion  of  Illinois  Militia, 
it  being  the  first  in  the  county.  December  24,  1840,  he  married  Miss 
Lydia  Thomas,  who  was  born  in  Rockingham  county,  Virginia,  and 
died  March  16,1856.  They  had  seven  children,  four  living:  Electa 
M.,  Louis  K.,  Amos  Lee,  and  Ora  A.  August  21,  1856,  he  married 
Margaret  C.  McCoy,  who  was  born  in  Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania, 
and  died  June  16,  1862.  They  had  four  children,  one  living,  Harmon 
M.  His  present  wife  was  Miss  Barbara  A.  Strickler,  who  was  born  in 
Sullivan  county,  Tennessee.  They  have  four  children  :  Grace,  Horace 
M.,  Blanche,  and  Cyrus  R.  He  owns  498  acres  in  this  county  and  53 
in  Indiana,  which  he  has  earned  by  his  own  labor  and  management. 

Martin  Y.  B.  Fry,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Iroquois,  is  a  native  of 
Iroquois  county,  Illinois.  He  was  born  on  his  present  place  August 
13,  1841,  and  lived  here  until  1862,  when  he  enlisted  in  Co.  E,  76th 
111.  Vol.,  and  wras  in  the  service  until  June,  1865,  taking  part  in  the 
battles  of  Vicksburg,  Jackson,  Mobile,  and  the  other  engagements  of 
the  regiment.  After  the  war  he  returned  home  and  pursued  his  busi- 
ness of  farming, — he  and  his  brother  being  in  partnership.  April  3, 
1879,  he  married  Miss  Laura  A.  Light,  of  Newton  county,  Indiana. 
He  made  his  home  in  the  old  homestead  residence  until  its  destruction 
by  fire,  since  which  time  he  has  been  living  with  his  brother. 

Leander  Hogle,  farmer,  Sheldon,  is  a  native  of  Concord  township, 
Iroquois  county,  Illinois.  He  was  born  September  19,  1843,  and  has 
always  made  his  home  in  this  county.  In  1861  he  enlisted  in  the  51st 
111.  Vol.,  and  remained  in  service  four  years  and  twelve  days.  He  was 
in  the  battles  of  Chickamagua,  Mission  Ridge,  Franklin,  Stone  River, 
Atlanta  campaign  and  the  other  battles  of  the  regiment.  November 


CONCOED   TOWNSHIP.  223 

6,  1867,  he  m'arried  Miss  Melissa  Bowen,  who  was  born  in  this  county. 
They  have  two  children :  Almedia  and  George.  After  his  marriage 
he  began  farming  his  father's  farm.  His  parents,  Leonard  and  Susanna 
(Bookless)  Hogle,  are  natives  of  New  York  and  Ohio.  They  were 
married  January  4, 1 829.  Of  their  eleven  children  five  are  living :  Wil- 
liam, Leander,  Leonard,  Jr.,  Margaret  and  Polly.  All  are  married 
and  live  in  this  county,  except  Margaret,  who  lives  at  Earl  Park,  Indi- 
ana. He  is  living  on  the  old  homestead  with  his  son.  Mrs.  Hogle 
died  April  26,  ,1868. 

John  B.  Growl,  farmer,  Sheldon,  was  born  in  Xenia,  Ohio,  Febru- 
ary 9,  1822,  and  lived  there  until  1839,  when  with  his  parents  he 
moved  west,  and  settled  in  Indiana,  five  miles  east  of  Bunkum,  Illinois, 
which  was  their  post-office.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  moved  over 
the  line  to  Illinois,  and  engaged  in  farming,  near  Bunkum,  on  a  farm 
that  he  bought  of  his  father,  and  the  following  year  he  began  improv- 
ing his  present  place.  December  29,  1845,  he  married  Miss  Mary 
Moore,  who  was  born  in  Ohio,  and  came  to  Illinois  at  an  early  date. 
She  died  August  28,  1869.  They  had  eight  children,  four  living: 
George,  Martha  A.,  Ella  and  Frank  F.  He  owns  363  acres  in  this 
county,  which  he  has  earned  by  his  own  labor  and  management.  His 
parents,  Joseph  and  Aletha  (Bishop)  Growl,  were  natives  of  Maryland 
and  Yirginia.  They  moved  to  Ohio  when  young  and  married  there. 
They  came  west  as  stated,  and  died  in  February,  1852,  and  October, 
1872,  respectively. 

Abram  Hogle,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Iroquois,  was  born  in  Co- 
shocton  county,  Ohio,  June  4,  1831,  and  lived  there  until  1845,  when 
with  his  parents  he  came  to  Illinois  and  settled  in  Iroquois  county, 
on  his  present  place.  He  has  served  as  school  director  since  he  became 
of  age,  and  has  been  road  commissioner  for  fifteen  years.  He  also 
served  as  supervisor  and  justice  of  the  peace.  May  13,  1853,  he  mar- 
ried Miss  Mary  Strickler,  who  was  born  in  Page  county,  Virginia. 
They  had  seven  children,  five  living :  Henry  S.,  Herbert  IS".,  Carrie, 
Flora  and  Mina  J.  He  owns  160  acres  in  this  county  which  he  has 
earned  by  his  own  labor.  His  parents,  Michael  and  Rebecca  (Noble) 
Hogle,  were  natives  of  New  York  and  Yirginia.  They  were  married 
in  Ohio,  and  came  here  as  stated.  He  died  in  the  spring  of  1846. 
She  is  living  here  on  the  old  homestead  with  her  son. 

Eli  Hougland,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Sheldon,  was  born  in  Co- 
shocton  county,  Ohio,  November  8,  1838,  and  lived  there  about  seven 
years,  when  with  his  parents  he  came  west  and  settled  in  Iroquois 
county,  Illinois.  He  lived  with  his  parents  nearly  twenty-four  years. 
January  16,  1862,  he  married  Miss  Adela  Mantor,  who  was  born  in 


224  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

Hamilton  county,  Ohio,  and  died  May  19,  1863.  In  August,  1862,  he 
enlisted  in  the  76th  111.  Vol.,  and  remained  in  service  until  March, 
1863.  On  his  return  from  the  army  he  farmed  on  his  father's  place, 
and  also  ran  a  threshing  machine.  In  1867  he  went  to  Missouri  and 
engaged  in  improving  a  farm  that  he  had  previously  bought.  In  1874 
he  came  back  to  Illinois  and  settled  on  his  father's  farm,  where  he 
raised  two  crops.  He  then  traded  his  Missouri  farm  for  his  present 
place,  and  moved  on  it.  November  8,  1866,  he  married  Miss  Helen 
M.  Barnes,  who  was  born  in  Indiana.  They  have  five  children :  Ira, 
Edgar,  Charles,  James  O.  and  Silas.  He  owns  nearly  a  quarter-section 
in  this  county,  which  he  has  earned  by  his  own  labor. 

Marion  Karr,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Iroquois,  was  born  on  his 
father's  farm  in  Concord  township,  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  October 
20,  1846,  and  lived  there  until  August,  1862,  when  he  enlisted  in  the 
113th  111.  Inf.,  and  remained  in  the  service  until  July  1,  1865.  He 
served  one  year  as  corporal,  and  also  as  orderly  the  greater  part  of 
the  time.  He  was  in  the  battles  of  Arkansas  Post,  Yicksburg, 
and  most  of  the  other  engagements  of  the  regiment.  After  the 
war  he  returned  home,  and  December  23,  1866,  he  was  married  to 
Miss  Ann  Hill,  who  was  born  in  England,  and  came  to  the  United 
States  at  the  age  of  six.  They  have  six  children,  five  living:  Sid- 
nejr,  Ernest,  William,  Harry  and  Nellie.  After  his  marriage  he  rented 
his  father's  farm  one  year.  He  then  moved  to  his  father-in-law's,  and 
has  managed  his  farm  since.  His  wife's  parents,  John  B.  and  Ann 
(Ellis)  Hill  were  natives  of  England.  She  died  November  8,  1861 ; 
present  wife  was  Mrs.  Jackson,  formerly  Miss  Ann  Gedling,  a  native  of 
England.  He  settled  here  in  1860. 

Jacob  H.  Murray,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Sheldon,  is  a  native  of 
Ooncord  township,  Iroquois  county,  Illinois.  He  was  born  November 
6,  1848,  on  his  father's  farm,  and  has  always  lived  at  home.  In  1871 
he  began  working  on  his  own  account,  farming  the  old  homestead  farm. 
March  31,  1878,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Sarah  C.  McCarty,  who  was 
born  in  Greene  county,  Ohio.  They  have  one  child,  James  S.  His 
parents,  Samuel  and  Elizabeth  (Whiteman)  Murray,  were  natives  of 
Yirginia.  He  came  to  this  county  in  1836.  She  also  came  at  an  early 
date.  He  died  December  2, 1870.  She  is  living  on  the  old  homestead. 
They  were  among  the  early  settlers,  and  participated  in  the  trials  and 
privations  of  the  early  times. 

J.  W.  Young,  retired  farmer,  Iroquois,  was  born  in  Huntington 
county,  New  Jersey,  June  6,  1817,  and  lived  there  seventeen  years. 
He  then  moved  to  Coshocton  county,  Ohio,  where  he  worked  on  a  farm 
and  clerked  in  a  store  until  1846.  He  then  came  to  Iroquois  and 


CONCOKD   TOWNSHIP.  225 

worked  on  a  farm  and  drove  stock  to  Milwaukee  and  Chicago.  He 
lived  here  about  nine  months,  and  then  moved  to  Ohio,  and  in  1848 
moved  to  Indiana,  and  in  1849  he  again  came  to  Iroquois  county  and 
moved  into  the  old  trading-house  of  Hubbard  &  Yasseur,  and  lived 
there  four  years,  working  the  old  Hubbard  farm.  He  then  came  to  his 
present  place.  November  9,  1848,  he  married  Miss  Sarah  C.  McCay, 
who  was  born  in  Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  died  May  8,  1878. 
Of  their  five  children  two  are  living :  Joseph  McC.  and  Robert.  Joseph 
married  Miss  Ella  A.  Karr,  October  9,  1872.  They  have  three  chil- 
dren living :  Edith,  Blanche  and  Clyde.  He  and  his  brother,  Robert, 
are  farming  the  old  homestead,  their  father  making  his  home  with  them. 
He  owns  302  acres  in  this  county,  which  he  has  earned  by  his  own 
labor.  His  capital,  on  coming  here,  was  an  old  team  and  $1.50.  He 
has  held  no  office  in  the  county,  except  connected  with  the  school  and 
road. 

Samuel  Warrick,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Iroquois,  was  born  in 
"Warren  county,  Ohio,  June  17, 1811,  and  lived  there  until  1839,  when 
he  moved  to  Fountain  county,  Indiana,  following  his  trade  of  a  carpen- 
ter, which  he  learned  at  the  age  of  twenty-two.  In  1853  he  came  to 
his  present  place,  and  has  lived  here  since.  He  served  as  supervisor  of 
this  township  in  1866,  and  has  also  served  as  road  commissioner,  school 
director  and  township  trustee.  He  owns  840  acres  in  this  county, 
which  he  has  earned  mostly  by  his  own  labor.  In  March,  1835,  he 
married  Miss  Delila  Jenkins,  who  was  born  in  Warren  county,  Ohio, 
and  died  in  1846.  Of  their  five  children  one  is  living,  Absalom.  In 
February,  1848,  he  married  Miss  Eleanor  Clawson,  who  was  born  in 
Fountain  county,  Indiana,  and  died  in  November,  1869.  They  had 
seven  children  :  Alice,  John,  Daniel,  Winona,  George,  Samuel  C.  and 
Eleanor.  In  March,  1873,  he  married  Mrs.  Short  (formerly  Miss  Lizzie 
Jenner),  who  was  born  in  New  York  city.  They  have  three  children : 
Pearl,  Nita  and  James  M. 

L.  H.  Hickman,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Sheldon,  was  born  in  Kent 
county,  Delaware,  May  10, 1821,  and  lived  there  until  the  fall  of  1833. 
He  then  came  to  Warren  county,  Indiana,  with  his  brother-in-law,  his 
parents  having  died.  In  1837  he  went  to  live  with  his  brother,  who 
bought  out  his  brother-in-law.  April  21,  1842,  he  married  Miss  Eliza- 
beth J.  Chenowith,  who  was  born  in  Warren  county,  Ohio.  After  his 
marriage  he  began  working  for  himself,  renting  a  farm  several  years, 
but  subsequently  buying  a  place.  In  1854  he  moved  to  Ash  Grove, 
Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  and  has  lived  in  this  county  since.  He  came 
to  his  present  place  in  1869.  In  1872  he  lost  his  wife.  They  had 
fourteen  children,  nine  of  whom  are  living :  Charlotte  Ann,  Mary  E.r 


226        .  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

James  F.,  E^iza  E.,  Sarah  J.,  Elmer  C.3  George  A.,  Martha  C.,  and 
Francis  R.  June  3,  1873,  he  married  Miss  Polly  L.  Hogle,  who  was 
born  in  this  county.  They  have  three  children  :  Arthur,  Melissa  and 
Susan.  He  owns  82  acres  in  this  county.  He  has  not  been  an  office 
seeker,  and  has  held  no  office  except  connected  with  the  school  and 
road. 

J.  H.  McOlain,  M.  D.,  physician,  Iroquois,  was  born  in  Wayne 
county,  Indiana,  April  5,  1825,  and  the  following  October  his  parents 
moved  to  Fountain  county  in  the  same  state.  He  lived  at  home  nine- 
teen years.  January  11,  1844,  he  married  Miss  Catheron  Henry,  who 
was  born  in  Scott  county,  West  Virginia.  After  his  marriage  he 
engaged  in  farming.  In  1846  he  began  studying  medicine,  and  began 
the  practice  in  Fountain  county  in  1856.  In^l859  he  came  to  Iroquois 
county,  Illinois,  and  settled  nearMiltbrd.  In  1861  he  came  to  Iroquois 
and  practiced  until  1864,  when  he  moved  to  Kentland,  Indiana.  In 
1868  he  moved  to  Morocco,  and  in  1874  he  came  back  to  Iroquois,  and 
has  practiced  here  since.  The  doctor  has  been  a  member  of  the  M.  E. 
church  since  1840.  There  are  five  children  in  his  family  :  Hiram  H., 
Sarah  E.,  William  H.,  Eebecca  E.,  and  Charles  W. 

Arthur  T.  Crozier,  physician,  Iroquois,  is  a  native  of  Washington 
county,  Arkansas.  He  was  born  on  his  father's  farm  August  9,  1833. 
During  his  infancy  his  father  died.  His  mother  married  Mr.  John 
Shirley,  and  Arthur  T.  lived  with  them  until  he  was  twenty-four  years 
of  age,  when  he  began  studying  medicine  under  Drs.  Stewart  and  Rose, 
of  Jackson,  Mississippi,  and  remained  with  them  two  years.  He  then 
attended  school  at  Ann  Arbor,  Michigan,  for  ten  months,  and  in  1857 
he  graduated  from  the  Berkshire  Medical  College  of  Massachusetts. 
He  then  practiced  seven  years  in  Arkansas,  and  in  1864  he  came  to 
Iroquois  county,  and  has  practiced  here  since.  In  1858  he  married 
Miss  Elizabeth  Wright,  of  Arkansas.  They  had  three  children,  two 
living:  Minnie  W.  and  Arthur  M.  From  1862  to  1864  the  doctor 
had  charge  of  the  hospital  at  Washita,  Indian  territory. 

Scott  A.  King,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Iroquois,  was  born  in  Rens- 
selaer,  Indiana,  October  24,  1838,  and  lived  there  about  one  year.  He 
then  went  to  Parrish  Grove,  Indiana,  and  in  1840  came  to  Iroquois, 
and  in  1841  went  to  New  York,  where  he  lived  until  1863.  He  then 
came  to  Sheldon,  Illinois,  where,  in  1864,  he  began  wagon-making. 
He  lived  there  until  1870,  and  then  went  to  New  York,  and  in  1874 
he  settled  on  his  present  place.  In  March,  1875,  he  was  married  to 
Miss  Lorette  M.  Hill,  who  was  born  in  New  York.  Mr.  King  owns 
240  acres  in  this  county,  which  he  has  earned  mostly  by  his  own  labor. 
His  parents,  George  and  Harriet  (Nichols)  King,  were  natives  of  Gen- 


CONCORD  TOWNSHIP.  227 

esee  county,  New  York,  and  were  married  there.  They  moved  to 
Indiana  in  1837. 

S.  K.  Clarke,  fanner  and  stock-raiser,  Sheldon,  is  a  native  of  Co- 
shocton  county,  Ohio.  He  was  born  September  25,  1833,  and  lived 
with  his  parents  until  he  was  six  years  of  age,  when  they  died.  He 
then  lived  with  a  relative  about  nine  years.  He  worked  on  a  farm 
until  he  was  eighteen.  October  13,  1851,  he  was  married  to  Miss 
Susan  Burrell,  who  was  born  in  the  same  locality,  arid  died  in  March, 
1852.  He  continued  working  by  the  month  until  February  1,  1856, 
when  he  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Darling,  who  was  born  in  Co- 
shocton  county,  Ohio.  He  then  rented  a  farm  until  1867,  when  he 
came  to  Iroquois,  Illinois,  and  rented  a  farm  of  Dr.  Fowler  for  three 
years,  during  which  time,  July  5,  1870,  he  lost  his  wife.  They  had 
four  children,  three  living:  Celia,  Susan  and  Franklin.  October  15, 
1872,  he  married  Miss  Louisa  Baird,  who  was  born  in  Coshocton 
county,  Ohio.  In  the  spring  of  1876  he  moved  to  his  present  place, 
which  consists  of  200  acres,  which  he  has  earned  by  his  own  labor  and 
management.  By  his  present  marriage  he  had  four  children,  three  liv- 
ing :  May  Belle,  Ira  and  Leroy. 

Daniel  Spitler,  physician,  Iroquois,  was  born  in  Page  county,  Vir- 
ginia, July  2,  1843,  and  came  to  Newton  county,  Indiana,  with  his 
parents  in  1845,  where  he  lived  until  he  was  twenty-one  years  of  age. 
He  then  read  medicine  two  years  at  Sheldon  with  Dr.  Barry,  and 
afterward  one  year  at  Rensselaer,  Indiana,  with  Dr.  Loughridge.  While 
with  Dr.  Barry  he  also  attended  lectures  at  Rush  Medical  College,  Chi- 
cago, graduating  there  while  with  Dr.  Loughridge,  with  whom  he 
formed  a  partnership  for  one  year.  He  then  went  to  Kentland,  and 
owing  to  the  ill  health  of  his  wife,  discontinued  practice.  In  1871  he 
came  to  Iroquois,  and  has  lived  here  since.  March  21,  1877,  he  mar- 
ried Miss  Irene  Strickler,  his  present  wife.  She  was  born  in  this 
county.  They  have  one  child,  Ellen  E. 

W.  B.  Simonds,  justice  of  the  peace  and  insurance  agent,  was  born 
in  Hillsboro  county,  New  Hampshire,  December  3,  1841,  and  lived 
there  until  1864,  when  he.  moved  to  Worcester,  Massachusetts,  and 
worked  in  a  wire  factory.  In  the  winter  of  1865  he  moved  to  Man- 
teno,  Kankakee  county,  Illinois,  and  farmed.  In  1871  he  came  to 
Iroquois  county  and  farmed  until  1873,  when  he  moved  to  the  village 
and  has  lived  there  since.  He  has  held  the  office  of  town  clerk  a 
number  of  years,  justice  of  the  peace  since  1873,  and  supervisor  since 
1878.  December  29,  1870,  he  married  Miss  Ellen  Young,  who  was 
born  in  Indiana.  They  had  three  children,  one  living,  Clarence  W. 
His  parents,  Asa  and  Emily  (Knight)  Simonds,  were  natives  of  New 


228  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

Hampshire.  They  were  married  there  and  always  lived  there.  Mr. 
Simonds  served  as  representative  of  his  district  to  the  state  legislature 
in  1861  and  1862,  and  is  now  living  on-  the  old  homestead.  His  wife, 
Mrs.  Simonds,  died  July  10,  1854. 

J.  B.  Strickler,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Iroquois,  is  a  native  of  Con- 
cord township.  He  was  born  March  28,  1841,  and  lived  with  his 
parents  until  November  10,  1872,  when  he  married  Miss  Josie  Mc- 
Kinstry,  who  was  born  in  Boston,  Massachusetts.  After  his  marriage 
he  moved  to  his  present  residence,  and  a  year  later,  on  completion  of 
the  improvement,  his  parents  came  and  have  lived  with  him  since.  He 
has  four  children :  Henry  E.,  Joseph,  Edna  and  Arthur.  In  June,  1859, 
he  went  to  Missouri  and  returned  in  November,  1860.  He  enlisted 
in  the  155th  111.  Yol.,  and  remained  in  service  eight  months.  He  was 
corporal  in  Company  F,  and  was  mustered  out  at  Murfreesboro, 
Tennessee.  He  owns  303  acres  of  land  in  this  county.  His  father, 
Henry,  was  born  in  Shenandoah  county,  Virginia,  July  12,  1796.  He 
married  Miss  Catharine  Brubaker,  May  13,  1819,  in  Hagerstown, 
Maryland.  She  was  born  in  Virginia.  They  came  to  Iroquois 
county,  Illinois,  in  1835,  and  settled  on  the  present  farm  and  have 
lived  here  since.  Of  their  fifteen  children,  nine  are  living. 

"W.  H.  McClain,  druggist,  Iroquois,  is  a  native  of  Fountain  county, 
Indiana.  He  was  born  April  6,  1850,  and  lived  there  until  1859, 
when  with  his  parents  he  came  to  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  and  settled 
near  Milford.  In  1861  they  moved  to  Iroquois  and  in  1865  to  Newton 
county,  Indiana,  where  he  lived  until  the  spring  of  1874,  when  he 
came  to  Iroquois  and  engaged  in  his  present  business,  the  firm  being 
Warren  &  McClain  ;  and  in  1875  Mr.  Warren  sold  out  to  Mr.  McClain, 
who  has  since  conducted  the  business.  January  20,  1876,  he  married 
Miss  Victoria  Hawle}r,  who  was  born  in  Kankakee  county,  Illinois. 
They  have  one  child,  W.  H.,  Jr.  In  1871  and  1872,  while  in  Newton 
county,  Indiana,  he  served  as  deputy  sheriff. 

M.  "W.  Jones,  dealer  in  general  merchandise,  Iroquois,  is  a  native  of 
Marshall  county,  Illinois.  He  was  born  October  9,  1850,  and  lived 
there  twenty-five  years.  Twenty-two  years  of  this  time  he  spent  on 
his  father's  farm,  and  the  remaining  three  years  clerked  in  a  general 
merchandise  store  in  the  village  of  Henry,  in  his  native  county.  He 
then  moved  to  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  and  engaged  in  farming  near 
Oilman,  and  lived  there  four  years,  when  he  moved  to  Loda  ;  and  March 
15,  1879,  he  came  to  Iroquois  and  engaged  in  his  present  business. 
December  1*3,  1875,  he  married  Miss  Hettie  B.  Culver,  who  was  born 
in  Henry,  Illinois.  They  have  one  child,  Alice  M.  The  business  of 
the  new  firm  is  by  no  means  small,  and  the  large  stock  of  goods  they 


DOUGLAS   TOWNSHIP.  229 

display  is  second  to  none  in  the  county,  invoicing  as  high  as  $10,000. 
They  occupy  two  store-rooms  equal  to  35x50,  and  have  a  large  and 
increasing  trade. 

James  H.  Smith,  dealer  in  general  merchandise,  Iroquois,  was  born 
in  Cass  county,  Indiana,  May  16,  1844.  His  father  died  when  he  was 
but  two  years  of  age,  and  he  lived  in  the  neighborhood  until  1861, 
when  he  enlisted  in  the  46th  reg.  Ind.  Inf.  He  was  in  service  three 
years  and  three  months.  He  was  slightly  wounded  at  the  battle  of 
Champion  Hill.  He  also  took  part  in  the  battles  of  Yicksburg,  Port 
Gibson,  Grand  Gulf,  and  most  of  the  engagements  of  the  regiment. 
June  5,  1869,  he  married  Miss  Rebecca  McClain,  of  Fountain  county, 
Indiana.  They  had  four  children,  three  living:  Samuel,  Kitty  and 
Leroy.  In  1875  Mr.  Smith  came  to  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  and  in 
1877  he  engaged  in  his  present  business,  where  he  has  constantly  on 
hand  all  goods  pertaining  to  a  general  store. 


DOUGLAS   TOWNSHIP. 

Douglas  township  received  its  name  from  the  great  senator,  who 
was  the  originator  of  the  plan,  so  far  as  official  action  was  concerned, 
by  which  the  grand  prairie  was  made  habitable.  It  has  become 
popular  to  decry  the  system  of  land  grants  to  railroads,  and  there  is 
no  doubt  the  system  has  been  overdone,  and  has  given  rise  to  much 
official  corruption  ;  but  it  was  only  through  some  such  plan  as  the 
one  Senator  Douglas  urged  through  congress  that  this  vast  prairie 
region  could  be  profitably  farmed. 

The  township  lies  in  the  western  part  of  the  center  of  the  county, 
and  as  originally  constituted,  and  up  to  1878,  embraced  twice  the 
amount  of  territory  that  it  does  now.  It  now  embraces  a  tier  and  a 
half  of  sections  off  the  north  end  of  townships  26  north,  range  10 
and  11  east  of  the  3d  principal  meridian,  and  14  west  of  the  2d 
principal  meridian,  and  two  tiers  of  sections  off  the  south  end  of 
town  27,  same  ranges,  being  nearly  thirteen  miles  long  east  and  west, 
by  three  and  a  half  miles  wide  north  and  south.  The  division  seems 
an  inconvenient  one,  but  is  really  one  which  accommodates  the  peo- 
ple very  well.  The  Illinois  Central  railroad  divides  it  exactly  in 
the  center,  and  the  Toledo,  Peoria  &  Warsaw  railroad  runs  almost 
through  the  center  from  east  to  west.  The  Springfield  division  of 
the  Illinois  Central  starts  here,  and  for  twenty  years  'all  the  trains 
which  belong  to  the  Central  road  (passing  over  the  Peoria  road) 
from  its  main  line  to  its  Chicago  branch  have  been  transferred  here. 


230  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

Spring  creek  runs  across  the  southeastern  corner  of  the  township, 
having  on  it  a  fine  growth  of  timber.  The  surface  of  the  land  is 
generally  level,  with  sufficient  fall  for  good  drainage.  Early  in  its 
history  the  township  suffered  greatly  rainy  years  in  consequence  of 
surface  water,  but  the  system  of  drainage  which  has  been  more 
recently  perfected  offers  sufficient  exit  for  the  water  in  any  ordinary 
year. 

There  were  very  few  early  settlers  in  this  town.  Mrs.  Harwood, 
now  a  resident  of  Gilmaii,  a  sketch  of  whose  pioneer  life  on  Sugar 
creek  and  on  Spring  creek  will  be  found  in  the  sketch  of  Iroquois 
township,  was  one  of  the  very  first  in  the  county,  but  did  not  reside 
in  this  township.  Jacob  O' Feather  came  from  Indiana,  and  settled 
on  section  25,  near  Spring  creek,  in  1836.  He  was  a  man  of  fair 
education,  and  was,  according  to  Mr.  Flesher's  remembrance,  the 
first  one  who  taught  school  in  the  lower  Spring  creek  settlement. 
The  Darby  family,  who  joined  in  that  neighborhood,  had  land,  if  Mr. 
Kirby's  recollection  is  correct,  in  both  townships.  David  Wright 
lived  in  the  same  neighborhood  in  1836.  Henry  Alexander,  who 
came  from  Yermilion  county  in  1851,  took  up  about  half  a  section  in 
section  1  (26-14),  and  remained  there  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
soon  after  his  return  from  service  in  the  army  during  the  rebellion. 
His  step-son,  Mr.  A.  C.  Cast,  who  resides  at  Crescent  City,  has  the 
place  yet,  and  has  devoted  a  great  deal  of  attention  to  raising  fruit, 
having  one  of  the  finest  apple  orchards  in  the  county.  Mr.  Alex- 
ander had  a  "breaking  team,"  according  to  the  parlance  of  the  time, 
which  was  in  those  days  four  or  five  yoke  of  oxen.  It  was  supposed 
at  that  time  that  the  prairie  could  not  be  broken  with  a  horse-team, 
and  men  who  were  handy  with  ox-teams  were  in  great  demand  in  the 
decade  between  1850  and  1860  for  breaking  prairie.  Along  the  tim- 
ber, Daniel  "Wright,  Elijah  Barton,  "William  Scott,  Lewis  Hunt,  Mr. 
Graves,  Thomas  and  S.  R.  Clinkinbeard  settled ;  George  and  Edward 
Clark  and  Mr.  McCormick  lived  near  by.  Mrs.  Eoff  lived  on  the 
east  side  of  the  creek.  Martin  "Wright  came  in  a  few  years  later. 
Mr.  Moyer  lived  south  of  the  railroad,  near  Mr.  Alexander's,  and 
Mr.  Noyes  in  the  same  vicinity.  C.  C.  Wells  and  R.  S.  Johnson 
lived  early  on  farms  west  of  Gilman,  and  south  of  the  railroad,  and 
Lewis  J.  Bennett  on  a  farm  in  the  southwest  corner  of  the  township, 
and  Mr.  Baldwin  near  him.  Mr.  Parker  lived  north  of  the  railroad, 
in  the  western  part  of  the  township,  and  Sherman  Dayton  lived  near 
there,  north  of  La  Hogue.  Andrew  Bradner  took  up  a  farm  in  the 
same  vicinity  in  the  spring  of  1857.  Joseph  Robinson  lived  just 
west  of  them,  and  Mr.  Baldruft'  and  John  Kuhn  near  by.  In  the 


DOUGLAS   TOWNSHIP.  231 

spring  of  1858,  W.  E.  Knibloe  and  E.  Silver,  brothers-in-law,  came 
to  the  farm  now  owned  by  John  Shule,  three  miles  northwest  of 
Gilman.  Two  brothers  Hartley  lived  west  of  Knibloe' s  that  spring, 
and  two  brothers  named  Cook  had  farms  farther  east.  Mr.  Seary 
lived  one  mile  northeast  of  Gilman.  Peter,  Joseph,  Edwin  and 
Abraham  La  Bounty  lived  farther  east.  There  was  fine  hunting  in 
those  days,  and  in  fact,  as  late  as  1867  deer  hunting  was,  though  not 
common,  an  occasional  sport.  In  the  fall  of  that  year  three  deer 
were  driven  out  of  the  rush  slough  in  Mr.  Danforth's  corn-field,  and 
"the  boys"  followed  them  three  days  before  they  brought  them 
down,  and  it  is  believed  would  have  been  after  them  yet  rather  than 
to  have  given  up  the  job.  Such  a  chance  as  that  was  not  to  be 
lightly  esteemed. 

The  Sturgis  farm,  which  is  just  southwest  of  Gilman,  was  one  of 
the  first  brought  into  cultivation  in  this  part  of  the  township.  It 
embraces  a  section  of  land,  and  a  great  deal  of  money  has  been 
expended  on  it  by  the  owner  to  make  it  one  of  the  best  farms  in  the 
county.  The  buildings  have  been  erected  with  a  view  to  carrying 
on  dairying.  The  brick  milk-house  is  supplied  with  artesian  water, 
which  keeps  the  milk  at  nearly  a  uniform  temperature  winter  and 
summer.  Mr.  Knibloe  has  had  charge  of  the  farm  for  several  years, 
and  is  running  a  butter  dairy  of  about  forty  cows,  finding  market 
for  the  product  in  Chicago.  When  the  reader  recalls  the  fact  that 
during  the  summer  months  butter  has  the  widest  range  of  quotation 
of  any  known  article  of  manufacture,  ranging  from  four  to  forty 
cents,  he  will  readily  see  what  such  dairymen  as  Mr.  Knibloe  have 
known  all  the  while, —  that  for  a  good  article  there  is  always  a  good 
paying  price. 

The  Gilman  nursery  was  put  into  operation  by  Capt.  W.  H.  Mann 
about  1866.  For  some  years  the  hedge-plant  branch  of  the  business 
largely  occupied  his  attention,  while  the  stock  in  other  branches  of 
trade  was  becoming  ready  for  the  trade.  To  Mr.  Mann  is  largely 
due  the  popularizing  of  hedging  in  this  portion  of  the  state.  As 
the  demand  in  that  direction  became  well  supplied,  he  gave  his 
attention  more  to  the  tree  raising.  Bringing  to  his  aid  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  business,  and  great  energy  and  care  in  the  manage- 
ment of  it,  the  Gilman  nursery,  with  its  branches  at  Chenoa  and  Fair- 
bury,  became  one  of  the  important  interests  of  the  county.  It 
embraces  500  acres  of  land  just  east  of  Gilman. 

Though  Douglas  has  from  the  beginning  been  alive  to  the  polit- 
ical strifes  and  partisan  combats  of  the  day,  and  has,  by  caucus  and 
election,  aided  to  shake  the  political  bush,  few  of  her  citizens  have 


232  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

gathered  the  fruits  of  victory.  Mr.  George  Wilson,  one  of  her  citi- 
zens, served  this  district  in  the  state  legislature,  and  after  his  very 
acceptable  service  removed  to  Hyde  Park,  where  he  now  resides. 
Mr.  David  Kerr  has  served  one  term  as  county  superintendent  of 
schools,  and  is  now  serving  a  second  term.  He  is  a  gentleman  of 
excellent  attainments,  and  has  by  general  consent  faithfully  and 
energetically  strengthened  the  cause  of  common-school  education  in 
the  county,  though  continually  hampered  by  limited  regulations, 
which  have  restrained  him  from  doing  all  that  a  superintendent  in 
so  large  a  county  should  do.  The  time  allowed  him  has  varied 
from  fifty  to  one  hundred  days  each  year.  Hon.  Almen  S.  Palmer, 
long  a  resident  of  the  township,  and  for  many  years  its  efficient 
supervisor,  was,  after  his  removal  to  Onarga,  elected  in  1872  to  rep- 
resent the  sixteenth  senatorial  district,  composed  of  Iroquois  and 
Kankakee  counties,  in  the  state  senate.  He  was  a  strong  temper- 
ance man,  never  using  either  strong  drink  or  tobacco  in  any  form, 
and  is  still  an  honored  resident  of  Onarga. 

CITY   OF   GILMAN. 

The  town  of  Gilman,  eighty-one  miles  from  Chicago,  was  not  laid 
out  until  the  railroad,  then  known  as  the  eastern  extension  of  the 
Peoria  and  Oquaka  road,  was  built  to  the  crossing  of  the  Illinois 
Central  in  1857.  Onarga  had  been  the  point  of  trade  for  this  region 
of  the  country  for  some  years,  but  the  ra'ilroad  junction  here  made 
it  evident  that  this  must  be  a  point  of  considerable  importance. 
E.  E.  Hundley,  a  resident  of  Virginia,  owned  the  S.E.  ^  of  S.E.  £  of 
Sec.  31,  T.  27,  11  E.  3d  principal  meridian ;  John  Chamberlain,  the 
S.W.  \  of  S.W.  i  of  Sec.  31,  T.  27,  K.  14  W.  2d  principal  meridian, 
and  three  Methodist  ministers  (Walter  C.  Palmer,  John  Dempster 
and  Joseph  Hartwell)  had,  through  the  good  will  of  Mr.  Cassady,  of 
Danville,  then  a  large  land  speculator  in  this  part  of  the  state,  become 
joint  proprietors  of  the  forty  acres  next  east  of  Chamberlain's,  the 
S.E.  \  of  the  S.W.  \  of  this  section.  Judge  Chamberlain  took  Joseph 
Thomas,  of  Onarga,  as  a  partner,  and  all  these  proprietors  gave 
Cruger,  Secor  &  Co.  (one  of  whose  partners  was  Mr.  Gilmau),  a  half 
interest  in  their  various  lands,  in  consideration  of  their  running  their 
road  to  this  point  and  making  their  town  here,  they  having  the  right 
also  to  name  the  town.  Mr.  Thomas  came  on  with  Mr.  Doolittle, 
and  with  the  assistance  of  Mr.  Edward  Rumley,  a  young  man  whom 
Gilman  will  always  hold  in  remembrance,  surveyed  out  the  town 
and  began  the  work  of  making  a  city.  By  this  Mr.  Rumley  became 
one  of  the  fathers  of  this  place,  and  has  continued,  after  all  the 


DOUGLAS   TOWNSHIP.  233 

others  have  either  passed  away  or  have  long  since  disposed  of  their 
interests  here,  to  be  one  of  the  most  active  in  promoting  all  that  is 
of  permanent  interest  to  the  place,  or  encourage  a  healthy  public 
sentiment.  The  sudden  death  of  Mr.  Thomas,  who  was  in  charge 
of  the  interests  of  the  different  proprietors,  was  a  severe  blow  to  the 
vital  interests  of  Oilman,  and  with  the  financial  storm  which  struck 
the  country  at  about  the  time  the  town  was  laid  out,  retarded  for 
nearly  ten  years  the  active  growth  of  the  new  town.  Cruger,  Secor 
&  Co.  gave  a  trust-deed  to  Octave  Chanute,  the  engineer  of  the 
Peoria  road,  of  all  their  interest,  and  he  soon  after  sold  the  property 
on  the  trust,  and  Col.  A.  J.  Cropsey,  then  of  Fairbury,  but  more 
recently  of  Lincoln,  Nebraska,  became  the  purchaser,  but  soon  after 
sold  his  interest  to  Chanute.  Mr.  Cassady  had  entered  all  of  this 
eastern  section  31  but  that  forty  which  Chamberlain  owned.  He 
was  a  man  of  large  business  enterprises,  and  many  are  the  stories, 
which  are  well  remembered  by  old  residents  of  this  and  Yermilion 
counties,  in  regard  to  his  smartness  in  land  speculations,  some  of 
which  probably  were  not  strictly  true ;  but  this  is  remembered  of 
him,  that  he  always  remembered  the  clergy  with  kindness.  It  was 
this  trait  which  induced  him  to  give  the  three  ministers  above 
alluded  to,  who  were  poor  as  the  ordinary  run  of  their  co-laborers 
in  that  ministry,  a  deed  of  that  forty  acres  at  little  if  anything  be- 
yond what  it  cost  him.  To  follow  the  history  of  the  proprietary 
interests  of  Oilman  further :  Cyrus  R.  Brown  took  an  assignment  of 
the  interest  of  Mr.  Thomas  just  previous  to  his  (Thomas')  death, 
and  continued  to  act  in  the  capacity  of  proprietor  until  1864,  when 
Dr.  Wenger  purchased  the  entire  interests  of  Chamberlain  &  Brown. 
In  1865  Dr.  Wenger  and  E.  S.  Caughey  purchased  all  of  Chanute' s 
interest  up  to  Fifth  street,  and  the  following  year  A.  W.  Beery  pur- 
chased the  remainder  of  Chanute' s  interest.  Mr.  Hundley  sold  his 
interest  to  Mr.  Feagin,  taking  a  mortgage  to  secure  the  deferred 
payments,  and  returned  to  Virginia  about  the  breaking  out  of  armed 
rebellion,  and,  as  Oen.  Lane  would  say,  "in  common  with  the  rest 
of  the  South,  seseshed."  He  neglected  to  put  his  mortgage  on  record, 
a  fact  which  seems  to  have  been  unknown  to  the  mortgagor,  so  that 
there  appeared  to  be  no  way  to  convey  title  of  the  lots  in  question 
except  to  permit  them  to  be  sold  for  taxes  and  then  perfect  the  title 
under  the  revenue  laws.  After  the  cruel  war  was  over,  Mr.  Hundley 
came  back  here  and  found  for  the  first  time  that  his  mortgage  was 
not  on  record,  but  hunted  around  and  found  it,  and  proceeded  to 
foreclose  with  all  that  that  word  implies.  There  were  sundry  addi- 
tions of  out-lots  around  the  original  town.  About  1867  or  1868, 


234  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

Messrs.  Dent,  Moslier  and  Baker  laid  out  the  N.  £  of  N.W.  £  of 
Sec.  6  (26-14);  Scott's  addition  is  west  of  the  original  town;  Mann's 
1st,  2d  and  3d  additions  are  east  and  southeast  of  the  town ;  Comp- 
ton's  southwest.  The  original  town-plat  embraced  seventy-seven 
blocks,  and  all  lay  north  of  the  Peoria  railroad. 

"W.  P.  Gardner  came  here  from  Pennsylvania  in  the  fall  of  1857, 
and  had  to  wait  several  days  for  the  survey  to  be  made  before  he 
could  secure  lots  to  build  on.  There  was  no  house  here  then  but  the 
section  house.  There  was  a  shanty  half  a  mile  west  where  the 
hands  who  were  working  on  the  railroad  were  boarded.  Matthew 
Lyons  was  proprietor  of  the  boarding  house.  C.  C.  Wells  was 
living  on  the  Sturgis  farm,  and  was  entertaining  a  lot  of  boarders. 
Thither  Mr.  Gardner  went  -to  secure  the  necessaries  for  healthy 
digestion,  and  found  that  Mrs.  Wells  was  sick,  and  that  the  two 
hired  girls  had  been  that  day  called  home  by  sickness  in  their  re- 
spective families.  Mr.  Wells  submitted  the  question  to  the  good 
judgment  of  Mr.  Gardner,  whether  he  could,  under  the  existing  cir- 
cumstances, contract  to  take  any  more  boarders.  Gardner,  with  the 
proverbial  characteristic  of  a  "  Philadelphia  lawyer, ' '  calculated  that 
it  could  not  be  done.  By  the  first  of  September  the  survey  had  been 
completed,  and  Mr.  Gardner  commenced  to  build  the  first  residence 
in  Gilman,  the  one  now  occupied  by  Dr.  Wenger.  He  got  it  com- 
pleted, and  on  the  first,  of  January  went  east  to  bring  his  family 
here,  arriving  with  them  on  the  twentieth.  The  same  fall,  James 
Wright  built  the  house  which  Mr.  Cross  lives  in.  Daniel  Dugan 
built  the  house  north  of  Mr.  Gardner's,  and  Matthew  Lynch  built  the 
one  just  opposite  the  old  hotel,  which  was  burned  last  fall.  The  three 
brothers  Esty  (George,  MOSQS  and  Warren  E. ),  built  the  -  hotel  that 
same  fall.  It  was  a  magnificent  building  for  the  time,  35x44,  three 
stories  and  basement,  and  must  have  cost  at  least  $4,000.  The  upper 
story  was,  following  the  custom  of  the  times,  a  ball-room,  and  thither, 
on  the  twenty-second  of  February,  all  the  elite  of  the  various  grand 
prairie  settlements,  at  least  those  who  were  not  under  good  religious 
restraint,  went  to  celebrate  the  birthday  of  the  Father  of  his  Country, 
and  inaugurate  the  grand  hotel  by  a  grand  ball.  The  Esty  boys  were 
at  that  time  all  unmarried,  and  they  secured  the  services  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Cross  to  manage  their  hotel.  The  ball  was  a  great  success,  but 
"certain  fellows  of  the  baser  sort"  considered  the  affair  rather  "high 
toned,"  and  being  filled  with  something  rather  stronger  than  new 
wine,  made  night  hideous  outside,  with  a  determination  to  flax  out 
the  ladies,  who  were  engaged  in  frivolous  amusement.  There  was 
no  system  of  police  in  Gilman  at  that  time,  and  the  Estys  were  not 


DOUGLAS   TOWJSTSHIP.  235 

very  forehanded  in  physical  traits,  but  they  had  for  a  backer  one 
Lawrence,  who  was  the  builder  of  the  house,  and  as  such  undertook 
to  defend  it.  He  secured  a  u  shillalah,"  which  brought  down  one  of 
the  enemy  every  swing  right  and  left.  Victory  rested  with  the  de- 
fenders, and  on  went  the  dance.  The  hotel  was  a  great  success  for 
a  time.  Trains  from  the  west  ran  up  on  the  Y  just  in  front  of  it, 
and  out-going  trains  made  up  at  its  door.  Later  the  hotels  at  the 
crossing  of  the  two  roads  were  built,  and  this  fell  into  disuse.  Its 
windows  are  now  boarded  up,  and  its  days  as  a  hotel  are  numbered. 

The  first  train  over  the  Peoria  road,  from  Gilman,  was  made  up 
here  to  run  to  the  state  fair  in  Peoria,  the  latter  part  of  September, 
1857.  Mr.  Thomas  had  interested  the  people  along  down  the  Illinois 
Central  railroad  in  this  route.  They  came  here  at  an  early  homyand 
stood  out  on  the  prairie  in  the  piercing  west  wind  three  hours  wait- 
ing for  the  train,  and  many  were  the  curses  loud  and  deep  from  those 
who  had  been  induced  to  take  the  Gilman  route. 

John  Mulvaney  built  his  house  early  in  1858 ;  and  in  May  of  the 
same  year  the  Roman  Catholic  church  was  commenced.  The  frame 
was  blown  down  in  the  terrible  tornado  which  swept  over  this  part 
of  the  country,  May  13.  This  storm  was  the  most  severe  ever  known 
in  this  vicinity.  It  swept  across  the  state  from  west  to  east,  blowing 
down  buildings,  unrooting  houses,  uprooting  trees  and  doing  great 
havoc. 

The  Peoria  and  Oquaka  railroad  was  extended  east  during  the 
next  two  years,  and  then  became  known  as  the  Peoria  &  Logansport, 
and  afterwards,  when  it  was  extended  to  the  Mississippi,  became 
known  as  the  Toledo,  Peoria  &  Warsaw.  In  1880  it  was  sold  out,  and 
again  the  name  was  changed.  The  Gilman,  Clinton  &  Springfield 
road  was  built  in  1870  and  1871,  largely  by  the  system  of  local  aid 
voted  by  townships  along  the  line.  In  1868  it  became  a  part  of  the 
Illinois  Central,  and  is  known  as  the  Springfield  division. 

During  1858  a  good  many  houses  and  buildings  were  put  up, 
and  business  was  fairly  active,  but  the  depression  in  business, 
followed  closely  by  the  war,  kept  back  the  growth,  and  Gilman  was 
almost  at  a  stand  for  several  years. 

CHURCHES. 

The  first  service  of  the  Roman  Catholics  was  held  in  the  railroad 
house,  in  December,  1857.  The  work  on  the  railroad  had  called  to- 
gether a  number  of  families  of  that  faith,  and  Father  Lambert  came 
here  to  look  after  their  welfare,  and  urge  on  them  the  importance  of 
providing  a  house  of  worship.  There  were  present  at  the  first  meet- 


236  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

ing,  John  Mulvaney,  Daniel  Dugan,  Patrick  Dobbins,  John  Gleason, 
Michael  Egan,  Matthew  Lynch,  James  Matthews,  Thomas  Querk, 
Patrick  Dorsey  and  Thomas  Soran,  and  members  of  the  families  of 
most  of  them.  The  first  five  are  still  residing  here.  At  that  meet- 
ing it  was  determined  to  raise  a  subscription  for  a  church,  and  $150 
was  pledged  that  day,  those  giving  pledging  more  when  the  building 
should  be  completed.  Messrs.  Thomas  &  Chamberlain  donated  a 
lot  to  build  on,  arid  the  railroad  companies  granted  liberal  assistance. 
Citizens  of  all  denominations  here  and  at  Onarga  gave  liberally  of 
their  means,  and  May  1  work  was  commenced  on  the  first  house  of 
worship  in  Gilman.  The  frame  was  up  and  was  destroyed  by  the 
tornado,  May  13.  The  work  was  again  commenced,  and  the  build- 
ing was  completed  in  1869.  The  building  was  24x40,  and  cost 
about  $2,000.  The  mission  was  in  charge  of  the  resident  priest  at 
Champaign  at  first,  and  afterward  services  were  conducted  by  the 
resident  priests  at  L'Erable :  Fathers  Buzard,  Coute,  Yanderpool  and 
Perner.  In  1870  Father  Fanning,  of  Fairbury,  had  charge  of  this 
mission,  and  found  it  necessary  to  build  a  new  church,  owing  to  the 
crowded  condition  of  the  congregation.  The  old  house  was  sold  to 
Mr.  D.  Dailey,  and  a  new  frame  house  built,  40x80,  at  a  cost  of 
$6,000.  This  fine  edifice  was  burned,  October,  1878.  It  was  sup- 
posed to  have  been  fired  by  an  incendiary.  The  present  beautiful 
brick  edifice  was  begun  in  three  weeks  after  the  other  was  burned, 
services  being  in  the  mean  time  conducted  in  Wenger's  hall.  The 
church  is  incomplete,  and  has  cost  $3,500.  Father  Bloome  was  the 
first  resident  priest,  having  charge  also  of  the  missions  at  Crescent 
and  Loda,  in  addition  to  the  work  here.-  Father  Yan  Schwadler 
followed  him.  The  present  priest  is  Father  McGar.  The  priest's 
residence  was  purchased  several  years  since.  About  120  families 
worship  here. 

The  Presbyterian  church  was  organized  May  9,  1858,  by  a  com- 
mittee of  the  Peoria  presbytery.  The  original  members  were :  C. 
C.  Wells  and  wife,  R.  S.  Johnson,  Miss  Mary  Johnson,  Sherman 
Dayton,  Mrs.  R.  L.  Beyea,  Mrs.  P.  A.  M.  Dickerson,  J.  A.  Cultra, 
E.  W.  Burrows  and  Mrs.  Ada  Cross.  C.  C.  Wells  was  elected  elder. 
In  1860  R.  S.  Johnson  and  Sherman  Dayton  were  elected  elders. 
Meetings  were  held  occasionally  in  the  school-house.  Rev.  Isaac  B. 
Moore  was  pastor  in  1860,  J.  A.  E.  Simpson  in  1863,  P.  D.  Young 
in  1868,  S.  Y.  McKee  in  1872  for  four  years.  Rev.  Mr.  Magner 
supplied  the  church  half  a  day  each  Sabbath  in  1877,  and  Mr.  Fahs, 
of  the  seminary,  a  portion  of  the  year  1878.  The  present  pastor, 
Rev.  M.  JSToer,  commenced  his  labors  December,  1878.  In  1866  R. 


DOUGLAS   TOWNSHIP.  237 

S.  Johnson,  A.  Dickerson  and  Dr.  E.  Wenger  were  chosen  trustees, 
and  under  their  administration  the  present  church  was  built.  It  is 
32  x  46,  and  cost  about  $1, 500.  The  present  membership  is  forty-seven. 
The  first  Sabbath  school  was  held  a  portion  of  the  time  in  W.  B. 
Flagg's  blacksmith  shop,  and  a  portion  of  the  time  in  the  depot.  C. 
C.  Wells,  R.  S.  Johnson  and  S.  Dayton  were  interested  in  carrying 
on  the  work.  David  Kerr  acted  as  superintendent  for  one  year, 
about  1870,  and  Mr.  Joseph  Armstrong  one  year,  Rev.  Mr.  McKee 
during  the  time  of  his  pastorate,  and  Mr.  A.  Crooks  since  that  time, 
for  four  years.  These  gentlemen,  together  with  Mr.  Harris,  Thomas 
A.  Crooks,  Mrs.  Armstrong,  Mrs.  Snyder,  Mrs.  West  and  Miss 
Jennie  Kerr,  have  been  active  in  Sabbath  school  work.  The  school 
averages  about  seventy-five. 

There  were,  as  in  all  places,  members  of  the  Methodist  persuasion 
here,  and  meetings  were  irregularly  held  for  some  years  before  the 
appointment  of  Mr.  Havermale  to  this  circuit  in  1869.  Rev.  Mr. 
Stubbles  is  believed  to  have  been  the  earliest  preacher  here,  and  was 
followed  by  Rev.  Messrs.  Hill  and  Gray.  Rev.  George  R.  Palmer 
also  preached,  but  the  society  was  in  an  unorganized  condition  until 
Mr.  Havermale' s  appointment.  The  first  services  were  held  in  the 
school-house  near  Mr.  Peck's,  and  later  in  Mann's  hall.  March  19, 
1872,  A.  J.  Alexander,  James  Tobias,  F.  P.  Van  Yalkenburg,  J.  H. 
Allen  and  A.  J.  Ross  were  elected  trustees,  and  May  13,  W.  M. 
Scott,  J.  P.  Bassett  and  H.  A.  M'Caughey  were  added  to  the  board 
of  trustees,  and  they  proceeded  to  build  the  church.  It  is  brick, 
40  x  70,  two  stories,  and  yet  unfinished  in  the  upper  story.  In  1877 
the  roof  was  partially  blown  off  during  a  severe  gale,  but.  was  re- 
placed with  no  damage  to  the  walls.  The  building  cost  about  $8,000. 
Each  attempt  made  to  dedicate  the  building  has  been  interfered 
with  by  severe  storms  on  the  day  appointed.  Rev.  M.  F.  Havermale 
was  appointed  to  this  charge  in  1869,  and  served  here  three  years ; 
Rev.  J.  I.  Webb  in  1872,  one  year;  Rev.  G.  W.  Burns  in  1873, 
two  years ;  Rev.  C.  O.  McCulloch  in  1875,  three  years ;  Rev.  F.  H. 
Gumming  in  1878,  one  year.  Rev.  M.  C.  Eignus  is  the  present 
preacher.  The  church  numbers  about  eighty  members.  Mr.  Parsons 
and  wife  and  Miss  Walker  collected  the  children  together  in  a 
Sabbath  school  in  Mr.  Feagin's  house  as  early  as  1858.  For  a  time 
and  down  probably  to  about  1869,  the  school  was  conducted  irregu- 
larly. Sometimes  it  was  known  as  the  Mission  school,  under  the 
superintendency  of  H.  C.  Bushnell ;  but  about  that  date  took  the 
distinctive  name  of  the  Methodist  school.  James  Tobias,  H. 
Houghton  and  Dr.  Van  Yalkenburg  served  successively  as  superin- 
15 


238  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

tendent.  D.  L.  Parker,  J.  H.  Allen,  William  Scott,  Miss  Scott,  Mrs. 
George  Leaf  and  Mrs.  J.  R.  Capron  have  aided  actively  in  the 
work.  Isaac  Bailey  is  the  present  superintendent ;  the  membership 
is  130,  with  an  average  attendance  of  about  110. 

The  Lutheran  church  was  organized  in  1867,  by  the  election  of 
Charles  Layer,  Fred.  Laub  and  Charles  Meyer,  trustees.  Rev.  Mr. 
Johnson  of  Danforth,  preached  here  two  years,  and  Rev.  Mr. 
Hunzinger  and  Mr.  Hartman  of  Ash  Grove,  served  the  church  for  a 
while.  The  edifice  was  erected  in  1873.  It  is  24x46,  with  spire, 
and  cost  $1,800.  Rev.  Robert  Falke  served  the  church  for  a  year 
arid  a  half,  and  Rev.  Carl  Schuchard  is  the  present  pastor.  In 
addition  to  those  above  named,  Albert  Olms,  Mr.  Rosenburg,  Conrad 
Scharpf  and  John  Klaefft  have  served  as  trustees.  The  church 
numbers  about  40.  A  Sabbath  school  has  been  maintained  for  ten. 
years,  the  preacher  usually  acting  as  leader.  Charles  Meyer 
is  superintendent.  The  average  attendance  is  from  50  to  70. 

The  Evangelical  church  was  organized  about  1865.  The  first 
preaching  services  were  held  in  a  school-house  at  John  Shule's 
farm.  Afterward  services  were  held  in  Wenger's  hall  and  at  other 
places  in  town.  This  is  known  as  Gilman  circuit,  and  embraces 
appointments  at  Danforth,  Wilson's  Settlement  and  Ash  Grove.  It 
formerly  embraced  Chatsworth  and  Roberts.  The  church  was  built 
in  1875,  is  24X.46,  and  cost  about  $3,000.  Mr.  John  Shule  was  the 
largest  contributor  to  the  cause.  The  church  here  numbers  38. 
Rev.  Mr.  Musselmann,  Mr.  Knight,  Mr.  Wagner,  Mr.  Eigelout, 
John  Cutts,  John  Webner,  Mr.  Wingert  and  Mr.  Lintner  have  in 
turn  ministered  to  this  people.  Louis  Eppelsheimer  is  superintendent 
of  the  Sabbath  school. 

The  Baptist  church  was  organized  in  1871  with  15  members. 
Rev.  J.  M.  Whitehead  of  Kankakee  was  present  to  aid  by  his  advice 
and  counsel.  The  church  has  not  had  regular  pastors,  and  has 
no  church  edifice.  Elder  Palmer,  Elder  Knapp  and  Elder  Jordan 
have  preached  here.  Rev.  Mr.  Barker  of  Watseka  preached  here  a 
portion  of  the  time  during  the  year  1868,  and  Elder  Beebe  of 
Chatsworth  is  supplying  the  pulpit  in  the  same  way  this  year.  The 
church  now  numbers  18  members.  G.  N.  Hawley  is  clerk,  and  W. 
P.  Gardner  has  been  chosen  since  its  organization.  Meetings  are 
held  regularly  on  the  Sabbath  in  Mann's  hall,  and  prayer  and 
missionary  meetings  in  the  same  place  Friday  evenings.  Sabbath 
school  has  been  maintained  irregularly.  H.  C.  Bushnell  was  one  of 
the  first  promotors  of  the  cause,  and  was  early  the  superintendent. 
Mr.  Hawley  is  the  present  superintendent. 


DOUGLAS   TOWNSHIP.  239 

SOCIETIES. 

Gilman  Lodge,  A.F.  and  A.M.,  was  instituted  October  6,  1868,  with 
the  following  charter  members  :  A.  J.  Alexander,  W.M. ;  Elias  Wenger, 
S.W. ;  F.  P.  Van  Yalkenburg,  J.W. ;  James  Hamilton,  J.  D.  Leland, 
M.  J.  Henry,  T.  J.  Laney,  Albert  Dickerson,  B.  F.  Brown,  Isaac  Hills, 
I.  B.  Calder,  L.  G.  Kemer,  George  C.  Coxshall,  John  C.  Knecht  and 
"W.  H.  Otis,  Secretary.  J.  S.  Forsythe  acted  as  master  one  year,  and 
Dr.  "Wenger  the  remainder  of  the  time.  He  also  built  the  lodge  and 
furnished  it,  giving  the  rent  free  the  first  year.  It  was  dedicated  by 
the  late  William  Rounsville.  The  lodge  meets  the  second  and  fourth 
Saturdays  in  each  month.  The  present  officers  are :  E.  Wenger,  W.M. ; 
O.  R.  Morey,  S.W. ;  R.  H.  Miller,  J.W. ;  F.  G.  Schrnedt,  S.D. ; 
Charles  Meyer,  secretary ;  W.  H.  Cassady,  treasurer ;  Thomas  Fitton, 
tiler. 

The  Gilman  Grove,  No.  50,  of  the  Ancient  Order  of  Druids,  was 
organized  January  20,  1875,  with  the  following  charter  members  and 
original  officers:  Albert  Olms,  A. A. ;  Paul  Meyer,  W. A. ;  H.  Bark- 
meyer,  secretary;  Anton  Nagel,  warden;  Joseph  Schalkle,  treasurer; 
and  Guenther  Rosenburg.  It  numbers  twenty-one,  and  meets  in 
Masonic  Hall  Tuesday  nights.  The  family  of  each  member  dying 
receives  from  its  fund  $500.  It  is  in  a  flourishing  condition.  The 
present  officers  are :  J.  Schalkle,  A.A. ;  George  Althans,  W.A. ;  C. 
Layer,  secretary ;  R.  Sheable,  treasurer ;  John  Shule,  warden. 

Gilman  Lodg'e,  No.  648,  I.O.O.F.,  was  instituted  November  12, 
1877,  with  the  following  charter  members  and  original  officers :  F. 
Macdonald,  N.G. ;  Geddes  Simmons,  Y.G. ;  J.  R.  Flynn,  secretary ; 
Charles  Meyer,  treasurer ;  R.  N.  Foster,  lodge  deputy  ;  Lewis  Anson, 
Julius  Kahle,  E.  Skeels,  J.  Schalkle,  and  three  others.  The  lodge 
numbers  forty-two,  and  meets  Monday  evenings.  Dr.  J.  W.  Snyder 
served  one  year  as  N.G.  The  present  officers  are :  Charles  Meyer, 
N.G. ;  C.  C.  Stone,  Y.G. ;  John  Flynn,  treasurer ;  F.  Macdonald,  sec- 
retary ;  R.  N.  Foster,  deputy. 

Star  Lodge,  No.  202,  I.O.G.T.,  was  instituted  by  G.W.C.T.  Uriah 
Copp,  Jr.,  November  23,  1877,  with  fifty-two  charter  members,  and! 
with  the  following  officers :  Ed  Rumley,  W.C.T. ;  Mrs.  Rumleyy 
W.Y.T. ;  A.  J.  De  Long,  secretary;  J.  A.  Wilcox,  financial  secretary; 
James  Rugg,  treasurer ;  F.  Wilcox,  marshal  ;  Jennie  Kerr,  guard ;  J. 
J.  Rugg,  sentinel ;  Mrs.  F.  Wilcox,  deputy  marshal ;  Kate  Lameraux,. 
assistant  secretary ;  Mrs.  A.  J.  De  Long,  R.  H.  supporter ;  Mrs.  J.  A. 
Wilcox,  L.  H.  supporter;  S.  B.  Howard,  chaplain.  The  lodge  num- 
bers eighty-eight  members,  and  is  a  live  and  energetic  institution, 
doing  good  service  in  behalf  of  temperance.  The  present  officers  are: 


240  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

G.  W.  Shute,  P.W.C.T. ;  E.  Kumley,  W.C.T. ;  Mrs.  J.  A.  Wilcox, 
W.Y.T. ;  Charles  S.  Cavis,  secretary ;  H.  Johnson,  financial  secre- 
tary ;  Miss  Lizzie  Mann,  treasurer,  L.  Edmuns,  marshal ;  Miss  Gertie 
Bucklin,  deputy  marshal ;  Miss  Jennie  Cassady,  guard  ;  W.  A.  Mann, 
sentinel ;  Miss  Belle  Hudson,  assistant  secretary  ;  Mrs.  Fowler,  R.  H. 
supporter ;  Mrs.  W.  H.  Mann,  L.  H.  supporter ;  G.  N.  Hawley,  chaplain. 

The  Gilman  Library  Association  was  organized  February  8,  1870. 
It  is  organized  under  the  laws  of  the  state  as  a  joint-stock  association, 
the  stock  being  100  shares  at  a  par  value  of  $10  each.  The  first 
officers  were  D.  L.  Parker,  president ;  A.  Dickerson  and  H.  C.  Bush- 
nell,  vice-presidents ;  L.  A.  Chase,  secretary ;  Ed  Rumley,  librarian ; 
Dr.  E.  Wenger,  treasurer;  W.  H.  Mann,  S.  S.  Cone  and  Isaac  Beyea, 
directors.  The  interest  in  the  society  is  kept  up  and  its  funds  im- 
proved by  entertainments  of  different  kinds,  lectures,  plays  by  home 
talent,  etc.  On  the  22d  of  February  each  year  the  society  has  its 
annual  dinner,  which  is  an  enjoyable  feature.  No  officer  receives  any 
salary  but  the  librarian.  The  association  owns  its  building,  and  1,256 
volumes,  embracing  many  of  the  standard  works  in  all  the  departments 
of  literature,  and  is  out  of  debt.  The  shares  of  stock  are  now  worth  $30. 
Non-stockholders  are  charged  $2  per  annum  for  the  use  of  the  books. 
The  present  officers  are :  Mrs.  W.  H.  Mann,  president;  Mrs.  Fannie 
Potter,  secretary  and  librarian ;  George  H.  Potter,  treasurer. 

The  first  school  building  was  put  up  by  Isaac  Beyea,  two  blocks 
north  of  Wenger's  Block,  in  1860.  Previous  to  this,  school  was  held 
in  a  building  which  stood  north  of  where  Harwood  lives.  The  school- 
house  was  22  x  48,  and  was  used  until  1869,  when  it  was  moved  to  the 
center  of  town,  and  is  occupied  by  S.  Y.  West  as  a  drug  store.  In 
1869  the  main  part  of  the  present  school-house  was  built.  It  is 
55x75,  two  stories  high.  The  west  wing  was  built  in  1879,  30x40, 
two  stories.  The  school  is  graded  to  four  departments,  primary,  sec- 
ond primary,  intermediate  and  senior,  and  is  in  charge  of  Mr.  E.  Bru- 
maghin,  a  graduate  of  the  Albany  (New  York)  High  School,  with  Miss 
Annie  R.  Brumback  in  charge  of  the  intermediate,  Miss  Phillips  of 
the  second  primary,  and  Miss  Mattie  Beach,  primary.  The  average 
attendance  is  275.  Misses  Crooks,  De  Land  and  Mosher  are  the  direc- 
tors. The  "  Model "  series  of  arithmetics  are  used ;  independent  read- 
ers, Montieth's  geographies,  and  Green's  grammars. 

CITY    ORGANIZATION. 

Gilman  was  incorporated  as  a  town  in  1867.  At  the  first  election 
the  following  officers  were  elected :  T.  Spalding,  president ;  Dr.  E. 
"Wenger,  D.  Harwood,  Mr.  Layer  and  J.  Mulvaney,  trustees ;  Joseph 


DOUGLAS   TOWNSHIP.  241 

Armstrong,  clerk ;  E.  Wenger,  treasurer.  The  limits,  as  fixed  by  the 
incorporating  act,  included  the  S.W.  ^  and  S.  %  of  N.W.  ^  of  Sec.  31 
(27-14),  the  E.  i  of  the  S.E.  \  Sec.  31  (27-11),  and  the  N.  i  of  the 
N.W.  \  of  Sec.  6  (26-14),  and  permission  was  given  the  trustees  to  extend 
the  limits  a  half  mile  each  way  ;  afterward  the  limits  were  enlarged  by 
being  extended  half  a  mile  each  way.  This  organization  was  under  a 
special  charter,  as  was  the  custom  before  the  act  of  1872  took  effect. 
Under  the  latter,  city  organization  was  effected,  March  11,  1874,  by  the 
election  of  Thomas  Spalding,  mayor;  C.  Howard,  E.  Wenger,  J.  D. 
Watkins,  G.  H.  Potter,  Isaac  Beyea  and  L.  W.  Kennedy,  aldermen  ; 
J.  Armstrong,  clerk  ;  S.  S.  Cone,  attorney.  These  officers  served  until 
the  regular  election  under  the  general  act,  April  21,  when  the  follow- 
ing were  elected  :  J.  D.  Watkins,  mayor ;  T.  Spalding,  treasurer ;  S.  S» 
Cone,  attorney;  J.  Armstrong,  clerk.  Aldermen:  first  ward,  A.  W, 
Beery,  Thomas  Fitten  ;  second  ward,  John  Mulvaney,  L.  L.  Reams  ; 
third  ward,  J.  H.  Allen,  L.  W.  Kennedy.  At  present  writing  the 
officers  are  :  C.  P.  Kinney,  mayor ;  J.  Armstrong,  clerk  ;  D.  L.  Parker, 
treasurer ;  J.  D.  LeLand,  attorney  ;  W.  M.  Scott,  J.  Mulvaney  and  A.  J. 
DeLong,  aldermen. 

License  for  the  sale  of  strong  drink  has  been  the  rule  in  the  city 
until  the  present  year,  i.e.  under  the  election  of  1879,  when  the  anti- 
license  policy  prevailed.  License  has  usually  been  $300  per  annum. 
The  city's  protection  against  fire  consists  of  six  Babcock  extinguishers 
and  an  efficient  hook  and  ladder  company. 

The  cemetery  is  owned  by  the  city.  It  consisted  of  ten  acres  which 
was  laid  out  into  eight  blocks,  containing  in  all  about  600  lots.  A 
portion  of  the  ground  was  transferred  to  the  Catholic  church,  as  under 
the  rule  and  custom  of  that  faith,  grounds  for  burial  are  sacred  to  the 
use  of  their  own  people,  and  are  under  the  charge  of  the  church.  Con- 
siderable has  been  done  in  the  way  of  beautifying  the  grounds,  by  the 
authorities  and  by  individual  purchasers,  making  the  grounds  pleasant, 
according  to  the  taste  of  the  modern  idea  in  regard  to  places  of  burial, 
which  marks  the  higher  civilization  of  the  age. 

NEWSPAPERS. 

The  first  newspaper  established  in  Oilman  was  the  "  Journal,"  a 
local  six-column  folio,  by  Matthias  Custer,  in  1868.  It  was  independ- 
ent in  politics,  and  fairly  represented  the  local  interests  of  the  young 
town.  Its  publication  continued  two  years. 

On  May  21,  1870,  Mr.  Ed.  Rumley  began  the  publication  of  the 
"Oilman  Star,"  which  has  brightly  twinkled  during  ten  years  of  pros- 
perous existence.  Mr.  Rumley  had  acquired,  by  a  considerable  experi- 


242  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

ence  in  newspaper  publishing  an  education,  which,  coupled  with  a  native 
aptitude  in  that  line,  peculiarly  fitted  him  for  managing  a  local  paper. 
As  early  as  1864  he  had  published  the  "Advertiser"  at  Onarga,  which 
in  1865  was  changed  to  the  "  Review."  He  had  also  published  the 
"Fruit  Grower,"  a  publication  which,  as  its  name  indicated,  was  de- 
voted to  the  important  fruit  interests  of  this  locality.  The  "Star" 
was  started  as  a  six-column  folio,  and  has  grown  into  a  triple  sheet,  or 
twelve  pages,  now  the  largest  paper  in  this  part  of  the  state.  It  has 
always  been  successful  financially,  independent  in  politics,  but  radically 
in  earnest  as  an  advocate  of  temperance,  and  has  a  large  circulation 
all  over  the  county.  Patronage  was  scant  at  first.  The  first  number 
contained  advertisements  of  J.  H.  Allen,  dealer  in  dry-goods ;  D.  L. 
Parker  &  Co.  and  J.  Wilson  &  Son,  bankers;  W.  H.  Mann  &  Co., 
nursery ;  A.  Dickerson,  insurance ;  H.  Bushnell  &  Son,  lumber,  and  a 
flaming  advertisement  of  Cyrus  Shinn,  the  redoubtable  real-estate  and 
excursion  agent.  A  single  number  of  the  "Star"  lately  has  contained 
thirty  columns  of  advertisements. 

Mr.  D.  Harwood  was  the  first  to  enter  into  any  business  enter- 
prise in  Gilman,  and  Mr.  D.  L.  Parker  was  the  first  to  open  a  full 
stock  of  goods,  in  the  store  now  occupied  by  Charles  Layer,  in  the 
spring  of  1858.  It  was  supposed  at  first  that  business  would  not  be 
drawn  to  the  railroad  crossing,  and  it  seemed  more  comfortable  to  be 
away  from  the  smoke  and  noise  of  trains.  Mr.  Parker  continued  to 
carry  on  the  mercantile  business  until  1861,  when  he  went  into  the 
railroad  office  for  six  years,  after  which  he  engaged  in  banking  business. 
J.  F.  Wright  engaged  in  mercantile  business  the  same  year.  Isaac 
Beyea  was  one  of  the  first  here.  He  lived  just  north  of  the  town  and 
carried  on  his  trade,  that  of  mason,  and  did  his  full  share  to  build  up 
the  town.  He  divided  the  time  between  the  pressing  duties  of  his 
vocation  and  the  more  exciting  duties  of  the  chase.  It  was  beautiful 
hunting  here  for  at  least  ten  years  after  the  railroad  was  built,  and 
Beyea's  education,  on  the  hillsides  of  southern  New  York  fitted  him 
for  the  joys  of  the  chase.  He  has,  however,  steadied  down  and  become 
a  justice  of  the  peace.  It  is  supposed  to  require  a  good  hunter  to  make 
an  acceptable  peace  officer.  Jonathan,  David  and  Aaron  Wright  were 
early  here,  carrying  on  the  carpenter  trade.  Matthew  Lynch  opened 
the  saloon  business  early  in  1858.  The  town  is  the  most  diffusely 
scattered,  probably,  "of  any  town  of  like  population  in  the  state.  It 
would  be  very  difficult  to  tell  which  is  the  center  of  the  town.  Dr. 
Wenger's  endeavor  to  centralize  the  business  on  the  high  ground  west 
of  the  railroad  was  a  worthy  one,  and  the  buildings  he  put  up  there 
would  necessarily  have  tended  to  that  result,  but  other  interests  were 


DOUGLAS   TOWNSHIP.  243 

drawing  in  other  directions.  With  railroad  facilities  of  the  very  best 
and  a  fair  start  in  manufacturing,  Gilman  can  hardly  fail  to  draw  to  it 
the  men  of  capital  and  enterprise,  together  with  the  energetic  and 
liberal  men  who  have  her  interests  in  charge,  to  make  it  a  point  of 
commercial  and  business  importance. 

An  attempt  was  made  by  the  citizens  to  call  the  town  Douglas,  but 
the  railroad  seems  to  have  got  the  start  in  naming,  and  would  not  con- 
sent to  change.  It  seems  strange  in  this  particular  case  that  there  was 
an  unwillingness  to  make  the  change,  for  if  there  is  any  honor  in  hav- 
ing a  town  named  after  a  man  whose  public  acts  have  been  devoted  to 
the  interests  of  a  great  public  enterprise,  no  one  was  more  entitled  to 
such  remembrance  than  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  whose  enterprise,  skill 
and  great  tact  originated  and  carried  through  congress  the  wise  and 
statesman-like  measure,  which  made  it  possible  to  reduce  this  grand 
prairie  from  wilderness  to  magnificent  farms  and  thriving  cities. 

Warren  E.  Esty  was  the  first  postmaster ;  after  him,  D.  L.  Parker, 
Oliver  Clark  and  Albert  Dickerson,  and  W.  H.  Mann  is  the  present 
one. 

The  brick  block  west  of  the  railroad,  known  as  Wenger's  Block,  was 
built  by  Dr.  E.  Wenger  and  A.  W.  Beery  in  1870.  It  includes  six 
two-story  and  basement  brick  stores,  four  of  which  were  built  by  the 
former  and  two  by  the  latter.  The  block  is  129  feet  long  and  70  feet 
deep,  and  cost  $18,000.  Dent  &  Mosher  built  the  two  stores  south  of 
the  railroad  in  1867.  A  joint-stock  company,  composed  of  men  who 
had  business  interests  in  that  portion  of  the  town,  built  the  two-story 
brick  store  south  of  the  railroad  in  1870.  D.  L.  Parker  built  the  one- 
story  brick  block  just  north  of  the  railroad,  occupied  by  the  bank  and 
stores,  and  the  building  where  the  post-office  is,  in  1872.  The  Crooks 
Brothers  built  the  one-story  and  basement  brick  store  occupied  by  them 
in  1878.  It  is  a  very  neat  one,  25x85,  and  cost  about  $3,000.  E.  H. 
David  &  Son  built  the  planing-mill  in  1871,  and  run  it  as  such 
four  years,  when  they  renewed  the  machinery  and  put  in  three  runs  of 
stone  for  a  grist-mill.  They  do  custom  work  only.  It  cost  about 
$3,500.  Mr.  C.  Cross  built  the  small  custom  mill  west  of  the  railroad 
in  1877. 

La  Hogueis  a  station  on  the  Peoria  road,  four  miles  west  of  Gilman, 
where  considerable  business  is  done  in  buying  and  shipping  corn. 
Miles  Brothers  of  Peoria,  Durham  &  Doe  of  Onarga,  and  G.  C. 
Beckwith  are  engaged  in  buying  grain.  John  Zea  has  a  store  and  is 
postmaster.  .The  hay  business  at  La  Hogue  is  an  important  one.  The 
ground  here  is  well  adapted  to  raising  grass,  and  large  quantities  are 
cut  and  pressed  for  the  Peoria  market.  The  work  is  done  by  the 


244  HISTOKY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

recently  introduced  steam-power  press.  The  population  of  Douglas, 
which  then  included  Danforth,  in  1870  was:  native  whites,  1,801; 
foreign-born,  598  ;  total,  2,399. 

BIOGRAPHICAL. 

David  C.  Wright  (deceased),  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  this 
part  of  Iroquois  county.  He  was  born  in  Green  count}7,  Pennsylvania, 
and  was  a  soldier  of  the  war  of  1812,  belonging  to  the  Light  Horse 
Cavalry.  He  was  married,  about  1818  or  1819,  to  Ede  McCowen,  who  was 
born  in  Green  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1801.  Her  father,  James  Mc- 
Cowen, was  a  soldier  of  the  revolutionary  war.  Mrs.  Wright  is  one  of 
a  family  of  eleven  children  ;  she  is  the  only  one  living  of  the  family. 
In  about  1829,  David  C.  Wright,  with  his  wife  and  six  children  started 
for  the  Far  West,  and  arrived  in  Terre  Haute,  Indiana,  where  they 
remained  about  two  or  three  years.  From  there  they  came  to  Iroquois 
county,  and  located  on  a  farm  four  miles  from  Gilman,  on  Spring  creek. 
They  were  among  the  first  families  in  this  part  of  the  county.  He 
engaged  in  farming.  David  C.  Wright  (^ied  October  27, 1852,  and  thus 
passed  away  one  of  the  old  and  honored  settlers  of  Iroquois  county. 
After  the  death  of  Mr.  Wright,  Mrs.  Wright  moved  to  Gilman,  where 
she  has  remained  ever  since.  They  had  eleven  children.  One  son, 
Jonathan  Wright,  was  in  the  late  war  and  did  good  service. 

Matthew  Lynch  (deceased),  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Gilman. 
He  was  born  in  Ireland,  and  emigrated  to  America  with  his  brothers 
and  sisters  when  he  was  very  young.  His  mother  and  father  both  died 
in  Ireland  before  they  started  for  America.  Mr.  Lynch  came  direct 
west  to  Illinois,  and  first  located  in  Naperville,  and  from  there  he  went 
to  St.  Charles,  and  in  1850  was  married  to  Margaret  C.  Ponsevy,  who 
was  born  in  Ireland,  and  came  to  America  when  young.  From  St. 
Charles,  Mr.  Lynch  and  wife  moved  to  Chicago,  where  they  remained 
about  five  years.  From  there  they  moved  to  Galesburg,  where  they 
remained  until  1847.  During  his  residence  in  Illinois  Mr.  Lynch  was 
a  railroad  engineer.  He  engineered  on  the  Galena,  Chicago,  Burling- 
ton &  Quincy,  and  Toledo,  Peoria  &  Warsaw  railroads,  and  was  known 
as  a  good  engineer,  always  performing  his  duty  faithfully.  In  1847  Mr. 
Lynch  and  wife  moved  to  Gilman,  and  there  were  but  two  houses  in 
the  place.  The  first  house  was  occupied  by  Matthew  Lyon,  and  the 
other,  a  shanty,  was  used  as  a  section  house,  consequently  Mr.  Lynch 
built  the  third  house  in  Gilman,  which  stood  in  the  rear  of  the  Park 
Hotel.  Their  house  was  used  as  a  hotel,  and  was  known  as  the  Rail- 
road House.  Matthew  Lynch  took  an  active  part  in  organizing  the 
Catholic  church,  and  the  first  meetings  of  this  church  were  held  at  his 


DOUGLAS   TOWNSHIP.  245 

house.  He  was  a  faithful  member  of  the  church,  and  a  friend  to  the 
schools  of  Gilman.  He  was  made  school  director.  Matthew  Lynch 
died  June  9,  1870,  at  thirty-nine  years  of  age,  and  thus  passed  away 
one  of  the  old  and  highly  respected  citizens  of  Gilman,  leaving  a  wife 
to  mourn  his  loss.  Mrs.  Lynch  was  married  to  her  present  husband, 
Christopher  Ennis,  July  31,  1876,  by  the  Rev.  Father  Fanning.  Mr. 
Ennis  was  born  in  Ireland.  Some  twenty-four  years  ago  he  was 
employed  with  the  Toledo,  Peoria  &  Warsaw  railroad  as  a  section-boss. 
From  that  he  gradually  built  his  way  up,  and  to-day  is  road-master  of 
the  Toledo,  Peoria  &  Warsaw  railroad.  He  is  a  man  that  is  well 
thought  of  from  one  end  of  the  road  to  the  other. 

D.  L.  Parker,  banker,  Gilman,  was  born  in  Orleans  county,  New 
York,  April  29,  1836.  He  remained  a  resident  of  his  native  county 
until  he  was  about  fifteen  years  of  age,  when  he  came  west  to  Illinois 
and  located  in  Chicago.  Here  his  father,  Warren  Parker,  was  engaged 
in  running  an  omnibus  line  in  Chicago.  Mr.  Parker,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  was  engaged  in  the  omnibus  business  with  his  father,  and 
remained  a  resident  of  Chicago  about  five  years.  He  then  came  to 
Iroquois  county  and  was  farming  one  year  near  Gilman,  and  in  1857 
moved  to  Gilman,  where  he  has  been  a  resident  ever  since.  He  entered 
the  real-estate  business,  and  the  general  merchandise  business,  he  being 
the  first  grocer  and  general  merchant  of  Gilman.  From  that  he  was 
employed  by  the  railroads  as  general  agent  at  Gilman.  In  1869  he 
entered  the  banking  business,  the  firm  being  D.  L.  Parker  &  Co.  In 
1873  he  formed  a  partnership  with  J.  H.  Allen,  the  firm  becoming 
Parker  &  Allen. 

William  P.  Gardner  is  u  the  pioneer  furniture  man  "and  one  of  the 
first  settlers  of  Gilman.  He  was  born  in  New  London  county,  Ver- 
mont, December  27,  1812,  and  is  the  son  of  Isaac  Gardner,  who  was  a 
soldier  in  the  revolutionary  war,  and  who  was  born  on  the  same  ground 
on  which  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born.  Mr.  Gardner's  ancestors 
were  among  the  Mayflower  pilgrims.  Mr.  Gardner  was  raised  on  the 
farm,  where  he  remained  until  he  was  about  twenty-four  years  of  age, 
with  the  exception  of  two  years  when  he  was  a  resident  of  New  York. 
In  1836  he  was  married  to  Sarah  E.  James,  of  Rhode  Island,  and  they 
moved  to  Pennsylvania  and  located  in  Gibson,  Susquehanna  county. 
He  engaged  in  farming  and  remained  there  until  1857,  when  he  came 
west  to  Illinois  and  located  in  Gilman.  He  commenced  the  erection 
of  his  residence,  the  first  in  Gilman,  which  is  now  owned  and  occupied 
by  Dr.  E.  Wenger.  In  1858  Mr.  Gardner  moved  his  family  to  Gilman, 
and  engaged  in  farming.  In  1865  he  moved  to  Kankakee  county, 
Illinois,  and  remained  until  1870,  when  he  returned  to  Gilman,  where 


246  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

he  has  been  a  resident  ever  since.  In  1872  he  embarked  in  the  furni- 
ture and  undertaking  business.  This  business  he  has  gradually  built 
up  until  to-day  he  is  doing  a  leading  business.  He  occupies  two  build- 
ings, one  size  18x40  feet  and  one  20x36  feet.  He  keeps  constantly 
on  hand  a  full  line  of  goods.  Mr.  Gardner  has  held  the  office  of  con- 
stable of  Gilman  for  four  years  with  honor  and  credit.  He  had  one 
son  in  the  late  war.  Bur  Gardner  was  a  soldier  in  the  113th  111.  Yol. 
He  was  a  brave  soldier  and  did  good  duty,  and  was  honorably  mus- 
tered out  on  account  of  sickness.  Mr.  Gardner  lost  his  first  wife.  She 
died  in  1872  and  was  buried  in  the  Gilman  cemetery.  He  subse- 
quently married  Mrs.  Hunt.  Mr.  Gardner  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist 
church,  having  been  a  member  of  this  church  since  he  was  eighteen 
years  of  age. 

William  E.  Knibloe,  farmer,  Gilman,  was  born  in  the  town  of 
Sharon,  Connecticut,  February  17,  1820.  His  parents,  soon  after  his 
birth,  removed  to  Dutchess  county,  New  York,  where  he  learned  the 
trade  of  cabinet-maker.  In  April,  1842,  he  married  Miss  Mary  A. 
Dakin,  of  North  East,  who  was  born  December  22,  1821.  In  1843 
Mr.  Knibloe  removed  with  his  family  to  Chicago,  where  he  continued 
to  follow  his  trade  until  1858,  when  he  removed  to  Douglas  township, 
Iroquois  county,  and  commenced  farming.  This  business  he  has  since 
successfully  prosecuted.  They  have  had  three  children,  two  of  them 
now  living.  The  daughter,  Harriet,  is  married  and  living  in  Gilman. 
The  son,  Walter  E.,  is  teaching  in  the  public  schools  of  Champaign. 
The  family  are  directly  descended  from  a  distinguished  Scotch  ancestry, 
some  of  whom  were  employed  in  translating  King  James'  version  of 
the  Bible,  and  one  of  whom  assisted  in  founding  Yale  College.  Mrs. 
Knibloe  is  a  member  of  the  M.  E.  church. 

Isaac  Beyea,  justice  of  the  peace,  is  one  of  the  few  original  settlers 
of  Gilman.  He  was  born  January  25,  1822,  in  Orange  county,  New 
York,  and  is  the  son  of  Peter  Beyea,  who  was  a  soldier  of  the  war 
of  1812.  He  learned  the  trade  of  stone  mason  in  Orange  County,  New 
York.  In  1857  he  started  for  Illinois,  and  located  in  Kaneville, 
Kane  county,  where  he  remained  until  1859.  He  came  to  Gilman 
in  February  of  the  same  year.  The  first  work  he  did  at  his  trade  was 
in  1859,  in  building  the  foundation  for  a  business  block,  which  was  the 
first  stone  or  brick  foundation  built  in  Gilman.  This  house  was  used 
for  a  grocery  store,  and  was  the  first  regular  grocery  store  in  Gilman. 
It  is  now  owned  and  occupied  by  Mr.  Charles  Layer.  Since  Mr.  Beyea 
has  been  a  resident  of  Gilman  he  has  been  engaged  in  building  some 
of  the  leading  business  blocks  in  Gilman.  He  helped  to  build  the 
Wenger  Block,  and  erected  the  first  school-house  in  Gilman,  which  at 


DOUGLAS   TOWNSHIP.  247 

that  time  was  located  three  blocks  north  of  the  Wenger  Block.  This 
school-house  is  now  used  as  a  drug  store,  know  as  the  City  Drug  Store. 
Mr.  Beyea  states  that  the  first  plaster  is  still  on  the  ceiling.  He 
helped  to  build  the  present  M.  E.  church,  and  erected  the  brick  building 
now  occupied  by  Joseph  Armstrong,  as  a  real  estate  office.  Mr.  Beyea 
retired  from  the  stone-mason's  trade  in  about  1873.  He  has  held  several 
offices  of  public  trust.  He  was  the  first  assessor  of  Douglas  township. 
He  filled  the  office  of  supervisor  of  Douglas  township  three  terms, 
and  township  collector  two  terms.  He  is  now  holding  his  second  term 
of  office  as  justice  of  the  peace.  In  all  of  these  offices  Mr.  Beyea  has 
acquitted  himself  in  an  honorable  and  creditable  manner.  His  politics 
are  republican,  and  he  is  one  of  the  eight  republicans  who  have  worked 
so  hard  for  the  success  of  the  party  in  Gilman. 

Wright  Brothers,  hardware  merchants,  are  among  the  leading 
hardware  men  of  Gilman,  which  firm  is  composed  of  George  D. 
and  Charles  M.,  both  natives  of  Kane  county,  Illinois,  who  moved  to 
Gilman  at  an  early  day.  The  firm  of  Wright  Brothers  commenced 
business  in  Gilman  in  its  present  room,  in  1876,  located  in  the  Wenger 
Block.  They  occupy  three  floors :  basement,  first  and  second  floors, 
size  20  feet  front  by  70  deep.  They  keep  a  large  stock  of  hardware 
and  stoves  on  hand.  The  second  floor  is  used  for  the  tin-shop,  where 
they  employ  steadily  a  regular  tinner.  The  Wright  Brothers  are  the 
sons  of  John  F.  Wright,  who  was  born  in  Oneida  county,  New  York, 
in  1812.  John  F.  Wright  remained  in  Oneida  county  until  he  was 
about  five  years  of  age,  and  then  moved  with  his  parents  to  Genesee 
county,  New  York.  From  this  county,  in  1839,  he  made  a  trip  west 
to  Illinois  and  visited  the  present  county  of  Iroquois,  then  a  wild 
country.  He  returned  to  Genesee  county  and  married  Abigail 
McWayne,  of  New  York.  In  1844  Mr.  Wright  and  wife  came  west 
to  Illinois,  and  located  in  St.  Charles,  Kane  county,  where  he  engaged 
in  the  mercantile  business,  and  remained  until  1859,  when  he  came  to 
Gilman  with  his  family.  Here  he  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business, 
being  the  second  merchant  to  sell  goods  in  Gilman.  He  continued  in 
business  about  two  years,  when  he  went  to  Watseka,  and  sold  goods 
some  three  years.  From  there  he  moved  his  family  to  a  farm  in  Iro- 
quois township,  where  he  engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising  some 
four  years,  when  he  returned  to  Gilman,  and  has  been  a  honored  resi- 
dent ever  since.  He  has  been  engaged  in  the  real-estate  business. 
Mr.  Wright  has  held  several  offices  of  public  trust.  He  was  supervisor 
of  Iroquois  township  two  terms,  and  supervisor  of  Douglas  tow'nship 
one  term.  He  was  mayor  of  Gilman  two  years.  In  this  office  Mr. 
Wright  acquitted  himself  in  a  very  creditable  manner.  He  is  a  demo- 


248  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

crat  in  politics.  He  is  the  father  of  four  children  ;  three  born  in  Kane 
county  and  one  in  Iroqnois. 

Nelson  Eldred,  proprietor  of  the  Gilman  creamery,  was  born  in 
Herkimer  county,  New  York,  September  13,  1816,  and  there  he  re- 
mained until  he  was  about  twenty-one  years  of  age.  He  then  came 
west  to  Illinois,  and  located  in  Morgan  county,  where  he  was  engaged 
in  raising  the  silk-worm.  This  not  proving  a  success,  he  retired  from 
this  business  after  trying  for  some  three  years.  He  is  satisfied  that  the 
silk-worm  cannot  be  successfully  cultivated  in  this  part  of  the  United 
States.  From  Morgan  county  he  moved  to  Greene  county,  where  he 
remained  some  four  years.  Here  he  was  engaged  in  teaching  school.  He 
then  moved  to  Rock  county,  Wisconsin,  where  he  farmed  some  eleven 
years,  when  he  went  to  Davenport,  Iowa,  and  embarked  in  the  lumber 
business,  which  was  very  profitable  to  him.  From  there  he  returned 
to  Illinois  and  located  in  Kankakee  city,  where  he  commenced  the 
lumber  business.  While  a  resident  there  he  attempted  lumber  manu- 
facturing in  the  pineries  of  Michigan.  He  invested  $16,000  in  erecting 
a  mill  and  buying  land.  He  was  not  very  successful,  as  he  lost  most  of 
his  capital  invested.  In  1860  he  came  to  Iroquois  county  and  farmed 
here  some  three  years.  He  went  to  Iowa  Falls,  Iowa,  where  he  was  in 
the  mercantile  business  four  years;  then  in  the  dairy  business  five 
years.  There  he  did  a  very  good  business  in  the  manufacture  of 
cheese,  making  as  high  as  600  pounds  a  day.  In  1875  he  came  to  Gil- 
man and  commenced  the  erection  of  his  present  creamery,  a  brick 
building,  size  36x40  feet,  two  stories  high.  He  has  two  vats,  each 
holding  600  gallons  ;  four  churns,  with  a  capacity  of  60  gallons  each, 
run  by  steam.  He  makes,  in  the  summer  months,  about  1,000  pounds 
per  week,  and  in  the  winter  months  about  300  pounds  per  week.  He 
finds  sale  for  his  butter  in  the  New  Orleans  markets.  This  creamery 
was  the  first  regular  creamery  built  in  Iroquois  county. 

•  John  Shule,  agricultural  dealer  and  harness-maker,  Gilman,  was 
born  near  Darmstadt,  Prussia,  in  1832.  With  his  parents  he  emigrated  to 
America,  and  landed  in  New  York  city  in  1847.  He  came  direct  to 
Illinois,  and  commenced  work  on  a  farm  in  Cook  county  at  $3  per 
month.  He  remained  a  resident  of  Cook  county  about  five  years,  and 
then  went  to  Kane  county  and  engaged  working  on  a  farm  three 
years.  He  then  moved  to  DeKalb  county,  where  he  purchased  a 
farm  of  120  acres  of  land.  Mr.  Shule  gave  to  his  father  all  the 
money  he  made  up  to  the  time  he  was  nineteen  years  of  age.  From 
that  on  he  worked  and  accumulated  money  for  himself.  He  remained 
in  DeKalb  county  about  twelve  years,  when,  in  1861,  he  came  to  Gil- 
man, then  in  its  infancy.  Here  he  commenced  farming  and  dealing  in 


DOUGLAS  TOWNSHIP.  249 

stock,  and  was  very  successful  for  the  first  few  years.  Mr.  Shule  has 
followed  farming  ever  since  he  has  been  a  resident  here.  In  1867  he 
built  his  present  business  block.  In  1874  he  embarked  in  the  agricul- 
tural business  and  engaged  in  the  harness  business.  To-day  he  is  the 
oldest  agricultural  dealer  in  Gilman.  His  son-in-law,  Mr.  Lewis  Eppel- 
sheimer,  is  the  book-keeper  in  the  agricultural  department.  In  both 
departments,  in  busy  times,  Mr.  Shule  employs  six  hands.  The  store 
used  for  his  agricultural  department  is  20x60  feet.  The  harness  shop 
is  20x50.  When  Mr.  Shule  first  came  to  Gilman  it  was  a  town  of 
some  eight  or  ten  houses.  He  has  held  the  offices  of  alderman  and 
street  commissioner.  Mr.  Shule  was  married  to  Miss  Margaret  Ham- 
mel,  of  Germany,  who  came  to  America  when  she  was  two  years  of 
age.  By  this  marriage  they  have  seven  children. 

Andrew  J.Alexander,  supervisor  of  Douglas  township,  Gilman,  is  one 
of  the  prominent  men  of  Iroquois  county.  He  was  born  in  Fauquier 
county,  Virginia,  January  25,  1821,  and  is  the  son  of  Jerard  and  Eliz- 
abeth (Henry)  Alexander.  When  he  was  about  six  years  of  age,  with 
his  parents,  he  moved  to  Kentucky  and  located  in  Meade  county.  From 
there  they  moved  to.Breckinridge  county,  where  his  father  died  July 
2, 1834,  at  fifty  years  of  age.  Mr.  Alexander  remained  in  Breckinridge 
county,  where  he  received  a  common-school  education,  and  graduated 
from  the  Georgetown  College  about  1840.  Soon  afterward  he  made  a 
trip,  on  a  keel-boat,  down  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  rivers,  and  up  the 
Red  river  to  Shreveport.  He  returned  to  Breckinridge  county,  then 
to  Davis  county,  near  Owensboro,  Kentucky,  on  a  farm.  In  1843  he 
was  married  to  Miss  Lucy  A.  Washington,  a  distant  relative  of  Gen. 
George  Washington.  From  Davis  county  Mr.  Alexander  returned  to 
Meade  county,  and  in  1864  came  to  Iroquois  county  and  purchased  his 
present  farm.  In  1865  he  moved  his  family.  Mr.  Alexander  is  a  dem- 
ocrat in  politics.  He  has  been  supervisor  of  Douglas  township  for  the 
last  ten  years. 

Charles  Layer,  grocer,  Gilman,  is  one  of  the  leading  business 
men  of  Gilman.  He  was  born  in  Germany,  in  1836,  where  he 
learned  the  trade  of  a  baker.  In  1854  he  emigrated  to  America, 
and  landed  in  Quebec,  financially  a  poor  man.  From  Quebec 
he  went  to  New  York  city,  and  worked  at  his  trade  about  two 
years.  He  then  came  west  to  Illinois,  and  worked  at  his  trade 
in  Peoria,  and  about  1858,  having  saved  a  little  money  working 
at  his  trade,  went  to  Washington,  Tazewell  county,  Illinois,  and 
set  up  a  little  bakery.  Here  he  met  with  good  success,  and  "mar- 
ried Miss  Katherine  Ringeisen,  of  Germany.  They  remained  in 
Washington  until  1864,  when  Mr.  Layer  came  to  Gilman  and  em- 


250  HISTORY    OF   IKOQUOIS    COUNTY. 

barked  first  in  the  restaurant  business,  his  being  the  first  restaurant 
in  Oilman.  This  he  followed  until  1865,  when  he  entered  the  gro- 
cery business,  being  among  the  first  of  this  place.  He  commenced 
the  business  in  his  present  stand,  and  is  to-day  the  oldest  grocery 
merchant  in  Gilman.  Since  Mr.  Layer  has  been  engaged  in  the 
mercantile  business  in  Gilman  he  has  associated  himself  as  a  business 
partner  with  G.  Holliday,  John  Burkee  and  Charles  Meyer.  Mr. 
Layer  has  been  engaged  in  business  in  Gilman  ever  since  he  came 
here,  except  in  1872,  when  he  made  a  trip  to  his  native  countrv, 
Germany,  to  see  his  mother,  brothers,  sisters  and  friends.  He  made 
a  pleasant  visit  and  returned  to  Gilman,  where  he  has  been  recog- 
nized as  one  of  the  honorable  citizens  of  the  place,  holding  the  office 
of  city  trustee  for  two  terms,  and  refusing  the  third  term.  By  his 
marriage  Mr.  Layer  has  four  children.  William,  his  son,  is  clerk  in 
the  store.  He  was  born  in  "Washington.  When  Mr.  Layer  first  came 
to  Gilman  he  did  not  engage  in  the  bakery  business,  because  the  vil- 
lage was  too  small.  After  several  years  he  commenced  the  bakery 
business.  Mr.  Layer's  parents  are  both  dead. 

John  D.  Leland,  attorney-at-law,  Gilman,  is  one  of  the  leading 
attorneys  of  the  Iroquois  county  bar.  He  was  born  in  Rose  township, 
Wayne  county,  'New  York,  January  20,  1835,  and  is  the  son  of  Gail 
and  Polly  (Phelps)  Leland,  both  natives  of  the  state  of  New  York. 
Mr.  Leland's  grandfather  was  a  soldier  of  the  war  of  1812.  In  1836, 
when  Mr.  Leland  was  a  babe,  with  his  parents  he  moved  to  Ohio, 
and  located  in  Geauga  county,  then  very  wild,  they  being  among  the 
early  settlers  of  that  county.  Here  the  subject  of  this  sketch  remained 
until  he  was  about  twenty-one  years  of  age,  engaged  in  farming  and 
attending  the  district  schools  of  the  period  "in  a  little  red  school- 
house."  From  that  he  attended  schools  and  seminaries  in  different 
parts  of  Ohio.  From  Geauga  county  Mr.  Leland,  with  his  parents, 
moved  to  Ashtabula  county.  Here,  when  he  was  about  twenty-three 
years  of  age,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Cornelia  Alderman,  of  Ohio.  In 
May,  1864,  Mr.  Leland  moved  to  Illinois,  and  first  located  in  Onarga. 
From  there  he  came  to  Gilman,  where  he  began  teaching  school,  which 
profession  he  followed  while  in  Ohio.  He  taught  the  school  in  Gil- 
man located  about  three  blocks  from  the  Wenger  Block, — his  first  term 
here.  He  had  about  forty  pupils,  they  coming  from  a  distance  of  six 
miles.  The  school  improved  rapidly,  so  that  at  the  end  of  two  years 
he  had  some  120  scholars  in  attendance.  During  Mr.  Leland's  school 
teaching  he  would  teach  school  in  the  daytime  and  study  law  at  night. 
In  1867  he  was  elected  justice  of  the  peace,  which  office  he  filled  for 
ten  years,  and  was  recognized  as  one  of  the  leading  justices  of  Iroquois 


DOUGLAS   TOWNSHIP.  251 

county.  In  1869  he  was  admitted  to  practice  law  at  the  Illinois  bar, 
and  to-day  is  the  oldest  practicing  attorney  located  at  Gilman.  Per- 
haps Mr.  Leland  is  one  of  the  best  known  men  in  Gilman.  He  has 
taken  a  very  active  part  in  politics,  representing  Gilman  at  almost  all 
the  republican  conventions  for  the  last  ten  years.  He  has  held  several 
offices  of  public  trust  in  Gilman  :  city  clerk,  township  clerk  and  super- 
visor. In  these  offices  he  has  acquitted  himself  in  a  very  creditable 
manner.  Mr.  Leland's  first  wife  died,  and  he  married  his  present 
wife,  Mrs.  Mary  Shultz.  She  has  one  child,  a  daughter.  Mr.  Leland 
had  one  child  by  his  first  wife. 

Columbus  Cross,  proprietor  of  marble  and  granite  works,  Gilman, 
was  born  in  Utica,  New  York,  in  1825,  and  is  the  son  of  Erastus  Cross, 
who  was  a  resident  of  Utica  when  it  was  known  as  Fort  Schuyler. 
This  was  some  time  before  the  building  of  the  Erie  canal.  Erastus 
Cross  was  a  large  marble  dealer  in  Utica,  and  here  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  commenced  business.  He  remained  a  resident  of  Utica  until 
he  was  twenty-three  years  of  age.  In  1848  he  came  west  to  Ohio  and 
was  made  manager  of  some  large  marble  works  at  Zanesville,  owned 
by  a  firm  of  Vermont.  Here  Mr.  Cross  remained  about  four  years, 
when  he  went  to  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  formed  the  firm  of  Smith  & 
Cross,  who  were  proprietors  of  one  of  the  largest  marble  works  at 
that  time  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  employing  over  sixty  agents  and  col- 
lectors to  do  the  business.  They  did  a  business  in  Ohio,  Indiana, 
Illinois  and  the  Southern  States.  Mr.  Cross  continued  in  Cincinnati 
about  five  years,  when  he  returned  to  Utica,  New  York.  At  the 
breaking  out  of  the  late  civil  war  he  enlisted  in  Co.  E,  2d  N.  Y. 
Cavalry.  He  remained  in  service  until  1865.  He  participated  in 
some  of  the  most  severe  battles  during  the  war,  fighting  under  that 
gallant  leader,  Phil.  Sheridan.  Mr.  Cross  was  wounded  at  the  battle  of 
Burk's  Station  in  the  left  knee  by  a  musket  ball.  He  served  as  captain 
in  Co.  E.  He  was  a  brave  soldier,  and  was  honorably  mustered  out  in 
July,  1865,  at  the  close  of  the  war.  He  returned  to  Utica,  and  in  the 
fall  of  1865  came  west  to  Illinois.  He  remained  in  Chicago  a  short 
time,  and  from  ^there  came  to  Iroquois  county  and  commenced  the 
marble  business  at  Onarga  in  1869.  He  came  to  Gilman  on  account  of 
the  railroad  facilities  being  better.  Here  he  is  doing  a  very  extensive 
business  in  the  manufacture  of  monuments  and  tombstones.  He  sells 
his  work  in  Momence,  Onarga,  Rensselaer,  Odell,  Pontiac  and  Watseka. 
At  the  latter  place  he  erected  a  fine  monument  for  the  late  Dr.  Fowler. 
In  Onarga  cemetery  he  erected  a  monument  to  the  memory  of  George 
W.  Marshal,  which  is  the  largest  monument  in  Iroquois  county.  Mr. 
Cross  employs  some  fifteen  men.  He  has  in  connection  a  steam  stone 


252  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

saw-mill.  He  buys  most  of  his  marble  and  granite  from  first  hands, 
importing  marble  and  granite.  His  business  amounts  to  as  high  as 
$25,000  per  year. 

H.  C.  Mosher,  merchant,  Oilman,  was  born  in  La  Salle  county,  Illi- 
nois, February  15,  1836,  and  is  the  son  of  Ira  and  Louisa  (Pease) 
Mosher.  Ira  Mosher  was  a  native  of  Saratoga  county,  New  York. 
He  married  in  New  York,  and  about  1830,  with  his  wife  and  one 
child,  emigrated  west  to  Illinois  and  located  in  La  Salle,  then  a  wild 
county,  inhabited  by  the  Indian  and  the  wolf.  Here  they  commenced 
farming,  being  among  the  first  settlers  of  the  county.  Ira  Mosher 
participated  in  the  Black  Hawk  war  of  1832.  He  died  March  1,  1874:, 
respected  and  honored.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  remained  on  his 
father's  farm,  engaged  in  farming,  and  in  the  winter  months  attending 
the  district  schools  of  the  period.  When  very  young  he  helped  his 
father  to  haul  grain,  etc.,  to  the  Chicago  market.  In  1862  Mr.  Mosher 
enlisted  in  the  late  civil  war  in  Co.  K,  107th  111.  Yol.  Inf.  After 
serving  one  year  in  the  107th  he  was  transferred  to  Battery  K,  1st  111. 
Light  Art.,  where  he  served  until  the  expiration  of  three  years,  doing 
good  duty.  Here  we  may  state  that  Mr.  Mosher  had  three  brothers 
in  the  late  war,  and  the  four  brothers  together  saw  fifteen  years  of 
active  service,  participating  in  some  of  the  most  severe  battles  of  the 
war.  Charles  Mosher  enlisted  in  1861  in  Co.  A,  8th  111.  Yol.  Inf. 
He  participated  in  the  battles  of  Fort  Henry,  Fort  Donelson  (where 
he  received  a  scalp  wound),  Shiloh,  siege  of  Yicksburg,  Champion  Hill, 
Jackson,  and  the  last  battle  fought  during  the  war — battle  of  the  Blake- 
leys,  or  siege  of  Mobile.  He  was  honorably  mustered  out,  and  is  now 
engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  in  Gilman.  E.  W.  Mosher  enlisted 
in  1862  in  the  104th  111.  Yol.  Inf.  He  was  captured  by  the  guerilla, 
John  Morgan,  in  Tennessee,  but  was  soon  after  paroled,  and  was  in 
Sherman's  march  to  the  sea  through  the  Carolinas  and  to  Washington, 
where  he  participated  in  the  grand  review  at  the  close  of  the  war. 
George  I.  Mosher  enlisted  in  the  53d  111.  Yol.  Inf.  He  did  good  serv- 
ice, and  was  honorably  mustered  out.  When  H.  C.  Mosher  returned 
from  the  army  he  embarked  in  the  dry-goods  business  in  Marshall 
county.  In  1866  he  came  to  Gilman,  and  was  largely  engaged  in  the 
real-estate  business.  The  firm  of  Dent  &  Mosher  purchased  360  acres 
of  land  which  laid  on  the  south  side  of  the  Toledo,  Peoria  &  Warsaw 
railroad  track.  Since  Mr.  Mosher's  residence  in  Gilman  he  has  been 
engaged  in  the  lumber  and  grain  business.  At  present  he  is  engaged 
in  the  dry-goods  business,  also  farming.  Mr.  Mosher  was  married  to 
Miss  Elizabeth  Baker,  of  New  York  state. 

Charles  Meyer,  furniture  dealer  and  justice  of  the  peace,  is  prominent 


DOUGLAS   TOWNSHIP.  253 

among  the  pioneer  business  men  of  Oilman:  He  was  born  in  Pom- 
erania,  Germany,  in  1839.  In  1859  he  emigrated  to  America,  and 
landed  in  Quebec.  From  there  he  went  to  Michigan,  where  he  worked 
in  the  lumber  business  a  short  time,  and  then,  in  1859,  the  same  year 
of  his  emigration  to  America,  he  came  to  Illinois,  and  worked  on  a 
farm  in  Iroquois  county.  He  afterward  went  to  Livingston  county, 
where  he  remained  until  the  late  civil  war.  In  1862  he  enlisted  in  Co. 
K,  129th  111.  Yol.  Inf.,  for  three  years  as  private.  He  did  good  service, 
participating  in  some  of  the  most  severe  battles  of  the  war :  Resaca, 
Dallas,  Lost  Mountain,  and  Kenesaw  Mountain.  During  the  battle  of 
Dallas  he  was  captured.  He  and  two  of  his  comrades  were  carrying  a 
log  to  build  breastworks,  when  his  two  comrades  were  shot,  and  the 
whole  of  the  log  fell  on  him.  He  was  then  taken  to  the  Nashville 
hospital,  where  he  remained  for  a  number  of  days.  He  was  honorably 
mustered  out,  and  he  returned  to  Livingston  county,  where  he  remained 
until  1866.  He  then  came  to  Oilman,  where  he  has  been  a  worthy 
citizen  ever  since.  He  first  embarked  in  the  butcher  business,  and  from 
this  he  entered  the  general  grocery  business  with  Mr.  Charles  Layer, 
who  is  one  of  the  pioneer  grocery  men  of  Oilman.  From  the  grocery 
business,  Mr.  Meyer,  in  1875,  entered  the  furniture  business  in  company 
with  Daniel  Althan.  This  firm  continued  about  one  year.  Mr.  Meyer 
is  now  engaged  in  the  business  alone.  He  occupies  a  store  on  Central 
street,  size  25  X  53  feet,  two  stories  high.  He  is  doing  a  good  business 
in  his  line.  In  1877  Mr.  Meyer  was  made  justice  of  the  peace.  He 
was  alderman  of  Oilman  two  terms.  He  is  at  present  school  trustee. 
He  has  given  entire  satisfaction  in  all  of  his  offices. 

Elias  Wenger,  physician,  Oilman,  is  perhaps  one  of  the  best  known 
and  most  highly  respected  business  men  of  Oilman.  To  write  a  history 
of  Oilman  without  mentioning  Dr.  Wenger  would  be  very  incomplete. 
He  was  born  in  Rockingham  county,  Yirginia,  April  16',  1821,  and  is 
the  son  of  Abraham  and  Mary  (Orove)  Wenger,  both  natives  of  Yir- 
ginia. The  subject  of  this  sketch  remained  in  his  native  county  until 
he  was  about  thirteen  years  of  age,  when  he  moved  to  Augusta,  Yir- 
ginia. Here  he  received  his  principal  education,  and  at  eighteen  he 
began  the  study  of  medicine.  He  was  also  engaged  in  teaching  the 
district  schools.  At  twenty-one  years  of  age  Dr.  Wenger  was  married 
to  Miss  Eliza  J.  Smith.  At  twenty-seven  years  of  age,  in  1848,  with 
his  wife  and  three  children,  he  came  to  Illinois,  and  located  in 
Washington,  Tazewell  county,  where  he  began  in  the  drug  business, 
starting  and  owning  the  first  drug  store  at  that  place.  In  1855  he 
graduated  from  the  Rush  Medical  College  of  Chicago,  and  began  the 
practice  of  medicine  in  Washington,  where  he  associated  himself  as  a 
16 


254  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

business  partner  with  Dr.  E.  F.  Wood.  While  Dr.  Wenger  was  a 
resident  of  Washington  the  people  kept  him  continually  in  some  public 
office.  He  served  them  well.  He  was  justice  of  the  peace  twelve 
years ;  supervisor  three  years  ;  and  in  1863  he  was  nominated  and 
elected  to  the  legislature,  which  office  he  filled  for  one  term,  proving 
himself  a  man  of  acknowledged  ability.  In  1865  Dr.  Wenger  moved 
to  Oilman,  then  a  small  town  of  thirty-one  buildings,  and  here  he 
invested  largely  in  real  estate,  first  purchasing  the  estate  of  Chamberlain 
&  Brown,  afterward  purchasing  largely  from  O.  Chanute.  In  1870  and 
1871  Dr.  Wenger  erected  the  Wenger  Block,  a  fine  brick  business  block, 
size  129  feet  front  by  70  feet  deep,  two  stories  high,  and  perhaps  the  best 
business  block  in  Iroquois  county.  Since  Dr.  Wenger's  residence  in  Gil- 
man  he  has  been  engaged  in  his  profession.  In  1875  he  embarked  in  the 
mercantile  business,  but  not  meeting  with  good  success,  he  retired  after 
two  years.  Since  his  residence  in  Gilman  he  has  held  the  offices  of  school 
treasurer,  police  justice,  alderman  and  trustee,  giving  entire  satisfaction. 
He  drafted  the  first  charter  in  the  incorporation  of  Gilman  in  1867. 
Dr.  Wenger's  political  opinions  are  democratic,  and  in  religion  he  is  a 
Universalist.  He  is  the  parent  of  seven  children. 

Joseph  Armstrong,  real-estate  and  insurance  agent,  Gilman,  was 
born  in  Washington  county,  Pennsylvania,  August  10,  1838,  and  is  the 
son  of  John  and  Nancy  (Meanes)  Armstrong.  His  mother  was  born  in 
Pennsylvania,  and  his  father  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  who  came  to 
America  when  he  was  about  twenty-one  years  of  age.  Mr.  Armstrong 
remained  a  resident  of  Washington  county  until  he  was  about  twenty- 
five  years  of  age,  receiving  his  principal  education  there.  In  1867  he 
came  west  to  Illinois,  and  located  in  Gilman,  where  he  entered  the 
drug  business,  and  remained  in  this  business  until  1872,  when  he  re- 
tired and  embarked  in  the  real-estate  business,  in  which  he  has  con- 
tinued ever  since.  Besides  his  real-estate  business,  Mr.  Armstrong  is 
engaged  in  the  loan  and  insurance  business,  representing  some  of  the 
leading  insurance  companies  of  America.  Mr.  Armstrong  is  city  clerk 
of  Gilman.  He  is  a  republican  in  politics,  and  a  member  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church.  He  married  Miss  Nancy  J.  Sturgeon,  of  Washington 
county,  Pennsylvania. 

D.  Kerr,  county  school  superintendent,  is  one  of  the  prominent  men 
of  Gilman.  He  was  born  in  Beaver  county,  Pennsylvania,  January 
27,  1821,  and  is  the  son  of  William  and  Elizabeth  (Mercer)  Kerr.  His 
mother  was  a  native  of  Virginia  and  his  father  of  Pennsylvania.  Will- 
iam Kerr  was  a  carpenter  by  trade,  and  followed  fanning  the  latter 
part  of  his  life.  When  Mr.  Kerr,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  very 
young,  with  his  parents  he  moved  to  Ohio,  and  finally  located  in  Rich- 


DOUGLAS   TOWNSHIP.  255 

land  county,  where  he  was  one  of  the  early  settlers.  Here  Mr.  Kerr 
received  his  principal  education  at  the  Ashland  Academy.  He  taught 
school  in  the  winter  time  and  attended  school  in  the  summer.  About 
1851  he  began  to  read  law,  and  in  1853  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  at 
Columbus,  Ohio.  He  then  began  the  practice  of  law  in  Crawford 
county,  and  practiced  about  one  year.  He  was  made  superintendent 
of  the  Bucyrus  schools,  where  he  remained  about  two  years.  He  went 
thence  to  Galion,  where  he  accepted  a  similar  position,  and  remained 
there  some  six  years.  Subsequently  he  embarked  in  the  mercantile 
business  in  Galion.  In  1868  he  came  west  to  Illinois  and  located  at 
Gilman,  where  he  began  the  practice  of  law.  In  1873  he  was  nomi- 
nated on  the  farmers'  independent  ticket  for  the  office  of  school  super- 
intendent of  Iroquois  county,  and  was  elected,  and  reflected  to  the 
same  office  by  a  large  majority  in  1877.  This  office  he  still  holds,  and 
is  considered  to  be  one  of  the  best  county  school  superintendents  Iro- 
quois county  has  ever  had.  Mr.  Kerr  is  also  engaged  in  the  practice 
of  law.  He  is  liberal  in  his  politics,  voting  the  republican  ticket  for 
president,  and  for  the  best  man  at  county  elections.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Presbyterian  church.  He  was  married  to  Miss  Jennie  M. 
Munerly,  of  New  York,  and  they  have  four  children. 

James  H.  Allen,  banker,  Gilman,  is  one  of  the  most  enterprising  busi- 
ness men  of  the  city.  He  was  born  in  Preble  county,  Ohio,  in  1832,  and 
is  the  son  of  Andrew  and  Sophia  (Bennett)  Allen,  both  natives  of  Ohio. 
When  Mr.  Allen  was  very  young,  with  his  parents  he  moved  to  Indi- 
ana, and  located  on  a  farm  in  Clinton  county.  About  1855  he  made  a 
trip  to  Middleport,  Iroquois  county,  with  the  intention  of  entering  the 
mercantile  business,  but  he  returned  to  Indiana  and  commenced  the 
dry-goods  business  at  Williamsport,  where  he  remained  until  about 
1862,  when  he  came  to  Iroquois  county  and  commenced  the  dry-goods 
business  in  Middleport,  and  remained  there  until  1868,  when  he  came 
to  Gilman  and  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  until  1873,  when  he 
entered  the  general  banking  business,  and  to-day  is  recognized  as  one 
of  the  successful  men  of  Iroquois  county.  He  is  a  republican  in 
politics. 

August  A.  Hauback,  farmer,  La  Hogue,  is  a  native  of  Germany, 
where  he  was  born  August  3,  1833.  In  1853  he  emigrated  to  the 
United  States  and  settled  in  Norwich,  Connecticut,  where  he  followed 
the  business  of  house-painting,  and  remained  there  eleven  years.  In 
November,  1858,  he  married  Mary  Berger,  who  is  also  a  native  of 
Germany,  born  November  26,  1838.  In  1869  Mr.  Hauback  came  to 
Iroquois  county  and  settled  on  the  land  he  still  occupies,  the  W.  •£  of 
S.E.  £  of  Sec.  5,  T.  26,  E,.  10  E.  He  had  previously,  however,  lived 


256  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

in  New  Albany,  Indiana,  and  Fulton  county,  Illinois.  The  family 
consists  of  four  sons  and  one  daughter,  besides  the  parents.  Mr. 
Hauback  has  witnessed  many  of  the  rapid  changes  that  have  taken 
place  in  this  county.  He  has  an  excellent  farm  and  is  in  prosperous 
circumstances.  He  has  been  clerk  of  this  school  district  for  several 
years.  The  names  of  their  children  are:  George,  August  F.,  John  B., 
Eliza  Jane  and  William  A. 

Charles  C.  Stone,  merchant,  commenced  business  in  Gil  man  in  the 
year  1869,  and  since  that  time  has  succeeded  in  establishing  a  first- 
class  trade,  and  become  recognized  as  one  of  the  leading  merchants  of 
Gilman.  He  was  born  in  Fayette  county,  Indiana,  in  1848.  His 
parents  both  died  there,  leaving  a  family  of  six  children.  Mr.  Stone 
remained  in  Fayette  county  until  1856,  when  he  moved  to  Wabash, 
Wabash  county,  Indiana,  and  at  sixteen  years  of  age  be  began  to  learn 
the  trade  of  a  harness-maker.  Mr.  Stone  remained  at  Wabash  until 
1869,  when  he  and  his  brother,  William  D.,  came  to  Gilman  and 
embarked  in  the  mercantile  business  by  opening  a  general  stock  on 
Crescent  street.  The  firm  was  known  as  Stone  Brothers.  It  continued 
until  1877,  when  Mr.  Charles  C.  Stone  became  entire  owner.  From 
Crescent  street  Mr.  Stone  moved  to  his  present  place  of  business, 
located  near  the  post-office.  He  occupies  a  large  double-room.  The 
main  room,  22  X  24  feet,  is  used  for  his  general  stock  of  dry-goods, 
boots  and  shoes,  hats  and  caps,  etc.  The  other  portion,  22  x  20  feet,  is 
used  for  his  ready-made  clothing,  of  which  he  carries  a  full  and  com- 
plete stock.  In  1879  Mr.  Stone  established  a  branch  store  at  Thaw- 
ville,  where  he  keeps  a  general  stock  of  goods.  This  store  is  conducted 
b}'  Mr.  G.  C.  Lindsey.  Mr.  Stone  is  probably  the  largest  dealer  in 
dry-goods  and  general  goods  in  Gilman. 

S.  S.  Cone,  attorney-at-law,  Gilman,  was  born  in  Fulton  county, 
Illinois,  June  25,  184-3,  and  is  the  son  of  Spencer  Cone,  who  came  to 
Illinois  and  located  in  Fulton  county  at  an  early  day,  being  among  the 
first  settlers  of  that  county.  Mr.  Cone  was  brought  up  on  the  farm. 
He  received  his  principal  education  at  the  district  schools,  where  he 
prepared  himself  for  college,  and  was  a  student  of  Knox  College,  of 
Knox  county,  Illinois.  He  graduated  from  the  Albany  Law  School, 
of  Albany,  New  Tork,  in  1868.  He  commenced  the  practice  of  law 
in  Farmington,  where  he  remained  but  a  short  time.  In  1869  he 
came  to  Gilman  and  commenced  the  practice  of  law.  Here  he  has 
remained  ever  since.  He  was  for  two  years  city  attorney  of  Gilman, 
where  he  is  the  oldest  practicing  lawyer. 

A.  Crooks  &  Brother  are  among  the  largest  dealers  in  general  mer- 
chandise in  Gilman.  They  first  began  business  in  Gilman  in  1870,  in 


DOUGLAS   TOWNSHIP.  257 

the  frame  building  opposite  their  present  place  of  business,  where 
they  remained  in  business  until  1878,  at  which  time  they  built  their 
present  building,  which  is  a  substantial  brick,  size  25  X  85  feet,  one 
story  high,  with  basement.  These  gentlemen  keep  on  hand  a  general 
stock  of  dry-goods  and  groceries,  and  everything  that  can  be  found  in 
a  first-class  general  store.  Mr.  A.  Crook,  the  senior  member  of  the 
firm,  was  born  in  Beaver  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1840.  He  was  a 
soldier  of  the  late  war,  having  enlisted  in  Co.  D,  149th  Pa.  Yol.  Inf., 
in  1862,  for  three  years.  He  served  with  the  army  of  the  Potomac. 
He  was  a  brave  soldier  and  did  good  duty,  participating  in  a  number  of 
severe  battles:  Belle  Plaine,  Gettysburg  and  others.  At  the  latter  place 
at  noon,  July  1,  1863,  he  was  shot  in  the  right  leg,  and  was  then  sent 
to  the  hospital,  and  July  2  his  leg  was  amputated.  He  lay  in  the  hos- 
pital (a  church)  in  Gettysburg,  and  from  there  was  sent  to  Pittsburgh, 
Pennsylvania,  where  he  remained  for  a  number  of  months.  Mr.  Crook 
is  a  graduate  of  the  Iron  City  Commercial  College  of  Pittsburgh. 
Thomas  A.  is  the  junior  member  of  the  firm.  These  gentlemen  are 
doing  a  good  business,  and  are  recognized  by  the  public  as  leading 
liberal  business  men  of  Gilman. 

Robert  B.  Johnston,  farmer,  Gilman,  was  born  in  St.  Louis,  Mis- 
souri, May  7,  1840,  and  is  a  son  of  Thomas  and  Hannah  Johnston. 
When  ten  years  of  age,  his  parents  removed  to  Rock  Island,  Illinois. 
At  the  age  of  sixteen  Mr.  Johnston  crossed  the  plains  with  oxen  to 
California.  Here  he  remained  eight  years.  Two  years  were  spent  in 
the  mines,  and  for  six  years  he  was  superintendent  of  a  line  of  stages 
between  San  Diego  and  Yuma.  Returning  to  Missouri  he  enlisted  in 
the  4th  Mo.  Inf.,  B  Gratz  Brown,  colonel ;  also  served  in  Gen.  Fre- 
mont's body-guard.  He  then  became  forage-master  under  Seigel,  and 
saw  service  at  Pea  Ridge.  His  next  service  was  as  master  of  trans- 
portation, and  he  was  stationed  at  Alton,  Illinois.  At  the  close  of  the 
war  Mr.  Johnston  returned  to  California,  where  he  remained  until 
1869.  He  then  commenced  farming  near  Rock  Island,  where  he 
remained  until  the  great  Chicago  fire,  when  he  removed  to  Iroquois 
county,  Douglas  township,  and  opened  a  farm  on  section  2,  where  he  at 
present  resides.  Mr.  Johnston  was  married  in  1860  to  Miss  Elizabeth 
Dutcher.  They  have  four  children. 

West  &  McKinney,  liverymen,  Gilman,  have  had  a  very  extensive 
experience  in  the  livery  business.  Mr.  West  was  engaged  in  the  livery 
business  for  eight  years  at  Onarga,  where  he  kept  a  good  livery  stable 
and  received  a  first-class  patronage.  In  1879  he  came  to  Gilman,  and 
the  firm  of  West  &  McKinney  was  organized.  These  gentlemen 
occupy  a  good,  first-class  stable,  and  keep  on  hand  seven  horses  and 
five  good  buggies. 


258  HISTOKY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUXTY. 

Almet  Powell,  merchant,  Gilman,  is  a  member  of  the  lirm  of  Dent 
&  Powell.  He  was  born  in  Greene  county,  New  York,  where  he  re- 
mained until  he  was  nine  years  of  age,  then  came  west  to  Illinois  and 
located  in  Marshall  county,  where  he  was  engaged  in  farming  until 
1862,  when  he  embarked  in  the  mercantile  business  in  Lawn  Ridge, 
Marshall  county,  by  opening  out  a  general  stock  of  merchandise. 
Here  he  was  engaged  in  business  until  1871,  when  he  came  to  Gilman, 
and  has  been  in  the  mercantile  business  ever  since.  The  firm  of  Dent 
&  Powell  is  located  at  the  corner  of  Main  and  Central  streets.  They 
occupy  a  large  store,  size  20  x  80  feet.  The  first  floor  is  used  for  dry- 
goods,  clothing,  boots,  shoes,  hats,  caps  and  groceries,  and  the  second 
floor  for  carpets.  This  firm  does  one  of  the  largest  trades  in  Gilman. 
The  firm  of  Dent  &  Powell  was  formed  some  three  years  ago.  Mr.  J. 
O.  Dent  is  a  very  prominent  business  man.  He  was  elected  to  the 
state  legislature  from  La  Salle  county,  and  was  also  a  member  of  the 
constitutional  convention. 

John  W.  Zea,  grain  and  hay  dealer,  La  Hogue,  was  born  in  Cazen- 
ovia,  New  York,  and  is  the  son  of  William  and  Laura  Zea.  His  family 
moved  to  La  Salle  county,  Illinois,  in  1846,  where  his  father  engaged 
in  farming,  entering  the  land  he  occupied.  John  W.  was  married, 
March  17, 1855,  to  Miss  Mary  E.  Arris,  who  was  born  in  Lincoln  county, 
Maine.  They  have  nine  children,  all  living.  In  1868  Mr.  Zea  opened 
a  farm  in  Ford  county,  three  miles  west  of  La  Hogue,  and  in  1872 
removed  to  the  village  and  commenced  dealing  in  grain,  hay  and  coal. 
Mr.  Zea  has  also  been  engaged  in  a  general  merchandise  business ;  has 
been  agent  for  the  Toledo,  Peoria  &  Warsaw  railroad  at  La  Hogue, 
and  has  held  the  position  of  postmaster  for  four  years.  Through  Mr. 
Zea's  energy  and  business  talent  a  large  trade  has  been  drawn  to  this 
point,  until  La  Hogue  has  become  one  of  the  important  shipping  points 
on  the  line  of  this  road.  Large  quantities  of  hay  are  pressed  and 
shipped.  Mr.  Zea  is  a  Mason  and  an  Odd-Fellow. 

John  W.  Snyder,  physician,  Gilman,  is  one  of  the  leading  physi- 
cians of  Iroquois  county.  He  was  born  in  Macon  county,  Illinois,  in 
1834,  and  is  the  son  of  Albert  G.  Snyder,  who  was  among  the  first  set- 
tlers of  Macon  county,  Illinois,  having  moved  there  in  1831  or  1832, 
when  there  were  Indians  yet  in  that  locality.  He  is  now  living  in 
Kansas.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  Dr.  Snyder  began  the  study  of 
medicine.  In  1859  he  graduated  from  the  Kentucky  School  of  Medi- 
cine, of  Louisville,  Kentucky.  He  first  began  the  practice  of  medicine 
in  Sullivan,  Moultrie  county,  Illinois,  where  he  remained  some  five 
years.  He  then  went  to  De  Witt  county,  where  he  practiced  about 
eight  years.  In  1872  he  came  to  Gilman,  where  he  has  continued  in  the 


DOUGLAS   TOWNSHIP.  259 

practice  of  medicine.  His  office  is  located  in  the  City  Drug  Store,  which 
building  was  the  first  school-house  built  in  Oilman.  Dr.  Snyder  is  a 
member  of  the  Illinois  Central  Medical  Society. 

William  M.  Jones,  hardware  merchant,  Gilman,  was  born  on  a  farm 
in  Wabash  county,  Indiana,  where  he  remained,  engaged  in  farming, 
until  he  was  about  seventeen  years  of  age,  when  he  came  to  Illinois 
and  located  in  Edgar  county.  Here,  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  late 
war,  he  enlisted,  on  the  first  call,  in  Co.  E,  12th  111.  Yol.  Inf.,  as  pri- 
vate for  three  months.  He  served  full  time,  and  immediately  reen- 
listed  for  three  years.  He  participated  in  some  of  the  most  severe 
battles  of  the  war :  Fort  Henry,  Fort  Donelson,  Pittsburg  Landing, 
siege  of  Corinth  and  the  battle  of  Corinth.  At  the  latter  place,  on 
October  3,  1863.  he  was  shot  through  the  body  with  a  musket-ball 
from  the  enemy,  the  ball  piercing  the  right  lung.  He  was  then  placed 
in  the  hospital,  where  he  remained  some  thirty  days,  and  from  there 
home,  where'he  lay  on  his  bed,  not  able  to  get  up  for  six  months.  He 
afterward  joined  his  regiment  again,  but  was  not  fit  for  active  duty, 
and  was  honorably  mustered  out  August,  1864.  He  returned  to  his 
home  in  Edgar  county  and. worked  at  his  trade,  harness-maker,  in  Mat- 
toon,  Coles  county,  where  he  remained  about  one  year.  From  there 
he  went  to  Neoga,  Cumberland  county,  where  he  carried  on  the  har- 
ness business,  and  from  that  he  embarked  in  the  grocery  and  hard- 
ware business.  He  remained  there  until  1873,  and  in  November  of 
the  same  year  came  to  Oilman  and  commenced  the  hardware  business 
in  his  present  stand.  The  building  is  a  large  two-story  brick,  size 
22  X  90  feet,  with  a  basement.  The  whole  building  is  used  by  Mr. 
Jones,  the  first  floor  for  hardware  and  stoves,  and  the  second  floor  as  a 
tin-shop.  This  store  is  the  largest  and  oldest  hardware  establishment 
in  Gilman.  The  firm  was  first  composed  of  Jones  Brothers,  which 
continued  some  two  years,  when  Mr.  Jones'  brother  (Hamlin)  retired. 
Hamlin  Jones  was  also  a  soldier  of  the  late  war,  serving  three  years  in 
an  Indiana  battery.  He  is  now  engaged  in  the  hardware  business  in 
Neoga,  Cumberland  county,  Illinois. 

Logan  Edmunds,  farmer,  Oilman,  son  of  Daniel  and  Eliza  J. 
Edmunds,  was  born  in  Henderson  county,  Illinois,  December  13,  1850. 
He  was  educated  at  Monmoilth  College,  "Warren  county,  Illinois. 
After  graduating,  Mr.  Edmunds  came  to  this  township,  in  the  summer 
of  1873,  and  settled  on  section  3,  where  he  continues  to  reside.  He 
has  an  excellent  farm,  and  has  been  engaged  in  farming  since  leaving 
school.  Mr.  Edmunds  is  unmarried,  is  an  Odd-Fellow,  and  in  politics 
is  a  republican.  His  parents  still  reside  in  Henderson  county. 

Ira  C.  Moore,  druggist,  Oilman,  was  born  in  York  county,  Maine, 


260  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

September  28,  1811,  and  is  the  son  of  Harvey  Moore,  a  native  of  New 
Hampshire.  He  remained  a  resident  of  York  county  until  about  1826, 
when  he  moved  to  Cumberland  county,  of  the  same  state,  and  subse- 
quently to  Massachusetts.  Mr.  Moore  had  learned  the  trade  of  a 
saddle-maker.  This  business  he  carried  on  for  a  number  of  years.  He 
returned  to  Maine,  and  from  there  he  went  to  Canada ;  thence  back 
to  Maine,  and  in  1855  came  west  to  Illinois.  He  located  in  La  Salle 
county,  and  in  1869  came  to  Gilman.  He  remained  but  a  short  time, 
however,  when  he  moved  to  Arkansas,  and  in  1874  returned  to  Gil- 
man. Here  Mr.  Moore  has  remained  ever  since.  He  first  commenced 
the  manufacture  of  ,brick.  He  made  the  brick  that  built  the  two  store- 
rooms in  the  north  end  of  Wenger's  Block.  Mr.  Moore  occupies  one 
room  for  his  drug  store.  In  1876  Mr.  Moore  was  elected  to  the  office 
of  police  magistrate,  which  office  he  now  fills.  He  is  a  republican  in 
politics.  He  had  one  son,  Justin  Moore,  in  the  late  war.  He  enlisted 
at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  and  served  in  the  33d  111.  Yol.  Inf.  until 
the  close  of  the  war,  participating  in  the  last  battle  of  the  war, — the 
battle  of  Mobile, — and  the  capture  of  the  Blakeley  batteries.  He  was 
a  brave  soldier,  and  did  good  service.  He  was  mustered  out  in  De- 
cember, 1865,  but  on  account  of  sickness  he  had  contracted  in  the 
army,  died  eight  days  after  his  discharge.  Mr.  Moore  married  twice. 
His  first  wife,  Selestia  Lilies,  is  deceased.  His  present  wife  was  Sarah 
S.  Larnerd.  They  have  one  child. 

Larnoreanx  Bros.,  Gilman,  are  among  the  leading  grain  merchants 
of  Iroquois  county.  They  commenced  business  in  Gilman  in  August, 
1875,  and  to-day  are  one  of  the  oldest  grain  firms  of  this  place.  The 
firm  is  composed  of  L.  and  A.  Lamoreaux,  both  natives  of  Albany 
county,  New  York.  They  came  west,  and  have  since  been  engaged  at 
their  present  business.  Their  warehouse  is  a  large  first-class  elevator, 
with  a  capacity  of  12,000  bushels.  They  have  also  crib  capacity  of 
35,000  bushels.  They  have  done  a  business  amounting  to  100,000 
bushels  in  one  year.  They  find  sales  for  their  grain  in  Chicago  and 
the  eastern  markets. 

Dr.  S.  F.  Heath,  physician,  Gilman,  was  born  in  Merrimack  county, 
New  Hampshire,  September  23,  1842,  and  is  the  son  of  D.  G.  and 
Sarah  (Moore)  Heath.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  a  graduate  of 
Harvard  University,  in  the  medical  department,  having  graduated 
in  1866.  He  practiced  medicine  in  Boston,  Massachusetts,  a  short 
time,  and  then  came  west  to  Illinois  and  commenced  the  practice  of 
medicine  at  Dwight,  Livingston  county,  where  he  remained  some  three 
years.  From  there  he  went  to  Nebraska,  and  thence  to  Streator, 
Illinois,  where  he  was  engaged  in  the  drug  business.  In  the  spring 


DOUGLAS   TOWNSHIP.  261 

of  1877  he  came  to  Gil  man,  and  here  he  has  been  engaged  at  his 
chosen  profession,  and  is  to-day  enjoying  a  good  fair  practice. 

Rev.  Moses  Noerr,  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  was  born  in 
Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  August  17,  1833,  and  is  the  son  of  John 
and  Wilhelmina  (Brant)  Noerr,  both  natives  of  Germany,  who  moved 
to  America  when  very  young.  The  Rev.  Noerr  is  a  graduate  of 
Amherst  College,  of  Amherst,  Massachusetts,  from  which  he  graduated 
in  1855.  He  graduated  from  the  Princeton  Theological  Seminary,  of 
Princeton,  New  Jersey,  in  1859.  His  first  charge  was  with  the  Presby- 
terian church  of  Maquoketa,  Iowa,  where  he  remained  until  1865. 
While  in  Maquoketa,  in  1860,  he  was  regularly  ordained  as  a  minister. 
Since  leaving  that  place  he  has  been  engaged  in  preaching  at  'the 
following  places:  Belleview,  Iowa;  Arlington  and  Milan,  Illinois. 
He  came  to  Gil  man,  and  December  1, 1877,  took  charge  of  the  Presby- 
terian church  here. 

Koerner  &  Keller,  blacksmiths  and  wagon-makers,  Gilman,  com- 
menced business  in  Gilman  in  1877.  Henry  Koerner  was  born  in 
Will  county,  Illinois,  April  7,  1857,  where  he  remained  until  he  was 
eighteen  years  of  age,  engaged  in  working  on  the  farm.  He  then  went 
to  Peotone,  where  he  commenced  to  learn  his  trade,  and  remained  there 
some  three  years.  From  there  he  went  to  Frankfort,  and  from  there 
he  came  to  Gilman,  where  he  has  remained  in  business.  George  Keller 
was  born  in  Cook  county,  Illinois,  July  1,  1853,  and  at  about  seventeen 
years  of  age  commenced  to  learn  the  trade  of  a  blacksmith  at  Peotone, 
where  he  owned  a  shop.  In  1877  he  came  to  Gilman,  and  to-day  is  a 
member  of  the  firm  of  Koerner  &  Keller.  Since  these  gentlemen  have 
been  at  work  in  Gilman,  they  have  made  and  sold  some  twenty-five  or 
thirty  wagons  of  their  own  make. 

Father  Patrick  Aloysius  McGair,  Catholic  priest,  Gilman,  was  born 
in  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  February  8,  1854,  and  is  the  son  of 
Patrick  McGair,  a  native  of  Ireland,  who  was  employed  by  the  Rhode 
Island  Beach  and  Dyke  Works,  at  one  time  being  manager  of  the  works. 
He  was  killed  by  the  machinery  in  1878.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
received  his  principal  education  at  the  public  schools  of  Providence, 
and  is  a  graduate  of  the  St.  Charles  College  of  Baltimore,  from  which 
he  graduated  in  1875.  Father  McGair  commenced  study  for  the 
priesthood  in  1870.  He  was  ordained  a  priest  in  Peoria,  Illinois,  on 
June  29,  1878.  His  first  appointment  was  at  Wataga,  Knox  county, 
Illinois,  wheje  he  remained  until  1879,  when  he  came  to  Gilman  and 
took  charge  of  this  church. 


262  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 


AETESIA  TOWNSHIP. 

Artesia  township  is  the  second  from  the  southern  line  of  the 
county,  in  the  western  tier  of  townships,  and  embraces  all  of  town 
25  north,  range  10  east  of  the  3d  principal  meridian ;  and  the 
fractional  tier  of  sections,  known  as  range  11  east ;  and  the  western 
four  tiers  of  sections  in  range  14  west  of  the  2d  principal  meridian. 
It  is  ten  and  a  half  miles  long  east  and  west,  by  six  in  breath. 
Spring  creek  runs  nearly  through  the  center  of  the  township,  having 
upon  it  originally  a  beautiful  strip  of  timber,  averaging  about  one 
mile  in  width,  and  the  Illinois  Central  railroad  runs  across  its  center, 
having  on  it  Buckley  Station,  a  village  of  several  hundred  inhabitants. 
The  farm  lands  lying  off  to  the  west  of  the  railroad  are  beautifully 
rolling,  and  present  a  fine  appearance,  as  most  of  the  farm  houses 
are  of  a  good  order  and  well  built. 

The  only  early  settlements  in  this  township  were  along  the  belt 
of  timber  which  skirts  the  creek.  Jacob  Hull  settled  early  on 
section  25,  and  for  many  years  was  largely  interested  in  cattle,  keep- 
ing <a  large  herd,  and  a  portion  of  the  time  a  thoroughbred  herd. 
He  died  in  1876.  His  widow,  two  sons  and  two  daughters  reside 
here  still.  J.  S.  McClave  came  here  in  1853.  There  were  no 
families  living  west  of  the  railroad  to  the  county  line.  The  section 
house  was  all  that  was-  to  be  seen  from  the  creek  west  as  far  as  the 
eye  could  reach.  Grand  Prairie  was  grand  then.  He  entered  the 
south  half  of  section  15  at  the  government  price,  $2.50  per  acre, 
and  retains  the  land  yet.  He  has  been  a  successful  farmer,  and  for 
several  years  has  been  largely  engaged  in  the  grain  trade.  J.  A. 
Drake  bought  520  acres  in  section  29,  1855.  With  the  large  range 
then,  he  engaged  largely  in  the  cattle  business,  both  grazing  and 
stall  feeding,  feeding  some  years  as  many  as  two  hundred  'head. 
At  first  he  bought  in  this  vicinity,  but  latterly  was  obliged  to  bring 
them  from  the  west.  As  late  as  1872  and  1873,  the  prairies  of  Iroquois 
county  were  the  feeding  grounds  of  herds  which  came  in  here  from 
La  Salle  county.  For  several  years  thousands  of  cattle  were  driven 
in  from  the  more  populous  counties  northwest  of  here  in  the  spring 
and  returned  in  the  fall.  In  1871  Mr.  Drake  built  one  of  the  finest 
farm  houses  in  the  county  at  a  cost  of  $5,000,  which  was  burned  to 
the  ground  with  much  of  its  contents,  Sunday,  October  5,  1879.  He 
kept  sheep  for  eight  years,  having  as  many  as  900  at  a  time.  He  is 
still  feeding  cattle,  though  not  so  largely  as  formerly.  Like  most  of 
the  cattle  men  in  this  and  the  counties  west  of  here,  he  only  handles 


AETESIA   TOWNSHIP.  263 

a  car-load  or  two  at  a  time,  where  hundreds  were  fed  formerly. 
There  are  several  reasons  for  this :  First  and  foremost  is  the  un- 
pleasant fact  that  nearly  all  of  them  lost  heavily  on  cattle  during 
the  few  years  past,  and  are  not  in  condition  to  risk  as  much 
now ;  and  secondly,  the  multiplication  of  railroads  and  the  reduced 
freight  have  made  corn-selling  more  popular  than  formerly,  and 
reducing  the  large  prairies  here  to  farms  has  driven  the  accumula- 
tion of  large  herds  of  cattle  to  the  western  frontier,  and  flax -raising 
has  taken  a  portion  of  the  land  which  was  devoted  to  cattle,  requir- 
ing less  capital  and  making  its  return  in  from  eight  to  twelve  months 
earlier.  Mr.  Drake  has  this  year  raised  300  acres  of  flax. 

P.  M.  Cannedy,  who  lived  across  the  line  on  section  24,  in  Ford 
county,  owned  considerable  land  in  sections  19  and  30  of  this  town- 
ship. He  was  largely  engaged  in  cattle  and  sheep,  but  traded  his 
large  farm  at  $65  per  acre  for  business  property  in  Cincinnati.  F. 
A.  Harris,  on  section  18,  formerly  kept  about  1,500  sheep.  After 
the  war  the  sheep  speculation  took  a  reversion,  and  diseases  set  in 
which  carried  off  many  of  them. 

George  Webster  was  here  farming  the  Campbell  land  in  1856. 
Jonas  Pusey  came  here  about  the  same  time,  and  still  lives  on  the 
northeast  quarter  of  section  22.  He  has  interested  himself  in  what- 
ever will  advance  the  general  welfare.  He  was  one  of  the  first  to 
suggest  the  benefits  to  be  derived  from  a  mill  to  work  up  the  flax 
straw,  thus  adding  about  two  dollars  per  acre  annual  profit  to  all 
land  planted  to  flax  (enough  to  pay  the  interest  on  the  cash  value  of 
the  land),  and  was  one  of  the  first  to  put  his  view  to  practical  use. 

Captain  Woodleton  and  Elijah  Woodletoii  came  here  about  the 
same  time,  but  did  not  remain  long.  They  liked  hunting  as  well  as 
Judge  Pierson,  but  somehow  they  did  not  like  the  other  inducements. 
J.  P.  Bibler  had  a  farm  here  about  the  same  date,  and  Parker 
Dresser,  who  was  making  a  small  fortune  in  what  was  called  the 
"land  office  business"  at  Danville,  had  an  improvement  on  the 
southwest  quarter  of  section  19,  about  1854  or  1855.  Dresser  bought 
corn  here  in  1860,  and  soon  after  put  up  a  large  elevator  at  Fairbury, 
which  was  burned  in  the  first  great  fire  in  that  town,  about  1867. 

George  Needham  was  early  on  section  17",  and  sold  and  went  to 
Kansas.  Thomas  "Williams,  now  a  prosperous  and  respected  citizen 
of  Hoopeston,  was  an  early  resident  on  section  21,  where  Mr. 
Trusein  now  lives,  and  Mr.  Day  was  eagly  where  his  family  now 
lives.  Wesley  Harvey  had  improved  the  farm  where  Isaac  White- 
head  lives,  east  of  the  creek,  early,  and  sold  it  to  Wilson  Devore. 
Devore  sold  it  to  Thonuis  Pagget,  who  remained  there  about  five 


264  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

years,  and  sold  and  went  to  Indiana.  Mr.  Whitehead  lias  about  400 
acres  of  land,  with  fair  improvements.  He  has  one  of  the  finest 
barns  in  the  township. 

John  Montgomery  also  had  a  farm  early  in  that  part  of  the  town- 
ship. Reuben  Durbin  lived  south  of  Hnlts.  He  was  noted  for  raising 
the  first  and  the  finest  pair  of  twins  in  this  part  of  the  country.  He 
died  here,  and  his  widow  lives  in  Onarga.  Mr.  Griffin  commenced  an 
improvement  near  there,  and  George  Underwood,  from  Georgetown, 
Vermilion  county,  moved  in  about  the  same  time. 

Lewis  and  Michael  Burlein  commenced  a  farm  on  the  prairie,  where 
Michael  now  resides,  as  early  as  1856  or  1857.  James  Carter,  from 
Belmont  county,  Ohio,  who  now  resides  in  Buckley,  came  to  the  west- 
ern side  of  Ash  Grove  in  1856.  His  sons,  William  S.  and  Andrew  L., 
went  to  the  army.  The  former  died  soon  "after  his  return.  Andrew 
resides  on  the  farm.  Eli  Strawn,  from  La  Salle  county,  who  had  been 
a  pioneer  in  that  part  of  the  state,  and  who  belonged  to  a  family  which 
had  a  national  reputation  for  energy,  enterprise  and  vast  business 
undertakings,  came  here  in  1869  and  purchased  a  half  section  which 
lay  east  of  the  creek. 

Very  little  of  the  farming  land  of  this  township  is  owned  by  non- 
residents. Messrs.  Koplin,  Strawn,  Hartshorn,  McClave,  Lincoln,  and 
other  business  men  in  Buckley,  own  considerable  land.  The  former 
has  sixteen  farms  in  this  and  adjoining  townships.  They  consider  them 
good  investments,  and  expect  to  see  them  still  more  valuable. 

One  of  the  most  shocking  crimes,  and  in  its  circumstances  one  of 
the  saddest  that  was  ever  committed  in  the  county,  was  the  murder, 
by  Fred  Keoster,  alias  Fritz  Rafter,  of  his  wife,  Mary,  on  the  night  of 
August  26,  1879.  Only  a  year  previously  Keoster  had  married  Mary 
Burmeister,  a  pleasant  and  agreeable  girl,  the  daughter  of  parents  liv- 
ing near  by,  and  lived  on  a  small  place  of  11  acres  which  he  owned, 
near  the  railroad,  three  miles  northeast  of  Buckley.  So  far  as  the  pub- 
lic is  informed,  no  unpleasantness  existed  between  them  until  shortly 
before  the  crime  was  committed,  when  her  condition  of  approaching 
maternity  rendered  her  unable  to  work  in  the  field,  and  she  declined  to 
help  him.  Naturally  avaricious,  he  seems  to  have  become  incensed  at 
this,  and  complained  that  her  family  were  encouraging  her  in  her 
course.  On  August  26  he  drew  some  money  on  his  flax-seed,  saying 
that  he  wanted  it  to  pay  a  note,  and  this  was  the  last  seen  of  him  here 
until  his  arrest,  a  month  later,  in  Iowa,  where  he  had  taken  refuge. 
The  next  morning  Mrs.  Koester's  sister  went  to  the  house  and  found 
it  vacant,  but  with  stains  of  blood  and  other  indications  of  the  terrible 
deed.  Search  was  made  by  those  who  assembled,  and  the  body  was 


ARTESIA   TOWNSHIP.  265 

found  with  a  gun-wound  and  horribly  chopped  with  an  ax,  lying  in  a 
ditch  in  the  orchard.  There  could  be  only  one  theory,  and  that  was 
that  Koester  was  the  author  of  this  terrible  crime.  The  horrible  story 
of  Mera  was  retold,  and  his  tragic  death.  Vengeance  was  pledged 
from  mouth  to  mouth,  and  had  the  criminal  been  then  found,  there 
can  be  little  doubt  what  the  result  would  have  been.  Fortunately, 
before  he  was  found  the  feeling  had  considerably  toned  down.  Ten  years 
ago  hanging  for  murder  had  well-nigh,  as  one  criminal  actually  said, 
"  played  out "  in  Illinois,  but  the  recent  execution  of  several  who  had 
been  proved  guilty  has  very  much  changed  the  sentiment  of  her  citizens 
in  regard  to  lynching.  The  story  of  Keoster's  escape  and  capture  is  short. 
He  rode  his  horse  to  Ashkum,  where  he  abandoned  it,  and  walked  to 
Clifton,  the  next  station  north,  where  he  took  the  train  to  Chicago  and 
went  directly  to  Iowa,  from  which  place  he  wrote  a  letter  to  some  rela- 
tives in  Nebraska,  by  which  tell-tale  letter  he  was  traced  and  arrested. 
Artesia  was  set  oiffrom  the  townships  of  Loda  and  Onarga,  March 
17,  1864,  and  organized  by  the  election  of  J.  S.  Pusey  as  supervisor; 
W.  G.  Riggs,  clerk,  and  E.  L.  Gibson  as  assessor.  The  principal  offi- 
cers of  the  township  are  at  present:  J.  G.  McClave,  supervisor ;  M.  M. 
Meacham,  clerk  ;  J.  C.  Harlan,  assessor,  and  J.  M.  Lindenmeyer,  col- 
lector. The  justices  of  the  peace  during  the  political  life  of  the  town- 
ship have  been :  Ira  A.  Manley,  Japheth  Hull,  J.  K.  Smith,  L.  Grove, 
Calvin  Newlin,  Samuel  Kerns,  J.  M.  Riggs,  M.  M.  Meacham  and  John 
Newlin.  At  the  first  election,  in  1864,  there  were  seventy-six  votes 
cast.  At  the  last  election  the  number  had  increased  to  271,  which  indi- 
cates an  increase  in  population  of  about  100  per  cent  every  ten  years. 

BUCKLEY. 

Ira  A.  Manley,  who,  during  nearly  all  of  the  life  of  this  village  has 
been  a  prominent  business  man  here,  came  to  reside  here  in  1856.  He 
had  entered  into  a  contract  with  the  railroad  company  for  the  land 
upon  which  the  village  stands,  arid  rightly  judged  that  this  would  be 
the  place  for  a  shipping  point.  He  proposed  to  lay  out  a  town  plat 
and  make  this  the  central  place  for  business  between  the  two,  Loda 
and  Onarga,  on  either  side.  He  secured  a  station,  and  named  it  from 
a  relative  in  Philadelphia,  Bulkley.  The  following  year  Franklin 
Pierson  came  to  visit  him.  This  was  a  queer  place  to  come.on  a  visit. 
There  was  nothing  here  but  a  station,  not  even  a  switch,  and  the  scat- 
tering farmers  back  a  few  miles  had  hardly  heard  either  of  Bulkley  or 
Manley.  But  Pierson  was  captivated  with  the  situation.  It  was  good 
hunting,  and  that  was  enough.  He  concluded  to  remain.  They  two 
did  the  grading  and  furnished  the  ties  for  a  switch,  and  then  Pierson 


266  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

built  the  house  where  he  now  resides,  and  Manley  went  into  the  grain 
trade. 

W.  J.  Riggs,  from  Chester  county,  Pennsylvania,  had  been  in  the 
northern  part  of  this  state  for  a  short  time,  and  came  here  in  1859  and 
built  and  occupied  the  first  store  here.  This  was  the  building  now  occu- 
pied for  a  paint  shop.  Pierson  wjys  a  public-spirited  man,  and  hence 
was  obliged  to  make  a  hotel  of  his  house,  and  for  several  years  it  was 
the  only  one  in  town.  This  same  year  Manley  assigned  his  contract  for 
the  land  to  John  A.  Koplin,  of  Philadelphia,  and  he  secured  a  post- 
office  here,  and  named  it  Buckley,  dropping  out  the  I  from  the  first 
syllable  for  euphony's  sake,  but  retaining  the  name  as  nearly  as  it  was 
for  Manley's  sake.  The  station  is  still  called  Bulkley.  In  1862  Mr. 
Koplin  came  here  and  laid  out  the  town  in  July  of  that  year,  on  the 
N".W.  \  of  the  N".  •§•  of  Sec.  26,  six  blocks,  four  of  which,  between  Rail- 
road avenue  and  Oak  street,  were  laid  out  in  lots.  Several  additions 
have  since  been  made  by  various  parties.  Mr.  Koplin  went  into  busi- 
ness with  Mr.  Riggs,  and  continued  with  him  for  some  time.  They 
built  the  store  now  occupied  as  a  public  hall,  and  Mr.  Koplin  built  the 
house  now  occupied  by  Mr.  Hartshorn.  Mr.  Manley  continued  to 
deal  in  grain,  and  for  some  years  in  lumber,  and  put  up  a  small  grain 
warehouse  and  corn-mill. 

During  the  war  the  supply  of  sugar  was  so  restricted,  and  the  price  so 
advanced,  that  it  became  an  object  for  the  western  farmers  to  raise  their 
own,  and  the  raising  of  sorghum  became  very  general.  Messrs.  Man- 
ley  &  Koplin  put  up  a  mill,  30  x  50,  well  supplied  with  the  necessary 
machinery  to  reduce  the  cane  to  syrup.  They  paid  farmers  an  average 
of  about  $15  per  acre  for  their  cane,  and  ran  the  mill  three  falls, 
usually  for  about  two  months  each,  making  about  one  thousand  bar- 
rels each  season,  which  was  sold  to  Belcher,  in  Chicago,  for  refining. 
The  barrels  were  brought  from  Chicago.  Mr.  Koplin  then  sold  his 
interest  in  it  to  Manley,  who  soon  abandoned  the  business  and  con- 
verted the  building  into  a  tow-mill,  but  did  not  carry  out  the  plan. 
Riggs  &  McClave  then  bought  the  building  and  put  in  a  planing-mill. 
After  running  it  a  year  they  sold  the  building  and  the  property  to  the 
district,  and  the  building  underwent  another  change,  so  that  now, 
instead  of  tow  and  lumber,  the  rising  generation  of  Buckley  is  prop- 
erly "  flaxed  "  and  "  dressed  down  "  within  its  walls. 

Mr.  Manley  continued  the  grain  trade  until  1872,  when  he  sold  to 
J.  S.  McClave,  who  commenced  the  building  of  the  elevator,  but  sold 
it  before  completion  to  Chase  &  Hurlbutt.  J.  B.  Meserve  built  the 
north  elevator  in  1870.  The  following  year  W.  L.  R.  Johnson  joined 
him  in  business,  and  remained  with  him  a  year.  Mr.  Meserve  was 


ARTESIA   TOWNSHIP.  267 

carrying  on  the  grain  business  at  Roberts,  and  removed  there.  The 
elevator  he  built  here  is  60x60,  with  a  capacity  of  20,000  bushels. 
Mr.  Johnson  has  continued  the  grain  business,  building  the  small  flax- 
house  in  1872,  and  conducts  a  like  business  at  Thomasboro.  The  flax- 
seed  trade  is  a  growing  one,  and  one  that  to  the  farmer  is  fairly  remu- 
nerative. About  1863,  E.  W.  Blatchford,  a  man  largely  interested  in 
the  manufacture  and  trade  in  oils,  and  a  business  acquaintance  of  Mr. 
Koplin's,  called  his  attention  to  the  advantages  which  the  farmers  of 
this  part  of  the  state  would  reap  from  engaging  in  flax  culture,  and 
proposed  to  loan  seed  for  planting  to  those  who  would  undertake  to 
engage  in  the  business.  Mr.  Koplin  became  at  once  interested  in  the 
matter  of  a  new  industry  for  farmers,  and  urged  its  introduction.  It 
soon  spread  over  this  and  the  adjoining  counties,  and  is  believed  to 
have  proved  a  decided  advantage  to  the  producers,  especially  where 
they  have,  as  at  Buckley,  a  market  for  the  straw.  The  average  crop  is 
eight  bushels,  and  by  experiments  in  chemical  quantitative  analysis,  it  is 
found  to  exhaust  the  soil  about  the  same  that  wheat  does.  The  first 
trials  were  made  in  1864,  and  in  fifteen  years  there  has  been  but  one 
crop  failure.  The  seed  now  raised  here  goes  direct  to  Amsterdam, 
New  York,  and  the  practice  of  loaning  seed  is  still  continued  to  a  con- 
siderable extent.  It  has  become  a  large  business,  second  here  only  to 
the  corn  crop.  The  manufacture  of  tow  for  bagging  was  first  com- 
menced here  by  Pusey  &  Crane,  in  1870,  but  lacking  the  experience 
they  sold  to  Jerome  &  Dement,  of  Dixon.  who  were  engaged  largely 
in  that  business.  They  sokl  to  the  Decatur  Bagging  Company,  who 
have  similar  mills  at  Onarga,  Paxton,  Rantoul  and  Decatur,  and  a  fac- 
tory at  the  latter  place  for  making  bagging  for  cotton  bales.  The  build- 
ing which  Pusey  &  Crane  put  up  was  on  Pierson's  land,  west  of  the 
village ;  but  in  order  to  get  more  room  for  spreading  the  straw  to 
deglutinate  it,  it  was  removed  to  the  farm  southwest  of  town.  The 
building  is  36x112,  having  in  it  three  tow-making  machines,  press, 
etc.  The  danger  from  fire  is  so  great  that  the  engine  is  in  a  separate 
building.  The  company  pay  $3  per  ton  for  the  straw.  The  buildings 
and  machinery  cost  about  $5,000.  The  engine  is  run  entirely  by  the 
refuse  woody  matter  from  the  straw.  One  ton  of  straw  makes  about 
500  pounds  of  tow.  The  mill  employs  fifteen  hands  and  three  teams. 
The  mill  is  in  charge  of  Mr.  John  Heaney,  superintendent,  who  has 
had  experience  in  the  business  in  the  north  of  Ireland,  and  in  St.  Law- 
rence county,  New  York.  Horace  Lincoln  came  here  in  1866,  from 
Waukegan,  where  he  had  been  county  treasurer  of  Lake  county,  and 
engaged  in  trade,  occupying  the  old  store  which  Mr.  Riggs  had  first 
built.  In  1871  he  built  his  present  fine  brick  store,  22x60.  two  stories 


268  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

and  cellar,  at  a  cost  of  about  $5,000.  He  afterward  took  his  son  in 
as  partner,  and  the  firm  of  H.  Lincoln  &  Son  is  one  of  the  substantial 
business  firms  of  this  portion  of  the  county. 

Dr.  Nice  was  the  first  physician  here.  He  was  an  excellent  doctor 
and  a  good  citizen.  He  soon  returned  to  Philadelphia,  however, 
where  he  has  amassed  a  fortune.  Mr.  Riggs,  after  continuing  in  busi- 
ness here  ten  years,  returned  to  Chester  county,  Pennsylvania.  His 
life  here,  both  as  a  leader  in  business  affairs  and  as  a  pioneer  in  the 
educational  and  religious  work  of  this  place,  will  be  long  remembered 
by  those  who  knew  him  here.  Always  active  in  every  good  work;  full 
of  zeal,  tempered  with  a  just  sense  of  the  proprieties  and  duties  of  his 
position  ;  a  credit  to  himself  and  society  ;  respected  by  all.  Mr.  Koplin 
commenced  the  banking  business  in  1872,  and  has  conducted  it  success- 
fully since,  managing  that  and  his  large  real  estate  business  in  a  safe 
and  careful  manner.  In  1876  he  was  elected  to  the  legislature,  and 
served  very  acceptably  in  that  capacity. 

M.  M.  Meacham  came  here  in  1864,  and  engaged  as  superintendent 
first,  and  afterward  as  partner,  in  the  sorghum  mill.  He  improved  the 
farm  just  south  of  town,  and  built  the  house  where  Mr.  Koplin  now 
resides.  He  then  engaged  in  farming  east  of  the  creek,  and  for  six 
years  past  has  been  in  the  drug  and  book  trade  in  Buckley. 

Thomas  McClave  came  here  from  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  in  1864.  He 
went  on  a  farm  on  the  S.E.  ^  of  Sec.  22,  just  northwest  of  Buckley, 
where  his  son  still  resides.  His  widow  lives  in  Buckley  with  h.er 
mother,  Mrs.  Greely,  who  is  believed  to  be  the  oldest  person  residing 
in  the  township.  She  was  born  in  Maine  in  1788,  from  whence  she 
moved  to  "Warren  county,  Ohio,  at  the  age  of  thirty,  coming  here  with 
her  children  in  1864.  She  is  still  strong  in  mental  vigor,  and  in  good 
physical  strength.  Her  son  Joel  died  here  in  1869,  leaving  a  family 
of  four  children.  It  reminds  one  of  "  old  times"  to  see  and  converse 
with  one  who  was"  born  before  the  United  States  became  a  nation,  and 
who  spent  the  average  years  of  a  generation  in  the  plantation  of  Maine 
before  it  became  a  state. 

Thomas  Quirk,  who  is  track  master  for  this  section  of  the  railroad, 
is  one  of  the  veterans  in  the  company's  employ.  He  commenced  work 
on  this  part  of  the  road  in  the  fall  of  1853,  and  has  been  in  the  employ 
of  the  company  continually  except  one  year.  A  portion  of  the  time 
he  was  in  charge  of  the  wood-yard  at  Spring  Creek.  He  has  resided 
at  Buckley  thirteen  years.  He  was  here  during  those  terrible  winters 
which  are  remembered  only  by  few  here  now.  The  road  was  new, 
and  no  farms,  buildings  or  fences  kept  off  the  severe  winds.  In  Janu- 
ary, 1855,  a  snow  fell,  which  was  followed  by  terrible  cold  and  high 


ARTESIA   TOWNSHIP.  269 

winds.  For  two  weeks  the  men  employed  by  the  railroad  tried  to 
keep  the  track  clear ;  every  cut  was  filled,  and  when  shoveled  out  was 
quickly  filled  again  by  the  driving  snow;  men  enough  could  not  be 
obtained  along  the  line  of  the  road  to  keep  it  in  condition  for  moving 
trains.  Every  locomotive  on  the  road  was  snowbound,  and  most  of 
them  frozen  up.  He  undertook  to  walk  one  day  from  Spring  Creek 
to  Onarga,  and  he  was  supposed  by  his  friends,  for  a  time,  to  have 
been  lost. 

The  first  school  was  held  in  the  house  just  northeast  of  town,  on 
section  24 ;  then  for  a  time  school  was  held  in  the  house  now  owned  by 
Dr.  Balch.  In  1866  the  district  bought  the  tow  factory  and  four  acres 
of  land,  and  fitted  up  a  good  and  substantial  two-story  school-house, 
containing  room  for  three  schools.  Mr.  J.  M.  R.  Spinning  has  charge 
of  the  schools,  with  two  assistants. 

The  "  Buckley  Inquirer "  was  started  in  1873  by  J.  T.  Riggs  and 
J.  B.  Lowe.  It  is  independent  in  politics;  is  published  each  Saturday, 
and  is  now  under  the  management  of  Gen.  E.  W.  Warren  and 
J.  B.  Lowe. 

The  postmasters  of  Buckley  have  been  the  following :  "W.  G.  Riggs, 
W.  S.  Carter,  W.  S.  Bonnell,  John  Newlin.  The  latter  left  North 
Carolina  when  he  was  a  lad,  because  he  did  not  like  to  live  in  a  slave 
state,  and  came  to  Vermilion  county,  where  he  spent  the  greater  part 
of  his  life  among  the  Quakers,  who  had,  like  himself,  run  away  from 
slavery  and  settled  around  Elwood,  Vermilion  and  Pilot  Grove.  He 
was  postmaster  of  Georgetown  for  sixteen  years,  serving  under  "  Tip- 
pecanoe  and  Tyler  too,"  and  was  a  justice  of  the  peace  there  for  many 
years.  Soon  after  coming  here  to  live  the  people  forced  both  offices 
on  him  here,  and  rather  than  prove  an  unworthy  citizen,  he  "gave 
bonds  "  and  entered  on  the  discharge  of  his  trusts. 

Franklin  Pierson  has  served  as  constable  here  nineteen  years  and 
deputy  sheriff  for  twelve  years.  He  received  two  votes  for  judge  of 
the  supreme  court,  and  would  have  got  more  had  it  been  generally 
known  he  was  running.  As  it  was,  it  gave  him  the  title  of  "judge," 
by  which  he  has  since  been  known  far  and  wide.  Many  another  man 
has  acquired  title  with  less  real  ground  to  base  it  on. 

Louis  Yolverding  &  Co.  built  the  corn-mill  in  1877,  and  in  1878 
built  the  cheese-factory  portion  of  the  building,  which  is  20x34,  two 
stories  high.  They  use  the  Elgin  vats,  and  take  the  product  of  from 
100  to  150  cows.  They  have  made  6,000  pounds  of  cheese  in  a  month. 
They  run  it  winter  as  well  as  summer,  their  room  being  heated  by 
steam  to  prevent  freezing.  The  business  bids  fair  to  increase.  They 
find  a  market  at  home  for  all  their  product. 
17 


270  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

It  is  remarkable  that  in  the  course  of  business  there  has  never  been 
a  business  failure  in  Buckley.  As  a  rule,  it  is  stated,  taken  through- 
out the  country,  about  ninety  per  centum  of  all  who  engage  in  trade 
or  business  enterprises  fail ;  but  here,  with  the  exception  of  some  small 
enterprises  which  were  commenced  without  capital,  no  failure  has 
occurred  ;  and  only  one  fire  has  occurred  that  was  of  a  serious  nature. 
Henry  Crosby  had  a  furniture  factory  which  was  destroyed  by  fire 
about  1870. 

INCORPORATION. 

A  meeting  was  held  January  2, 1871,  at  the  school-house,  to  vote  for 
or  against  incorporating  as  a  town.  It  was  decided  that  those  should 
be  entitled  to  vote  who  resided  on  lots  in  the  original  town,  or  in  any 
of  the  additions  which  had  been  platted.  The  vote  resulted  in  favor 
of  incorporating,  by  thirty-four  to  six.  January  10,  an  election  was 
held  in  the  freight  house  of  the  Central  railroad  for  five  trustees.  The 
voting  was  by  yeas  and  nays,  and  the  following  were  elected  :  Eli 
Strawn,  E.  D.  Hartshorn,  J.  B.  Meserve,  J.  G.  McClave  and  E.  Luther. 
At  the  first  meeting  of  the  trustees  Eli  Strawn  was  chosen  president; 
J.  D.  Riggs,  clerk  ;  E.  D.  Hartshorn,  treasurer  ;  Franklin  Pierson,  con- 
stable ;  and  J.  Haney,  street  commissioner.  About  the  first  business 
done  was  to  provide  by  ordinance  against  allowing  stock  to  run  at  large, 
and  against  allowing  boys  to  jump  on  passing  trains.  To  say  that 
either  of  these  ordinances  have  ever  been  strictly  observed  would  hardly 
be  historically  true.  The  officers  of  the  corporation  at  present  writing 
are :  John  Stager,  F.  Pierson,  C.  Hurlbutt,  G.  Greely,  H.  Strawn,  and 
L.  L.  Marsh,  trustees;  E.  W.  Warren,  clerk;  W.  H.  Hartshorn, 
treasurer. 

CHURCHES. 

The  Methodist  church  was  organized  by  Rev.  Thomas  Cotton, 
largely  through  the  exertions  of  W.  G.  Riggs,  about  1860.  Mr.  Riggs 
had  long  been  a  member  of  that  church  in  his  eastern  home,  and  on 
coming  here  the  destitution  in  religious  matters  moved  him  to  action  in 
behalf  of  church  and  Sabbath  school.  He  was  thoroughly  imbued  with 
religious  zeal,  and  did  much  to  mold  the  sentiment  of  the  new  settle- 
ment by  the  earnestness  with  which  he  advocated,  both  by  precept  and 
^xample,  and  by  a  godly  life,  the  cause  of  religion  and  morality.  Mr. 
Thomas  Cotton,  who  was  sent  by  conference  to  this  field  to  work  up 
the  interests  of  the  church,  was  a  man  of  earnest  Christian  life,  who 
made  his  work  a  labor  of  love.  Making  no  pretensions  to  eloquence, 
the  lack  was  doubly  made  up  by  devotion  to  the  cause,  and  earnestness 
in  the  Master's  work.  Soon  after  he  closed  his  labors  here,  and  while 


ARTESIA   TOWNSHIP.  271 

stationed  at  Pontiac,  he  and  every  male  member  of  the  church,  save 
three,  enlisted  in  the  army  of  the  Union,  and  carried  what  Secretary 
Stanton  called  the  "  sword  of  the  Lord  and  of  Gideon  "  to  the  front,  and 
from  there  to  the  sea.  Every  one  of  them  returned  well  and  hearty.  Mr. 
Cotton  is  now  engaged  in  the  missionary  work  at  Purdy,  Tennessee, 
near  Pittsburg  Landing.  Robert  Hamlin,  a  man  of  exemplary  Christian 
character,  was  appointed  first  class-leader  and  steward.  He  continued 
to  serve  as  leader  until  he  removed  to  Nebraska  in  1879.  J.  G.  Mc- 
Clave  was  appointed  steward  in  1864.  The  church  numbers  about  100 
members.  The  Sabbath  school  was  organized  about  the  same  time  with 
W.  G.  Riggs  as  superintendent.  He  continued  to  act  until  1874,  since 
which  time  J.  G.  McClave  has  been  the  superintendent  until  this  year. 
Mrs.  John  Newlin  is  the  present  superintendent.  The  school  numbers 
about  100,  and  has  a  good  library.  The  church  edifice  was  erected  in 
1861  and  1862,  30x50,  and  cost  $2,000. 

The  Presbyterian  church  was  organized  November  19,  1870.  A 
committee  appointed  by  the  Bloornington  presbytery,  consisting  of 
Rev.  P.  D.  Young,  Rev.  Mr.  Noerr  and  Elder  P.  Risser,  met  in  the 
Methodist  church.  Mr.  Noerr  preached  the  sermon,  when  the  com- 
mittee acting  for  presbytery  proceeded  to  constitute  the  church  with 
the  following  members  :  Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.  H.  Meserve,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  E. 
Darwin  Hartshorn,  Miss  May  Hartshorn,  Mrs.  L.  C.  Luther,  Mrs. 
Louisa  Huston,  Mrs.  Julia  Levering,  Mrs.  L.  Hurlbutt,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
H.  W.  Keehn,  Miss  Annie  Keehn.  Mrs.  C.  A.  Pierson  and  Miss  E.  J. 
Ducker.  Messrs.  Meserve,  Keehn  and  Hartshorn  were  elected  elders. 
Rev.  Mr.  McNair,  of  Paxton,  supplied  the  pulpit  two  years ;  Rev.  S. 
V.  McKee's  pastorate  commenced  May,  1876,  and  continued  two  years  ; 
and  the  Rev.  C.  P.  Spinning  is  the  present  supply.  The  church 
decided  to  build,  and  in  1871  Messrs.  Hartshorn,  Ira  A.  Manley,  and  E. 
Luther  were  appointed  a  building  committee,  who  pushed  the  work 
forward  as  fast  as  possible,  and  in  August,  1872,  the  church  was  dedi- 
cated. It  cost  $3,184.  The  church  numbers  now  about  thirty,  exclusive 
of  those  who  have  removed  without  being  regularly  dismissed.  When 
the  Sabbath  school  was  established,  Henry  Crosley  was  chosen  super- 
intendent, and  has  been  succeeded  in  office  in  turn  by  B.  F.  Levering, 
Rev.  M.  McKee  and  W.  H.  Hartshorn.  The  school  has  an  average 
attendance  of  about  sixty. 

As  early  as  1866  a  number  of  German  families  had  moved  here 
from  Downer's  Grove,  Cook  county,  who  were  members  of  the  Luth- 
eran church.  Rev.  Mr.  Meir  and  others  occasionally  preached  here  in 
the  school-house,  and  in  private  houses.  In  1869  the  church  was 
organized,  and  William  Alden,  Henry  Wolf  and  Fred  Luhsen  were 


272  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

elected  trustees.  They  proceeded  to  build  the  church  edifice,  which  is 
24x40,  and  cost  about  $1,600,  and  the  school-house  20x34,  which 
accommodates  about  sixty  pupils.  The  school  is  maintained  by  the 
members  of  the  church,  in  the  same  manner  as  the  church  is  supported. 
It  is  sustained  eight  months  in  the  year.  The  teaching  is  in  German. 
Rev.  Mr.  Swess  and  Rev.  George  Blenken  have,  in  turn,  served  this 
church.  The  membership  is  about  fifty.  A  Sabbath  school  is  main- 
tained. 

SOCIETIES. 

The  Buckley  Lodge,  No.  634,  A.F.  and  A.M.,  was  organized  and 
run  under  a  dispensation  a  few  months  before  the  charter  was 
granted,  October  5,  1869,  with  the  following  original  members :  E. 
D.  Hartshorn,  H.  C.  Ball,  A.  J.  O'Hara,  James  Outtrim,  Joel  R.  Smith, 
Japheth  Hull,  Ira  Q.  Sanborn,  A.  T.  Drom,  J.  G.  McNall,  H.  E.  Bil- 
lings, S.  O.  Roberts,  H.  Lincoln,  T.  Hurst,  William  Carter,  Levi  San- 
born,  P.  J.  Daniels,  W.  B.  Flora  and  S.  A.  Didama.  H.  E.  Billings 
was  W.M. ;  H.  C.  Ball,  S.W. ;  S.  O.  Roberts,  J.W. ;  H.  Lincoln,  treas- 
urer; Joel  R.  Smith,  secretary;  Ira  Q.  Sanborn,  S.D. ;  A.  T.  Drom, 
J.D. ;  W.  S.  Carter,  tiler.  At  the  granting  of  the  charter  the  following 
additional  names  were  recorded  as  the  charter  members :  J.  W.  Riggs, 
Calvert  Hartshorn,  M.  B.  Waterman,  A.  J.  Whittaker,  M.  L.  Water- 
man, C.  J.  Nelson,  A.  W.  Niles,  Nelson  Soper,  T.  Temple,  J.  B. 
Meserve,  Ira  A.  Manley,  J.  G.  McClave.  The  following  have  served 
as  masters :  H.  E.  Billings,  1870 ;  W.  H.  Meserve,  1871 ;  Ira  A. 
Manley,  1872 ;  Joel  G.  McClave,  1873, 1874  and  1875  ;  W.  H.  Meserve, 
1876  and  1877;  J.  G.  McClave,  1878  and  1879.  The  present  officers 
are:  J.  G.  McClave,  W.M. ;  W.  A.  B.  Tate,  S.W. ;  E.  Luther,  J.W.; 
William . Coultas,  J.D. ;  J.  R.  Smith,  tiler;  J.  A.  Koplin,  treasurer; 
C.  Hurlbutt,  secretary;  A.  H.  Ruehe,  S.D.  The  present  member- 
ship is  fifty-five.  Lodge  meets  the  Wednesday  evening  before  the  full 
moon,  thus  escaping  the  implication  of  being  a  "dark  lantern  "  society. 

The  Buckley  Lodge,  No.  450,  I.O.O.F.,  was  instituted  in  1871, 
with  the  following  charter  members:  Simon  Didama,  W.G. ;  J.  S. 
McClave,  Y.G. ;  Dr.  M.  Butler,  treasurer ;  J.  M.  Hueston,  secretary ; 
L.  L.  Marsh,  William  H.  Cleave  and  Woodruff  Beals.  The  following 
have  served  the  lodge  as  W.  G's  since  that  time:  J.  M.  Hueston,  A. 
G.  Schleh,  J.  S.  McClave,  L.  H.  Hamlin,  L.  L.  Marsh,  James  Patty, 
John  S.  Freeman,  A.  H.  Ruehe.  The  present  officers  are:  A.  H. 
Ruehe,  N.  G. ;  Robert  Watt,  Y.  G. ;  L.  L.  Marsh,  secretary ;  H.  Ruehe, 
treasurer;  L.  L.  Marsh,  lodge  deputy.  There  are  twenty-five  mem- 
bers. The  lodge  meets  in  Lincoln's  hall  Monday  evenings. 

The  Buckle}'  Band  contains  the  following  members  and  pieces:  A 


ARTESIA   TOWNSHIP.  273 

H.  Kuehe,  leader,  E  flat  cornet;  F.  Kerns,  E  flat;  J.  G.  McClave,  E 
flat;  W.  H.  Cleave,  B  flat;  J.  M.  Carter,  B  flat;  E.  W.  Warren,  first 
alto;  Henry  Krumwiede,  second  alto;  J.  D.  Riggs,  tenor;  J.  F. 
Foster,  tuba;  W.  S.  Marsh,  bass-drum;  Elijah  Pierce,  tenor-drum. 

"  The  Farmers  Pioneer  Fire  and  Lightning  Insurance  Company  of 
Buckley"  was  organized  and  received  its  charter  November  19,  1874. 
The  call  for  a  meeting  for  organizing  was  addressed  to  the  farmers  of 
Loda,  Fountain  Creek,  Artesia,  Ash  Grove,  Onarga  and  Crescent.  As 
there  were  none  present  from  Fountain  Creek,  Douglas  was  substituted 
for  that  township.  In  December,  1874,  the  organization  was  perfected 
by  the  election  of  nine  directors,  of  which  D.  H.  Metzger  was  elected 
president  and  C.  "W.  Sprague,  secretary.  Mr.  Colebank  was  one  of  the 
chief  movers  in  this  enterprise,  and  to  him,  more  probably  than  to  any 
other  one  man,  the  existence  of  the  company  is  due.  He  also  made 
the  first  application  for  insurance,  but  died  before  a  policy  was  issued. 
His  death  was  a  serious  loss  to  the  company  and  to  the  community  in 
which  he  lived.  The  annual  report  for  1879  shows  103  policies,  the 
amount  of  risks  being  $97,587.  At  first  risks  were  limited  to  $2,000, 
but  afterward  the  maximum  was  increased  to  $3,000.  The  present 
officers  are :  J.  Outtrim,  president ;  W.  R.  Yeatch,  treasurer ;  C.  W. 
Sprague,  secretary.  The  company  has  been  remarkably  successful 
from  the  first. 

BIOGRAPHICAL. 

Samuel  M.  Major,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Del  Rey,  took  up  his 
residence  on  his  present  place  in  1853.  He  came  from  Tippecanoe 
county,  Indiana,  where  he  was  born  April  4,  1830,  and  was  married 
there  in  May,  1853,  to  Miss  Annie  F.  Lee,  also  a  native  of  Tippecanoe. 
She  died  October  19,  1856.  They  had  one  child,  Flora  A.  In  Sep- 
tember, 1861,  he  enlisted  in  the  9th  111.  Cav.,  and  remained  in  service 
until  March,  1865.  He  entered  as  a  private,  and  was  raised  to  the 
rank  of  second  lieutenant  on  his  discharge.  He  took  part  in  the  battles 
of  Guntown,  Tupelo,  Nashville,  Salem  and  the  other  engagements  of 
the  regiment.  After  the  war  he  returned  home  and  followed  farming. 
October  14,  1876,  he  married  Miss  Katie  Stephens,  who  was  born  in 
Licking  county,  Ohio.  He  owns  172  acres  in  this  county.  His  father, 
James  H.  Major,  was  born  in  Dearborn  county,  Indiana,  July  19, 1802. 
February  9,  1824,  he  married  Miss  Mary  Hartpence,  of  New  Jersey. 
She  died  January  7,  1875.  They  had  ten  children,  five  of  whom  are 
living :  Robert  D.,  Mary,  Samuel,  Susan  and  Olive.  He  moved  to 
Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana,  in  1829,  and  from  there  to  Iroquois 
county,  Illinois,  in  1853,  and  has  lived  here  since.  He  was  among 
the  earliest  settlers  of  Artesia  township,  of  which  he  has  served  as 


274  HISTORY   OF   IEOQUOIS    COUNTY. 

supervisor  for  four  years.  Mr.  Major  is  now  living  with  his  son 
Samuel  on  the  old  homestead. 

Robert  D.  Major,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Del  Rey,  moved  to  Will 
(now  Kankakee)  county,  Illinois,  in  1852,  and  in  1853  came  to  his  pres- 
ent place  and  has  lived  here  since,  with  the  exception  of  four  years  in 
Chatsworth,  Illinois,  where  he  was  engaged  with  a  hardware  and  lum- 
ber tirm.  He  was  born  in  Dearborn  county,  Indiana,  December  10, 
1824,  and  January  7,  1847,  he  married  Miss  Hannah  M.  Richards,  of 
Onondaga  county,  New  York.  She  died  April  19,  1848.  January 
11,  1860,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Ellen  A.  Hitchcock.  She  was  born 
in  Niagara  county,  New  York.  They  have  three  children  :  Willie  J., 
Hattie  D.  and  Nellie  D.  Mr.  Major  has  taken  no  part  in  the  political 
affairs  of  the  county,  excepting  the  offices  connected  with  the  school 
and  road.  He  owns  124  acres  in  this  county,  located  about  five  miles 
northeast  of  Buckley. 

Elmer  Hull,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Buckley,  came  to  Iroquois 
county,  Illinois,  with  his  parents  in  1853.  He  was  born  in  Delaware 
county,  Ohio,  September  15,  1844.  October  28,  1866,  he  married 
Miss  Lizzie  White,  of  Clinton  county,  Ohio.  His  father,  Japheth  Hull, 
now  deceased,  was  born  in  Delaware  county,  Ohio,  March  3,  1821. 
He  married  Miss  Betsy  Lusk,  March  3,  1842.  She  was  born  in  Gen- 
esee  county,  New  York.  Mr.  Hull  lived  in  Delaware  county  until 
1850,  when  he  went  to  California,  via  the  overland  route,  and  re- 
mained there  three  years  and  three  months.  In  1853  he  returned  to 
Delaware  county,  Ohio,  and  in  the  same  year  came  to  Iroquois  county, 
Illinois.  He  settled  near  Onarga,  and  in  1855  came  to  Artesia  and 
resided  there  until  his  death,  October  25,  1876.  He  served  as  assessor 
and  supervisor  a  number  of  years  in  the  township,  and  held  the  offices 
connected  with  the  school  and  road. 

Elwin  Hull,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Buckley,  was  born  in  Dela- 
ware county,  Ohio,  March  27,  1843,  and  lived  there  until  1853,  when, 
with  his  parents,  he  came  to  Illinois  and  settled  near  Onarga,  and  in 
1855  came  to  his  present  place  and  has  lived  here  since.  He  has  held 
the  office  of  constable,  school  treasurer  and  director.  November  12, 
1873,  he  married  Miss  Sadie  R.  Kerns,  who  was  born  in  Chester  county, 
Pennsylvania.  They  had  three  children,  two  living :  George  and 
Frank.  Mr.  Hull  owns  200  acres  in  this  county,  one  and  a  half  miles 
northeast  of  Buckley.  In  1873  he  and  his  father  went  into  partnership 
in  the  business  of  stock-raising,  and  continued  until  the  death  of  his 
father,  in  1876.  Mr.  Elwin  settled  up  the  affairs  of  the  partnership, 
and  he  and  his  mother  became  the  administrators  of  the  estate. 

W.  F.  Horner,  physician,  Buckley,  was  born  in  Cambria  county, 


ARTESIA   TOWNSHIP.  275 

Pennsylvania,  December  28, 1826.  The  family  moved  to  Montgomery 
county,  Ohio,  when  he  was  but  six  years  of  age,  and  lived  there  five 
years,  when  they  moved  to  Indianapolis,  Indiana.  In  1846  he  began 
reading  medicine  with  his  father,  Dr.  Elias  Horner.  After  reading 
three  years  with  his  father  he  read  one  year  with  Prof.  Bobbs,  of  Indi- 
anapolis, and  in  the  winter  of  1849-50  graduated  from  the  Indiana 
Central  Medical  College  of  Indianapolis.  He  then  practiced  with  his 
father,  in  Indianapolis,  for  five  years.  In  1853  he  came  to  Illinois,  and 
settled  in  Ash  Grove,  this  county,  and  lived  there  nineteen  years.  In 
1872  he  came  to  Buckley,  and  has  practiced  here  since.  February  15, 
1860,  he  married  Miss  Eliza  J.  Smith,  who  was  born  in  "Wabash,  Indi- 
ana. Of  their  six  children  two  are  living :  Alice  A.  and  William  F. 
With  the  exception  of  serving  as  assessor  of  Ash  Grove,  in  1855  and 
1856,  the  doctor  has  taken  no  part  in  public  affairs. 

J.  M.  Carter,  grocer  and  hardware  merchant,  Buckley,  was  born  in 
Guernsey  county,  Ohio,  September  2,  1852,  and  lived  there  two  years, 
when,  with  his  parents,  he  moved  to  Benton  county,  Indiana,  and 
lived  there  one  and  a  half  years,  then  came  to  Iroquois  county,  Illinois, 
and  settled  on  a  farm  about  five  miles  east  of  Buckley,  and  lived  there 
until  1872,  and  the  following  year  he  became  interested  in  his  present 
business,  the  firm  being  Bonnell  &  Carter,  which  continued  until  the 
death  of  Mr.  Bonnell  in  1878,  since  which  time  Mr.  Carter  has  con- 
ducted the  business,  and  has  added  hardware  to  the  same,  it  formerly 
being  groceries  only.  His  father,  James  Carter,  was  born  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, April  18,  1811,  and  was  raised  in  Ohio.  He  married  Miss  Nancy 
Heskett,  who  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  and  raised  in  Ohio.  Of  their 
four  children  two  are  living :  James  M.  and  Andrew  L.  Mr.  Carter 
settled  in  Iroquois  county,  near  Ash  Grove,  in  1855.  He  learned  the 
blacksmith's  trade  when  young,  and  has  always  followed  it  and  farm- 
ing. He  came  to  Buckley  in  1874,  and  has  since  assisted  his  sons,  who 
have  been  engaged  in  business  in  Buckley. 

Joseph  Shaw,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Thawville,  hails  from  the  old 
Keystone  State.  He  was  born  on  his  father's  farm,  in  Cumberland 
county,  October  6, 1818,  and  made  his  home  there  until  1853.  At  the 
age  of  eighteen  he  began  working  for  himself,  and  later  farmed  the 
home  farm  in  partnership  with  his  brother.  In  1853  he  moved  to  Illi- 
nois, and  engaged  in  farming  near  Peru,  and  in  1857  came  to  his  pres- 
ent place  and  has  lived  here  since.  He  was  one  of  the  early  settlers  of 
this  prairie,  and  has  witnessed  it  being  transformed  from  comparatively 
a  wild  wilderness,  in  1857,  to  its  present  state.  He  owns  320  acres 
located  three  miles  southeast  of  Thawville.  It  is  well  supplied  with 
living  water,  which  adapts  it  to  stock-raising,  in  which  he  is  largely 
interested. 


276  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

William  McClave,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Buckley,  was  raised  on 
the  farm  in  Clermont  county,  Ohio,  where  he  was  born  July  24,  1834. 
In  1858  he  came  west,  and  settled  on  his  present  place  in  Iroquois 
county,  Illinois,  which  his  father  had  bought  in  the  fall  of  1854  from 
the  government,  through  the  land-office  at  Danville,  for  $2.50  per  acre. 
October  6,  1856,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Sarah  E.  Muchmore,  of  Hamil- 
ton county,  Ohio.  They  had  seven  children,  six  of  whom  are  living: 
Ida  May,  Amer  T.,  Martha,  Robert,  Sybil  and  Zoe.  Mr.  McClave  was 
one  of  the  first  to  settle  on  the  prairie  in  this  section.  He  owns  a 
farm  of  162  acres  about  one  and  a  half  miles  northwest  of  Buckley. 
His  parents,  Stevenson  and  Sarah  (Banghart)  McClave,  were  natives  of 
New  Hampshire  and  Ohio.  They  were  married  in  Ohio,  where  she 
died.  He  is  living  on  the  old  homestead  in  Clermont  county,  where 
he  settled  in  1830. 

Charles  W.  Sprague,  farmer,  Thawville,  was  born  in  Boston,  Massa- 
chusetts, July  12,  1833,  and  lived  there  about  twenty  years,  spending 
five  years  of  the  time  in  a  drug  and  book  store  as  clerk.  He  then 
came  west  to  Illinois  and  engaged  in  farming  in  Stark  county,  where 
he  lived  four  years.  He  then  visited  Kansas  and  Nebraska,  and  in 
1858  came  to  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  and  engaged  in  farming  near 
Loda.  In  September,  1861,  he  enlisted  in  the  8th  111.  Cav.,  and  was 
in  the  service  three  years  and  ten  months.  He  entered  the  army  as  a 
private  and  retired  as  second  lieutenant.  He  was  in  the  battles  of 
Antietam,  Gettysburg,  Fredericksburg,  and  all  the  battles  of  the  regi- 
ment. After  the  war  he  came  to  Iroquois  county  and  settled  on  his 
present  place.  October  24,  1865,  he  was  married  in  Boston,  Massa- 
chusetts, to  Miss  Caroline  Burrill  of  that  city.  They  had  three  chil- 
dren, two  living:  Arthur  and  Emily.  In  addition  to  the  offices  con- 
nected with  the  school  and  road  he  has  served  one  year  as  supervisor 
of  this  township,  and  is  secretary  of  the  Farmers  Pioneer  Mutual  Fire 
Insurance  Company  of  Buckley,  Illinois. 

John  A.  Koplin,  banker  and  dealer  in  real  estate,  Buckley,  was 
born  on  his  father's  farm  in  Chester  county,  Pennsylvania,  Novem- 
ber 7,  1828.  After  the  death  of  his  father,  in  1835,  he  was  bound 
out  to  work  on  the  farm  until  he  was  sixteen,  receiving  in  all  about 
one  and  a  half  years'  schooling  at  the  district  school.  He  then  learned 
the  carpenter's  trade,  and  after  serving  three  years,  he  worked  four 
years  as  journeyman,  arid  taught  school  a  few  terms,  after  which  he 
went  to  Philadelphia  and  engaged  as  a  salesman  in  the  wholesale  dry- 
goods  house  of  James  Kent,  Santee  &  Co.,  with  whom  he  remained 
for  four  years.  He  then  engaged  in  the  grain  commission  business  in 
the  firm  of  Koplin,  Hemsinger  &  Co.,  the  firm  continuing  for  five 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS' 


ARTESIA   TOWNSHIP.  277 

years,  when  Mr.  Koplin  moved  west  to  Illinois.  In  July,  1862,  he 
had  the  town  of  Buckley  surveyed  on  some  land  that  he  had  pre- 
viously purchased,  and  in  partnership  with  Win.  G.  Riggs,  he  opened 
the  first  store  at  the  new  town.  At  the  end  of  two  years  he  sold 
his  interest  in  the  store.  He  engaged  in  the  lumber  business  and 
loaned  flax  seed.  In  1869  he  sold  out  and  engaged  in  the  banking 
business,  and  has  continued  in  the  same  since,  in  connection  with 
superintending  his  farming  interests,  which  have  grown  to  about  3,000 
acres  of  improved  land.  He  has  served  as  supervisor  of  Artesia  town- 
ship for  seven  years,  and  in  1876  was  elected  on  the  republican  ticket 
a  member  of  the  thirtieth  general  assembly,  representing  the  sixteenth 
senatorial  district,  and  though  in  ill  health  the  greater  part  of  the 
term,  he  served  on  several  committees,  and  was  chairman  on  that  of 
banks  and  banking.  He  married  Miss  Fannie  E.  Riggs,  who  was  born 
in  Chester  county,  Pennsylvania.  They  have  one  child,  Mark  R. 

Nelson  Soper,  dealer  in  confectionery  and  notions,  Buckley,  is  a 
Canadian  by  birth,  and  was  born  near  Niagara  Falls,  March  22,  1831, 
and  lived  there  about  twenty-four  years,  during  which  time  he  was 
apprenticed  to  a  last-maker,  and  subsequently  worked  at  his  trade  at 
Cleveland,  Rochester,  Detroit  and  Buffalo.  At  Wattsburg,  Pennsyl- 
vania, he  conducted  a  last  machine,  and  in  1862  came  to  Iroquois 
county,  Illinois,  and  settled  at  Loda,  working  at  carpenter  work.  In 
1864  he  came  to  Buckley,  and  engaged  in  the  grocery  business.  In 
this  he  remained  two  years,  when  he  sold  out  and  went  to  Detroit, 
and  after  two  years'  residence  there  returned  to  Buckley,  and  has 
lived  here  since.  August  3,  1857,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Margaret 
E.  Haley,  who  was  born  in  Ireland,  and  came  to  the  United  States 
when  about  five  years  of  age,  and  lived  in  Rochester  until  her  mar- 
riage. 

Joel  G.  McClave.,  of  the  firm  of  McClave  &  Riggs,  dealers  in  gen- 
eral merchandise,  Buckley,  was  born  in  Warren  county,  Ohio,  January 
18,  1835.  He  was  born  on  the  farm  and  lived  there  until  the  spring 
of  1864,  when  he  came  to  Illinois  and  settled  in  Artesia  township,  and 
engaged  in  farming.  In  1865  he  formed  a  partnership  with  W.  G. 
Riggs,  the  firm  being  Riggs  &  McClave.  They  conducted  the  general 
merchandise  business  until  1870,  when  Mr.  Riggs  withdrew.  In  1871 
J.  W.  and  J.  D.  Riggs  became  partners  with  Mr.  McClave,  the  firm 
being  McClave  and  Riggs,  and  continued  until  1874-,  when  the  busi- 
ness was  sold,  and  Mr.  McClave  turned  his  attention  to  his  farm  until 
1877,  when,  with  J.  D.  Riggs,  the  firm  of  McClave  &  Riggs  began 
again  in  the  general  merchandise  business.  Mr.  McClave  has  held  the 
office  of  school  trustee  for  nine  years,  and  is  now  serving  his  second 


278  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

term  as  supervisor.  May  16,  I860,  he  married  Miss  Caroline  Tribbey, 
who  was  born  in  Morrow,  Warren  county,  Ohio.  They  have  five  chil- 
dren :  Edwin,  L.,  Mary  L.,  Charlie  C.,  Arthur  W.  and  Annie  E. 

M.  M.  Meacham,  druggist  and  justice  of  the  peace,  Buckley,  was 
born  in  Franklin  county,  Ohio,  February  11,  1827,  and  lived  there 
until  1864.  He  was  born  on  the  farm  and  lived  there  twenty-one 
years.  When  he  was  seventeen  years  old  he  began  teaching  at  home, 
and  later  in  an  adjoining  county.  He  also  worked  part  of  the  time 
until  1864,  when  he  came  to  Illinois  and  settled  in  Buckley,  where  he 
superintended  a  sorghum  mill  and  taught  school.  In  1865  he  bought 
some  land  and  improved  the  same.  He  then  moved  to  a  farm  in  Ash 
Grove  and  farmed  it  for  three  years,  when  he  again  came  to  Buckley 
and  engaged  in  his  present  business,  and  has  continued  here  since. 
September  6,  1853,  he  married  Miss  Emma  A.  Benton,  of  Massachu- 
setts. Of  their  four  children  three  are  living :  Frank  B.,  Angeline  A. 
and  Edwin  M.  He  has  served  as  assessor  of  this  township  for  two 
years,  as  justice  of  the  peace  for  seven  years,  and  is  at  present  town 
clerk. 

Henry  Ruehe,  shoemaker,  Buckley,  was  born  in  the  province  of 
Hanover,  Germany,  May  21,  1835.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  learned 
the  trade  of  a  shoemaker.  He  afterward  worked  "jour"  work  for 
about  four  years.  In  1860  he  came  to  the  United  States  and  settled  in 
Chicago,  where  he  worked  one  year.  He  then  went  to  Wisconsin,  and 
after  remaining  there  two  years  he  moved  to  Kankakee,  Illinois,  and  in 
1864  came  to  Buckley  and  engaged  in  business  as  a  shoemaker  on  his 
own  account,  and  has  continued  here  since.  September  21,  1865,  he 
married  Miss  Nettie  Cornehl,  who  was  born  in  Holstein,  Germany. 
They  have  four  children :  William,  Henry,  Minnie  and  Annie.  Mr. 
Ruehe  has  served  as  village  trustee  for  one  year,  and  has  been  promi- 
nently identified  with  the  Odd-Fellow  and  Masonic  societies  to  which 
he  belongs. 

Horace  Lincoln,  dealer  in  general  merchandise,  Buckley,  is  a  native 
of  Madison  county,  New  York.  He  was  born  on  his  father's  farm, 
February  28,  1820,  and  lived  there  twenty-five  years.  He  then  moved 
to  Lake  county,  Illinois,  and  engaged  in  farming  until  1855.  He  then 
went  to  Antioch,  and  engaged  in  the  general  merchandise  for  two 
years,  the  firm  being  Ring  &  Lincoln,  the  first  year.  Mr.  Lincoln 
then  sold  out,  and  one  year  later  moved  to  Waukegan  and  loaned 
money  for  two  years.  He  was  then  elected  county  treasurer,  and 
served  two  years.  In  1865  he  came  to  Buckley  and  engaged  in  his 
present  business,  and  in  1869  his  son  became  a  partner  in  the  same. 
December  24,  1842,  he  married  Miss  Lavantia  Campbell,  who  was 


ARTESIA    TOWNSHIP.  279 

born  in  New  York,  and  died  in  December,  1855.  They  had  three 
children,  two  living.  September  2,  1857,  he  married  Miss  Ange  A. 
Blakeslee,  of  New  York.  They  were  married  in  Lake  county,  Illi- 
nois. They  have  one  child,  Julia  E.  His  son  and  partner,  Melvin  D., 
was  born  in  Lake  county,  Illinois,  June  24,  1848.  He  lived  with  his 
parents  until  1875.  June  10,  of  that  year,  he  married  Miss  Clara, 
daughter  of  David  Strawn,  of  Ottawa,  Illinois.  They  have  one  child, 
Lela. 

James  Outtrim,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Buckley,  was  born  in  Sur- 
rey, England,  June  18,  1830,  and  lived  there  nine  years.  With  his 
parents  he  came  to  the  United  States  and  settled  in  New  York,  near 
Rome,  where  they  lived  for  fourteen  years.  January  26,  1853,  he  was 
married  to  Miss  Jane  Carroll,  of  Otsego  county,  New  York,  and  the 
following  fall  came  west  and  settled  in  La  Salle  count}7,  Illinois,  and 
farmed  there  until  1866,  when  he  came  to  Iroquois  county.  He  settled 
on  his  present  place,  which  he  bought  of  the  railroad  company  for  $10 
per  acre.  By  his  marriage  there  were  two  children,  one  of  whom  is 
living,  George  E.  They  have  an  adopted  daughter,  Katie.  Mr.  Out- 
trim  has  held  the  office  of  township  trustee  and  school  director.  He  is 
also  president  of  the  Farmers  Pioneer  Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Com- 
pany of  Buckley.  He  owns  IbO  acres  in  this  county,  the  result  of  his 
labor. 

E.  D.  Hartshorn,  undertaker  and  dealer  in  hardware,  Buckley,  is  a 
native  of  Madison  county,  New  York,  where  he  was  born  June  4, 
1821,  and  lived  there  about  sixteen  years,  when  with  his  parents  he 
came  to  Illinois  and  settled  in  La  Salle  county,  engaging  in  farming. 
At  the  age  of  eighteen  years  he  began  working  by  the  month  on  a 
farm  on  his  own  account.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  he  went  into  the 
saw  and  grist-mill  business  with  Cornelius  Harris.  They  continued  one 
year.  He  then  worked  by  the  month  for  two  years,  and  later  bought 
an  "eighty"  and  farmed  it  until  1868,  when  he  came  to  Buckley  and 
engaged  in  his  present  business.  He  also  purchased  a  farm  of  160 
acres,  which  he  has  since  increased  to  1,340  acres.  In  1870  he  formed 
a  partnership  with  W.  H.  Meserve.  They  continued  until  1875,  when 
Mr.  Hartshorn  sold  his  interest  to  his  son,  William  H.  In  1877  Mr. 
Meserve  withdrew,  and  Mr.  E.  D.  Hartshorn  again  became  a  member 
of  the  firm,  which  has  since  continued  as  E.  D.  Hartshorn  &  Son. 
March  31,  1852,  he  married  Miss  Marietta  Meserve,  of  New  Hamp- 
shire. They  have  five  children  :  William  H.,  Mary,  Horace  H.,  Charles 
D.  and  Alice  B.  Beyond  the  school  and  village  Mr.  Hartshorn  has 
taken  no  part  in  the  public  affairs  of  the  township.  While  in  La  Salle 
county  he  served  as  school  treasurer  for  fourteen  years,  two  terms  as 


280  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

justice  of  the  peace,  and  was  supervisor  of  Waltham  township  the 
first  two  years  after  its  organization. 

Calvert  Hortshorn,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Buckley,  was  born  in 
Madison  county,  New  York,  July  29,  1827,  and  lived  there  nine  years, 
when  with  his  family  he  came  west  to  La  Salle  county,  Illinois,  where 
his  father  had  gone  the  year  previous.  They  lived  in  La  Salle  county 
until  1868.  He  then  came  to  Iroquois  county  and  settled  on  his 
present  place,  and  has  lived  here  since.  At  the  age  of  twenty-three 
he  began  for  himself,  working  by  the  month  for  five  years,  when  he 
farmed  on  his  own  account,  renting  at  first.  He  now  owns  390  acres, 
located  four  miles  northeast  of  Buckley,  all  the  result  of  his  own 
labor.  January  17, 1860,  he  married  Miss  Emma  Miles,  who  was  born 
in  Madison  county,  New  York.  They  were  married  in  Madison,  Iowa. 
Of  their  five  children  two  are  living:  Carrie  and  Bessie. 

J.  H.  Martin,  dealer  in  drugs,  books  and  stationery,  Buckley,  was 
born  in  Fayette  county,  Indiana,  October  15,  1844,  and  lived  there 
twenty  years,  when  in  company  with  his  parents  he  moved  to  Paxton, 
Illinois,  and  clerked  in  his  father's  drug  store  until  1868,  when  he 
came  to  Buckley,  Illinois,  and  engaged  in  his  present  business,  and 
has  continued  here  since.  November  2,  1869,  he  married  Miss  Sarah 
E.  Pierson,  of  Pennsylvania.  They  have  one  child,  John  F.  During 
the  war  Mr.  Martin  enlisted  in  the  139th  Ind.  Inf.,  and  was  in  the 
service  about  six  months,  serving  as  corporal  of  Co.  D.  The  present 
business  of  Mr.  Martin  was  bought  of  Mr.  Fletcher,  who  established 
it  in  this  town  at  the  early  settlement  of  the  same. 

S.  O.  Roberts,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Thawville,  came  from  the 
old  Green  Mountain  State.  He  was  born  in  Rutland  county,  April 
20,  1842,  and  lived  there  until  he  was  ten  years  of  age.  He  then 
came  to  Illinois  with  his  parents  and  settled  in  Will  county,  where 
they  lived  until  1868.  In  1861  he  enlisted  in  the  9th  111.  reg.  Cav.. 
and  was  in  the  service  until  the  close  of  the  war,  entering  as  a  private 
and  retiring  as  first  lieutenant.  He  was  in  the  battles  of  Tupelo, 
Franklin,  Nashville  and  the  other  engagements  of  the  regiment. 
After  the  war  he  remained  south  buying  and  shipping  cotton  for  two 
years.  He  then  came  to  Illinois  and  settled  on  his  present  place.  In 
June,  1872,  he  was  married,  at  Paxton,  Illinois,  to  Miss  Martha  J. 
Ramsey,  of  Illinois,  then  residing  at  Piper  city.  They  have  two 
children,  Jay  and  Kay.  Mr.  Roberts  has  a  farm  of  320  acres  in  this 
county,  located  about  two  miles  south  of  Thawville,  and  has  earned 
the  same  by  his  own  labor  and  management. 

John  Mitchell,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Thawville,  came  from  Lin- 
colnshire, England,  where  he  was  born  January  30,  1832.  He 


ARTESIA    TOWNSHIP.  281 

remained  in  England  twenty-two  years,  and  then  moved  to  the  United 
States  and  settled  in  Will  county,  Illinois,  where  he  worked  at  carpen- 
tering, having  learned  the  trade  in  England.  In  1857  he  began  farm- 
ing, and  continued  the  same  until  1868,  when  he  came  to  Iroquois 
county  and  settled  on  his  present  place,  and  has  lived  here  since. 
July  3,  1862,  he  married  Miss  Susan  S.  Roberts,  who  was  born  in  Yer- 
mont.  They  have  six  children :  Fannie,  Gilbert,  Charles,  Julius, 
Sidney  and  Robert.  The  last  three  were  born  in  Iroquois  county,  and 
the  first  three  in  Will  county,  Illinois.  Mr.  Mitchell  owns  329  acres 
in  this  county.  His  wife's  parents,  who  have  lived  with  him,  Calvin 
G.  and  Elizabeth  M.  (Dyer)  Roberts,  were  natives  of  Yermont.  They 
were  married  May  6,  1830,  and  had  eight  children,  six  of  whom  are 
living.  Mrs.  Roberts  died  September  8,  18T3. 

Gen.  E.  W.  Warren,  editor  "Buckley  Inquirer,"  Buckley,  hails 
from  the  old  Keystone  State.  He  was  born  in  Delaware  county  March 
8,  1841,  and  lived  there  until  1850,  when  with  his  parents  he  moved 
to  Philadelphia,  where  he  lived  until  1861.  He  then  enlisted  in  the 
3d  Perm.  Cav.  and  served  during  the  war.  He  was  appointed  lieu- 
tenant, and  was  several  times  promoted,  retiring  from  the  service  as 
brevet  brigadier-general.  He  was  in  all  the  battles  of  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac,  except  the  first  at  Fredericksburg.  He  was  taken  pris- 
oner at  Hartwood  Church  by  Hampton's  brigade,  and  was  .held  six 
months  in  Libby  prison.  After  the  war  he  returned  to  Philadelphia 
and  engaged  in  photographing  at  1628  Market  street,  and  lived  there 
until  1867,  when  he  came  west  to  Illinois  and  settled  in  Warren 
county,  and  in  1868  came  to  Buckley  and  engaged  in  farming.  In 
1877  he  took  charge  of  the  "Inquirer"  and  has  conducted  the  same  * 
since.  January  3,  1863,  he  married  Miss  S.  S.  Stewart,  who  was  born 
in  New  York.  They  have  had  five  children,  four  living  :  May,  Nel- 
lie, Alice  and  Frederick. 

W.  H.  Stover,  blacksmith,  Buckley,  was  born  in  Augusta  county, 
Yirginia,  May  4,  1843,  and  lived  there  on  the  farm  for  thirteen  years. 
He  then  learned  blacksmithing  with  Mr.  Page,  of  Staunton,  Yirginia, 
and  served  until  1859,  when  he  came  to  Illinois  and  settled  in  LaSalle 
county,  with  his  uncle,  at  Conyea's  Mills,  where  with  the  assistance  of 
his  uncle  he  opened  a  small  shop  and  followed  his  trade  for  four  years. 
April  20,  1863,  he  married  Miss  Mary  N.  Bennett,  who  was  born  in 
England,  and  came  to  the  United  States  when  a  child.  After  his  mar- 
riage he  moved  to  the  town  of  Freedom,  where  he  opened  a  more 
extensive  shop,  and  later  formed  a  partnership  with  Mr.  George 
Wolverton  ;  after  six  years  he  sold  out  his  business  and  came  to 
Buckley,  where  he  purchased  the  business  of  Donaldson  &  Sleigh, 


282  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

which  he  conducted  until  1874,  when  owing  to  ill  health  he  took  a  trip 
to  Europe,  visiting  England  and  France,  returning  home  the  latter  part 
of  the  same  year.  He  bought  a  farm  and  moved  on  the  same.  He 
also  worked  at  his  trade  in  Roberts  for  two  years,  during  which  time 
his  shop  here  in  Buckley  was  rented.  He  then  came  to  Buckley,  and 
has  occupied  his  shop  here  since.  By  his  marriage  there  are  three 
children :  Luther  J.,  Nellie  Y.  and  Cecil  M.  Mr.  Stover's  early 
experience  was  very  discouraging,  his  youth  making  it  difficult  for  him 
to  get  work  when  he  first  came  west.  But  by  energy  and  perseverence 
he  has  succeeded  in  gaining  a  reputation  second  to  none,  and  his  skill 
and  ability  in  his  chosen  specialty  of  shoeing  and  plow  "work  are  known 
far  and  near.  He  also  received  a  diploma  from  the  LaSalle  County 
Agricultural  Society  for  the  best  top  buggy.  In  addition  to  his  busi- 
ness he  is  interested  in  farming,  having  about  200  acres  of  land  near 
this  village.  His  success  throughout  only  goes  to  show  that  no  disad- 
vantages are  so  great  but  what  energy  and  perseverance  may  overcome. 

Elisha  Luther,  lumber  dealer,  Buckley,  was  born  on  his  father's 
farm  in  Yates  county,  New  York,  May  28,  1824,  and  lived  on  the 
same  twenty-six  years.  In  September,  1849,  he  married  Miss  Lucretia 
C.  Alvord,  who  was  born  in  New  York.  In  1855  he  came  to  Free- 
port,  Illinois,  and  engaged  in  the  butchering  and  stock  business,  and 
in  1863  he  moved  to  Chicago  and  engaged  as  foreman  of  the  lumber- 
yard of  Loomis  &  Davis.  He  remained  there  until  1869,  when  he 
came  to  Buckley,  Illinois,  and  engaged  in  his  present  business,  buying 
the  business  of  M.  M.  Hamlin,  and  has  conducted  the  same  since. 
Of  his  three  children  two  are  living:  Carrie  L.  and  Mary  E.  In  addi- 
tion to  his  lumber  business  he  is  interested  in  farming,  having  a  farm 
near  the  village  which  he  rents  out.  He  has  served  as  village  trustee, 
school  trustee  and  highway  commissioner. 

Eli  Strawn,  farmer  and  grain  buyer,  Buckley,  is  a  native  of  Perry 
county,  Ohio.  He  was  born  March  27,  1817,  and  lived  there  thirteen 
years,  when,  with  his  parents,  he  moved  to  Illinois,  and  settled  in 
Tazewell  (now  Putnam)  county,  where  he  lived  until  1838.  January 
1  of  that  year  he  was  married  to  Miss  Eleanor  Broaddus,  who  was 
born  in  Virginia,  and  came  to  Illinois  with  her  parents  in  1835  and 
settled  near  Lacon.  After  his  marriage  he  removed  to  La  Salle  county? 
and  lived  there  for  thirty-one  years,  during  which  time  (January  24, 
1861)  his  wife  died.  They  had  seven  children,  six  living.  March  10, 
1864,  he  married  Mrs.  Mary  H.  Dean,  formerly  Miss  Hartshorn,  who 
was  born  in  Madison  county,  New  York.  They  have  one  child,  Myra. 
In  1869  he  came  to  Buckley  and  built  his  present  place,  moving  to  the 
same  in  February  following.  While  in  La  Salle  county  he  served  as 


ARTESIA    TOWNSHIP.  283 

supervisor  of  Ottawa  township  from  1859  till  1864,  and  though  a 
democrat  he  belonged  to  the  Douglas  school,  and  used  his  influence 
to  prosecute  vigorously  all  war  measures.  He  has  served  here  as 
village  trustee  for  three  terms,  during  each  of  which  he  was  president 
of  the  same. 

C.  M.  Chase,  of  the  firm  of  Chase  &  Hurlbutt,  grain  buyers  and 
shippers,  Buckley,  was  born  in  Lyme,  'New  Hampshire,  September  1, 
1845,  and  lived  there  twenty-two  years.  He  then  came  to  Illinois  and 
settled  in  Iroquois  county,  and  in  1869  came  to  Buckley,  and  in  1874 
the  present  firm  was  formed,  and  has  continued  since.  His  father, 
Caleb  C.  Chase,  now  deceased,  was  a  native  of  Lyme,  New  Hampshire. 
He  married  Miss  Lora  G.  Goodell,  also  a  native  of  Lyme.  He  died 
in  1853,  and  in  1856  Mrs.  Chase  married  Mr.  David  Hurlbutt,  a  native 
of  Hanover,  New  Hampshire.  He  died  in  1867.  In  January,  1869, 
Mrs.  Hurlbutt  came  to  Buckley,  Illinois,  and  has  lived  here  since. 
Clinton  Hurlbutt,  junior  partner  of  the  firm,  was  born  in  Hanover, 
New  Hampshire,  January  9,  1851,  and  lived  there  until  1870,  when 
he  came  to  Illinois,  and  settled  in  Iroquois  county,  and  later  engaged 
in  his  present  business.  October  14,  1879,  he  married  Miss  Ellen 
Luther,  of  Buckley. 

W.  L.  R.  Johnson,  dealer  in  grain,  seeds  and  coal,  Buckley,  was 
born  in  Whitefield,  Coos  county,  New  Hampshire,  February  7,  1841, 
and  lived  there  nine  years,  during  which  time  his  father  died,  and  his 
mother  married  again.  They  came  west  to  Illinois  in  1850,  and  settled 
in  La  Salle  county,  engaging  in  farming.  He  lived  there  until  1861, 
when  he  attended  school  in  Aurora  until  August.  In  1862  he  enlisted 
in  Co.  C,  7th  111.  Cav.,  and  served  three  years,  retiring  from  the 
service  as  orderly.  Eight  months  of  his  time  he  served  in  the  quarter- 
master's department  at  Gen.  Grierson's  headquarters,  at  Memphis. 
After  the  war  he  returned  to  La  Salle  county,  Illinois,  and  the  same 
year  he  went  to  the  Sandwich  Islands,  and  remained  there  eight 
months  as  assistant  in  charge  of  a  sugar  plantation.  He  then  went  to 
the  Guano  Islands  and  engaged  in  shipping  guano  for  the  American 
Guano  Company,  remaining  there  four  years,  the  last  two  at  an  annual 
salary  of  $5,000  in  gold.  He  then  came  to  the  United  States,  and  set- 
tled in  Buckley,  Illinois,  engaging  in  partnership  with  J.  B.  Meserve 
in  the  grain  business,  the  firm  being  Johnson  &  Meserve.  They  con- 
tinued about  two  years,  when  Mr.  Johnson  became  the  sole  proprietor 
of  the  business,  and  has  continued  in  the  same  since.  He  has  held  the 
office  of  town  trustee  about  four  years,  and  has  served  one  year  as 
supervisor.  September  6,  1871,  he  married  Miss  Tamson  E.  Butters, 
of  Maine.  His  parents,  David  B.  and  Mrs.  Sallie  D.  Lane  (Downing) 


284  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

Johnson,  were  natives  of  New  Hampshire  and  Maine.  He  died  in 
1841.  In  1845  Mrs.  Johnson  married  Mr.  John  H.  Meserve.  He 
died  in  1858,  'and  she  is  living  here  with  her  son. 

Jesse  T.  McClave,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Buckley,  is  a  native  of 
Clermont  county,  Ohio.  He  was  born  June  30,  1842,  and  lived  there 
for  twenty  years,  with  the  exception  of  two  years  which  he  spent  at 
school  at  Oxford,  Ohio.  He  then  enlisted  in  Co.  G,  89th  reg.  Ohio 
Inf.,  acting  as  sergeant,  and  served  during  the  war.  He  was  wounded 
at  Chickamauga,  and  confined  to  the  hospital  for  seven  months,  when 
he  rejoined  the  regiment  and  took  part  in  the  Atlanta  campaign  and 
the  march  to  the  sea.  After  the  war  he  returned  home  and  lived  there 
until  the  spring  of  1872,  when  he  came  to  Illinois  and  settled  the 
present  place,  belonging  to  himself  and  father.  It  contains  680  acres, 
and  is  located  two  miles  north  of  Buckley.  His  parents,  Robert  and 
Susan  (Taylor)  McClave,  were  natives  of  New  Hampshire  and  Ohio. 
They  were  married  in  Ohio,  and  now  live  on  the  old  homestead  farm, 
where  he  settled  in  1830. 

LODA  TOWNSHIP. 

Loda  township  is  in  the  southwestern  corner  of  the  county,  being 
bounded  on  the  north  by  Artesia,  on  the  east  by  Pigeon  Grove,  and 
on  the  south  and  west  by  Ford  county.  By  its  original  proportions 
it  embraced  one-third  of  what  is  now  included  "in  Artesia,  and  two- 
thirds  of  what  is  now  embraced  in  Pigeon  Grove.  Now  it  embraces 
all  of  Congressional  township  24  north,  range  10  east  of  the  3d 
principal  meridian  ;  and  the  fractional  sections  of  11  east.  Spring 
creek,  here  a  narrow  and  small  stream,  runs  across  it  from  its  south- 
western corner  to  its  northern  side,  having  a  fair  breadth  of  excellent 
timber.  The  farming  country  is  as  fine  as  any  in  the  county,  the 
land  being  without  exception  good  and  gently  rolling,  making  it 
susceptible  of  easy  tillage.  The  farms  throughout  the  township 
present  the  appearance  of  thrift  and  prosperity;  the  buildings 
generally  pleasant  and  convenient,  and  the  tillage  showing  care  and 
good  management.  Few  of  its  farms  were  brought  into  cultivation 
until  the  building  of  the  Central  railroad  gave  a  market  for  the 
products  of  its  soil. 

So  far  as  can  be  ascertained,  Alexander  Henry  made  the  first 
permanent  settlement  in  the  township,  where  his  widow  still  resides. 
This  was  in  the  year  1843.  Everything  pertaining  to  the  first  settlers 
in  any  locality  is  of  interest,  as  the  opinions,  reminiscences  and  pre- 
dictions ot  the  ' '  oldest  inhabitant ' '  are  always  listened  to  with 


LODA   TOWNSHIP.  285 

wondrous  ears,  and  like  the  story  of  the  earliest  settler  on  this  fair 
earth,  his  goings  in  and  out  in  the  garden,  his  matrimonial  venture, 
his  "raising  Cain"  so  to  speak,  and  his  various  trials  and  tribula- 
lations,  are  worthy  of  being  noted  down  as  records  of  times  which 
will  never  return.  Mr.  Henry  came  from  Indiana  in  1837,  and  lived 
at  the  western  side  of  Ash  Grove  six  years.  He  then,  with  his  two 
brothers,  William  and  Jacob,  bought  80  acres  each  of  Mr.  Kirk, 
and  came  here  to  make  their  homes.  The  .following  year  was  the 
famous  rainy  season,  the  first  one  which  was  known  after  the  settle- 
ment of  thfs  county,  but  which  returned  with  remarkable  regularity 
each  seventh  year ;  the  years  1851  and  1858  being  each  so  rainy  as 
to  render  it  nearly  impossible  to  raise  any  crops.  During  the  entire 
summer  of  1844  the  rains  poured  in  torrents,  so  that  there  was  no 
opportunity  to  plant,  or  cultivate  what  little  was  planted.  In  the 
frequency  and  duration  of  its  rains  there  has  been  nothing  equal  to 
it  since,  the  year  1869  coming  the  nearest  to  it.  The  high-water 
mark  at  St.  Louis  in  the  former  year  is  still  held  as  the  point  of 
record.  There  were  few  bridges  at  that  day,  and  those  few  were, 
with  hardly  an  exception,  swept  away.  The  pioneers  were  obliged 
to  go  some  distance  to  mill,  and  the  dangers  they  encountered  have 
been  among  the  standing  tales  for  two  generations.  The  singular 
recurrence  of  wet  seasons  each  seventh  year  gave  rise  to  discussions 
— as  indeed  it  could  hardly  have  failed  to  do — of  the  law  laid  down 
more  than  three  thousand  years  ago,  and  found  recorded  in  the  23d 
chapter  of  Exodus,  10th,  llth  and  12th  verses  :  "  And  six  years  thou 
shalt  sow  thy  land,  and  shalt  gather  in  the  fruits  thereof:  But  the 
seventh  year  thou  shalt  let  it  rest  and  lie  still ;  that  the  poor  of  thy 
people  may  eat :  and  what  they  leave  the  beasts  of  the  field  shall 
eat.  In  like  manner  thou  shalt  deal  with  thy  vineyard  and  with  thy 
oliveyard.  Six  days  thou  shalt  do  thy  work,  and  on  the  seventh 
day  thou  shalt  rest."  It  was  often  said,  that  there  could  be  no 
reason  offered  why  this  law  of  the  seventh-year  rest  for  the  land 
was  not  as  applicable  now  as  in  Mosaic  times  ;  that  the  Lord  in- 
tended that  the  earth  should  have  an  occasional  rest,  and  if  man  was 
too  greedy  to  give  it  such  rest,  the  Lord  had  a  method  of  enforcing 
his  orders.  Of  course,  as  long  as  these  seasons  returned  every 
seventh  year,  there  was  no  answer  to  the  Bibilical  argument. 

The  nearest  neighbors  the  Henrys  had  on  the  one  side  were 
George  Conn,  five  miles  in  one  direction,  and  some  residents  of  Ten 
Mile  Grove  in  the  other.  A  brother-in-law,  Wesley  Harvey,  lived 
at  Ash  Grove,  where  he  still  resides  at  what  is  known  as  Pitchin. 
The  first  rainy  season  made  William  and  Jacob  dissatisfied,  and 
18 


286  HISTORY    OF   IEOQUOIS   COUNTY. 

they  returned,  but  Alexander  remained.  The  nearest  mills  were  at 
Covington,  Indiana,  and  at  Myersville,  Vermilion  county,  and  the 
nearest  market  for  their  eggs  and  chickens  was  Chicago.  Mr.  Henry 
brought  with  him  a  few  hogs,  five  head  of  cattle,  and  some  sheep, 
the  main  care  of  which  was  to  keep  them  from  the  wolves.  One 
evening  when  he  was  away  from  home,  Mrs.  Henry,  as  was  her 
custom,  went  to  drive  the  cattle  home.  There  was  one  unruly  year- 
ling which  broke  away  from  the  herd,  and,  being  unable  to  secure 
him,  she  was  obliged  to  leave  him.  That  night  the  w,olves  killed 
him,  and  when  Mr.  Henry  went  in  search  of  him  early  the  next 
morning,  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  killing  three  of  the  fellows  which 
were  feasting  on  his  carcass.  They  had  four  children  when  they 
came  here,  and  three  more  subsequently,  all  of  whom  are  dead  and 
gone.  The  main  traveled  route,  known  as  Butterfield  trace,  passed 
by  here,  and  their  house  was  the  stopping  place  of  travelers ;  this, 
with  the  weaving  which  she  found  to  do,  made  plenty  of  work  for 
Mrs.  Henry,  taken  together  with  the  care  of  her  house  and  of  her 
seven  children  ;  so  that  she  was  never  in  danger  of  getting  into 
mischief  from  idleness.  Now,  at  seventy  years  of  age,  the  wheel  is 
kept  going,  and  she  confidently  believes  that  she  can  "flax  out" 
any  of  the  women  of  the  present  day  living  hereabouts.  She  wove 
300  yards  of  carpet  last  year. 

The  first  school  was  about  1849.  It  was  held  in  one  of  the  rooms 
of  Mr.  Henry's  house,  by  Ruth  Felton.  About  ten  scholars  attended. 
After  this  a  school  was  kept  in  the  little  cabin  standing  near  by. 
There  was  no  church  or  religious  meetings.  Mr.  James  Smith  and 
Robert  Frost  came  in  soon  after  and  staid  here.  E.  O.  Bryden  came 
-in  and  settled  where  Mr.  Coltax  lives,  and  Mr.  Gill  also  lived 
awhile  on  the  same  place.  David  Leatherman  settled  and  lived 
awhile  on  the  next  place.  Mr.  McVeeter  bought  of  Bryden. 
Francis  Le  Ball  had  a  farm  of  80  acres  on  the  north  side  of  the  creek 
for  awhile.  He  now  lives  farther  southwest.  There  was  a  great 
deal  of  sickness  at  times,  and  the  cholera  was  very  fatal  here. 

Mr.  Henry  died  in  1867,  and  Mrs.  Henry  still  resides  with  some 
of  her  grandchildren  on  the  farm  which  they  first  reclaimed  from  the 
wilderness  thirty-four  years  ago.  The  railroad  building  made  things 
lively  in  this  neighborhood,  and  neighbors  began  coming  in  soon 
after  that.  The  house  she  lives  in  was  built  in  1859,  and  is  finished 
off  inside  with  black  walnut,  giving  it  a  decidedly  ancient  appear- 
ance. Henry  Weaver  came  from  Albany,  New  York.  He  lived 
twenty  years  in  "Waj'ne  county,  and  then  moved  to  Aurora,  and,  in 
1856,  took  up  the  farm  he  still  owns,  on  the  fractional  section  24:, 


LODA   TOWNSHIP.  287 

four  miles  northeast  of  the  village.  He  was  one  of  the  first  to 
interest  himself  in  the  cause  of  religious  meetings,  and  has  consist- 
ently maintained  the  interest  of  the  Methodist  church,  of  which  he 
is  an  honored  member.  In  1877,  feeling  the  need  of  rest  which  age 
requires,  he  left  his  farm  to  his  son,  and  took  up  his  residence  in  the 
village,  where  now,  at  eighty-four  years,  and  his  good  wife  past  eighty, 
he  enjoys  the  love  and  esteem  which  faithful  lives  bring  even  in  this 
present  life,  and  the  firm  hope  of  that  to  come.  They  were  the  parents 
of  ten  children.  A  beloved  son,  Abram,  was  killed  at  Stone  River. 
Henry  and  Volney  are  in  business  at  Loda,  and  some  of  the  other 
children  reside  near  their  honored  parents.  John  Welch  came  at. 
about  the  same  date  to  a  farm  two  miles  east  of  Loda.  He  is  now 
dead.  James  Welch  took  up  the  farm  next  east,  and  commenced 
to  improve  it.  He  sold  and  went  to  near  Bloomington.  Amos  Ford 
soon  after  came  on  to  the  Mix  farm  and  improved  it.  But  very 
little  of  the  lands  of  this  township  are  held  by  non-residents.  There 
are  a  number  of  good  farms. 

The  following  figures,  taken  from  the  last  annual  report  of  Ira 
Curtis,  township  treasurer  of  schools,  show  the  present  condition  of 
schools :  Whole  number  of  children  of  school  age,  462 ;  number  of  dis- 
tricts, 7;  average  months  taught,  7^;  whole  number  of  pupils  enrolled, 
341 ;  amount  of  school  fund,  $5,498.51 ;  amount  paid  teachers  last 
year,  $2,297.87 ;  amount  paid  for  incidentals  and  furniture,  $469 ; 
average  wages  paid  male  teachers  per  month,  $35.93 ;  average  wages 
paid  female  teachers,  $29. 

The  Patrons  of  Husbandry  had  a  strong  following  in  this  portion 
of  the  county.  The  Advance  Grange,  No.  335,  was  located  in  this 
township,  and  for  a  time  held  a  thriving  membership.  Among  those 
who  then  resided  in  Loda  township  who  were  prominently  connected 
with  the  institution  were  Mr.  George  W.  Harwcfod,  David  A.  Brown, 
now  residing  in  Kansas,  E.  S.  Ricker,  of  Onarga,  Le  Roy  Robinson,  J. 
B.  Taylor  and  sons,  H.  Hollister  and  David  Leonett. 

The  township  was  organized  in  1856,  the  first  officers  being:  J.  H. 
Major,  supervisor;  R.  A.  Denton,  clerk;  S.  Hatfield,  assessor;  and  J. 
W.  Tibbets,  collector.  The  people  of  Loda  township  seem  disposed 
to  make  but  little  change  in  officers,  as  some  have  held  not  only  a 
"  third  term,"  but  in  the  case  of  B.  F.  Price,  twelve  terms  as  collector 
only  seems  to  have  qualified  him  for  a  further  tenure.  A.  D.  South- 
worth  was  for  six  terms  supervisor,  and  three  gentlemen.  E.  G.  Har- 
rington, W.  H.  Bradley  and  A.  S.  Austin,  held  the  office  of  clerk  from 
1858  till  1876.  The  present  officers  are :  Hugo  Yogel,  superintendent ; 
T.  J.  Healey,  clerk;  R.  McFarland,  assessor;  B.  F.  Price,  collector; 


288  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

and  J.  C.  Dunham,  Volney  Weaver  and  Julius  Yogel,  justices  of  the 
peace.     The  population  of  the  township  is  about  2,000. 

LODA   VILLAGE    (oAKALLA    P.O.) 

This  whole  country,  from  here  south  to  Big  Grove,  where  Urbana 
now  is,  and  west  to  the  line  of  McLean  county,  and  east  to  the  Indi- 
ana state  line,  was  a  vast  uncultivated  prairie,  inhabited  only  by  wild 
beasts  and  reptiles,  when  Stephen  A.  Douglas  pushed  through  con- 
gress the  bill  for  giving  to  the  state  of  Illinois  certain  lands  in  trust 
for  building  a  line  of  railroad  from  Cairo  to  the  northwestern  corner 
of  the  state,  and  a  branch  to  Chicago.  It  was  doubted  whether  this 
prairie  would  ever  be  inhabited.  Many  of  those  who  had  settled  along 
the  streams  which  run  in  all  directions  from  the  high  ridge  near  Pax- 
ton,  did  not  believe  this  vast  prairie  could  ever  become  fruitful  farms ; 
and  without  the  railroad,  and  the  government  aid  given  to  it,  it  would 
have  remained  for  many  more  years  uninhabited. 

When  Addison  Goodell  came  here,  in  1855,  from  Lake  county, 
Ohio,  he  found  room  enough  for  the  sole  of  his  foot,  certainly,  but  no 
place  to  board.  He  was  obliged  to  get  his  meals  in  Chicago,  coming 
down  in'  the  morning,  bringing  his  dinner  in  his  pocket,  and  going 
back  there  at  night.  The  town  had  been  laid  out  by  the  Associated 
Land  Company,  composed  of  those  who  had  interests  in  the  railroad. 
The  charter  of  the  company  forbade  the  corporation  to  become  inter- 
ested in  the  town  plats  along  its  line,  but  it  did  not  prevent  the 
members  of  the  company  from  forming  a  "  ring  "  like  that  which  after- 
ward became  so  famous  as  the  "  Credit  Mobilier  of  America,"  and 
thus  running  all  the  town  plats  along  the  line.  D.  A.  Neal  was  the 
agent  of  the  land  company  here.  It  is  not  known  who  was  responsi- 
ble for  naming  the  place  Loda.  The  name  at  once  caused  confusion. 
There  was  then  in  Kane  county  a  Lodi,  and  the  confusion  of  names 
still  makes  trouble.  A  gentleman  by  the  name  of  Norton,  who  was 
traveling  extensively,  learned  of  this  confusion  of  names.  He  soon 
after  met  Senator  Douglas,  who  had  recently  suffered  from  a  severe 
sickness  while  in  Indiana,  and  had,  while  thus  suffering,  been  cared  for 
by  a  lady  to  whom  he  felt  under  great  obligations.  As  a  tribute  to 
her,  and  because  of  the  beauty  and  propriety  of  the  name,  when  he 
returned  to  Washington  he  secured  a  change  of  the  name  of  the  post- 
office  here  to  Oakalla,  supposing  that  the  name  of  the  town  itself 
would  follow  suit.  It  is  a  strong  commentary  on  the  force  of  habit, — 
and  that  a  bad  habit  too, —  that,  young  as  the  place  was,  those  who 
resided  here  never  got  over  calling  it  Loda. 

Mr.  Goodell  opened  his  real-estate  business  as  soon  as  he  could  get 


LODA   TOWNSHIP.  289 

a  building  erected  in  which  to  transact  his  business,  and  has  continued 
it  until  now,  about  twenty-live  years.  Josiah  Huestis  opened  the  first 
store  here  the  same  year,  and  is  still  engaged  in  the  same  business  with- 
out intermission.  H.  E.  and  C.  O.  Barstow  came  here  from  Massachu- 
setts and  commenced  a  mercantile  trade,  which  they  carried  on  for 
eight  or  ten  years. 

A  noted  writer  has  said :  "  There  is  no  method  by  which  history 
can  be  so  profitably  studied  as  in  the  biography  of  its  leading  men." 
This  is  particularly  true  of  the  history  of  localities.  The  leading  men 
of  Loda  have  made  its  history.  No  man  has  had  more  to*  do  with  that 
history  than  Adam  Smith.  He  was  a  man  of  great  energy,  great  busi- 
ness capacity,  unbounded  expectations,  and  grand  in  the  very  boldness 
of  his  enterprise.  It  is  difficult  to  decide  which  to  admire  most,  the 
bold  dash  of  the  man  or  his  consummate  activity  and  energy.  In  the 
first  flush  of  the  "  California  fever  "  he  made  a  fortune  in  shipping  both 
to  California  and  to  Australia.  He  chartered  or  bought  whatever  ves- 
sels were  in  the  market ;  then,  by  "  buzzing  "  around  a  few  hours,  he 
would  engage  freight  or  passengers  enough  to  pay  for  the  purchase  and 
expense  of  the  trip,  leaving  him  the  ship  free  after  a  single  trip ;  but 
at  that  early  day  there  was  no  return  freight,  and  he  descended  like  a 
stick  after  shooting  up  into  the  business  sky  like  a  rocket.  He  came 
here  in  1855  and  sprang  into  business  activity  as  he  did  in  New  York. 
There  were  only  three  houses  here :  the  depot,  freight  house  and  sec- 
tion house ;  but  he  struck  out  as  vigorously  as  if  he  had  been  on  Man- 
hattan Island.  He  purchased  16,000  acres  of  land  of  the  railroad, 
selecting  such  as  he  was  sure  he  could  sell  at  an  advance  before  time 
for  payment,  and  set  men  to  work  building,  farming  and  developing 
the  country.  His  mind  was  no  ordinary  one,  and  everything  he  under- 
took was  done  on  the  grandest  scale.  He  built  one  of  the  largest  houses 
in  the  county;  expended  thousands  on  an  extravagantly  large  mill ;  was 
the  principal  contributor  to  the  finest  church  in  the  county;  put  up  an 
extensive  building  for  a  hay -press ;  and  built  a  hotel,  stores  and  other 
buildings  on  a  somewhat  smaller  scale.  He  put  up  a  barn  on  his 
farm  capable  of  stalling  1,000  head  of  cattle.  Fifty  thousand  dollars  is 
considered  a  not  unreasonable  estimate  of  the  money  he  put  into  build- 
ings alone  at  Loda.  When  the  income  from  his  business  enterprises 
would  not  any.  longer  keep  the  ball  rolling  and  continue  his  huge 
schemes,  he  went  to  Chicago,  where  he  figured  as  the  claimant,  by 
purchase,  of  large  and  valuable  tracts  of  canal  and  other  lands.  This 
enterprise,  which  would  have  made  him  one  of  the  wealthiest  men  in 
the  city,  fell  through,  and  he  retired  to  Nebraska,  where  he  is  now 
engaged  in  other  magnificent  land  operations.  All  in  all,  he  was  one 


290  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

of  the  most  remarkable  men  of  this  county,  and  had  he  been  possessed 
of  a  good  supply  of  caution,  he  might  have  been  a  great  success. 

Dr.  Foster  was  early  engaged  in  business  here.  He  kept  *the  first 
hotel,  which  Smith  built,  for  awhile,  and  died  here.  Plowman  & 
Yirden  built  a  large  mill  here,  which  was  burned  about  1861  or  1862. 
It  was  a  first-class  mill  in  all  its  appointments,  and  is  said  to  have  cost 
them  about  $25,000.  It  ruined  them  and  some  of  their  friends.  .  Silas 
Yirden  &  Brother  commenced  to  rebuild  it,  backed  by  the  citizens. 
Smith  said  it  must  go  on,  and  finally  he  had  to  assume  it.  He  con- 
tinued to  add  to  it  and  spread  out  until  it  had  swallowed  about  $30,000 
more.  It  was  commenced  as  a  saw-mill,  and  the  lumber  was  sawed  to 
complete  the  building.  It  is  36x48,  with  engine  room  20x48.  It 
was  converted  into  a  sorghum  mill,  and  used  for  that  purpose  two  or 
three  years  during  the  war.  There  was  then  one  run  of  stone,  and 
Waite  &  Smith  put  in  two  additional  runs  and  flouring  machinery. 
After  this  Smith  put  in  a  grain-kiln,  which  was  used  in  the  fall  for 
kiln-drying  the  new  crop,  and  put  up  a  huge  store  room  for  corn,  which 
is  36x126  feet,  having  nine  dumps  in  it,  and  built  a  railroad  track, 
which  runs  the  grain  out  to  the  Central  railroad.  The  extra  runs  of 
stone  and  the  flouring  machinery  were  removed,  and  Mr.  E.  M.  Hun- 
gerford  bought  the  entire  property  upon  which  so  many  thousands  had 
been  expended  for  about  $2,000,  and  uses  it  for  running  his  grain,  flax- 
seed  and  meal  trade. 

The  Virginia  Company,  composed  of  Hon.  John  Minor  Botts,  J. 
M.  Hernden,  John  T.  Lomax,  J.  L.  Marye  and  others  owned  several 
thousand  acres  of  land  in  this  vicinity.  Mr.  Isaac  O.  Butter  came  here 
as  the  agent  for  the  company.  He  died  here,  and  his  son  remains  here 
engaged  in  the  lumber  trade.  A.  D.  Southworth,  an  engineer  on  the 
railroad,  made  his  home  here,  engaging  in  the  real-estate  and  surveying 
business.  He  was  a  gentleman  of  good  business  qualifications.  For 
several  years  he  was  supervisor  for  this  township,  and  was  internal  reve- 
nue collector.  About  1870  he  removed  to  Wabasha,  Minnesota,  and 
engaged  in  banking.  G.  W.  Russell  was  the  first  station-agent,  and 
Moses  Wilcox  first  postmaster.  During  the  intense  political  excitement 
which  followed  the  "Kansas  war,"  and  the  political  unpleasantness 
which  grew  up  between  Senator  Douglas  and  President  Buchanan, 
Loda  was  strongly  republican,  and  it  was  said  that  there  were  not 
democrats  enough  here  to  hold  the  ofiices.  Mr.  Copp,  who  had  then 
recently  come  here,  and  a  young  man  of  strong  democratic  proclivities, 
resented  this  idea,  and  made  application  for  the  office  and  was  appointed. 
He  said  he  did  not  want  office,  but  party  necessity  called  on  him  to 
hold  up  the  flag. 


LODA   TOWNSHIP.  291 

Addison  Goodell  has  been  more  thoroughly  interested  in  the  growth 
and  business  of  Loda  than  any  other  man.  Coming  here  at  the  very 
first,  he  has  continued  a  growing  and  lucrative  business  without 
change,  other  than  enlarging  as  business  demanded  it.  Strict  and 
careful  in  his  business  habits,  he  has  always  done  a  safe  and  fairly 
remunerative  business,  at  the  same  time  holding  the  pecuniary  interests 
of  his  customers  as,  in  a  sense,  his  own.  Growing  up  in  the  Western 
Reserve  daring  the  time  when  that  leader  of  anti-slavery  sentiment, 
Joshua  R.  Giddings,  was  the  prominent  advocate  in  congress  and 
before  the  people  of  those  doctrines  which  triumphed  at  Appomatox, 
it  is  not  to  be  considered  strange  that  he  imbibed  sentiments  which, 
later  in  the  history  of  political  parties,  made  him  a  member  of  the 
republican  party.  When  he  came  here  to  reside  in  1855,  he  had 
never  voted  for  any  congressman  but  Mr.  Giddings,  and  his  first  con- 
gressional vote  cast  here  was  for  Owen  Lovejoy,  who  was,  if  possible, 
a  more  radical  anti-slavery  man  than  Giddings.  This  was  Mr. 
Goodell's  "  record,"  when  in  1862  he  was  nominated  and  elected  to 
the  house  of  representatives  of  the  general  assembly  of  this  state. 
That  general  assembly  was  without  a  parallel  in  the  political  history  of 
this  state.  The  writer  is  not  aware  that  any  impartial  history  of  it 
has  ever  been  published  ;  and  many  of  the  stirring  characters  who  took 
part  in  that  attempt  at  legislation,  only  seventeen  short  years  ago, 
are  now  gone  from  among  us. 

Rev.  E.  Dunham,  who  was  the  pioneer  Methodist  preacher  here, 
was  a  man  full  of  faith  and  good  works.  He  was  born  in  Tolland 
county,  Connecticut,  in  1794.  His  father  had  been  a  soldier  in  the 
revolutionary  army,  and  the  lad  grew  up  with  that  sentiment  in  favor 
of  the  universal  freedom  of  mankind  and  equality  before  the  law,  which 
was  prevalent  in  the  "  land  of  steady  habits  "  at  that  day,  and  which 
was  soon  after  planted  in  the  Western  Reserve  by  Connecticut  minds. 
He  was  early  converted,  and  joining  the  Methodist  church  commenced 
preaching,  and  in  1820  was  ordained  an  elder.  He  was  a  man  capable 
of  great  physical  endurance,  and  often,  in  those  early  days,  preached 
every  day  in  the  week  to  fill  out  the  numerous  appointments  of  his 
circuit.  A  man  of  strong  convictions,  good  mental  powers,  and  strong 
faith,  he  brought  an  earnestness  to  whatever  he  undertook,  which  was 
the  real  secret  of  his  power.  He  early  became  a  coadjutor  of  Garri- 
son, Phillips,  and  other  anti-slavery  workers,  and  was  a  conductor  on 
the  "  underground  railroad  "  when  that  business  was  dangerous,  even 
in  the  Connecticut  valley,  "  in  case  of  accident."  He  was  an  active 
worker  in  what  was  known  as  the  third  party,  and  then  as  the  free- 
soil  party.  He  came  here  in  1857,  and  continued  his  active  labors  as 


292  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

his  strength  would  permit  as  a  local  preacher.  He  is  supposed  to 
have  been  the  first  to  hold  regular  meetings  of  the  Methodists  in  this 
vicinity,  and  it  was  he  who  organized  the  classes  here  and  at  Paxton. 
He  frequently  held  meetings  at  Thomas  Wilson's  house,  east  of  town. 
He  died  in  1878,  at  the  age  of  eighty-four  years.  Full  of  years  and 
well  worn,  he  was  gathered  to  his  fathers,  leaving  as  a  grand  heritage 
to  his  children  the  memory  of  his  good  name  and  manifold  wealth  of 
Christian  labors.  He  left  six  children:  Dr.  J.  C.  Dunham,  of  Loda; 
J.  M.  Dunham,  Esq.,  of  Holyoke,  Massachusetts;  and  Mrs.  A.  B. 
Brown,  Mrs.  E.  Olmstead,  Mrs.  Henry  Alvey  and  Mrs.  Rev.  Pliny 
Wood. 

Samuel  Hackley  was  one  of  the  first  to  engage  in  the  lumber  trade 
here.  Binks  &  Gould  were  early  in  trade,  and  Moses  Wilcox  had  a 
furniture  store  here  just  opposite  the  depot.  George  Delker  and  Adam 
Smith  were  also  early  in  trade.  Daniel  Healey  came  here  from  New 
York  in  1857,  and  has  resided  here  since  that  time.  His  son  is  en- 
gaged in  the  grain  and  coal  trade.  The  elevator  was  built  by  Ira  A. 
Manley.  It  has  a  capacity  of  15,000  bushels,  and  is  now  owned  by 
J.  &  E.  Buckingham,  who  control  a  large  number  of  similar  concerns 
in  various  parts  of  the  state,  and  have  an  elevator  in  Chicago.  It  is 
managed  by  S.  B.  Coleman.  They  have  handled  here  240,000  bushels 
of  grain  in  a  single  year. 

The  Loda  distillery  was  for  several  years  one  of  the  institutions  of 
the  place.  Like  all  such  enterprises  it  had  its  bright  and  dark  sides. 
While  it  was  running  it  made  business  lively,  giving  employment  to  a 
great  many  people,  and  keeping  the  price  of  grain  up  to  a  little  more 
than  it  would  otherwise  have  been.  It  was  built,  in  1858  or  1859,  by 
a  party  of  Englishmen  :  George  Maxwell,  George  Wood  and  D.  C. 
McMillen.  At  this  time  there  was  no  government  tax  on  spirits,  and 
they  sold  at  from  twelve  to  fourteen  cents  per  gallon.  The  proprie- 
tors enlarged  it  until  it  was  one  of  the  largest  in  the  state.  It  had 
eighteen  fermenting-tubs,  and  a  capacity  for  running  1,800  bushels  of 
grain  per  day,  making  about  seventy-five  barrels  of  highwines  per  day, 
and  feeding  1,200  head  of  cattle  and  2,000  hogs  in  the  summer.  Adam 
Smith  run  it  for  awhile,  and  Laduk  &  Gibbs  had  it  for  a  time.  Cleg- 
horn,  Leckey  &  Co.  got  control  of  it  and  run  it  for  while.  They  em- 
plo}red  about  100  men  in  and  about  it,  and  so  managed  it  that  the 
government  never  had  occasion  to  seize  it  for  irregularity,  although 
they  did  indulge  in  a  little  peculiarity  in  the  manufacture  of  the  bar- 
rels. The  stave  which  was  directly  opposite  the  bung  was  made 
thicker  than  the  others.  It  required  four  or  five  government  officials 
to  see  to  it  when  it  was  in  full  operation.  Mr.  W.  A.  Leckey,  the 


LIBRARY 
OF  THE 
•IVERSITY  OF  ILLINO!' 


LODA   TOWNSHIP.  293 

manager,  died,  and  then  it  was  idle  for  a  time.  Archibald  Leckey 
then  took  charge  of  it,  repaired  it  up,  and  the  second  day  after  starting 
it  he  lost  his  life  by  falling  into  a  hot-water  tub.  The  death  of  nearly 
all  those  interested  stopped  operations,  and  soon  after  it  was  burned, 
and  the  ground  where  it  stood  is  now  in  cultivation. 

The  destruction  of  the  distillery  was  followed  almost  immediately 
by  the  building  of  the  new  railroads  which  cross  each  other  at  Hoopes- 
ton,  which  deprived  Loda  of  the  trade  of  a  large  region  of  country 
which  had  before  that  been  tributary  to  it,  and  the  building  of  the 
Gilman  &  Springfield  road  cut  off  from  the  west  a  portion  of  the 
trade  in  that  direction.  A  number  of  her  business  men  found  locations 
elsewhere,  and  many  of  her  houses  were  empty.  The  people  in  the 
country  who  were  making  new  farms  found  it  was  cheaper  to  go  to 
Loda  and  buy  a  house  than  to  build  one,  and  many  were  hauled  out  to 
the  surrounding  farms.  The  town  is  partially  recovering  her  former 
business  prosperity,  and  is  by  no  means  the  dull,  dead  place  that  has 
been  represented.  The  business  men  are  fully  employed  and  are  evi- 
dently prosperous. 

CHURCHES,    SOCIETIES,    ETC. 

A  preliminary  meeting  was  held  by  those  who  desired  to  join  in 
the  organization  of  a  Baptist  church,  February  14,  1857,  at  which 
Adam  Smith  was  chairman.  It  was  determined  to  organize  a  church, 
and  articles  of  faith  and  church  government  were  adopted,  and  a  com- 
mittee was  appointed  to  correspond  with  a  view  to  having  a  council  of 
churches  convene  to  recognize  such  action,  according  to  the  custom  of 
this  denomination.  March  14,  a  council  met  composed  of  delegates 
from  churches  at  Spring  Creek,  Hopewell,  Urbana  and  Champaign 
(Rev.  A.  L.  Farr  presiding,  and  J.  C.  Griffing  acting  as  clerk),  which 
sanctioned  the  action  of  the  church  organization,  with  the  following 
original  members:  Adam  Smith  and  wife,  D.  B.  Davis  and  wife,  J.  V. 
Riggs  and  wife,  and  Albert  Riggs  and  wife.  May  2,  A.  Smith,  J.  Y. 
Riggs  and  A.  Goodell  were  appointed  trustees. 

May,  1879,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  represent  this  church  in 
the  Christian  Association  of  Loda,  composed  of  delegations  from  all 
churches  here,  for  united  action.  In  1860  a  call  was  extended  to  Rev. 
S.  M.  Brown,  which  was  accepted.  March,  1863,  pastor  Brown 
resigned.  August  27,  1864,  Rev.  Harry  Smith  was  chosen  pastor  and 
served  two  years.  The  first  church  was  built  in  1864  and  1865.  It 
was  40X60,  two  stories  high,  and  was  built  under  the  management 
and  largely  through  the  contribution  of  Mr.  Smith.  He  reported  that 
it  cost  nearly  $10,000,  which  is  likely,  as  everything  he  built  cost  a  good 
deal  more  than  it  ought  to.  In  1874  Rev.  John  Dunham  was  pastor. 


294  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

During  his  pastorate,  January  31,  1875,  the  fine  church  edifice  was 
burned.  The  organ,  library  and  carpet  were  saved.  The  fire  was 
understood  to  have  originated  around  the  register,  from  an  over-heated 
furnace.  The  Methodists  kindly  offered  the  destitute  congregation  the 
use  of  their  church,  which  was  thankfully  accepted.  In  1876  Rev.  W. 
H.  Roberts  was  pastor.  June  3,  1877,  the  new  church  was  dedicated ; 
it  cost  $2,317,  and  it  is  36x60.  In  1878  Elder  Roberts  resigned  to 
accept  an  appointment  to  the  Burmah  mission.  The  church  numbers 
seventy-two  members.  A  Sabbath  school  has  been  maintained  through- 
out the  time.  W.  Wait  is  superintendent.  The  school  numbers  about 
one  hundred,  with  ten  teachers. 

A  preliminary  meeting  of  those  desiring  the  organization  of  a  Con- 
gregational church  at  Loda,  was  held  October  19,  1857,  at  which  a 
council  was  invited  to  meet  and  sanction  the  organization.  The  council 
met  November  4r,  consisting  of  Rev.  W.  W.  Patton,  of  the  First  Con- 
gregational church  of  Chicago ;  Rev.  J.  E.  Roy,  of  Plymouth  church ; 
Rev.  W.  H.  Smith,  of  Kankakee ;  W.  S.  Hoyt,  from  West  Urbana ; 
and  S.  A.  Yan  Dyke.  The  church  was  organized  with  the  following 
original  members:  Talcott  Smith  and  wife,  Mrs.  M.  D.  Rankin,  Simeon 
Hackley,  Albert  James,  Mrs.  William  Gould,  Mrs.  C.  E.  Gould,  Miss 
Sarah  H.  Gould,  Dr.  L.  T.  Haines,  Mrs.  Rachel  Haines,  Edward  Lamb 
and  wife,  N.  P.  Clark  and  wife,  Sarah  G.  Clark,  James  Harkness  and 
Dorcas  Hackley.  Dr.  L.  T.  Haines  and  Simeon  Hackley  were  elected 
deacons  for  two  years,  and  Albert  James,  clerk  and  treasurer.  A  com- 
munication was  received  from  Mr.  Charles  Merriam,  of  Springfield, 
Massachusetts,  one  of  the  publishers  of  "  Webster's  Dictionary,"  enclos- 
ing a  donation  to  the  church  of  $300,  on  the  sole  condition  that  the  clerk 
should  each  year  send  him  a  report  of  the  condition  of  the  church  and 
congregation.  The  money  was  accepted  and  the  church  was  named 
Merriam  Congregational  church  of  Loda,  but  for  several  years  the 
report  was  not  sent.  After  a  few  years  Mr.  Uriah  Copp  was  elected 
clerk,  and  learning  the  delinquency  in  this  matter,  the  church,  like  the 
prodigal,  came  to  itself,  and  began  sending  the  annual  statements, 
which  were  acknowledged  by  Mr.  Merriam  by  remittances  of  from  $20 
to  $50  for  the  Sabbath  school. 

Rev.  A.  L.  Rankin  acted  as  minister  for  one  year  from  January  1, 
1858.  K  P.  Clark  was  elected  deacon  in  1858.  Rev.  William  Gould 
succeeded  Mr.  Rankin  for  two  years.  The  church  was  built  in  1859 
and  1860  ;  it  is  32x50,  and  cost  $1,500.  The  Sabbath  school  was  com- 
menced in  1859,  with  Mr.  Gould  as  superintendent.  For  sixteen  years  Mr. 
Copp  has  superintended  this  school,  and  has  brought  the  energy,  tact 
and  spirit  to  the  work  which  has  characterized  his  labors  in  other  spheres. 


LODA   TOWNSHIP.  295 

It  numbers  about  125,  with  nine  teachers.  It  has  500  volumes  in  its 
library,  besides  in  a  spirit  of  missionary  enterprise  furnishing  five 
prairie  schools  with  libraries.  Thus  has  the  moderate  contributions  of 
Mr.  Charles  Merriam  borne  fruit  which  is  of  inestimable  value. 

Organizing  the  Methodist  church  was  largely  due  to  the  ministerial 
efforts  of  Father  Dunham  and  Rev.  Thomas  Cotton.  The  latter  sends, 
at  the  request  of  the  writer,  from  his  present  home  at  Purdy,  western 
Tennessee,  the  following  reminiscences,  which  should  find  place  here : 

"  In  response  to  your  request  for  some  items  of  information  con- 
cerning the  organization  of  Methodist  churches  in  Iroquois  county, 
and  my  share  in  the  work,  I  will  endeavor  to  give  a  few  facts  in  a 
plain,  brief  manner,  presuming  that  there  are  some  who  yet  remember 
me,  and  to  whom  they  may  be  of  interest. 

"I  was  appointed  to  Middleport  circuit  in  the  fall  of  1857,  when  it 
extended  up  the  river  to  the  Indiana  state  line,  and  included  Bunkum 
(or  Iroquois),  and  extended  south  to  beyond  Milford.  Ash  Grove  had 
previously  belonged  to  the  charge,  but  was  then  separated.  One  of 
the  most  prominent  and  popular  of  my  predecessors  was  Rev.  W.  J. 
Giddings.  .  .  .  Then  were  formed  those  strong  attachments  which 
continue  to  this  day,  and  have  caused  my  family  to  regard  Iroquois 
county  as  their  loved  home.  Among  those  who  aided  me  in  my  work 
I  must  make  mention  of  J.  H.  Empre,  D.  Fry,  the  Hogle  Bros,  (though 
not  members  of  the  church),  and  the  venerable  George  Vennum.  Hon. 
Samuel  Williams,  William  Garner,  and  the  late  Jesse  Eastburn.  In 
September,  1859, 1  was  appointed  to  Loda,  then  a  new  and  weak  work, 
with  but  a  handful  of  members,  and  with  neither  church  nor  parson- 
age. The  society  was,  I  believe,  organized  by  Rev.  Jacob  Horn,  then 
pastor  at  Ash  Grove,  who  died  at  Old  Middleport  a  short  time  since. 
My  immediate  predecessor  at  Loda  was  the  venerable  Ella  Dunham, 
then  a  recent  immigrant  from  New  England,  a  worthy  exponent  of 
Puritan  spirit. 

"  During  my  two  years  at  Loda  we  were  favored  with  some  revi- 
vals, the  work  was  established  on  a  more  independent  and  permanent 
basis,  and  a  parsonage  erected  in  the  western  part  of  town.  In  the 
advancement  of  the  church  at  Loda  I  was  greatly  aided  by  the  zeal, 
firmness  and  devotion  of  brother  E.  D.  Hall,  afterward  a  minister  in 
the  Central  Illinois  conference,  and  now  of  Providence  conference. 
[An  extract  from  this  interesting  letter,  referring  to  the  work  at  Buck- 
ley, will  be  found  under  that  head.]  The  second  year  of  my  pastoral 
labors  closed  my  four-years  residence  in  that  county.  I  can  only  allude 
to  my  removal  to  Pontiac,  to  my  two-years  service  in  the  army  as 
chaplain,  to  five-years  itineracy  in  Woodford  county,  and  my  more 


296  HISTORY    OF    IEOQUOIS    COUNTY. 

than  ten-years  labor  in  the'  southern  field.  My  present  charge 
embraces  a  large  scope  of  country,  including  the  historic  battle-field  of 
Shiloh  and  the  vicinity  of  Corinth,  Mississippi. 

"  With  best  wishes  for  the  success  of  your  enterprise, 

"I  remain,  dear  sir,  yours  truly,  THOS.  COTTON." 

During  most  of  its  history  the  Loda  church  has  been  served  by  the 
same  preachers  who  labored  at  Buckley.  The  church  was  built  during 
Mr.  Collins'  ministerial  labors  in  1864  and  1865.  It  is  32x50  arid 
cost  about  $2,000.  The  Sabbath  school  was  organized  with  Mr.  Amos 
Ford,  who  now  resides  at  Normal,  as  first  superintendent.  S.  E. 
Hitchcock  and  Joseph  Hobbs  have  been  his  successors.  The  member- 
ship is  about  sixty. 

The  Koman  Catholic  church  was  first  gathered  here  about  1870, 
under  the  ministration  of  Father  Fanning,  priest-in-charge  in  Oilman, 
now  of  Fairbury.  Mr.  Fanning  has  been  the  leader  in  collecting  most 
of  the  congregations  of  his  faith  through  this  strip  of  territory,  from 
Chenoa  to  the  state  line.  He  was  followed  by  Fathers  Bloome  and 
Yan  Schwadler.  The  church  was  built  in  1874.  It  is  26X44,  and 
cost  about  $2,000.  Father  Cahill  was  first  resident  priest.  The  parish 
includes  Loda,  Rankin,  Gibson  city  and  Melvin,  and  embraces  about 
250  families.  The  priest  usually  holds  service  in  each  point  one 
Sabbath.  Father  Martin  F.  Kelley,  who  is  now  in  charge  of  the 
parish,  was  born  in  Brooklyn,  New  York,  and  educated  there  and  at 
the  Seminary  of  Our  Lady  of  Angels,  at  Niagara  Falls.  He  has  but 
recently  arrived  here,  and  is  giving  promise  of  great  efficiency  in  the 
important  field  which  is  given  into  his  charge  by  the  church. 

The  Abraham  Jonas  Lodge,  No.  316,  A.F.  and  A.M.,  was  instituted 
October  5,  1859,  with  the  following  charter  members :  L.  T.  Haines, 
W.M. ;  R.  D.  Foster,  S.W. ;  J.  D.  Mick,  J.W. ;  Moses  Wilcox,  Joshua 
Huestis,  D.  G.  McMillen,  T.  H.  Swain,  William  Wilson,  Geo.  Delker 
and  E.  G.  Harrington.  The  following  have,  in  turn,  served  as  masters 
of  the  lodge :  L.  T.  Haines,  E.  D.  Foster,  E.  G.  Harrington,  J.  T.  Weir, 
W.  H.  Bradley,  T.  H.  Swain,  T.  N.  Boue.  Lodge  meets  first  and  third 
Mondays  of  each  month,  and  numbers  twenty-one.  The  present  officers 
are :  T.  N.  Boue,  W.M. ;  F.  B.  Coleman,  S.W. ;  Dan.  Healey,  J.W. ; 
Fred  Yeder,  treasurer;  W.  H.  Bradley,  secretary;  C.  W.  Long,  S.D. ; 
James  Baxter,  J.D. ;  George  Delker,  S.S. ;  T.  D.  Healey,  J.S. ;  L.  S. ; 
Kelch,  tiler. 

A  lodge  of  Odd-Fellows  was  in  operation  some  years,  but  the  charter 
has  been  surrendered. 

The  Spring  Grove  Lodge,  No.  411,  I.O.G.T.,  was  organized  Feb- 
ruary 25,  1861,  with  Uriah  Copp,  Jr.,  Rev.  Thomas  Cotton  and  forty- 


LODA   TOWNSHIP.  297 

eight  others  as  charter  members.  Mr.  Copp  was  the  first  worthy  chief, 
a  position  which  he  has  filled  for  much  of  the  time  of  its  existence. 
The  lodge  has  never  omitted  to  send  its  quarterly  report  to  the  Grand 
Lodge  since  it  was  instituted,  and  has  been  in  good  working  condition 
all  the  time.  It  has  taken  the  lead  in  all  temperance  efforts,  and  has 
done  more  to  educate  the  people  to  vote  against  licensing  dram-shops, 
than  any  and  all  other  temperance  efforts  combined.  It  has  organized 
several  other  lodges  in  this  part  of  the  county,  and  has  been  the  center 
from  which  temperance  light  has  shed  its  rays  in  all  directions.  The 
present  membership  is  seventy-five.  The  present  officers  are :  T.  N. 
Boue,  P.W.C.T.;  Addison  Curtis,  W.C.T. ;  Allie  Archer,  W.V.T. ; 
U.  Copp,  Jr.,  W.  Sec.;  J.  S.  Sheldon,  W.F.S. ;  Minnie  Carrington, 
W.T. ;  George  Kinsman,  "W.M. ;  Mary  Middleton,  "W.G. ;  Harry  Row- 
ley, W.  Sent. ;  Lydia  Yan  Hise,  W.  Chap. ;  Carry  Carrington,  Asst. 
Sec.;  Miss  L.  Hungerford,  E.H.S.;  Fannie  Sheldon,  D.M.,  J.  S.  Shel- 
don, L.D. 

The  school  at  Loda  is  graded  to  four  departments — primary,  inter- 
mediate, grammar  and  high-school.  It  is  under  charge  of  W.  D. 
Gardner,  formerly  of  Gilman,  with  three  assistants :  Miss  Emma  Stan- 
ard,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Joseph  Hobbs.  The  average  attendance  is  about 
160.  Pupils  are  taken  through  all  the  higher  branches  taught  in  the 
public  schools  of  this  state,  and  the  ancient  languages  are  optional. 
The  school  year  is  nine  months. 

INCORPORATION. 

In  pursuance  of  a  call  signed  by  twenty-three  citizens,  a  meeting 
was  held  at  Dare's  hotel,  June  27,  1863,  to  vote  for  or  against  incorpo- 
ration. Of  these  twenty-three,  only  J.  Huestis,  A.  S.  Austin,  Jr., 
"W.  H.  Bradley  and  A.  Goodell,  are  here  now.  The  meeting  voted 
unanimously  in  the  affirmative.  "W.  E,.  Smith  acted  as  chairman,  and 
Uriah  Copp,  Jr.,  as  clerk.  July  6,  an  election  was  held  for  five  trus- 
tees ;  thirty-seven  votes  were  cast,  and  the  following  were  elected :  A. 
D.  Southworth,  J.  T.  Bullard.  George  Shafer  and  A.  J.  Hammond. 
On  organizing,  A.  D.  Southworth  was  chosen  president,  and  Lewis 
Lyon,  clerk.  The  boundaries  of  the  town  were  fixed  to  include  all  of 
the  original  town  of  Loda,  and  all  the  additions  which  had  been  plat- 
ted. A.  D.  Southworth  was  appointed  police  magistrate,  and  Uriah 
Copp,  Jr.,  was  selected  by  the  board  to  fill  the  position  of  president, 
thus  made  vacant.  This  incorporation  was  under  the  general  act  then 
in  vogue,  and  soon  after  a  special  charter  was  obtained,  which  some- 
what enlarged  the  powers  of  the  board.  September  1,  1873,  the  town 
voted  to  accept  the  general  act  for  the  government  of  villages,  passed 


298  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

in  1872.  The  present  officers  are :  Frederick  Yeder,  president ;  John 
Madix,  D.  Y.  B.  Holcomb,  T.  G.  Butter  and  W.  H.  Copp,  trustees; 
Yolney  Weaver,  clerk ;  William  Weaver,  police  magistrate ;  A.  Goodell, 
treasurer.  For  some  years  license  was  granted  for  the  sale  of  liquors, 
but  more  recently  the  views  of  the  temperance  party  have  prevailed, 
and  license  is  not  granted. 

The  first  paper  published  in  Loda,  or  in  this  part  of  the  county, 
was  started  by  Gov.  D.  S.  Crandall,  in  1856—"  The  Garden  State." 
It  was  an  independent,  six-column  paper,  devoted  to  local  interests,  lit- 
erature and  home  affairs.  It  was  never  considered  a  great  success  in  a 
financial  point  of  view,  but  was  published  because  its  proprietor  had 
long  been  in  the  editorial  harness,  and  could  not  content  himself,  when 
coming  to  a  new  country,  to  be  "without  a  newspaper  of  his  own.  Its 
publication  continued  for  four  years. 

The  "  Loda  Independent "  was  published  by  Mr.  Wolf  in  1866,  for 
one  year,  after  which  he  went  to  LeRoy,  in  McLean  county. 

Mr.  Rathbun  published  the  "News"  for  two  years,  commencing  in 
1872. 

The  "  Register,"  edited  by  Dr.  J.  C.  Dunham,  has  been  published 
for  five  years,  and  the  "  Times,"  edited  by  Yolney  Weaver,  is  in  its 
first  year. 

BIOGRAPHICAL. 

Fredrick  Yeder,  farmer,  section  31,  was  born  in  New  York,  April 
21,  1815,  and  moved  to  Milwaukee  in  1836,  and  stayed  there  till  1841. 
He  was  married,  in  1855,  to  Emily  Stark;  she,  too,  was  born  in  New 
York.  They  are  the  parents  of  five  children,  three  living :  Peter, 
Angel  and  Tilla.  The  deceased  are:  Frederick  and  Harrison.  Mr. 
Yeder  has  almost  retired  from  active  business  life.  He  helped  to  raise 
recruits  for  the  Mexican  war.  He  was  for  several  years  engaged  in 
building  and  running  canal-boats,  at  which  business  he  was  very  success- 
ful. He  is  a  man  well  respected  in  the  community  in  which  he  lives. 
He  is  a  democrat,  and  in  religion  a  liberal.  He  owns  340  acres  of  good 
land  in  this  township. 

Hon.  Addison  Goodell,  banker,  Oakalla,  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
and  whose  portrait  appears  in  this  work,  is  probably  as  widely  and 
favorably  known  as  any  citizen  of  Iroquois  county.  He  is  a  native  of 
Lake  county,  Ohio,  where  he  was  born  July  16,  1822,  and  is  the  son 
of  N.  P.  and  Hannah  M.  (Griswold)  Goodell.  His  early  life  was 
spent  at  farming,  he  being  fortunate  enough,  however,  to  have  re- 
ceived a  good  academic  education.  He  began  at  the  age  of  seventeen 
years  to  teach  school,  which  he  followed  as  an  occupation  for  about 
six  years,  during  which  time  he  taught  a  private  school  in  Louisville, 


LODA    TOWNSHIP.  299 

Kentucky,  for  about  two  years.  After  giving  up  teaching  he  engaged 
in  the  lumber  trade,  making  Painesville,  Ohio,  his  headquarters.  This 
business  he  became  so  far  interested  in  .as  to  have  several  vessels  coast- 
ing on  Lake  Erie,  which  were  loaded  with  lumber  at  different  ports  in 
Ohio,  Michigan  and  Canada,  and  destined  for  an  eastern  market.  In 
1855  he  came  to  Illinois,  and  in  July  of  that  year  located  at  Loda. 
Having  disposed  of  his  business  in  Ohio  he  again  began  the  lumber 
trade  in  Loda.  This,  however,  in  a  few  years  he  gave  up,  as  he  had 
become  interested  in  the  real-estate  business,  and  in  the  negotiating  of 
loans  in  farm  securities  for  eastern  capitalists.  These  two  branches 
have  mostly  occupied  his  attention  since  he  has  been  a  resident  of 
Iroquois  county,  though  in  1856  he  began  a  banking  business,  which 
he  has  since  continued.  The  building  up  of  the  town  of  Loda  has 
been  due  mainly  to  his  efforts,  as  churches,  schools  and  all  public  insti- 
tutions have  received  from  him  very  liberal  donations,  and  a  generous 
support.  He  may  have  been  actuated  through  motives  of  policy  to 
have  been  thus  anxious  for  the  prosperity  of  the  village,  as  he  has 
been  very  extensively  interested  in  real-estate  in  the  vicinity,  but  his 
generosity  as  well  as  leniency  having  been  thoroughly  tested  in  hun- 
dreds of  other  instances,  would  belie  the  assertion.  He  has  never 
sought  political  preferment,  but  being  a  stanch  republican,  in  1861  he 
was  elected  a  member  of  the  legislature,  and  in  1870  was  chosen  by 
the  people  as  a  member  of  the  Illinois  constitutional  convention  from 
the  district  of  which  Iroquois  county  is  a  part.  Again,  in  1871  and 
1872,  he  was  called  upon  to  represent  the  people  of  Iroquois  county  in 
the  state  legislature.  This  is  the  extent  of  his  political  career  except 
several  home  offices  in  Loda  township.  As  a  loan  agent,  Mr.  Goodell 
has  been  generous,  even  to  his  own  disadvantage  and  pecuniary  loss ; 
yet  his  career  in  this  respect  has  abundantly  demonstrated  the  truth  of 
the  old  axiom  that  "  honesty  is  the  best  policy."  Left  in  early 
manhood  to  his  own  exertions  in  the  building  up  of  an  honorable 
name  and  reputation,  as  well  as  in  the  accumulation  of  property,  he 
chose  an  honest  and  straightforward  course  of  doing  business,  which, 
in  almost  all  instances,  has  been  conducive  to  his  success.  Choosing 
rather  to  sacrifice  property  than  his  good  name  and  credit,  he  has 
during  the  past  "  hard  times  "  met  with  some  loss  of  property.  His 
financiering  ability  has  been  put  to  the  test,  as  in  1873  he  owned  about 
2,000  acres  of  land,  which  rapidly  began  to  depreciate  in  value.  In 
addition  to  this,  during  the  hard  times  from  1873  to  1879,  he  had 
stood  as  mediator  between  eastern  capitalists  and  unfortunate  farmers 
of  the  west,  who  through  him  had  borrowed  over  a  million  of  dollars. 
The  capitalists  found  his  statements  true  in  every  particular  in  cases  of 


300  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

distress,  and  the  farmers  found  him  to  be  a  true  friend,  as  in  every 
case  possible  he  gained  a  reduction  of  interest-rates  or  an  extension  of 
time.  As  a  consequence,  both  parties  have  learned  to  place  in  him 
the  most  implicit  confidence,  which  to  him  is  prized  more  than  wealth. 
Thus  through  adversity  as  well  as  prosperity  he  has  pursued  an  honor- 
able course,  which  has  established  for  him  a  name,  a  reputation  and  a 
credit  not  easily  to  be  won.  In  1851,  while  a  resident  of  Ohio,  Mr. 
Goodell  was  married  to  Miss  Jane  H.  Warren,  who  was  born  in 
Rensselaer  county,  New  York,  in  1830.  They  are  the  parents  of 
four  children  now  living:  Frances  M.,  "Warren,  N.  P.,  and  Bertha. 

C.  O.  Barstow,  real-estate  dealer  and  farmer,  Loda,  was  born  March 
7,  1820,  in  Massachusetts,  and  is  the  oldest  son  of  Charles  and  Alice 
Barstow  (deceased).  He  married  Almira  A.  Stanard,  of  Connecticut, 
September  6,  1846.  She  was  born  October  12,  1822.  They  have  one 
child,  Charles  E.,  who  was  born  June  6,  1848.  Mr.  Barstow  came  to 
Loda  in  1855,  and  built  the  first  store  and  sold  the  first  goods  in  the 
place.  He  has  held  the  offices  of  justice  of  the  peace  and  postmaster. 
His  early  advantages  for  education  were  the  common  schools,  etc.  He 
is  a  republican  in  politics,  and  in  religion  a  Materialist. 

Samuel  Lees,  farmer  and  stock-dealer,  Loda,  owns  400  acres  of 
excellent  farming  land,  with  good  buildings,  280  acres  of  which  is  in 
the  home  farm,  one  and  a  half  miles  northeast  of  Loda.  He  was  born 
in  Pennsylvania,  July  10,  1831,  and  spent  his  boyhood  days  on  the 
farm  until  eighteen  years  of  age.  He  learned  the  blacksmith  trade, 
which  he  continued  to  follow  until  within  the  last  twelve  years.  He 
came  to  this  state  in  1855,  and  settled  in  Mercer  county,  and  remained 
there  six  years.  He  then  went  to  Iowa,  where  he  lived  until  he  came  to 
this  county.  He  enlisted  in  the  late  war,  in  1862,  in  Co.  H,  134th  Penn. 
Vol.,  and  served  ten  months.  He  was  in  the  battles  of  Shepherds- 
town,  Fredericksburg,  Chancellors ville,  and  several  others.  He  was 
married  in  Pennsylvania,  June  19,  1862,  to  Nancy  J.  Hoge,  who  was 
born  in  Ohio,  September  22,  1833.  They  are  the  parents  of  five 
children,  four  living:  James  B.,  born  April  6,  1863;  Francis  E.,  born 
April  25,  1868 ;  Essie  H.,  born  September  9,  1870,  and  Minnie  C., 
born  July  22,  1871 ;  and  one  infant,  deceased.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lees  both 
belong  to  the  Congregational  church.  Mr.  Lees  is  considered  one  of 
the  influential  citizens  of  Iroquois  county. 

William  H.  Bradley,  merchant,  Oakalla,  was  born  in  Lake  county, 
Ohio,  December  19,  1836,  and  is  the  son  of  Joseph  and  Delia  M. 
(Mills)  Bradley.  His  early  life  was  spent  at  farming.  In  1857,  when 
twenty-one  years  old,  he  came  west  and  located  at  Loda.  Though 
brought  up  on  a  farm  and  having  but  little  knowledge  of  mercantile 


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OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


LODA   TOWNSHIP.  301 

pursuits,  he  sought  and  gained  employment  in  the  capacity  of  clerk  .in 
the  store  of  0.  O.  Barstow,  with  whom  he  remained  in  that  capacity 
for  three  years.  He  then  bought  the  business,  and  became  Mr.  Bar- 
stow's  successor.  He  continued  doing  a  general  mercantile  business 
until  1866,  when  he  sold  out  and  accepted  the  position  of  United 
States  revenue  agent,  being  located  while  in  this  business  at  the  large 
distillery  then  in  operation  at  Loda.  In  1871  he  quit  the  employ  of 
the  government,  and  again  embarked  in  the  mercantile  trade,  which 
business  he  has  since  continued.  He  is  occupying  a  favorably  located 
building,  in  size  24x80  feet,  two  floors,  all  of  which  room  is  well 
stocked  with  a  general  line  of  goods.  The  accumulation  of  a  fair  prop- 
erty and  the  building  up  of  a  good  business  have  been  the  result  of 
his  own  energy  and  industry.  Mr.  Bradley  was  married,  November  3, 
1862,  to  Miss  Laura  A.  Southworth,  who  was  born  in  Oneida  county, 
New  York,  in  1837.  They  have  three  children  living :  William  H., 
Carrie  F.  and  Elouise. 

T.  J.  Healey,  grain-dealer,  Oakalla,  is  another  of  the  stirring  busi- 
ness men  of  Loda.  He  was  born  in  Livingston  county,  New  York, 
November  28,  ]851.  In  1857,  when  still  a  child,  he  came  west  with 
his  people,  his  father  locating  at  Loda,  where  T.  J.  spent  his  early  life 
attending  the  schools  of  that  place,  and  later  taking  a  very  thorough 
course  at  the  Normal  University.  At  eighteen  years  of  age  he  began 
teaching,  and  for  about  three  years  was  engaged  in  that  business  in 
Loda  and  vicinity.  In  1875  he  became  his  father's  successor  in  the 
coal  trade,  to  which  he  added  agricultural  implements,  and  also  en- 
gaged in  the  grain  trade.  In  each  of  these  three  branches  of  trade  he 
is  now  doing  quite  an  extensive  business.  He  is  now  holding  the 
office  of  town  clerk,  and  is  filling  his  second  term  of  office  as  police 
magistrate.  In  1876,  on  November  28,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Flor- 
ence Curtis,  of  Painesville,  Ohio.  They  have  by  this  union  but  one 
child,  Miss  Bessie  L.  Though  a  yorfng  man,  Mr.  Healey  has  taken  an 
active  part  in  all  matters  relating  to  the  general  welfare  of  the  public, 
and  especially  to  the  people  of  Loda,  who  have  already  recognized  in 
him  both  ability  and  honesty,  and  have,  as  a  consequence,  placed  him 
in  such  responsible  positions  as  could  be  bestowed  by  their  ballots. 

Henry  Alvey,  farmer,  Oakalla,  section  22,  was  born  in  England, 
September  3,  1833.  His  father  was  a  glove-maker.  Mr.  Alvey  assisted 
his  father  in  carrying  on  the  trade  until  he  came  to  America,  in  1848. 
He  came  to  this  county  in  1857,  and  settled  near  where  he  now  resides. 
He  was  married  in  1855  to  Sarah  A.  Dunham.  They  are  the  parents 
of  six  children,  three  living.  Mr.  Alvey  has  held  the  office  of  school 
director  and  road  master.  Mrs.  Alvey's  father  was  one  of  the  first 
19 


302  HISTORY   OF  IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

Methodist  preachers  in  this  township.  He  established  the  first  Meth- 
odist church  in  Loda.  Mr.  Alvey  is  a  republican,  and  in  religion  a 
Methodist.  He  owns  40  acres  o£fine  farm  land,  worth  $45  per  acre. 

Edward  Olmsted,  farmer,  Oakalla,  section  32,  was  born  in  Connect- 
icut, May  27,  1822.  He  came  to  this  state  in  1857,  and  settled  on  his 
present  farm.  His  chances  for  an  education  were  fair.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  Connecticut,  in  1850,  to  Lydia  "W.  Dunham,  who  was  born  in  Con- 
necticut, July  18, 1825.  They  have  two  children  by  this  union  :  Isadora 
T.,  born  in  1852,  now  wife  of  John  H.  Harwood,  of  Topeka,  Kansas ; 
and  Edward  D.,  born  March  16,  1856.  Mr.  Olmsted  is  of  English 
descent,  and  is  well  respected  in  the  neighborhood  where  he  resides. 
He  is  a  republican,  and  his  religious  views  are  Methodist. 

Henry  Weaver,  Jr.,  hotel  and  restaurant  keeper,  Oakalla,  was  born 
in  "Wayne  county,  New  York,  April  20,  1836,  and  is  the  son  of  Henry 
Weaver,  Sr.,  who  is  also  a  native  of  New  York,  and  who  was  born 
November  8,  1798,  and  is  now  residing  with  the  subject  of  this 
sketch.  When  Henry  Weaver,  Jr.,  first  came  to  Illinois  he  settled  in 
Kane  county,  and  remained  there  but  a  short  time,  and  then  removed 
to  Iroquois  county,  where  for  about  ten  years  he  was  engaged  in  farm- 
ing. This  period  includes  the  time  spent  in  the  army,  which  he 
entered  as  a  volunteer  during  the  rebellion  of  1861-5.  He  enlisted,  in 
1861,  in  Co.  F,  8th  111.  Cav.,  three-years  service,  Gov.  Beveridge  being 
his  captain.  He  remained  in  the  service  about  eight  months,  and  was 
discharged  at  Alexandria  on  account  of  disability.  After  leaving  the 
farm  he  accepted  the  position  of  station  baggage-master  for  the  Illinois 
Central  railroad,  and  for  about  twelve  years  continued  in  their  employ, 
during  which  time  he  was  located  at  Loda.  In  November,  1878,  he 
quit  the  railroad  and  engaged  in  keeping  a  hotel  and  restaurant,  in 
which  business  he  is  still  engaged.  Mr.  Weaver  was  married  to  Miss 
Harriet  M.  Price.  They  have  had  seven  children,  five  of  whom  are 
living :  Abram  H.,  Percy  L.,  ^Cdith,  Gertrude  and  Freddie.  The 
deceased  were  Bertha  and  George. 

Frederick  Kemp,  farmer  and  stock-dealer,  Oakalla,  w-as  born  in 
Maryland,  July  10,  1816,  and  has  followed  the  occupation  of  farmer 
through  life.  His  chances  for  an  education  were  poor.  He  went  to 
the  old  style  log  school-house,  with  a  fire-place  reaching  across  one  end, 
greased  paper  for  window  glass,  and  clap-board  door.  He  came  to  this 
state  in  1855,  and  settled  near  Champaign.  He  remained  there  four 
years,  and  then  came  to  this  county.  Mr.  Kemp  has  held  the  office  of 
township  treasurer  four  years,  and  trustee  one  term,  and  this  office  he 
still  holds.  He  was  married  in  Ohio,  April  12,  1838,  to  Hannah  A. 
Johnson.  She  was  born  in. 1816.  They  are  the  parents  of  four  chil- 


LODA   TOWNSHIP.  303 

dren,  three  living :  John  D.,  Bartley  E.  and  William  J.  The  deceased 
was  Luther.  Mr.  Kemp  is  a  well-to-do  farmer,  and  respected  in  the 
neighborhood  in  which  he  resides.  He  owns  100  acres  of  good  land  in 
this  township. 

Robert  McFarland,  farmer,  Oakalla,  owns  86  acres  of  well  improved 
farm  land,  worth  $50  per  acre.  He  was  born  in  Ireland,  March  26, 
1832.  He  remained  on  the  farm  until  fourteen  years  of  age,  when  he 
commenced  clerking  for  a  grain-dealer.  He  came  to  America  in  1857, 
and  stopped  in  Ohio  two  years.  He  then  came  to  this  state,  settling 
in  Iroquois  county  in  1859,  and  clerked  six  years  in  Loda,  then  went 
to  farming.  He  has  held  the  office  of  school  director,  school  trustee 
and  assessor.  Mr.  McFarland  is  of  Scotch  descent.  He  was  married 
in  New  York,  in  1861,  to  Ellen  McClelland.  She  was  born  in  Ireland. 
They  are  the  parents  of  three  children  :  Mary  J.,  William  A.,  and 
Martha  E.  He  is  a  republican  in  politics,  and  in  religion  a  Presby- 
terian. 

John  Marvin,  farmer  and  stock-dealer,  Oakalla,  was  born  in  Indiana, 
November  4,  1833.  He  was  brought  up  a  farmer,  which  occupation  he 
has  followed  through  life.  His  chances  for  an  education  were  limited. 
He  came  to  this  county  in  1860,  and  settled  where  he  now  resides. 
Mr.  Marvin  has  held  the  office  of  supervisor  for  four  years,  school 
trustee  for  two  years,  and  school  director  twenty  years.  Mr.  Marvin  was 
married  in  Indiana,  February  4,  1854, *to  Margaret  Newlin,  who  was 
born  in  Indiana,  December  25,  1835.  They  have  by  this  union  seven 
children,  six  living :  William,  Jesse,  Emma,  Edward,  Ella  and  Eliza. 
The  deceased  was  Charles,  who  was  drowned  in  1874.  Mr.  Marvin  is 
known  as  one  of  the  most  influential  citizens  of  Iroquois  county.  He 
is  a  republican,  and  as  regards  religion  is  a  Materialist.  He  owns  218 
acres  of  tine  land  in  this  township. 

W.  S.  Hawk,  proprietor  of  the  Reed  House,  of  Loda,  and  one 
among  the  older  class  of  citizens  of  the  town,  was  born  in  Erie  county, 
Pennsylvania,  October  25, 1829,  and  is  the  son  of  Erastus  and  Amanda 
(Parker)  Hawk,  both  natives  of  the  state  of  Yermont.  His  life  was 
spent  on  a  farm  until  the  age  of  sixteen  years.  He  was  then  placed 
in  the  position  of  turnkey,  under  his  uncle,  in  the  jail  of  Erie  county, 
Pennsylvania.  This  position  he  held  three  years,  and  then  accepted 
the  position  of  baggage-master  on  the  New  York  &  Erie  railroad. 
This  position  he  held  for  six  years,  when  he  quit  railroading  and  came 
west,  stopping  at  La  Porte,  Indiana,  for  about  three  years.  In  1862 
he  started  on  a  trip  farther  west,  his  destination  being  Pike's  Peak, 
Colorado,  but  after  having  spent  about  six  months  in  traveling  over 
the  western  prairies  he  returned  east  as  far  as  Illinois  and  located  in 


304  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

Loda,  where  he  has  since  resided.  Mr.  Hawk  has  been  twice  married: 
first  in  Indiana,  in  1858,  to  Miss  Henrietta  Reed,  who  was  also  a  native 
of  Pennsylvania,  and  who  was  born  in  1839.  Her  death  occurred  in 
1868.  His  second  marriage  was  to  Miss  Cornelia  Dean,  a  native  of 
New  York  city,  in  1876.  She  was  born  May  17,  1854.  By  the  first 
marriage  he  has  three  children  :  Jay  D.,  Eddie  and  Clara.  Mr.  Hawk 
is  keeping  the  only  hotel  of  Loda,  and  it  is  a  large  three-story  house, 
well  furnished  and  nicely  managed.  The  building,  and  also  the 
grounds  attached,  which  are  quite  extensive,  belong  to  him,  all  of 
which  are  the  result  of  his  own  energy  and  industry. 

Samuel  McCracken,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Loda,  was  born  in  Ire- 
land in  1820.  He  was  brought  up  to  the  occupation  of  a  farmer, 
which  occupation  he  has  followed  successfully  through  life.  He  came 
to  America  in  1851,  and  settled  in  Massachusetts  a  short  time,  then 
went  to  Pennsylvania.  After  remaining  a  short  time  he  came  to  this 
state  in  1863,  and  settled  where  he  now  resides,  one  and  a  half  miles 
northeast  of  Loda.  He  is  a  good  farmer,  and  handles  some  cattle, 
hogs  and  sheep.  He  was  married  in  Pennsylvania,  in  1857,  to  Mar- 
garet Galo,  who  was  born  in  Pennsylvania.  They  have  had  six  chil- 
dren by  this  union,  five  living.  In  politics  he  is  a  republican,  and  his 
religious  views  are  Presbyterian.  His  parents  were  natives  of  Ireland, 
and  were  of  Scotch  descent.  He  owns  320  acres  of  fine  land  in  this 
township. 

T.  B.  Kinsman,  blacksmith,  Oakalla,  was  born  in  England,  June  24, 
1827.  His  early  life  was  spent  at  farming.  At  the  age  of  nineteen 
years  he  began  learning  the  trade  of  a  blacksmith,  this  having  been  his 
business  through  life.  In  1832  he  left  England  and  settled  in  Canada, 
where  he  remained  until  1865.  He  then  came  to  the  state  of  Illinois 
and  located  at  Loda,  which  has  since  been  his  home.  He  was  married 
in  1850,  while  in  Canada,  to  Miss  Harriet  Cotton,  a  native  of  England. 
They  are  the  parents  of  eleven  children,  eight  living :  Sarah,  wife  of 
F.  Stroup ;  Thomas,  William,  George,  Silas,  Charles,  Gertrude  and 
Minnie.  The  deceased  were  :  Louisa,  Frankie  and  Freddie.  Mr.  Kins- 
man has  recently  become  quite  extensively  interested  in  farming,  he 
now  having  320  acres  of  land  under  cultivation.  This  work  is  carried 
on  mainly  by  his  sons,  while  he  attends  to  the  smithing.  When  he 
came  to  Illinois  in  1865  he  was  offered  a  good  position  in  the  shops  of 
the  Illinois  Central  railroad,  but  preferring  to  draw  his  family  away 
from  the  many  temptations  of  the  city,  he  became  a  resident  of  Loda. 
In  politics  he  is  a  republican.  He  is  a  member  of  the  A.F.  and  A.M., 
and  of  the  M.  E.  church,  and  a  man  whose  reputation  for  honesty  has 
been  earned  by  honorable  deeds. 


LODA   TOWNSHIP.  305 

"W.  L.  Kinsman,  salesman,  Oakalla,  is  one  of  the  energetic  young 
men  of  Loda.  He  is  a  native  of  Canada,  where  he  was  born  Novem- 
ber 18,  1857.  In  1865  he  came  to  Loda  with  his  parents,  where  he 
continued  his  studies,  in  which  he  had  made  very  rapid  progress  in 
Canada.  For  about  eight  years  he  continued  to  attend  school,  in 
which  time  he  secured  a  good  education.  For  a  short  time  after  leav- 
ing school  he  was  engaged  in  the  grain  trade,  but  giving  that  up  he 
began  as  salesman  in  one  of  Loda's  prominent  business  houses,  in  which 
he  has  since  continued.  April  24, 1879,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Louise 
J.  Stroup,  who  is  a  native  of  Illinois.  In  his  political  views  Mr.  Kins- 
man is  a  republican.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Congregational  church, 
and  withal  a  young  man  of  good  morals,  good  habits  and  a  good  repu- 
tation. 

T.  N.  Boue,  physician  and  surgeon,  Oakalla,  was  born  in  Fountain 
county,  Indiana,  May  18,  1837,  and  is  the  son  of  L.  D.  and  Eleanor 
(Moffette)  Boue.  He  received  his  literary  education  at  the  academies 
of  Waveland  and  Ladoga,  after  which  he  began  the  study  of  medicine 
under  Dr.  J.  Adkins,  of  Covington.  He  attended  the  Rush  Medical 
College  of  Chicago,  during  the  winter  of  1863-4.  Again,  in  1865-6, 
he  took  a  second  course  at  the  same  college,  from  which  he  graduated 
in  the  spring  of  1866,  after  which  he  located  at  Loda  and  began  a  reg- 
ular practice.  He  has  had  good  success,  establishing  an  extensive  and 
lucrative  practice.  The  doctor  is  a  member  of  Mount  Olivet  Com- 
mandery,  A.F.  and  A.M.,  No.  38,  of  Paxton ;  Ford  Chapter,  No.  138, 
of  Paxton;  and  the  Blue  Lodge,  of  Loda,  No.  316.  June  3,  1867,  he 
was  married  to  Miss  Effie  L.  Burnette,  now  deceased.  She  was  a  native 
of  Ohio,  born  in  1842,  and  died  September  29,  1875. 

Joseph  Holmes,  farmer,  Oakalla,  section  26,  was  born  in  New  Jer- 
sey, November  20,  1819.  He  was  raised  in  the  city.  His  chances  for 
an  education  were  limited.  He  came  to  this  state  in  1835  with  his 
father,  who  settled  in  Putnam  county.  He  remained  there  until  1846, 
and  then  went  to  Henry.  He  came  to  this  county  in  1868  and  settled 
on  his  present  farm.  Mr.  Holmes  has  held  the  office  of  supervisor  of 
township  two  terms,  and  assessor  two  terms.  He  is  at  present  com- 
missioner of  roads.  He  was  married  in  Putnam  county,  this  state,  in 
1846,  to  Miss  Avis  F.  Taylor.  She  was  born  in  Massachusetts,  May 
21,  1825.  They  had  ten  children  by  this  union,  six  living:  Sarah, 
wife  of  C.  Weaver,  of  Pigeon  Grove  township ;  Ella,  Mary,  J.  H., 
Asa  M.,  Samuel  J.  The  deceased  were :  Ruth,  Benjamin,  Jennie  and 
John  L.  Mr.  Holmes  is  one  of  the  solid  men  of  Iroquois  county.  He 
and  his  accomplished  lady  are  both  Swedenborgians.  He  is  a  republi- 
can in  politics. 


306  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

B.  F.  Price,  express  agent,  Loda,  is  the  fourth  son  of  "William  and 
Jane  G.  Price,  who  are  the  parents  of  eight  children,  one  daughter 
and  seven  sons,  all  born  in  Broome  county,  New  York.  They  moved 
to  this  county  in  1860.  Menette  married  Henry  Weaver,  of  this 
place.  Joseph  C.,  George  A.,  B.  F.  and  John  D.  are  still  living,  and 
are  a  credit  to  their  very  much  respected  parents.  B.  F.  was  born  in 
New  York,  May  12,  1843,  and  was  a  farmer  until  August  of  1862, 
when  he  enlisted  in  Co.  M,  9th  111.  Vol.  Cav.  He  served  three  years, 
and  was  in  several  skirmishes  and  one  battle,  at  Guntown,  Mississippi, 
in  which  he  received  a  gun-shot  wound  in  the  left  arm,  which  arm 
had  to  be  amputated  June  13,  1864.  He  has  held  the  office  of  town 
collector  twelve  years,  deputy  sheriff  ten  years,  constable  ten  years, 
and  express  agent  twelve  years.  He  was  married  in  this  state  in  1867, 
to  Olive  Major,  who  was  born  in  Indiana  in  1843.  They  have  by  this 
union  had  two  children  :  Addie  A.,  born  October  31, 1868;  and  Major, 
born  December  30,  1873.  All  of  the  above  are  republicans,  and  all 
liberals. 

John  B.  Taylor,  farmer,  Oakalla,  section  22,  was  born  in  Tennessee, 
November  5,  1825.  He  has  followed  the  occupation  of  a  farmer  suc- 
cessfully through  life.  He  moved  with  his  father  to  this  state  when 
but  two  years  of  age,  and  settled  in  Pike  county.  He  staid  there 
twenty-five  years,  and  in  1869  came  to  this  county  and  settled  where 
he  now  lives.  He  was  married  to  Mary  Gregory,  who  was  born  in 
this  state  November  9,  1832.  They  are  the  parents  of  seven  children, 
six  living:  Joel,  David,  Martha,  Lizzie,  Mary  and  Warren.  Mr.  Tay- 
lor's father  died  when  he  was  but  three  years  old,  therefore  he  has  been 
obliged  to  make  his  way  through  the  world  unaided.  He  now  owns 
360  acres  of  good  land  in  this  township.  He  is  a  republican,  and  a 
member  of  the  Christian  church. 

David  Bnrnham,  hay-dealer,  Oakalla,  was  born  in  Warren  county, 
New  York,  December  29,  1828,  and  is  the  son  of  John  and  Ruth 
(Trumbell)  Burnham,  both  natives  of  New  York.  His  occupation  for 
many  years  was  farming.  In  1861  he  entered  Co.  A,  93d  N.  Y.  Vol. 
Inf.,  three-years  service,  as  second  lieutenant.  He  remained  in  the 
service  about  two  years,  and  then  resigned  and  returned  to  New 
York  state,  where  he  raised  a  company  for  the  175th  N.  Y.  Yol.,  and 
again  entered  the  service,  this  time  as  first  lieutenant  of  Co.  G,  three- 
years  service.  In  a  short  time  he  was  promoted  to  quartermaster  of 
the  175th,  and  remained  in  the  service  until  August  of  1865.  In  1870 
he  came  to  Illinois  and  located  at  Loda,  where  for  about  nine  years  he 
has  been  engaged  in  baling  and  shipping  hay  to  New  Orleans,  ship- 
ping usually  about  1,000  tons  per  year.  In  1871  he  was  married  to 


LODA   TOWNSHIP.  307 

Mrs.  Mary  C.  Knapp,  daughter  of  Watt  C.  Bradford,  of  Memphis, 
Tennessee.  She  owned  at  the  time  of  the  marriage  quite  an  extensive 
property  in  Loda  and  vicinity.  By  this  union  they  have  four  children  : 
John  D.,  Edward,  Ruth  and  Roy.  Mr.  Burnham  is  and  has  been  an 
honorable  and  straightforward  business  man,  by  which  course  he  has 
won  the  confidence  and  respect  of  the  community. 

P.  G.  Hollister,  farmer,  Oakalla,  section  24,  was  born  in  New  York, 
September  19,  1834,  and  was  raised  a  farmer.  He  came  to  this  state 
in  1870.  Mr.  Hollister  enlisted,  in  1861,  in  the  1st  Mo.  Eng.  Corps, 
and  served  three  years.  He  was  in  no  battles  of  any  consequence.  He 
did  picket  duty  most  of  the  time.  He  was  married  in  Illinois,  Novem- 
ber 29,  1866,  to  Emma  Carr,  who  was  born  July  28,  1849.  Their 
children  are :  Ross  O.,  born  September  28,  1874  ;  and  Grace,  born  Feb- 
ruary 6,  1875.  Mr.  Hollister  is  considered  one  of  Iroquois  county's 
honored  and  energetic  citizens.  In  politics  he  is  a  republican,  and  his 
religious  views  are  liberal. 

Joseph  Adams,  farmer,  Oakalla,  was  born  in  England,  October  18, 
1829.  He  was  raised  on  a  farm  until  fourteen  years  of  age,  and  then 
learned  the  carpenter's  trade,  at  which  he  worked  seven  years,  and  in 
1852  came  to  America.  He  settled  in  Chicago,  where  he  remained 
until  1870 ;  he  then  went  to  California,  where  he  remained  six 
months.  He  was  married  in  Chicago,  in  1857,  to  Sarah  Yogwill,  who 
was  born  in  England,  October  8,  1829.  They  have  had  seven  chil- 
dren, five  living :  Asa,  Charles,  Harry,  Eva  and  Ida.  The  names  of 
the  deceased  are  Charles  and  Mary.  Mr.  Adams  has  held  the  office  of 
school  director  for  five  years.  His  parents  were  natives  of  England. 

Hiram  L.  Swick,  farmer,  Oakalla,  was  born  in  New  York,  May  14, 
1839.  He  was  brought  up  a  farmer,  and  this  occupation  he  has  fol- 
lowed through  life.  He  enlisted  in  the  late  war,  and  went  forward  to 
battle  for  his  country.  He  enlisted,  in  1862,  in  Co.  E,  113th  111.  Yol. 
Inf.,  and  was  in  the  battles  of  Chickasaw  Mountain,  Arkansas  Post  "and 
a  number  of  skirmishes.  He  served  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He 
was  married  in  this  state,  in  1873,  to  Ida  M.  Oaks,  who  was  born  in 
Chicago.  They  are  the  parents  of  three  children  :  "Willie,  Frankie  and 
an  infant,  deceased.  Mr.  Swick  came  to  this  county  in  1875.  He  is  a 
republican  in  politics.  He  owns  80  acres  of  land  under  good  cultiva- 
tion. 

D.  C.  Hull,  farmer,  Oakalla,  was  born  in  New  York,  December  9, 
1850,  and  was  reared  a  farmer,  which  occupation  he  has  since  followed, 
with  the  exception  of  four  years  while  working  on  the  railroad  as  a 
brakeman.  In  1852  his  father  removed  to  this  state,  at  which  time 
our  subject  was  two  years  old.  The  family  resided  in  La  Salle  county 


308  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

for  two  years,  and  then  for  twenty-three  years  in  Grundy  county.  In 
1875  Mr.  Hull  came  to  Iroquois  county  and  settled  where  he  now 
resides,  one  mile  west  of  Loda.  In  1873  he  was  married  to  Eliza- 
beth D.  Wilson,  of  Grundy  county,  who  was  born  in  this  state  in 
1842.  They  have  three  children  :  Fannie,  Samuel  and  Jennie.  Mr. 
Hull  is  an  industrious  and  enterprising  man.  In  politics  he  is  a 
republican. 

J.  C.  Dunham,  editor  of  "  Register,"  Oakalla,  was  born  in  Con- 
necticut, July  13,  1831.  His  early  chances  for  an  education  were  good, 
and  he  improved  them  to  the  best  advantage.  He  spent  the  early  part 
of  his  life  in  various  portions  -of  New  England,  and  came  to  this  state 
in  1861,  settling  finally  in  Loda  in  1876.  For  several  years  he  prac- 
ticed dentistry.  He  first  edited  a  paper  called  the  "  Iroquois  Demo- 
crat." He  commenced  the  "  Register "  in  1876.  The  paper  is  well 
sustained  in  both  subscription  and  advertising.  Mr.  Dunham  has  been 
twice  married ;  first  in  1857  to  Harriet  McBurney,  who  was  born  in 
Canada.  His  first  wife  dying  in  1877,  he  again  married,  in  June, 
1879,  this  time  to  Lizzie  J.  Knapp,  who  was  born  in  Tennessee, 
December  25, 1861.  Mr.  Dunham  has  held  the  office  of  justice  of  the 
peace  two  terms.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  order. 

Earl  Barrett,  farmer,  Oakalla,  was  born  in  Massachusetts  in  1835. 
He  was  raised  a  farmer,  and  this  occupation  he  has  followed  through 
life.  His  chances  for  an  early  education  were  fair.  In  1859  he  came 
west  and  settled  in  Bureau  county,  this  state,  where  he  remained 
eleven  years.  He  then  went  to  Lee  county  and  remained  one  year, 
and  afterward  went  to  Ford  county,  where  he  staid  seven  years.  In 
the  latter  county,  in  1877,  he  was  married  to  Mary  J.  Johnson,  who 
was  born  in  New  York  in  1857.  Mr.  Barrett  has  held  the  office  of 
road  commissioner  two  years,  and  chairman  of  the  committee  for  the 
destruction  of  the  Canadian  thistle  two  years.  He  is  a  republican, 
and  a  Baptist.  He  is  a  well-to-do  farmer,  well  respected  in  the  neigh- 
borhood in  which  he  resides.  He  owns  160  acres  of  fine  farm  land, 
three  miles  east  of  Loda. 


DANFORTH   TOWNSHIP. 

During  most  of  its  political  existence,  Danforth  was  a  portion  of 
Douglas  township.  Two  years  ago  it  was  erected  into  a  separate 
township.  It  consists  of  a  parallelogram,  four  miles  wide  by  thir- 
teen long,  having  the  northern  two-thirds  of  townships  27,  ranges 
10  and  11  east  of  the  third  principal  meridian,  and  14  west  of  the 
second  principal  meridian. 


DANFORTH   TOWNSHIP.  309 

About  1852,  A.  H.  Danforth  and  George  W.  Danforth,  of  Wash- 
ington, Tazewell  county,  formed  a  copartnership  to  buy  land,  which 
was  about  to  be  thrown  on  the  market  again,  after  having  been 
withdrawn  to  give  the  Central  railroad  an  opportunity  to  make 
selections  under  the  law  which  organized  that  company.  Between 
1854  and  1860  they  entered  from  the  government  or  bought  of  the 
railroad  company  nearly  50,000  acres  of  land,  a  large  body  of  which 
lay  in  what  is  now  Danforth  township,  and  the  remainder  in  the 
townships  north  and  south  of  it.  They  at  once  set  about  making  it 
available.  George  W.  soon  after  came  here  and  made  it  his  home, 
devoting  his  time  to  improving  and  selling  farms.  A  great  deal  of 
the  land  was  wet,  that  is,  too  wet  for  cultivation  at  all  seasons,  but 
a  glance  at  the  map  will  show,  what  Mr.  Danforth' s  practical  eye 
discovered,  that  streams  run  in  all  directions  from  it.  The  Iroquois 
lies  off  to  the  east  of  it,  Langham  creek  north,  the  streams  running 
into  Vermilion  river  flow  from  its  western  side,  and  the  streams 
which  flow  into  Spring  creek,  have  their  rise  in  the  southern  part  of 
the  town.  Witji  a  soil  of  marvelous  richness  and  depth,  it  was 
evident  to  him  that  good,  thorough  draining  was  all  that  was  neces- 
sary to  make  this  a  garden  spot  in  fertility  and  productiveness.  It 
was  just  this  system  which  he  decided  to  follow,  which  was  contem- 
plated in  the  law  which  donated  to  the  state  the  swamp  and  over- 
flowed lands.  Mr.  Danforth  believed  that  the  Hollanders,  who  were* 
accustomed  to  living  on  dykes  and  making  canals  in  their  home, 
would  be  a  useful  class  of  people  to  help  on  the  work  he  had  to  do, 
and  early  sent  to  that  country,  and  offered  such  inducements  as 
brought  a  considerable  number  of  them  here,  who  became  purchasers 
of  his  lands  and  laborers  in  his  work.  Much  of  the  land  he  bought 
was  not  as  dry  as  some  of  that  which  had  been  selected  by  the 
county  as  swamp  lands.  Wide,  open  ditches  were  made  with  the  old- 
fashioned  capstan  ditcher,  which  was  worked  by  oxen,  but  that  would 
only  work  in  the  water.  Something  else  must  be  used  for  making  the 
ditches  through  dry  land,  or  at  those  seasons  of  the  year  when  the 
sloughs  were  dry.  The  Central  Railroad  Company  thought  the  earth 
could  be  removed  with  a  dredge,  and  tried  it  on  some  of  their  lands, 
but  it  would  not  work.  They  gave  away  the  dredge  and  sold  their 
lands.  About  sixty  miles  of  ditch  was  made  with  the  old  capstan 
machine.  Mr.  Danforth  afterwards  used  the  Tobias  machine,  which 
is  worked  by  direct  draught,  and  finally  used  the  Wauchope  grader. 
The  work  has  been  done  systematically  and  understandingly.  In 
the  thorough  grading  of  the  highways,  an  eye  has  been  continually 
turned  toward  the  effectiveness  of  the  road-ditches  and  drains,  and 


310  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

have  thus  supplemented  the  wider  ones  which  have  been  made  as 
mains.  Under  the  law  of  the  state,  which  was  passed  to  aid  just 
such  works  as  this,  and  which  was  afterwards  declared  unconstitu- 
tional, provision  was  made  for  forcing  drains  through  other  lands, 
and  assessing  the  benefits  on  such  lands  as  were  benefited.  Under 
this  law  the  large  ditches  were  constructed,  and  though  the  law  was 
overthrown  by  the  supreme  court,  such  decision  did  not  close  up  the 
ditches  themselves.  The  act  which  was  passed  in  1879  is  con- 
demned as  being  too  complicated  to  be  operative.  The  people  are 
sorely  in  want  of  a  simple  and  affective  drainage  law,  under  which 
all  these  wet  lands  can  be  reclaimed.  The  main,  running  to 
Langham  creek,  is  twenty  feet  wide  and  is  nearly  complete ;  those 
in  other  directions  are  somewhat  smaller.  For  some  years  Mr. 
Danforth  was  not  able  to  get  railroad  facilities  here,  and  indeed  for 
a  time  it  seemed  as  though  he  did  not  need  them.  During  the  war 
this  entire  country  was  an  immense  hay-field.  With  here  and  there 
a  small  tilled  field,  all  these  acres  were  cut  over,  and  the  hay  was 
sent  forward  into  the  valleys  of  the  Mississippi,  the  Tennessee,  and 
the  Cumberland,  to  help  put  down  the  rebellion.  In  1862  Mr.  Dan- 
forth came  here  to  reside,  and  in  1866  secured  a  side  track  and 
station,  and  a  post-office  soon  after.  The  long,  low  red  warehouse 
was  the  first  building  put  up,  and  that  and  the  building  east  of  the 
track  were  built  that  year. 

John  Huizenga,  a  native  of  Holland,  was  at  work  on  the  Central 
road  when  it  was  building,  in  1853,  and  his  attention  was  called  to 
the  fertility  of  the  soil  here.  He  lived  for  some  years  in  Marshall 
county.  When  treason  raised  her  bloody  head,  and  the  boom  of 
rebel  cannon  echoed  and  reechoed  through  the  country,  awakening 
the  slumbering  millions  to  the  sad  but  awful  realities  of  deadly  strife, 
he  enlisted  for  Holland,  and  staid  there  till  this  cruel  war  was  over. 
Returning  here  in  1866,  in  company  with  Mr.  Heersema,  he  pur- 
chased and  commenced  making  a  farm.  Through  him  and  the  gen- 
erous advertising  done  by  Mr.  Danforth,  some  forty  families  arrived 
here  within  the  next  few  years,  and  have  made  their  strong  impress 
felt  on  the  soil  and  society  of  this  community.  Mr.  Huizenga,  after 
working  a  farm  for  some  years,  engaged  in  the  grocery  trade.  These 
people  display  the  same  stolid  determination,  industry  and  persever- 
ance which  has  so  long  marked  them  in  their  native  land.  Slow  to 
conform  to  the  habits  of  the  country,  but  still  quick  to  appreciate  the 
rights  and  responsibilities  of  citizenship,  they  are  recognized  as  some 
of  the  best  farmers  in  the  county.  They  are  generally  grain  farmers, 
keeping  a  few  cows  and  raising  some  live-stock,  but  none  go  into 


DANFORTH    TOWNSHIP.  311 

cattle  speculations  or  stall-feeding.  Their  women  are  abandoning 
their  custom  of  doing  field  work  to  a  great  extent,  but  do  not  aban- 
don the  wooden  shoe.  Here,  for  the  first  time  in  Iroquois  county, 
are  seen  stacks  of  these  articles  for  sale  in  the  stores,  and  instead  of 
going  out  of  use  others  are  finding  out  that  they  are  a  very  comfort- 
able shoe  for  winter  use.  Inquiry,  however,  failed  to  elicit  an  opin- 
ion in  their  favor  as  a  delight  in  very  muddy  times. 

All  except  three  of  them  are  farmers,  and  nearly  all  are  connected 
with  the  Dutch  Reformed  church.  Two  families  are  of  the  Baptist 
persuasion.  They  form  a  neighborhood  of  their  own,  living  princi- 
pally north  and  west  of  the  village.  They  readily  conform  to  Ameri- 
can methods  of  farming,  but  carefully  retain  their  personal  and  fam- 
ily habits.  They  are  not  teetotalers,  either  in  belief  or  practice,  but 
are  scrupulously  free  from  intemperance  and  social  vices.  They 
readily  accept  the  boon  of  American  citizenship,  and  are  not  averse 
to  assuming  the  responsibility  which  that  term  implies.  They  have 
naturally  attached  themselves  to  the  party  which  is  in  the  ascendancy 
in  the  county,  state  and  nation.  Among  other  Dutch  institutions 
introduced  here  was  a  wind-mill  for  grinding  grain.  In  their  native 
land,  water  privileges  as  understood  here  (i.e.  water-power)  are  com- 
paratively unknown,  and  before  the  advent  of  the  steam-engine, 
wind-mills  and  the  power  of  man  and  beast  were  the  only  mechanical 
powers  known.  Their  mills  are  run  by  the  peculiar  shaped  wind- 
mills which  are  familiar,  so  far  as  outward  appearance  is  concerned, 
to  every  school  child.  The  large  arms  are  made  about  8x30  feet;, 
and  it  is  only  necessary  for  the  boy  who  reads  this  to  recall  how  his 
kite,  which  was  only  about  2x4  feet  in  size,  pulls  under  a  good  stiff 
breeze,  to  imagine  the  tremendous  force  which  these  four  monstrous 
fans  will  carry  to  the  machinery  below.  This  necessitates  a  very 
strong  structure.  The  wind-mill  frames,  which  are  so  common  on 
stock  farms  all  over  the  country,  are  puny  things  compared  with  the 
timbers  of  a  Dutch  mill.  When  once  inside  of  one  of  them,  the 
array  of  huge  timbers  slanting  inward  from  a  perpendicular  position, 
braced  and  tied  with  girts  and  braces  of  heavy  timber,  is  confusing 
to  the  strange  eye.  A  peculiar  and  ingenious  "governor"  counter- 
acts the  unsteady  action  of  the  winds,  and  keeps  a  very  steady 
motion  in  grinding,  so  that  as  good  flour  is  made  as  by  any  other 
power.  They  have  been  introduced  in  various  places  in  this  country, 
but  by  the  strange  variations  in  nature,  the  winds  have  so  disap- 
peared that  the  proprietors  have  found  it  necessary  to  introduce 
steam-power  of  late  years. 

As  early  as  1869  they  commenced  holding  religious  services  here 


312  HISTORY   OF   IEOQUOIS   COUNTY. 

in  their  own  language,  in  the  school-house,  under  Mr.  Duiker.  The 
church  was  organized  soon  after,  according  to  the  polity  of  the  de- 
nomination, by  the  election  of  two  overseers :  J.  Schrevenga  and 
H.  Heersema ;  and  two  deacons  :  J.  D.  Kingsens  and  K.  K.  Muller. 
In  1872  a  neat  church,  30x50  feet,  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  $1,800, 
and  a  convenient  two-story  parsonage  at  a  cost  of  $1,200.  These 
were  erected  on  a  lot  of  six  acres  of  land,  which  was  donated  by  Mr. 
Danforth  for  the  purpose,  just  outside  of  that  portion  of  the  town 
plat  which  was  laid  out  in  blocks  and  lots  for  business  and  resident 
purposes.  The  generous  disposition  displayed  by  the  proprietor,  as 
well  as  the  systematic  business-like  plan  followed  in  all  his  doings 
here,  is  evinced  in  this  arrangement  and  donation.  Six  acres  of  land, 
just  outside  a  thriving  little  village,  gives  all  the  ground  needed^for 
any  minister  to  spend  all  the  time  on  he  can  spare  from  his  study 
and  pastoral  labors,  and  the  convenience  of  having  the  church  located 
on  it,  and  away  from  the  business  of  the  place,  is  advantageous. 

After  ^Rev.i|Mr.  Duiker's  pastorate,  Rev.  H.pHulst  served  the 
church  two  years ;  then  Mr.  Duiker  again  one  year.  Rev.  J.  Muel- 
endyke  is  the  present  pastor.  The  church  numbers  nearly  one 
hundred  members.  A  Sabbath  school  is  maintained  through  the 
year. 

The  Lutheran  (St.  John's)  church  commenced  holding  religious 
service  in  1870,  under  the  preaching  of  Rev.  Mr.  Johnsen.  In  1873 
the  church  was  built,  and  a  minister's  house  on  a  piece  of  ground  simi- 
lar to  the  other,  and  donated  also  by  the  proprietor  of  the  town.  At 
this  time  an  organization  was  perfected  according  to  the  rules  of 
Lutheran  procedure.  The  following  were  elected  trustees  :  R.  Man- 
son,  R.  Hasbergen,  G.  Ricken,  H.  Comack,  F.  Simons,  H.  Causon 
and  F.  Causon.  The  church  is  36x50  feet,  and  cost  $1,700.  The 
minister's  house  is  16x30  feet,  and  cost  $600.  The  church  numbers 
about  fifty.  Rev.  Wm.  Thole  served  the  church  as  minister  three 
and  a  half  years  after  the  church  was  built,  and  Rev.  G.  M.  Fischer 
is  the  present  minister.  A  Sunday  school  has  been  kept  up  about 
eight  months  in  the  year,  with  about  fifty  scholars.  A  day  school 
has  been  maintained,  under  the  rules  of  the  church,  during  a  portion 
of  the  time. 

In  1877,  the  people  living  in  the  northern  part  of  Douglas  town- 
ship, believed  that  they  had  got  strong  enough  to  run  their  own 
concerns,  and  thought  that  their  interests  would  be  subserved  by 
separate  township  organization.  At  their  request  the  board  of 
supervisors  divided  the  township,  which  was,  before  the  division, 
seven  and  a  half  miles  wide,  so  that  Danforth  would  be  four  miles 


DANFORTH   TOWNSHIP.  313 

wide.  It  became  a  nice  question  how  the  assets  and  liabilities  should 
be  divided  equitably.  The  officers  of  the  two  townships  met  and 
agreed  to  divide  on  the  basis  of  -the  assessed  value  of  the  two.  The 
valuation  of  Danforth  being  somewhat  larger,  slightly  more  than 
half  of  the  assets  were  given  her.  One  item  of  assets  it  was  found 
difficult  to  divide.  There  was  in  the  possession  of  the  town  of 
Douglas  $25,000  of  stock  in  the  Gilman,  Clinton  &  Springfield 
Railroad  Company,  a  defunct  corporation,  whose  chartered  rights 
still  exist,  but  whose  road  had  been  purchased  by  the  Illinois  Central 
railroad,  without  assuming  responsibility  for  its  liabilities.  This 
stock  was  in  two  certificates  of  $12,500  each.  It  was  agreed  that 
Danforth  should  have  one  of  these,  and  that  the  other  should  remain 
with  Douglas,  whose  officers  solemnly  agreed,  and  made  it  a  matter 
of  record,  that  if  Douglas  ever  received  any  dividends  on  said  stock, 
the  equitable  portion  thereof,  which  belonged  to  Danforth,  should  be 
forthwith  honestly  and  faithfully  turned  over  into  the  coffers  of  that 
town,  without  delay,  distraint  or  commissions  for  collecting, — a  gener- 
ous offer  which  will  be  fully  appreciated  whenever  it  is  fulfilled. 
The4liabilities  of  the  town,  which  consisted  of  $25,000  of  10  per 
cent  bonds  which  were  issued  to  the  said  railroad,  were*divided  on 
the  same  basis. 

In  1878,  at  the  first  election  of  township  officers,  the  following 
officers  were  elected :  David  Brunlack,  supervisor ;  H.  R.  Danforth, 
clerk ;  L.  A.  Benjamin,  assessor ;  Fred.  Kohl,  collector ;  H.  A. 
Griswold,  C.  Davis  and  William  A.  Elliott,  commissioners  of  high- 
ways ; '  E.  S.  Schlegel,  justice  of  the  peace.  In  1879,  139  votes  were 
cast.  John  Overacker  was  elected  collector ;  B.  F.  Yandolah,  justice 
of  the  peace,  and  the  other  officials  were  reflected. 

In  1873  the  firm  of  A.  H.  Danforth  &  Co.  was  dissolved,  George 
W.  retaining  the  land,  and  Henry  R.  came  here  to  represent  the 
interests  of  his  father  and  his  own.  *  The  firm  was  a  strong  one  both 
in  the  means  at  its  disposal,  and  the  business  enterprise,  skill  and 
energy  which  its  members  brought  to  the  management  of  this 
large  business  enterprise.  Where  so  many  others  failed  in  attempts 
to  manage  large  landed  interests  in  this  portion  of  the  state,  and  saw 
their  magnificent  domains  swept  away  by  debts  which  they  could  not 
float,  the  Danforths  have  been  successful  to  a  degree  beyond  their 
own  and  their  neighbors'  expectations.  They  retain  still  about  5,000 
acres  of  land,  which  is  all  under  cultivation,  their  leases  calling  for 
either  one-third  or  two-fifths  of  the  crop,  according  to  the  location  of 
the  farm  or  its  quality.  « 


314  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

DANFORTH    VILLAGE. 

The  village  of  Danforth  was  laid  out  in  1872,  on  section  18  and 
the  corner  of  section  17,  which  lay  between  that  and  the  railroad ; 
that  portion  near  the  station  into  blocks  and  lots,  with  out-lots  for 
church,  school  and  other  purposes.  The  switch  and  side  track  had 
been  put  in,  in  1865,  and  a  station  established  soon  after.  Danforth 
has  several  very  handsome  residences,  which  make  it,  to  the  eye  of 
the  traveler  passing  through,  one  of  the  handsomest  places  in  the 
county,  and  a  desirable  place  for  residence.  Its  two  churches  are 
described  elsewhere.  A  fine  brick  block  of  three  stores  is  a  real 
adornment  to  the  town. 

BIOGRAPHICAL. 

Mrs.  Hannah  Barden,  Gilman,  was  born  in  Genesee  county, 
New  York,  July,  1815,  and,  with  her  husband,  located  on  the  edge 
of  the  timber  in  Danforth  township,  on  October  9,  1840.  Mr. 
Barden  voted  for  Harrison  for  president  as  he  came  through  Chicago. 
The  nearest  neighbor  at  that  time  was  Mr.  Simons,  who  lived  six- 
teen miles  off;  and  they  had  to  go  to  Wilmington  to  mill,  forty-five 
miles,  and  all  their  grain  had  to  be  hauled  to  Chicago.  Mrs.  Barden 
would  for  several  days  at  a  time  be  left  all  alone,  with  the  wolves 
howling  around  the  dwelling,  and  suffered  all  the  privations  in- 
cidental to  pioneer  life.  She  was  married  in  1836  and  had  three 
children:  Mary  Jane,  born  March  27,  1840;  Newton  F.,  born  Sep- 
tember 14,  1843;  and  Warren  A.,  born  August  1,  1851.  Her  husband 
died  January  4,  1866.  They  lost  their  eldest  boy  (Newton)  when 
eleven  years  old,  August  27,  1852.  Her  farm  of  160  acres  is  well 
improved  and  in  a  high  state  of  cultivation,  with  good  orchard  and 
timber. 

James  Cloke,  farmer,  agricultural  implement  agent  and  insurance 
agent,  Ashkum,  one  of  the  largest  farmers  here,  and  one  of  the 
oldest  settlers  in  the  county,  settled  in  Ashkum  township  on  section 
36,  twenty-four  years  ago  (1856),  at  which  time  land  was  worth 
$17.50  per  acre.  He  is  now  fifty-six  years  of  age.  He  was  born  in 
the  county  of  Kent,  England,  in  1824,  and  sailed  for  America  in  the 
clipper  ship  London.  They  had  rather  a  rough  time,  owing  to 
boisterous  weather,  and  sickness  among  the  passengers,  of  whom 
there  were  1,200  on  board,  eight  or  nine  dying  during  the  voyage, 
which  occupied  eight  weeks.  In  addition  to  farming,  he  engaged 
largely  in  cattle  raising,  and  herded  all  over  this  part  of  the  county 
which  was  then  all  open,  and  for  years  he  supplied  wood  for  the  cars, 
hauling  it  to  where  Ashkum  now  stands,  employing  fourteen  teams 
and  teamsters.  In  1868  Mr.  Cloke  was  married  the  third  time.  He 


DANFORTH   TOWNSHIP.  315 

has  a  family  of  twelve  children.  In  1870  he  moved  to  Danforth 
township,  where  he  now  resides  and  is  engaged  largely  in  agricultural 
pursuits  on  his  large  farm  of  500  acres,  which  is  well  improved  and 
in  a  high  state  of  cultivation.  The  McCormick  Manufacturing 
Company  has  had  Mr.  Clpke  in  their  employ  for  over  fourteen  years 
as  their  agent  in  this  neighborhood,  and  he  does  a  large  amount  of 
business  in  their  goods.  He  is  also  agent  for  the  Continental 
Insurance  Company  in  these  parts. 

Thomas  James  Johnston,  farmer,  Danforth,  is  a  native  of  Ireland. 
He  was  born  in  Macherfelt,  county  of  Londonderry,  province  of 
Ulster,  in  1818,  and  followed  farming  there  until  1844,  when  he 
departed  for  the  United  States.  He  lived  in  New  York  for  a  few 
years,  and  then  returned  to  Ireland  on  a  visit.  On  arriving  in 
America  the  second  time,  he  came  west  and  settled  in  Kendall 
county,  Illinois,  in  1851,  where  he  continued  to  reside  until  1863, 
when  he  moved  to  Danforth  township,  in  Iroquois  county,  and 
bought  forty  acres  of  land  east  of  the  railroad  as  a  homestead.  He 
herded  his  cattle  on  the  surrounding  prairie,  which  was  nearly  all 
unsettled.  In  the  course  of  a  few  years  the  prairie  began  to  be 
broken  up,  so  that  he  had  not  sufficient  pasture  for  his  stock,  so  he 
sold  out  and  moved  west  of  the  track  to  his  present  location,  where 
he  bought  forty-five  acres  at  $8  per  acre.  At  that  time  this  part  of 
the  county  was  so  wet  that  corn  had  to  be  shipped  here  to  feed  the 
stock.  Mr.  Johnston  has  been  twice  married,  first  to  Miss  Sarah 
Hughes  in  1837,  and  in  1858  to  Miss  Isabella  Aurtar,  of  Will 
county,  this  state.  He  has  a  family  of  nine  children.  He  assisted 
Mr.  John  Wilson  when  surveying  this  part  of  the  county,  and  was 
employed  a  good  deal  in  ditching.  To  his  original  farm  of  forty-five 
acres,  Mr.  Johnston  has  kept  adding  as  his  means  permitted,  and 
now  own  130  acres. 

John  W.  F.  Demoure,  farmer,  Piper  city,  one  of  the  most  enter- 
prising farmers  in  the  couifty,  was  born  in  Heilbronn,  Wiirtemburg, 
Germany,  in  1838,  and  came  to  the  United  States  when  he  was  nineteen 
years  old,  and  came  west,  locating  in  Woodford  county,  Illinois.  He 
remained  there  seven  years,  working  on  the  farm,  and  came  to  Iro- 
quois county  in  1864,  and  entered  the  employment  of  Dr.  Wilson, 
who  owned  a  large  tract  of  land  in  Ashkum  township,  known  as  the 
Wilson  settlement,  running  a  ditching  machine  and  improving  the 
farms.  For  a  number  of  years  he  acted  as  foreman  for  Dr.  Wilson, 
and  finally  went  into  farming  on  his  own  account,  buying  land  in 
Danforth  township  and  in  Ford  county  adjoining,  to  which  he  has 
kept  adding  as  his  means  permitted,  and  now  owns  400  acres  :  80 


316  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

in  Danforth,  Iroquois  county,  and  320  in  Ford  county.  The  home- 
stead, which  is  in  Danforth  township,  consists  of  a  handsome  farm- 
house, story  and  a  half,  with  kitchen  attached,  surrounded  with  a 
large  grove  and  ornamental  shade-trees  ;  cribs,  barn  and  other  farm 
buildings,  and  good  orchard.  Mr.  Demoure  was  married,  May  12, 
1866,  in  Ford  county,  and  has  now  a  family  of  eight  children,  all 
boys. 

W.  W.  Gilbert,  grain  dealer,  Danforth,  was  born  in  the  city  of 
Philadelphia,  January  29,  1841,  and  moved  west,  coming  to  Dan- 
forth in  1864.  He  entered  the  employment  of  Mr.  Danforth,  with 
whom  he  remained  for  eight  years ;  at  the  end  of  which  time  he 
commenced  business  on  his  own  account  in  the  grain  trade,  in  which 
business  he  has  been  exceedingly  successful,  it  having  increased 
from  25,000  bushels  the  first  to  100,000  this  present  year.  Febru- 
ary 22,  1870,  Mr.  Gilbert  married  Miss  Foster,  the  result  of  which 
union  is  two  children :  Arthur,  aged  six  years,  and  Jessie,  aged  one 
year.  Mr.  Gilbert  owns  the  only  grain  warehouse  in  town,  and  is 
in  fact  the  only  one  engaged  in  the  business  here.  His  warehouse 
has  a  capacity  of  20,000  bushels.  His  residence,  which  has  just  been 
completed  this  winter,  at  a  cost  of  $7,000,  is  a  handsome  and  com- 
modious two-story  structure,  and  is  quite  an  ornament  to  the  town. 
The  main  building  is  54x22  feet,  and  the  L's  (one  on  each  side)  are 
16x30  each. 

Henry  E,.  Danforth,  banker,  Danforth,  was  born  at 'Washington, 
Illinois,  on  November  2,  1843,  and  received  most  of  his  education  at 
Lombard  College,  Galesburg,  finishing  at  the  Commercial  College, 
Chicago,  in  1863.  He  came  to  Iroquois  county  in  1865,  .locating 
where  the  town  of  Danforth  now  stands,  though  at  that  time  it  was 
not  in  existence.  For  the  first  year  he  attended  to  land  business, 
and  in  April,  1866,  opened  a  store  here,  but  at  the  start  was  not  very 
successful,  his  receipts  for  the  first  month  being  only  $1.50.  On 
November  2,  1865,  he  married  Miss  Mary  E.  "Wenger,  eldest  daugh- 
ter of  Dr.  Wenger,  of  Gilman,  and  have  a  family  of  three  children, 
two  girls  and  one  boy.  In  1873  Mr.  Danforth  commenced  banking, 
and  his  business  has  steadily  increased.  In  1875  he  erected  a  hand- 
some residence  in  the  village,  at  a  cost  of  $6,000.  The  building  is 
cruciform  in  shape,  two  stories  high.  One  arm  is  26  X  61,  the  other 
26  x  56,  with  a  tasteful  verandah  around  the  south  and  east  sides. 
The  lot  on  which  the  building  stands  is  50  x  160  feet,  beautifully  laid 
out  and  planted  with  trees  and  shrubs,  the  whole  surrounded  with  a 
neat  picket-fence. 

David  H.  Hen  man,  one  of  the  prominent  farmers  in  this  township, 


DANFORTH   TOWNSHIP.  317 

Gilman,  is  a  native  of  England,  having  been  born  in  Bromham, 
Bedfordshire,  England,  in  1844.  He  engaged  in  agricultural  pur- 
suits on  his  father's  farm,  until  1868,  when  he  came  to  the  United 
States,  sailing  from  Liverpool  on  one  of  the  Cunard  company's 
steamers.  On  arriving  in  this  country  Mr.  Henman  at  once  came 
west,  locating  in  Danforth  township,  where,  along  with  his  brother, 
he  kept  bachelor's  hall  for  some  years.  In  1877  he  married  Miss 
Emily  Fru  slier,  a  young  English  lady.  On  settling  here  the  country 
was  entirely  unimproved,  there  being  no  graded  roads  or  ditches, 
while  deer  and  wolves  were  often  seen.  His  farm  of  160  acres  is  now 
well  improved,  ditched  and  hedged,  with  a  good  house,  farm  build- 
ings and  a  young  orchard,  and  is  in  good  shape  for  raising  a  crop  in 
any  kind  of  a  season. 

John  "W.  Green,  farmer,  Gilman,  was  born  in  Devonshire, 
England,  in  1826,  and  worked  on  the  farm  there  until  1853,  when  he 
sailed  for  America  in  the  ship  Queen  Victoria,  bringing  with  him 
his  wife,  to  whom  he  had  been  married  in  1846.  They  met  with 
many  trials  and  vicissitudes  on  their  voyage  across  the  Atlantic,  the 
wind  being  directly  ahead  of  them  during  the  entire  trip,  which 
occupied  seven  weeks  and  three  days.  On  landing,  Mr.  Green 
located  in  New  York,  and  worked  there  eight  years,  when  seeing 
the  advantages  offered  to  industrious  men  in  the  west,  he  moved  to 
Illinois,  settling  in  La  Salle  county  in  1861.  Eventually  seeing  the 
great  future  in  store  for  this  township,  he  moved  his  family  here  in 
1869  and  bought  120  acres,  being  the  south  half  of  the  southwest 
quarter,  and  the  southwest  quarter  of  southeast  quarter  of  section  20, 
town  27,  range  10  east  of  3d  principal  meridian.  When  bought,  the 
land  was  raw  prairie,  and  one  would  hardly  think  that  such  a  change 
could  be  effected  in  so  short  a  time.  The  land  is  now  all  ditched 
and  hedged.  It  has  good  meadows  and  pasture  on  it,  a  large  story- 
and-half  house,  with  a  commodious  L  attached,  large  bearing . 
orchard  and  grove,  in  fact  one  of  the  best  farms  on  the  prairie.  The 
land  is  a  very  rich  black  loam,  yielding  large  crops  of  all  kinds  of 
grain.  Mr.  Green  had  in  his  possession  a  pumpkin,  which  he  raised 
last  year  without  any  extra  care,  which  measured  six  feet  and  two 
inches  in  circumference,  and  weighed  113  pounds.  His  family,  which 
is  now  grown  up,  consists  of  three  children :  "William,  the  eldest, 
Elizabeth,  and  Helen  Rebecca. 

William  A.  Elliott,  farmer,  Gilman,  came  from  Yermilion  town- 
ship, La  Salle  county,  to  this  county,  settling  in  Danforth  township 
when  he  was  twenty-two  years  of  age.     He  was  born  in  La  Salle 
county  in  1848,  and  has  been  engaged  in  farming  all  his  life.     In 
20 


318  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS  'COUNTY. 

1870  he  married  Miss  Mary  Isabella  Galloway.  They  have  two 
children :  Harry  aged  seven,  and  Clara  aged  two  and  a  half  years. 
Mr.  Elliott  owns  160  acres  of  land,  which  at  the  time  he  came  here 
was  raw  prairie,  with  no  buildings  upon  it.  Now  it  is  all  broke  and 
under  the  plow,  hedged  and  ditched,  with  good  farm  buildings  upon 
it,  and  one  of  the  handsomest  farm  houses  on  the  prairie.  The  main 
building  is  16x28  feet,  two  stories  high,  with  stone  basement,  and  a 
commodious  one-story  L,  26x26  feet.  The  farm  is  the  result  of  his 
own  labors  and  industry,  having  started  with  very  little  capital, 
except  his  own  strong  arms. 

Edward  Schegel,  dealer  in  dry  goods,  groceries,  hardware  and 
tinware,  Danforth,  Illinois,  was  born  in  Weissenstein,  province  of 
Saxony,  Germany,  in  the  year  1840,  and  came  to  America  in  1849, 
settling  in  La  Salle  county  of  this  state.  In  1868  he  married  Miss 
Jerusha  Severence  ;  and  has  one  daughter,  named  Minnie,  aged  six 
years.  He  moved  to  Milks'  Grove,  in  this  county,  1875,  and  after 
two-years  residence  there,  he  came  to  this  town  in  1877,  engaging  in 
the  dry-goods  and  grocery  business,  and  also  in  hardware  and  tin- 
ware, doing  a  very  large  trade  in  each  department.  He  occupies  two 
large  store  rooms,  each  60x20  feet,  and  also  fills  the  office  of  post- 
master. 

Ambrose  Moriarty,  farmer,  Danforth,  was  born  in  Canada  in  the 
year  1843,  and  moved  to  the  United  States,  settling  first  in  La  Salle 
county,  in  this  state,  in  1867,  where  he  engaged  in  farming  and  was 
very  successful.  In  1870  he  married  Miss  Hill,  of  Ottawa,  and  has 
now  four  children  :  three  boys  and  one  girl.  In  1876  he  moved  to 
Danforth  township,  and  bought  the  north  half  of  section  seven  in 
that  town,  on  which  he  has  since  resided,  engaging  largely  in  agri- 
cultural pursuits.  "When  purchased  the  land  was  raw  prairie,  and 
like  the  most  of  the  land  in  this  township  was  low  and  marshy, 
necessitating  a  large  amount  of  ditching  before  there  was  any  cer- 
tainty of  raising  a  crop.  It  is  now  all  ditched  ,and  broke,  and  yields 
large  crops  in  most  any  season.  In  addition  to  attending  to  his  large 
farm,  Mr.  Moriarty  runs  a  threshing  machine  and  corn  sheller,  and 
is  well  patronized  in  each  business. 


ASHKUM   TOWNSHIP.  319 


ASHKUM  TOWNSHIP. 

Ashkum  is  situated  near  the  northwestern  part  of  the  county, 
having  Milk's  Grove  and  Chebanse  north  of  it,  the  Iroquois  river  for 
its  eastern  boundary,  Danforth.  on  the  south  and  Ford  county  on  its 
west.  It  contains  the  southern  four  tiers  of  sections  of  townships.  28 
north,  ranges  10  and  11  east  of  the  3d  principal  meridian  ;  range  14,  and 
all  that  lies  west  of  ther  river  of  range  13  west  of  the  2d  principal 
meridian.  It  is  sixteen  miles  long  east  and  west,  by  four  miles  wide, 
and  is  little  less  than  two  congressional  townships.  The  Illinois  Cen- 
tral railroad  runs  across  it  a  little  east  of  its  center,  and  has  upon  it  the 
village  which  bears  the  name  of  the  township.  The  land  is  generally 
beautifully  undulating,  and  that  lying  near  the  river  decidedly  sandy, 
but  rich  and  fertile.  About  the  middle  of  town  28.10,  lies  one  of  the 
series  of  swamps  which  marks  the  head-waters  of  the  Yermilion  river, 
which  was  in  the  early  times  an  impassable  rnorass,  but  which  has,  by  a 
system  of  ditches  inaugurated  by  Messrs.  Danforth,  Milk  and  other 
large  land-holders,  very  nearly  disappeared.  The  law  under  which  this 
work  was  done  was  afterward  declared  unconstitutional  by  the  supreme 
court  of  the  state,  but  that  did  not  by  any  means  tend  to  fill  up  the 
ditches  which  had  been  opened  under  it.  The  big  ditch  which  was 
cut  to  drain  the  land  south  of  here,  and  open  communication  with 
Langharn  creek,  runs  across  this  township  near  the  center  of  range  10. 
North  of  this  it  is  joined  by  the  one  which  was  cut  to  drain  Milk's 
Grove. 

Nearly  all  of  the  land  in  the  western  part  of  the  township  was  pur- 
chased of  the  county,  which  held  it  under  the  act  of  congress  for  the 
disposal  of  swamp  and  overflowed  lands,  by  Mr.  George  C.  Tallman,  a 
wealthy  citizen  of  Utica,  New  York,  under  a  scheme  which  was  not 
entirely  creditable  to  those  having  the  matter  in  charge.  It  was  after- 
ward conveyed  by  Tallman  to  Dr.  Wilson,  of  Washington,  Tazewell 
county,  Illinois,  who  retained  much  of  it  until  his  death  about  a  year 
ago.  He  proceeded  to  improve,  and  his  heirs  still  own  sections  17,  18, 
19,  20,  21,  30  and  31  of  range  10,  and  it  would  hardly  be  known  as 
swamp  land  now. 

When  the  Central  railroad  was  built,  all  west  of  the  timber-growth 
of  the  river  was  open  prairie.  In  1857  Mr.  William  M.  Ross,  a  Scotch- 
man by  birth,  but  engaged  in  New  York  and  Chicago  in  the  dry-goods 
business,  and  well  remembered  as  the  head  of  the  firm  of  William  M.  Ross 
&  Co.,  and  afterward  Ross  &  Gossage,  purchased  section  30  (range  14), 
one  mile  west  of  Ashkum  station,  with  a  view  of  making  it  his  country 


320  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

home,  where  he  could  spend  the  few  hours  he  might  be  able  to  snatch 
from  the  pressing  and  exacting  cares  of  business  in  pleasure  and  relief. 
With  this  in  view  he  built  a  snug  and  comfortable  residence,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  surround  it  with  a  wealth  of  trees,  embracing  nearly  every 
known  variety  which  grows  on  this  marvelously  rich  soil.  Besides  the 
evergreen  and  deciduous  shade-trees  which  surround  the  house  in  rich 
profusion,  and  miles  of  trees  in  avenues  across  the  farm,  he  planted 
some  thousand  or  more  fruit-trees,  which  have  grown  into  probably  the 
finest  orchard  in  the  county.  He  afterward,  in  1867,  added  to  it  by  the 
purchase  of  section  30  (range  11),  lying  just  west  of  the  former,  and 
erected  buildings,  provided  a  beautiful  deer  park,  and  here  he  used  to 
bring  his  friends,  entertaining  them  with  generous  munificence.  Hunt- 
ing was  rare  sport  in  those  days,  and  with  hound  and  gun  the  days  of 
their  stay  here  were  busily  filled  in  loyal  remembrance  of  and  dupli- 
cating the  gorgeous  sports  of  the  Scotch  braves.  From  the  Iroquois 
to  the  Mazon  the  wild  stretch  was  unobstructed,  and  game  was  "  plentier 
than  blackberries."  The  particular  kind  of  sport  which  the  genial 
Scotchman  and  his  guests  delighted  in,  will  never  be  known  again  in 
this  region  of  the  country.  Then  these  prairies  seemed  only  made  for 
sport ;  now  nearly  every  acre  is  under  cultivation,  and  a  dozen  great 
railroad  corporations  contend,  as  resolutely  as  huntsmen  did  then,  for 
the  game  which  they  hope  to  bag, — the  generous  crops  and  the  fatted 
herds.  Lord  Duiferin,  governor-general  of  the  dominion  of  Canada, 
during  his  tour  through  the  United  States,  made  a  pleasant  visit  to  the 
E-oss  Farm,  and  received  its  hospitality.  The  library  and  decorations 
of  the  house  show  the  elegant  taste  of  the  proprietor.  Mr.  Ross  died 
here  in  1876.  His  brother  and  sister  occupy  the  residence  and  quietly 
and  pleasantly  maintain  the  delightful  home.  Each  Fourth  of  July  the 
place  is  the  scene  of  gay  American  festivities,  such  as  become  the  rural 
citizens  who  meet  in  memory  of  our  nation's  birthday.  The  country 
around  about  is  just  as  certain  to  attend  the  Fourth  of  July  celebration 
at  the  Ross  farm  as  to  hang  up  its  stocking  Christmas  eve. 

The  Wilson  settlement,  so-called,  is  on  the  farm  of  the  late  Dr. 
Wilson,  which  embraces  seven  or  eight  sections  of  land,  running  across 
the  entire  western  extremity  of  the  township.  The  entire  farm  is 
beautiful  rolling  land,  and  is  farmed  by  tenants.  Mr.  J.  H.  Carpenter 
is  foreman,  and  the  produce  of  the  farm  is  principally  fed  out  to  stock 
upon  the  place.  Dr.  Wilson,  in  addition  to  his  large  landed  interest 
here  (which  has  been  as  an  investment  an  entire  success),  was  engaged 
with  his  son  in  banking,  at  Gilman,  and  latterly  at  Chatsworth,  as  the 
firm  of  0.  A.  Wilson  &  Co.,  carrying  on  also  a  large  real-estate  busi- 
ness, being  men  of  large  business  capacity  and  liberal  means.  Dr. 


ASHKUM   TOWNSHIP.  321 

Wilson  never  resided  here,  but  remained  in  Washington  until  his  death. 
The  earliest  settlements  were,  of  course,  along  the  timber  which  skirts 
the  river.  The  families  of  Mr.  Wilson  and  Mr.  Artis  Yates  were  among 
the  first  who  made  permanent  settlements  there.  Mr.  John  Wilson, 
whose  name  has  been  so  largely  connected  with  the  history  of  the 
county  since  1839,  removed  across  the  line  into  Iroquois  township,  and 
the  reader  will  find  under  that  heading  a  very  full  and  very  interesting 
account  of  his  life,  and  his  connection  with  the  affairs  of  the  county, 
though  one  of  his  sisters  still  lives  in  this  town.  Mr.  Thomas  Yates, 
who  with  his  father,  Artis,  carried  on  an  extensive  cattle  business,  and 
whose  wife  is  a  sister  of  Mr.  Wilson,  sold  the  farm  which  he  had  here, 
in  sections  28  and  29,  to  Mason  Ayers,  and  moved  to  and  now  resides 
in  Iroquois  township.  Mr.  Yates  remembers  many  incidents  of  early 
adventure  along  this  neck  of  timber,  and  is  not  averse,  when  not  too 
busy  with  the  cares  of  his  farm  and  cattle,  to  sitting  down  and  relating 
stories  of  the  early  day,  which  seem  now  almost  like  fiction.  But  Mr, 
Yates  is  not  the  man  to  mix  fiction  with  his  facts.  As  early  as  1850 
the  French  from  Canada  began  to  come  into  this  part  of  the  town,  and 
soon  after  settled  around  L'Erable  in  such  numbers  as  to  make  a  con- 
siderable settlement.  Peter  Spink,  a  man  of  large  executive  tact,  was 
their  leader  and  general  man  of  business.  Well  educated  and  affable, 
he  made  many  friends,  and  went  here  and  there  doing  their  business 
for  them,  caring  only  to  help  them  along  in  a  friendly  way  ;  but  like 
all  men  who  try  to  do  too  much  for  others  gratuitously,  he  found  his 
own  business  affairs  becoming  deranged,  and  he  commenced  a  series  of 
business  tactics,  under  the  pressure  of  circumstances,  which  proved 
ruinous  to  him.  Together  with  Father  Chiniquy,  he  labored  assidu- 
ously for  the  building  up  of  the  church,  and  devoted  much  of  his  time 
to  that  worthy  work.  He  went  to  Danville  and  bought  lands  for  the 
colonists,  intending  to  let  them  have  them  at  the  same  price  they  cost 
him,  but  his  financial  complications  rendered  it  impossible  to  do  wrhat 
he  intended.  In  one  of  the  matters  which  grew  out  of  the  colony  or 
church  matters,  Spink  was  accused  of  swearing  falsely.  Father  Chi- 
niquy,— whether  he  was  himself  personally  interested  or  not,  does  not 
appear, — seems  to  have  suddenly  taken  sides  against  Mr.  Spink,  and 
said,  while  preaching  in  Mr.  LaBounty's  house,  that  people  ought  to 
be  very  careful  in  testifying,  saying  that  there  had  been  recently  some 
false  swearing  done.  Mr.  Spink  resented  the  imputation,  and  taking 
two  friends  with  him,  called  on  the  priest  for  a  retraction,  which  was 
refused ;  and  thus  began  the  long  and  bitter  feud  which  resulted  in  the 
separation  of  Chiniquy  from  the  Catholic  church,  and  the  building  up 
Protestant  missions  here  and  in  Canada,  under  his  ministrations.  Mr. 


322  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

Spink  commenced  suit  against  the  father  for  slander,  laying  his  dam- 
ages at  $7,000,  which  was  in  the  courts  for  several  years.  The  bishop 
interfered,  and  tried  to  put  a  stop  to  what  he  knew  must  result  in  spir- 
itual disturbance  of  great  dimensions;  but  Chiniquy  was  stubborn,  and 
was  finally  removed  (or  withdrew)  from  the  priesthood,  and  joined  the 
Presbyterian  church,  and  for  a  time  continued  pastoral  labors  in  that 
connection.  Spink  became  embarrassed  through  the  reverses  which 
overtook  business  in  1857,  and  the  demands  of  an  expensive  family, 
and  lost  what  would  have  proved  a  very  valuable  property.  The  place 
where  he  formerly  lived,  on  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  17,  is  one 
of  the  finest  in  town.  The  house  is  well  shaded  by  a  stalwart 
growth  of  fine  shade  trees,  and  sho'ws  the  educated  taste  of  its  owner. 

The  Belgian  settlement,  which  was  just  north  of  here,  and  will  be 
more  fully  noticed  under  the  head  of  "  Chebanse,"  spread  farther 
south,  and  a  number  of  the  men  of  that  colony  have  found  homes  and 
work  farms  in  the  northern  part  of  Ashkum. 

The  French  settlement  spread  here  from  Bourbonnais  Grove 
largely  under  the  active  management  of  Peter  Spink.  William  La 
Bounty,  who  is  believed  to  be  the  first  of  the  Canadian  immigrants, 
settled  on  section  9.  one  mile  north  of  L'Erable,  in  1850.  The  first 
religious  services  of  this  people  were  held  in  his  house,  probably  during 
the  following  summer.  He  has  continued  to  reside  near  this  for  thirty 
years.  He  now  lives  in  Ashkum  village.  A  gentleman  of  tact,  he 
early  acquired  such  command  of  the  English  language  that  he  became 
of  great  service  to  his  countrymen  in  helping  them  to  transact  their 
business.  Eugene  Patmois  and  Peter  St.  Peter  were  also  early  settlers. 
About  1851  Francis,  Joseph  and  Nicolas  Grossaint  came  in,  with  means 
enough  to  make  a  fair  start  in  the  new  county.  The  old  gentleman 
lives  there  yet.  Anton  Roboine  came  to  section  30  at  the  same  time 
and  made  an  excellent  farm  there.  The  place  was  given  the  name  of 
L'Erable,  from  the  great  number  of  sugar-trees  which  some  of  the 
earlier  settlers  planted  out.  The  post-office  was  established-about  1857, 
and  John  Borland  was  appointed  postmaster ;  after  him  Israel  Bashour 
was  postmaster.  A.  F.  LaMott  is  the  present  officer.  A  chapel  was 
built  about  1854.  In  1875  the  present  beautiful  church  was  built.  It 
is  about  46x80,  with  a  spire,  and  is  a  well  proportioned  and  sightly 
edifice.  It  has  cost  about  $15,000,  and  is  believed  to  be  the  finest 
house  of  worship  in  the  county.  The  parsonage  was  built  in  1857. 
After  Chiniquy,  Father  Theodore  Bresair  ministered  to  this  congrega- 
tion as  the  first  resident  priest ;  after  him  Father  Yanderpool,  Father 
Perner,  Father  Clement,  and  Father  Routic  now.  A  school  has  been 
kept  up  most  of  the  time.  The  French  people  coming  here  were  all, 


ASHKUM    TOWNSHIP.  328 

or  nearly  all,  of  Canadian  birth,  and  like  the  Belgians  who  settled 
here,  were  all  attached  to  the  Roman  Catholic  church.  They  readily 
became  citizens,  taking  an  interest  in  public  affairs,  and  many  of  them 
were  called  into  official  position,  as  in  the  surrounding  townships.  A 
gentleman  who  has  long  been  acquainted  with  their  life  here,  says  that 
they  have  lived  sober,  industrious  lives,  meeting  very  fully  the  high 
anticipation  which  was  held  in  regard  to  them,  being  free*  from  vices 
and  law-abiding. 

The  township  was  organized  in  1861,  at  which  time  Thomas  Stump 
was  elected  first  supervisor  ;  H.  R.  Cornell,  clerk ;  A.  J.  Lake,  asses- 
sor ;  and  J.  R.  Smith  and  J.  B.  Wolcott,  justices  of  the  peace.  At 
present  writing  C.  W.  Brown  is  supervisor ;  M.  R.  Meents,  clerk ;  J. 
O'Reiley,  assessor;  J.  Gallagher,  collector,  and  A.  J.  Lake  and  F. 
Lemeneger,  justices  of  the  peace.  At  the  first  election,  in  1861,  less 
than  60  votes  were  cast.  At  present  the  voting  population  is  over  200. 

ASHKUM   VILLAGE. 

The  town  was  laid  out  on  railroad  land,  on  section  28.  Messrs. 
Ogden  &  Dupee  had  purchased  the  section  of  the  railroad  company, 
and  were  to  pay  about  $20,000  for  it,  and  in  1856  laid  out  the  town. 
The  name  was  derived  from  some  eastern  Indian  tribe,  and  not,  as  is 
generally  supposed,  taken  from  the  Indians  who  had  occupied  this 
region  of  the  country.  Business  was  lively  at  that  time,  and  had  it 
not  been  for  the  general  prostration  in  business  which  followed  the 
financial  disaster  of  1857,  there  is  no  reasonable  doubt  that  Messrs. 
Ogden  &  Dupee  would  have  realized  a  very  fair  return  from  their 
speculation  here.  That,  however,  put  a  very  different  construction  on 
their  enterprise.  They  appear  to  have  begun  discreetly,  built  a  good 
hotel,  and  arranged  for  opening  business  as  fast  as  the  country  in  the 
vicinity  should  become  settled. 

Edwin  Mead,  who  had  become  interested  with  them  by  loaning 
some  money  on  their  property  here,  came  here  in  1858,  intending  to  oc- 
cupy the  hotel.  Mr.  Hill  was  then  living  in  it,  and  not  desiring  to  give 
it  up,  Mr.  Mead  permitted  him  to  remain.  He  died  soon  after,  how- 
ever. Peter  Kelley  was  then  here,  learning  his  trade  of  blacksmith, 
and  has  been  without  intermission  a  resident  and  a  business  man  here, 
so  that  he  appears  to  be  entitled  to  the  appellation  of  father  of  the 
town,  if  any  of  the  present  inhabitants  are.  There  was  at  that  time 
(spring  of  1858)  a  forty-acre  tract  under  cultivation  in  section  22  of 
the  southwest  quarter,  and  Mr.  Brown  was  living  on  it,  and  remained 
there  till  he  died.  Rev.  Mr.  Wood,  who  had  been  a  Presbyterian 
minister,  was  living  in  the  small  house  near  the  Methodist  church,  now 


324  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

occupied  by  George  A.  Springet,  and  was  engaged  in  surveying. 
There  was  a  small  house  where  Mr.  Haight  lives,  but  it  has  been 
enlarged.  The  house  where  Peter  Kelley  lives  was  occupied  by  David 
Britten.  David  Wright  was  living  in  a  portion  of  the  house  which  is 
now  a  part  of  Skinner's  store.  Dr.  Norvell,  the  first  practicing  physi- 
cian here,  was  living  in  the  house  now  owned  by  Mr.  McCurdy. 
Ferrell  &  Humphrey  were  the  first  firm  in  business  here.  Mr. 
Ostrander  built  a  store  here,  across  the  street  from  the  hotel,  and 
that  firm  rented  it.  After  Ogden  &  Dupee  became  embarrassed, 
they  conveyed  their  interest  to  Paul  Cornell  and  Mr.  Mitchell.  Cor- 
nell was  by  no  means  a  slow  man,  and  in  order  to  save  what  he  had 
got  invested  in  the  concern,  induced  Mead  to  release  his  claim  and  let 
him  in  first.  In  this  way  he  came  into  possession  of  the  hotel  prop- 
erty, which  had  cost  about  $4,000,  and  sent  his  brother,  II.  K.  Cornell, 
here  as  his  agent,  to  keep  the  hotel.  The  result  was  that  both  Mead 
and  Mitchell  failed  to  realize  on  their  investments,  while  Cornell 
seems  to  have  made  it  pay.  Mitchell's  interest,  and  indeed  all  inter- 
ests, finally  reverted  to  the  railroad  company,  and  titles  come  from 
that  source. 

Daniel  "Wright  was  the  first  postmaster.  He  was  keeping  store 
with  one  Bumpus,  who  got  mixed  up  in  a  little  irregularity  with  the 
government.  He  hired  some  money  of  one  Hnggins,  who  appears  to 
have  been  a  dealer  in  counterfeit  money.  Bumpus  went  to  Champaign 
with  the  money  and  got  rid  of  what  he  could  of  it,  purchasing  small 
articles  at  the  stores,  and  commenced  preaching.  Huggins  was  con- 
victed and  pardoned  out,  after  serving  a  portion  of  his  term.  One 
"  Doctor "  Groves,  who  used  some  of  the  money  around  here,  disap- 
peared, and  some  others  who  were  wanted  could  not  be  found.  The 
bills  were  counterfeits  of  a  Bloomington  bank,  but  on  the  detection  of 
the  men  an  examination  showed  that  they  had  tools  for  making  coun- 
terfeit coin  also. 

Two  murders  have  occurred  in  Ashkum.  The  first  was  that  of 
Leonard  Stringham,  and  was  the  result  of  a  complication  of  circum- 
stances. It  was  during  the  war,  and  personal  ill-feelings  were  apt  to 
be  largely  fanned  by  frequent  bitter  political  discussions.  Stringham 
was  a  radical  in  politics  and  temperance.  A  quarrel  which  began 
about  the  trespass  of  hogs  into  his  garden, —  followed  by  the  killing  of 
one,  and  subsequent  paying  for  it, —  slumbered  for  awhile,  when,  meet- 
ing at  the  post-office,  when  his  assailant  was  intoxicated  and  was 
ejected  from  the  building,  he  returned  and  cut  him  with  a  small 
pocket-knife  in  the  abdomen,  which  resulted  in  his  death  the  day 
following.  Trial,  conviction  and  pardoning  out  followed. 


ASHKUM   TOWNSHIP.  325 

A  few  years  later  Hair  and  McDonald,  brothers-in-law,  had  a  mis- 
understanding which  resulted  in  a  very  bad  state  of  feeling.  One 
rainy  day  Hair  came  to  town,  and  was  reading  in  Smith  &  Ohapin's 
store,  partially  leaning  over  the  counter.  McDonald  came  to  town, 
and  went  to  Kelley's  blacksmith-shop  while  Kelley  was  at  dinner. 
Waiting  till  his  return,  he  secured  a  short  bar  of  iron,  on  pretense  of 
wishing  to  make  use- of  it  in  some  repairs,  and  went  directly  to  the 
store  and  felled  Hair  to  the  floor,  striking  him  from  behind.  He  died 
in  a  few  hours.  McDonald  was  tried,  convicted  and  hung.  This, 
with  two  others,  are  the  only  legal  hangings  which  have  taken  place 
in  the  county  in  the  now  almost  half  century  of  its  legal  existence. 

The  hay  business  was  a  very  important  branch  of  business  here 
during  the  war.  Great  quantities  were  cut  on  these  prairies  and 
shipped  to  the  front,  and  some  large  ricks  of  it  never  were  shipped. 
After  Sherman's  march  to  the  sea  the  bottom  dropped  out  of  the  Con- 
federacy so  suddenly  that  the  hay  crop  was  not  in  demand  down  there. 

CHURCHES,  SOCIETIES,  ETC. 

Before  any  regular  church  organization  was  formed,  there  was 
occasional  preaching  by  Methodist  brethren  in  the  school-house. 
Rev.  Mr.  Henry  and  Rev.  Mr.  Card  were,  as  is  now  remembered,  the 
first  who  collected  a  few  together  for  religious  services.  Revs.  Hull 
and  Thorp  also  occasionally  preached  here.  Mr.  Daniel  Robinson  was 
one  of  the  first  members  of  this  church.  Mr.  Sanders,  an  early  resi- 
dent, collected  the  means  on  a  subscription  to.  buy  a  parsonage.  The 
terms  of  this  subscription  were  such,  that  it  was  to  belong  to  the 
Methodist  society  as  long  as  conference  kept  a  supply  here,  after 
which  it  should  revert  to  any  other  orthodox  society  keeping  up 
preaching  here.  During  the  pastorate  of  Mr.  David  the  church  was 
built.  The  building  is  36x50  and  cost  about  $3,000.  The  member- 
ship is  forty.  Charles  Case  is  class-leader.  The  Sabbath  school  has 
been  kept  up  most  of  the  time. 

Thirty-five  members  (twenty-six  by  letter  and  nine  on  profession) 
united  in  forming  a  Congregational  church,  March  6,  1869.  Rev. 
Joseph  E.  Roy,  who  so  faithfully  represented  that  denomination  in  its 
home  mission  and  church  extension  interests,  was  present  and  preached 
the  sermon  and  gave  his  assistance  in  the  organization,  which  was 
perfected  by  the  election  of  T.  D.  Haight,  clerk;  C.  Mead,  treasurer; 
John  Brown  and  Edwin  Mead,  deacons.  The  church  was  built,  in 
1871,  at  a  cost  of  about  3,000.  The  present  membership  is  forty-four. 
The  Sunday  school  is  in  charge  of  Charles  E.  Case,  superintendent. 
This  school  was  established  in  1869.  William  M.  Mellen  was  the  first 


326  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

superintendent.  One  of  the  most  interesting  occasions  connected  with 
the  school  was  the  celebration,  in  1870,  at  Harroun's  Grove. 

The  Ashkura  Lodge,  "No.  580,  I.O.O.F.,  was  organized  June  12, 
1875,  with  the  following  charter  members  and  original  officers :  S.  A. 
Didamy,  KG. ;  T.  D.  Haight,  Y.G. ;  John  R.  Miller,  A.  C.  Badgley 
and  Prudent  Yadbonker.  C.  C.  Chapman  was  elected  secretary,  and 
Jacob  Lewis,  treasurer.  Onarga  and  Watseka  Lodges  participated  in 
the  instituting  ceremonies.  The  present  officers  are  :  W.  H.  Badgley, 
N.G. ;  John  Fedderman,  Y.G. ;  C.  C.  Chapman,  secretary;  J.  Lewis, 
treasurer;  M.  Chapman,  lodge  deputy.  The  membership  is  thirty- 
seven.  Lodge  meets  Wednesday  evenings. 

There  was  a  lodge  of  Good  Templars  here  as  early  as  1863,  of 
which  Leonard  Stringham  was  worthy  chief  at  the  time  he  was  mur- 
dered. The  present  organization,  Ashkum  Star  Lodge,  JSTo.  408,  dates 
from  October  20,  1874,  with  J.  D.  Weed,  M.  Packard,  G.  B.  Carley 
and  sixteen  others  as  charter  members.  The  present  officers  are: 
S.  M.  Packard,  W.C.T. ;  Sena  Carley,  Y.T. ;  G.  B.  Carley,  W.  Chap- 
lain ;  John  McDonald,  W.  Sect. ;  W.  B.  Langley,  Asst.  Sec. ;  Frank 
Meents,  financial  secretary ;  Sarah  Mead,  W.  Treas. ;  G.  Morrell  Fow- 
ler, marshal  ;  Ada  Lewis,  W.D.M. ;  Dora  Lower,  W.I.G. ;  Frank 
Lake,  W.O.G. ;  Lizzie  Brown,  W.R.H.S. ;  Ada  Lower,  W.L.H.S. ; 
James  McLane,  P. W.C.T.  There  are  twenty  members.  Lodge  meets 
Tuesday  evening  in  the  Methodist  church. 

VILLAGE   ORGANIZATION. 

A  meeting  was  held  January  20,  1870,  of  the  "white  male  free- 
holders" living  in  section  28,  at  which  Arnold  Earl  presided,  and  H. 
L.  Payson,  Jr.,  was  secretary,  to  vote  for  or  against  incorporation. 
The  vote  resulted  in  twenty  votes  for,  to  two  against  incorporating, 
and  the  section-lines  were  fixed  as  the  boundaries.  The  first  election 
was  held  January  27.  The  following  were  elected  trustees:  Peter 
Kelley,  Jacob  Lewis,  H.  L.  Payson,  C.  Brayton  and  H.  K.  Cornell. 
H.  L.  Payson  was  elected  president;  A.  J.  Lake,  clerk;  and  Jacob 
Lewis,  superintendent  of  streets.  Thirty-two  votes  were  cast.  In 
1875  it  was  decided  to  incorporate  under  the  general  act  of  1872.  At 
the  first  election  under  this  the  following  were  elected  :  John  Mc- 
Curdy,  president ;  A.  S.  Cook,  G.  B.  Heath,  C.  C.  Chapman,  James 
O'Reilly,  J.  R.  Smith,  trustees;  and  S.  A.  Didamy,  clerk.  The  pres- 
ent officers  are:  Jacob  Haight,  president;  C.  C.  Chapman,  M.  R. 
Meents,  Thos.  Kelley,  James  O'Reilly  and  P.  Yadbonker,  trustees ; 
Geo.  A.  Springet,  clerk;  and  J.  C.  Fowler,  police  magistrate. 


ASHKUM   TOWNSHIP.  827 

BIOGRAPHICAL. 

Robert  D.  Ross,  farmer,  Ashkum,  is  not  exactly  an  old  settler  here, 
though  the  farm  of  1,160  acres,  known  as  the  "  Ross  Farm,"  has  been 
in  possession  of  the  family  for  a  number  of  years.  Originally  they 
used  it  as  a  hunting  station,  when  deer  and  other  game  were  abundant. 
He  was  born  in  Bonar  Bridge,  Ross  (shire),  Scotland,  in  1843,  and  carne 
with  his  parents  and  the  remainder  of  the  family  to  Canada  in  1845, 
and  a  year  later  to  Buffalo,  New  York,  finally  settling  in  Chicago  in 
1851,  where  the  brothers  engaged  largely  in  the  dry-goods  business. 

Thomas  Stump,  farmer,  L'Erable,  was  born  in  the  state  of  Ohio, 
December  27,  1829,  and  resided  thereuntil  March,  1855,  when  he  came 
west  to  Ashkum  township,  where  his  cousin,  Mr.  Spence,  had  already 
settled.  At  that  time  the  country  was  very  sparsely  settled,  but  in  the 
spring  of  1855  there  was  a  large  immigration,  and  houses  began  to  be 
erected  and  the  prairie  to  be  broken  up.  He  is  quite  a  prominent  cit- 
izen of  this  township,  having  filled  the  office  of  supervisor  with  honor 
to  himself  and  the  town  from  1861  to  1867,  and  after  an  interval  of 
three  years  was  again  elected  to  the  same  office  in  1870,  and  held  it 
until  1877,  refusing  to  again  be  put  in  nomination.  Mr.  Stump  is 
unmarried  and  resides  with  his  half-cousin,  Mr.  William  H.  Spence, 
their  combined  farms  containing  over  700  acres,  all  well  improved  and 
bearing  evidences  of  careful  cultivation. 

Francis  X.  Lemenager,  farmer,  Ashkum,  is  a  native  of  Belgium,, 
having  been  born  in  the  canton  of  Perwez,  province  of  Brabant,  in 
that  country,  in  1828.  He  arrived  in  America  in  1856,  and  came 
west,  settling  in  this  township  in  the  neighborhood  of  L'Erable.  He 
worked  in  Clifton  for  Mr.  Howe  part  of  the  first  year,  and  on  the 
arrival  of  his  brother  from  Belgium  went  to  farming,  in  which  business 
he  has  continued  since.  He  bought  his  land  from  the  railroad  com- 
pany, at  which  time  it  was  raw  prairie  ;  now  he  has  it  well  improved 
and  in  a  high  state  of  cultivation,  a  commodious  and  handsome  farm- 
house, good  barn  and  out-buildings,  a  grove  and  orchard.  The  whole 
farm  of  320  acres  is  well  fenced  and  thoroughly  ditched.  He  was 
elected  justice  of  the  peace  in  1878,  and  continues  to  discharge  the 
duties  of  his  office  to  the  general  satisfaction  of  the  people.  In  1874 
Mr.  Lemenager  married  for  the  second  time,  and  has  a  family  of  eight 
children,  three  boys  and  five  girls. 

Eugene  Lemenager,  farmer,  L'Erable,  was  born  in  Belgium,  October 
8,  1839,  and  sailed  from  Antwerp,  in  company  with  his  father  and  two 
sisters,  on  the  steamship  Belgian  Constitution,  March  12,  1857,  and  after 
a  stormy  passage  of  twenty-two  days  landed  in  New  York.  Heat  once 


328  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

came  west,  and  rejoined  his  brother  in  this  township,  and  proceeded  to 
farming,  in  which  he  has  been  eminently  successful,  now  owning  a  splen- 
did farm  of  320  acres.  He  has  a  handsome  farm  house,  which  was  erected 
at  a  cost  of  $2,600,  the  main  building  being  20x30  feet,  and  the  L 
20  X  20,  all  two  stories  high,  with  piazza  around  the  south  and  east  sides. 
The  farm  buildings  are  good,  and  a  grove  of  2,000  trees  and  orchard 
of  200  trees,  adds  greatly  to  the  appearance  of  the  homestead.  Sep- 
tember 23,  1862,  he  was  married,  in  L'Erable,  to  Miss  Antoinette 
Aucremanne,  and  has  a  family  of  six  children,  four  boys  and  two 
girls.  In  1879  Mr.  Lemenager  revisited  Belgium,  and  found  quite  a 
change  had  occurred  there  during  the  twenty-three  years  he  had  been 
absent,  and  met  an  old  neighbor  there  who  was  ninety-two  years  old. 

Edwin  Mead,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Ashkum,  was  born  in  Green- 
wich, Connecticut,  October  25,  1819,  and  lived  there  for  twenty-six 
years.  He  then  went  to  New  York  city,  and  clerked,  and  was  also 
engaged  in  the  flour  and  feed  business,  the  firm  being  Clark  &  Mead. 
After  a  two-years  residence  in  this  vcity,  he  returned  to  Connecticut  and 
lived  there  one  year,  when  he  went  to  Virginia,  where  he  conducted  a 
saw-mill,  lumber  and  wood  business  for  five  years.  He  subsequently 
visited  Connecticut  and  farmed  there  for  three  years.  He  also  laid  out  an 
addition  to  Greenwich.  In  1858  he  came  to  Ashkum,  and  has  lived 
here  since.  He  married  Miss  Mercy  M.  Reynolds,  January  29,  1844, 
who  was  born  in  Bedford^county,  New  York.  Of  their  seven  children 
six  are  living :  Julius,  Cornelia  E,.,  Edwin,  Stephen  J.,  John  T.  and 
Sarah  M.  Mr.  Mead  owns  600  acres  of  land  in  this  county.  He  has 
served  as  road  commissioner,  school  director  and  trustee. 

Victor  and  Jasper  Changelon,  farmers,  Clifton,  were  both  born  in 
Belgium,  and  left  that  country  in  company  with  their  father  and  mother, 
they  being  both  young,  in  the  year  1863.  They  at  once  came  west  to 
this  township  and  bought  raw  prairie  land,  which  through  unremitting 
labor  they  have  made  into  a  beautiful  and  productive  farm  ;  it  is  well 
improved  and  fixed  up,  the  whole  230  acres  being  well  ditched  and 
fenced,  with  good  house  and  barn,  large  bearing  orchard,  and  handsome 
shade  trees.  Jasper  married,  in  August,  1870,  Miss  Mary  Constantin, 
and  has  a  family  of  two  children.  Victor  is  still  unmarried,  and  con- 
tinues to  reside  with  his  brother. 

August  Muehlenpfordt,  physician  and  druggist,  Ashkum,  is  a  native 
of  Brunswick,  Germany.  He  was  born  in  September,  1839,  and  lived 
there  until  1866.  He  began  studying  medicine  at  the  age  of  seventeen, 
and  graduated  at  the  Georgia  Augusta  (Germany)  Medical  College.  He 
practiced  one  year  in  Germany,  prior  to  his  coming  to  the  United 
States.  On  his  arrival  in  this  country  he  settled  in  Will  county, 


CHEBANSE   TOWNSHIP.  329 

Illinois,  and  practiced  there  until  1868,  when  he  moved  to  Ashkum, 
and  has  lived  here  since.  In  1868  he  married  Miss  Henrietta  Gerdes, 
who  was  born  in  Germany,  and  came  to  the  United  States  in  1858. 
Of  their  six  children  five  are  living  :  August,  Emma,  Delia,  Freda  and 
an  infant. 

CHEBANSE  TOWNSHIP. 

Chebanse  occupies  a  position  on  the  northern  border  of  the  county, 
with  Kankakee  county  as  its  northern,  the  Iroquois  river  its  eastern, 
Ashkum  its  southern,  and  Milk's  Grove  its  western  boundary.  The 
Illinois  Central  railroad  runs  very  nearly  through  its  center  from 
north  to  south,  having  on  it  the  villages  of  Chebanse,  sixty-four  miles 
from  Chicago,  and  Clifton,  sixty-nine  miles.  Langham  creek  winds 
through  it  nearly  central  from  west  to  east,  and  affords  good  water 
facilities  for  stock,  in  addition  to  the  artesian  water  which  is  found 
in  all  portions  of  the  town.  It  is  composed  of  the  following  portions 
of  congressional  townships :  The  northern  one-third  of  town  28, 
range  14,  the  northern  third  of  all  that  is  west  of  the  river  in  range 
18  west  of  the  second  principal  meridian,  and  sections  6  and  7  of 
the  fractional  township,  range  11  east  of  the  third  principal  meridian, 
four  sections  of  town  29,  range  11,  and  the  southern  two-thirds  of 
town  29,  range  14,  and  all  west  of  the  river  in  the  southern  two- 
thirds  of  range  13,  making  in  all  some  sixty-two  sections  of  land. 
The  poet  has  somewhere  said  that  "comparisons  are  cruel,"  though 
just  where,  or  what  poet  advanced  the  doctrine,  very  few  even  of 
our  literary  men  can  tell.  The  writer,  while  recognizing  the  fact 
that  there  is  more  truth  than  poetry  in  the  excerpt,  will  disclaim  all 
cruelty  in  saying  that  for  location,  and  all  the  conditions  which  go  to 
make  a  first-class  township  Chebanse  has  not  its  superior  in  the 
county.  The  rolling  lands  which  extend  in  a  due  westerly  course 
from  the  Iroquois  almost  to  the  Illinois  river,  keeping  nearly  all  the 
way  in  township  29,  begin  here.  The  early  settlers  found  along 
Langham,  which  early  went  by  the  name  of  "White  Woman's 
creek,"  all  the  conditions  for  preemption  and  early  homes.  While 
they  could  not  afford  to  be  away  from  timber  and  water,  they  found 
such  marvelous  richness  of  soil  and  beauty  of  landscape  that  one  is 
not  surprised  that  when  Maurice  Kirby  came  into  this  state  at  an 
early  day,  he  was  told  that  the  finest  land  in  all  this  county  was  on 
"  White  Woman's  creek,"  and  that  Cassady,  the  then  famous  land 
speculator  of  Danville,  was  going  to  enter  the  whole  of  it  the  very 
next  week.  It  was  no  exaggeration ;  and  as  fast  as  settlers  could  find 


330  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

their  way  there  they  took  up  the  lands.  Long  before  railroad  build- 
ing good  farms  were  under  excellent  cultivation  in  town  29,  on  both 
sides  of  the  county  line.  There  was  in  the  country  no  finer  grazing 
place,  no  richer  land  and  no  healthier  location.  The  old  "Butter- 
field  trace,"  which  was  the  highway  of  travel  from  all  the  country 
around  the  Upper  Sangamon,  the  Okaw,  the  Embarrass  and  Big 
Grove^to  the  lake  ,(Urbana),  passed  through,  keeping  very  near 
the  line  which  was  afterward  followed  by  the  Illinois  Central  rail- 
road. It  r.in  along  the  Spring  creek  timber  to  a  point  where  that 
stream  turned  east,  near  the  present  residence  of  Mr.  Kirby,  thence 
nearly  north,  passing  two  miles  west  of  Plato  ;  crossed  Langham 
either  on  section  31  or  32,  where  William  Enos  lives,  about  one 
mile  west  of  where  the  bridge  was  afterward  built.  Nothing  seems 
to  be  known  by  the  old  settlers  here  in  regard  to  Butterfield,  or  why 
this  trace  received  his  name.  They  only  know  that  it  was,  for  about 
twenty  years,  commencing  probably  immediately  after  the  Black 
Hawk  war,  the  greatest  hog  and  cattle  route  in  the  state.  The  Funks 
and  others,  who  ranged  all  over  central  Illinois,  picking  up  all  the 
cattle  and  hogs  which  could  be  bought,  and  who  had,  before  this 
time,  found  in  Galena  the  only  market,  commenced  driving  to  Chi- 
cago, a  place  until  then  unknown,  except  on  the  maps  of  explorers 
and  Indian  traders. 

In  driving  through  here  the  hogs  sometimes  became  lost,  and 
away  from  civilization  soon  reverted  to  their  ancient  wild  habits ; 
and  for  protection  against  man  and  wolves,  their  only  enemies,  and 
especially  to  guard  their  young,  would  select  an  impregnable  posi- 
tion,— an  island  in  a  swampy  place,  where  they  were  comparatively 
safe.  It  seemed  strange,  at  first  thought,  that  they  should  select 
such  places  on  the  prairie  instead  of  in  the  timber,  but  it  seems  that 
they  knew  best.  In  these  places  they  would  live  for  years,  until  a 
severe  winter  would  kill  them  off.  No  wolf  could  approach  the 
young  pigs  while  protected  by  a  cordon  of  ferocious  old  chaps, 
with  tusks  long  enough  to  appear  almost  like  horns.  The  most  ex- 
citing hunting  in  these  parts  was  for  these  wild  hogs.  "The  dan- 
ger's self  was  lure  alone."  African  jungles  could  hardly  be,  so  far 
as  the  excitement  and  danger  of  the  experiment  was  concerned,  more 
alive  to  real  high-toned  sport  than  were  the  prairie  morasses  along 
Butterfield  trace. 

B.  F.  Brady  and  his  two  brothers,  Joseph  and  William,  came 
from  Attica,  Indiana,  in  1843,  and  bought  land  in  sections  33  and  34, 
near  the  mouth  of  Langham  creek,  and  began  to  make  a  farm  of  it, 
as  well  as  three  bachelors  could.  This  land  was  bought  of  the  state, 


CHEBANSE   TOWNSHIP.  331 

and  was  known  as  "state  land,"  in  distinction  from  government 
land,  canal  land  and  seminary  land.  It  had  been  conveyed  to  the 
state  under  an  act  of  congress,  entitled  uan  act  to  appropriate  the 
proceeds  of  the  sales  of  the  public  lands  and  grant  preemption  rights, 
approved  September  4,  1861."  The  Brady  boys  built  a  log  cabin  on 
section  33,  and  lived  there  a  number  of  years,  and  engaged  in  farm- 
ing, raising  cattle  and  hogs,  which  they  drove  through  to  Chicago, 
or  sold  to  the  "  drovers  "  who  scoured  the  country.  Roushe's  store 
was  the  nearest  at  hand,  over  on  the  east  side  of  the  river.  B.  F. 
Brady  was  one  of  the  first  justices  of  the  peace  in  this  part  of  the 
county,  and  was  elected  to  the  second  board  of  supervisors,  where 
he  distinguished  himself  in  trying  to  prevent  the  consummation  of  the 
sale  of  the  swamp  lands  which  he  believed  then  and  still  believes 
was  a  great  wrong.  He  considered  the  bonds  for  which  they  were 
exchanged  as  being  utterly  and  entirely  void,  and  the  sale  really  a 
give-away.  Before  township  organization  took  eifect,  voters  from 
here  went  to  Mt.  Langham,  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  to  vote. 
In  1865  he  removed  to  Kankakee,  where  he  still  resides.  Joseph 
died  on  the  farm  about  1856. 

Thomas  Sammons  lived  a  few  miles  north  of  Brady.  It  was  then 
in  Iroquois  county.  He  is  dead,  and  his  son'  yet  resides  on  the 
farm.  Edward  Stump  and  William  Stump  settled  on  Langham  creek 
about  1846.  They  are  both  dead.  William  Farmer  settled  there 
about  the  same  time.  In  1854  he  sold  to  Adolph  Poncelet,  the 
Belgian  consul  in  Chicago.  He  put  Mr.  Harbaville  on  the  land, 
and  at  once  entered  into  arrangements  to  get  his  countrymen  to 
settle  on  the  lands.  He  was  so  far  successful  as  to  bring  on  a  number 
of  families  in  1856.  Some  of  them  had  means  of  their  own  to  begin 
on.  Some  of  course  were  poor  and  had  to  commence  by  working 
for  others.  A  great  many  families  of  that  nationality  still  reside  in 
the  eastern  end  of  this  and  Ashkum  townships,  led  here  by  the 
exertions  of  Mr.  Poncelet.  Some  have  nice  and  well  cultivated  farms. 
They  have  shown  that  they  have  been  valuable  citizens  and  a  credit 
to  the  county.  They  were  all  Catholics,  and  with  the  French  of  like 
faith,  who  were  being  brought  in  through  the  assistance  of  Mr. 
Spink,  founded  the  first  Roman  Catholic  neighborhood  in  this  county. 
It  was  here  that  Father  Chiniquy  came  to  labor  and  commenced 
holding  services  in  Mr.  La  Bounty's  house. 

Mr.  Poncelet  lost  his  life  by  drowning,  while  on  his  way  out  from 
Chicago  to  see  his  possessions,  in  the  spring  of  1857.  It  had  been 
raining  hard,  and  the  sloughs  and  streams  were  high.  When  he  was 
at  Blue  Island,  he  asked  someone  standing  by  if  he  could  cross ;  not 


332  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

being  able  to  talk  English,  he  was  misunderstood,  and  the  answer 
cost  him  his  life,  for  his  team  became  mired  and  he  was  drowned. 
His  colonists  here  mourned  his  death  as  if  it  had  been  a  brother,  for 
they  felt  while  he  lived  that  they  were  almost  under  the  old  flag  at 
home.  William  and  Jerome  La  Bounty  came  here  in  1850.  William 
preempted  80  acres  in  section  9.  He  was  one  of  the  first  among 
the  French  settlers,  and  now  resides  in  Ashkurn.  Nelson  Detois 
came  in  soon  after  and  settled  near  him.  Mr.  Ostrander  built  the 
mill  at  Sugar  Island  in  1848.  It  was  a  saw-mill  then.  Three  years 
later  he  sold  to  Webster,  who  put  in  a  run  of  stone.  A  new  dam, 
three  feet  higher  than  the  old  one,  was  put  in  in  18Y6,  and  the  mill 
was  rebuilt.  Dohl  and  Earps  now  run  it.  This  was  in  Iroquois  county 
until  Kankakee  county  was  erected.  The  first  school  was  started  in 
that  neighborhood  about  1848,  in  a  log  school-house.  Mr.  Whitehead 
was  the  first  teacher.  He  had  about  fifteen  scholars.  Alfred  Fletcher 
also  taught  one  or  two  terms. 

On  August  29  and  30,  1863,  occurred  the  terrible  summer  frost, 
which  will  never  be  forgotten  by  those  who  lived  here  at  that  time. 
Up  to  that  day  there  never  was  a  finer  prospect  for  corn  than  was  in 
the  fields  then,  but  of  course  none  of  it  was  ripe  enough  to  be  out  of 
danger  from  injury  by  frost,  and  it  was  frozen  to  the  ground.  What 
was  not  killed  the  first  night  was  on  the  second ;  even  the  stalks 
were  frozen  to  the  ground,  and  had  a  fire  swept  through  it  the  destruc- 
tion would  hardly  have  been  greater.  Many  farmers  who  had  just 
commenced  were  ruined.  Hogs  were  killed  off  in  great  numbers  to 
preveht  starvation.  One  man  sold  100  large  hogs  for  $100,  and  others 
less  fortunate  gave  them  away  or  killed  them.  The  destitution  and 
distress  which  followed  was  great. 

A  story  is  told  of  Mr.  Titus,  a  brother-in-law  of  Mr.  Westover, 
which  was  so  characteristic  of  the  man  and  of  the  time,  that  its  truth 
will  hardly  be  questioned.  He  was  a  pin-maker  down  in  Connecticut, 
and  finding  the  confinement  in  the  factory  telling  on  his  health,  he 
came  west  when  this  country  was  new,  intending  to  open  up  a  farm. 
He  had  not  been  here  long  when  the  ague  struck  him,  and  he  seemed 
liable  to  shake  off  what  little  flesh  pin-making  had  left.  Blue  with 
ague  and  shaking  so  that  he  could  not  have  picked  up  a  pin  if  there 
had  been  thousands  lying  around  him,  he  stood  leaning  against  a 
fence  for  support  one  day,  when  he  was  accosted  by  some  of  the  rail- 
road hands,  who  with  kindly  feelings  undertook  to  express  sympathy 
for  him,  which  was  quickly  repelled.  He  told  them  that  he  was  not 
by  any  manner  of  means  as  poor  as  they  supposed,  for  he  did  not  own 
an  acre  of  this  accursed  land,  and  did  not  propose  to. 


CHEBANSE   TOWNSHIP.  333 

Among  the  finest  and  most  extensive  farms  of  the  county  may  be 
mentioned  those  of  Lemuel  Milk,  Col.  D.  A.  Jones,  "W.  R.  Phillips, 
of  Chicago,  George  K.  Clark,  Peter  Enos,  Stephen  Grace,  John  F. 
Schrader,  Thomas  Leggett,  and  the  fine  farm  known  as  the  Orchard 
Farm,  belonging  to  J.  M.  Balthis. 

The  names  of  many  of  the  towns  along  the  Central  railroad  are 
known  to  have  been  of  Indian  origin.  At  least  fifty  can  be  counted 
along  the  main  line  and  the  Chicago  branch,  that  are  known  by  their 
spelling  and  their  sound  to  have  been  such.  The  general  impression 
is  that  those  in  this  county,  were,  like  Watseka,  taken  from  the  Indians 
who  formerly  lived  here,  which  impression  is  incorrect.  Mr.  B.  F. 
Brady,  whose  judgment  will  not  be  questioned,  says  that  these  names, 
Chebanse  and  Ashkum,  were  never  known  here  until  they  had  been 
given  to  the  stations  by  the  Central  railroad.  Upon  the  authority  of 
Hon.  R.  B.  Mason,  who  was  chief  engineer  of  the  road  when  it  was 
built,  the  writer  learns  that  these  Indian  names  were  applied  by  him 
at  the  suggestion  of  some  one  who  was  then  acting  under  him,  and 
they  are  so  similar  that  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  they  were  suggested 
by  some  one  who  in  the  states  east  of  this  had  been  acquainted  with 
them  in  local  Indian  history.  Certain  it  is  that  they  were  not  taken 
from  any  of  the  Illinois  tribes,  though  to  what  tribe  we  are  indebted 
for  their  origin  it  is  impossible  now  to  state. 

The  township  of  Chebanse  was  organized  in  1856  by  the  election 
of  Jesse  Brown,  supervisor ;  A.  M.  Fishburn,  clerk ;  Levi  Lindsey, 
assessor ;  A.  W.  Fishburn,  collector ;  and  B.  F.  Brady  and  P.  E.  King- 
man,  justices  of  the  peace.  The  principal  officers  of  what  now  con- 
stitutes the  township  at  the  present  writing  are :  James  Porch,  super- 
visor; J.  St.  Hilaire,  clerk;  J.  H.  Sands,  assessor;  Louis  Henrotin, 
collector;  and  A.  B.  Cummings  and  Louis  Henrotin,  justices  of  the 
peace. 

In  1867  the  question  was  again  submitted  to  the  voters  of  the 
county  whether  they  would  continue  under  township  organization. 
The  vote  in  this  township  was  unanimous  in  favor  of  the  existing  sys- 
tem. The  vote  in  the  county,  which  was  taken  May  14,  1867,  for  or 
against  annexing  to  Kankakee  county  all  of  town  29,  ranges  10,  11, 
12,  13  and  14  west  of  the  second  principal  meridian,  and  ranges  10 
and  11  east  of  the  third  principal  meridian,  being  the  strip  four  miles 
wide  across  the  north  end  of  the  county,  resulted  in  the  county  in  the 
negative.  In  this  town  it  was  affirmative  by  287  votes  to  33.  The 
popular  sentiment  here  was  in  its  favor,  for  the  reason  that  their  trade 
and  business  connections  were  with  Kankakee. 
21 


334  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

THE    VILLAGE   OF   CHEBANSE. 

The  village  of  Chebanse  was  laid  out  by  the  railroad  company  in 
the  center  of  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  14,  in  1854.  The  plat 
embraced  about  sixty  acres,  including  the  railroad  strips,  leaving  some 
fifty  acres  in  that  quarter  on  either  side  of  the  plat.  The  business  of 
the  company,  including  the  selling  of  lots,  was  entrusted  to  Mr.  Sea- 
vers,  the  first  station-agent.  A.  T.  Ailing  was  the  second.  He  now 
lives  at  Neoga. 

T.  D.  Williams  was  the  next,  and  remained  here  until  the  breaking 
out  of  the  war.  He  was  by  birth  an  Englishman.  He  came  to  Amer- 
ica alone,  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  and  soon  after  enlisted  and  went 
to  the  Mexican  war,  under  Capt.  Geo.  B.  McClellan,  and  after  his 
return  was  sent,  on  that  officer's  recommendation,  to  West  Point, 
where  he  graduated,  and  then  went  into  private  life.  He  married  and 
came  here  as  the  representative  of  the  railroad  in  the  fall  of  1857.  At 
the  breaking  out  of  the  rebellion  he  felt  that  his  adopted  country, 
which  had  educated  him,  was  entitled  to  his  service,  and  he  raised  Co. 
G,  25th  reg.,  and  marched  to  the  front.  Late  in  1862  he  was  pro- 
moted to  the  position  of  colonel,  though  he  had  been  acting  colonel 
for  some  time.  It  was  only  a  week  before  the  battle  of  Stone  River 
that  he  received  promotion.  He  was  wounded  on  the  30th,  but  would 
not  keep  out  of  battle.  On  the  31st  his  color-bearer  was  shot  down, 
and  seizing  the  fallen  standard,  thrusting  it  aloft,  like  the  true  Briton 
he  was,  shouted  for  his  men  to  come  forward  and  sustain  the  old  flag. 
He  received  a  wound  from  which  he  died  on  the  3d  of  .the  following 
month.  His  widow  went  to  get  his  remains,  but  they  had  been  for- 
warded before  her  arrival.  She  bore  his  remains  east  for  burial,  and 
while  there  their  only  child  died.  No  braver  or  truer  soldier  went 
forth  in  the  dark  days  than  Col.  Williams.  Had  his  life  been  spared 
there  is  no  doubt  of  his  rapid  promotion  and  great  usefulness.  His 
widow  still  resides  here  at  Chebanse.  Mr.  Merrill,  subsequently  the 
railroad  agent  here,  was  killed  by  being  knocked  off  the  cars  while 
switching.  While  clinging  to  the  side  of  a  car  he  was  carried  suddenly 
against  the  coal-house,  and  thrown  from  his  position  under  the  cars. 
He  was  followed  by  William  Smith,  who  was  also  killed  in  1876. 
He  was  standing  on  the  cars  giving  orders.  The  train  had  made  a 
"running  switch,"  and  the  portion  of  the  train  which  he  was  on  was 
unexpectedly  run  into,  and  he  was  thrown  to  the  ground. 

Harrington  &  Spaulding  were  the  first  merchants.  They  built  a 
store  on  the  east  side  of  the  track  in  1854,  which  was  burned  in  1858. 
Amos  M.  Fishburn  built  the  next  store  on  the  same  side.  It  was  14  X 16, 
and  still  stands  there  although  several  additions  have  been  built  to  it 


CHEBANSE   TOWNSHIP.  335 

Mr.  Fishburn  preempted  a  farm  on  the  S.E.  ^  of  Sec.  15,  and  sold  his 
store  in  1858  to  Washington  Garlock.  Spaulding  &  Harrington  sold  to 
R.  J.  Hanna,  who  came  here  from  New  York  city  with  his  father-in-law, 
Mr.  James  Frith,  who  improved  the  Dr.  Scott  land  in  section  11,  just 
north  of  town,  in  1854.  Mr.  Hanna  was  a  carpenter,  and  went  to  work 
to  build  the  station  and  freight-house  here.  He  worked  at  his  trade 
till  he  became  a  "  merchant."  He  also  sold  his  stock  to  Garlock  in 
1858,  who  continued  in  trade  until  1869,  when  he  sold  to  Bliss  Suther- 
land, who  carried  on  trade  a  year  and  then  settled  on  a  farm  on 
section  12.  Charles  Bard  came  from  his  farm  in  the  spring  of  1857, 
and  commenced  the  business  of  shoemaking,  which  in  time  grew  into 
mercantile  trade.  E.  W.  Dodson  opened  a  store  in  1856,  and  was  a 
deputy  county  surveyor.  He  was  in  trade  a  year,  then  went  on  a  farm. 
He  was  in  the  army  four  years  ;  returned  and  was  elected  county  sur- 
veyor two  or  three  terms.  Jerome  Bard  came  here  in  1860,  and 
engaged  in  buying  corn  with  T.  D.  Williams. 

Joseph  Leonard,  who  succeeded  Fishburn  in  business  in  the  winter 
of  1858,  was  a  son  of  Rev.  J.  H.  Leonard,  pastor  of  the  Seamen's 
Bethel  in  Chicago.  In  1860  he  built  a  store  south  of  the  others  and 
still  on  the  east  side.  The  railroad  company  had  reserved  from  the 
market  the  two  blocks  west  of  the  track,  where  nearly  all  business  houses 
are  now  situated  supposing  that  they  would  some  time  be  compelled 
to  use  them  to  put  up  repair  shops  at  this  point,  it  being  about  half 
way  between  Chicago  and  Champaign.  Leonard  sold  to  Broadhead 
&  Hanna  in  1861,  they  to  E.  S.  Richmond  in  1862,  who  remained  in 
business  here  until  1866,  and  sold  to  R.  S.  Laughlin.  Richmond  went 
into  the  agricultural  implement  trade,  then  into  hay,  which  was  during 
early  times  one  of  the  most  important  business  concerns  of  this  part  of 
the  country.  He  afterward  went  to  Texas.  Mr.  Laughlin  continued 
in  trade  in  the  same  building  on  the  east  side  until  1878,  having 
been  for  more  than  twelve  years  interested  in  the  business  and  public 
enterprises  of  the  town.  Though  now  retired  from  business  he  still 
resides  here. 

In  1857  A.  M.  Baldwin  built  a  store  north  of  the  others,  and  ran 
it  two  years,  after  which  he  sold  out  and  went  to  farming.  Mr.  Hitch- 
cock started  the  first  tin-shop  and  hardware  store,  and  with  the  drug 
store  of  E.  W.  Warren,  and  the  shoe-shop  of  Silas  Morehouse,  was 
burned  out  in  the  fire  of  1858.  The  first  hotel  was  built  on  First 
South  street,  by  George  Carter,  of  Warrington,  England.  The  building 
still  stands  there.  There  was  no  organized  school  district  until  1860. 
The  first,  a  subscription  school,  was  held  in  a  small  building  erected  for 
the  purpose  southeast  of  the  depot;  it  was  about  14x16.  The  town- 


336  HISTORY   OF    IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

ship  was  organized  and  the  school  land  sold  for  from  $5  to  $8.  At  this 
time  a  new  school-house,  24x36,  was  built,  which  has  since  been 
enlarged  by  the  addition  of  three  rooms.  Four  teachers  are  employed 
and  the  school  is  very  efficiently  managed  by  directors  A.  B.  Chase, 
R.  J.  McDonald  and  Martin  Grosse.  T.  D.Williams  was  the  first  school 
treasurer.  Hon.  Thomas  S.  Sawyer  is  the  present  official. 

Mr.  Hitchcock,  after  he  was  burned  out  in  1858,  built  the  house 
known  as  the  "  Chebanse  House,"  and  occupied  it  as  a  tin-shop  until 
1860.  It  was  then  enlarged  by  Mr.  Jackson.  Theodore  Babcock  pur- 
chased it  in  1864  and  improved  it,  and  has  kept  it  as  a  public  house 
ever  since.  In  1866  J.  G.  Yan  Ornam  built  the  Yan  Hotel  and  kept  it 
until  1879. 

J.  H.  Way  was  the  first  physician,  and  joined  with  his  practice  sell- 
ing lumber.  He  continued  in  both  till  1858.  The  first  regular  lum- 
ber-yard was  opened  by  Mr.  Sisson  in  1863.  He  ran  the  business  for 
a  year. 

A.  M.  Wilson  and  'Squire  Trescott  commenced  the  first  meat-market 
in  1860.  Their  joint  capital  was  $50,  just  about  enough  to  buy  a  good 
beef,  a  couple  of  fat  sheep,  one  "  middling  sorter  "  and  a  veal,  and  have 
enough  left  for  change  in  the  drawer.  At  the  end  of  two  months 
Wilson  withdrew  himself  and  his  "  capital  "  from  the  concern  and 
established  himself  in  an  extensive  grain-buying  firm.  This  left  Mr. 
Trescott  to  go  it  alone,  and  he  found  that  he  had  his  hands  full.  After 
six  years  of  faithful  service  he  found  that  he  had  sufficient  capital  to 
carry  on  the  business  of  insurance  agent,  and  run  for  justice  of  the 
peace.  He  has  been  successful  in  both.  A  man  of  correct  judgment 
and  large  acquaintance  with  men,  and  well  posted  in  regard  to  the 
matters  which  the  writer  desired  information  about,  at  considerable 
expense  of  time  and  study  he  afforded  such  information  as  it  would 
have  been  impossible  otherwise  to  obtain.  That  the  statements  will  be 
found,  in  the  main,  to  be  correct  is  reasonably  expected.  Mr.  Wilson  con- 
tinued in  the  grain  trade  with  Mr.  Stuart  until  his  death.  Joseph  Leon- 
ard built  the  first  warehouse  in  ,1860.  The  True  Brothers  bought  it  and 
moved  it  north  and  built  the  large  warehouse.  Kenaga  &  Knott  got  pos- 
session of  it  and  built  a  large  dry-house.  While  drying  grain  it  took  fire 
and  was  burned  in  1876.  Messrs.  Brown  &  Huckins  engaged  in  the 
grain  trade.  They  sold  their  business  to  F.  J.  Taylor.  G.  P.  and  C.  H. 
Comstock  built  the  warehouse  on  the  county  line  in  1867,  and  sold  it 
to  Taylor  and  engaged  in  business  at  Ashkum,  where  they  still  are. 
In  1873  Taylor  sold  this  business  to  James  Capon  and  retired  to  his 
farm.  Mr.  Chase  entered  into  business  with  Capon,  and  the  trade  is 
now  carried  on  here  and  at  Donovan  by  Capon  &  Co. 


CHEBANSE   TOWNSHIP.  337 

Six  brothers,  named  Grosse,  came  here  about  1865,  four  of  whom 
have  proved  successful  merchants.  John  had  a  small  store  on  the  east 
side,  and  afterward  moved  to  the  west  side.  In  1873  he  sold  to  H.  d 
and  Frank,  and  went  to  Texas.  He  returned  the  next  spring  and  died, 
leaving  a  considerable  property.  H.  C.  and  Frank  Grosse  continued  a 
successful  business  here  until  1878,  when  they  exchanged  their  store 
for  a  farm,  with  Hon.  G.  "W.  Parker.  He  closed  out  the  stock  and 
went  to  Kansas  City.  Martin,  another  brother,  went  on  a  farm,  and 
Henry,  as  before  stated,  is  engaged  in  mercantile  trade  in  Chicago. 
Dr.  J.  D.  DeVeling  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession,  and  in 
the  drug  trade,  about  1863.  He  had  previously  been  at  Sugar  Island, 
where  was  the  only  mill  in  this  part  of  the  country,  and  where  a  town 
had  been  laid  out.  He  has  one  of  the  best  stores  in  town. 

In  1863  E.  W.  Warren  commenced  the  hay  business.  The  demands 
of  the  war  were  such  that  these  vast  prairies  along  the  Central  railroad, 
which  offered  such  good  facilities  for  transportation,  were  cut  off  each 
year.  There  was  no  end  for  the  demand  down  in  Dixie,  and  there 
was  seemingly  no  end  to  the  supply,  except  the  lack  of  help  to  get  it 
cut,  stacked  and  pressed.  Did  any  one  ever  estimate  the  number  of 
additional  men  which  would  have  been  required  to  secure  the  hay 
crops  of  1862-3-4,  if  the  recently  perfected  mowing  machines  had 
been  brought  into  use  only  a  few  years  later  ?  George  Wells  also  en- 
gaged in  the  same  trade.  When  the  rebellion  subsided  in  1865,  great 
rows  of  stacks,  together  with  the  presses  and  barns  along  the  line,  were 
burned.  It  h#s  continued  to  be  a  considerable  business  until  1876, 
since  which  time  the  market  price  has  been  so  low  that  the  trade  has 
been  nearly  abandoned. 

With  the  close  of  the  war  the  rush  of  immigration  turned  this  way  ; 
the  farms  which  had  long  been  in  grass  were  plowed  ;  new  owners  and 
new  renters  appeared  in  great  numbers.  The  following  year,  when  the 
railroad  company  decided  to  sell  the  two  blocks  which  they  had  with- 
held, business  began  to  collect  on  the  west  side.  Soon  after  this  Mr. 
Milk  laid  out  his  addition  to  town,  and  built  the  large  "  combination 
store."  This  was  enough  to  draw  business  in  this  direction.  The 
school-house  was  built  by  James  Jacqueth.  Andrew  Jackson,  who  was 
one  of  the  earliest  carpenters  here,  has  built  a  large  number  of  the 
buildings.  He  built  the  Chebanse  House,  the  Brown  House,  which 
was  intended  for  stores  below,  and  offices  and  hall  above,  and  many  of 
the  residences.  S.  Parker  did  considerable  building. 

The  Chebanse  Water  Works  Company  was  organized  under  the  law 
of  the  state  for  joint-stock  corporations,  August  21,  1874.  The  certifi- 
cate bears  the  names  of  Lemuel  Milk,  James  Porch  and  F.  T.  McKee 


338  HISTORY   OF   IBOQUOIS   COUNTY. 

as  corporators.  The  object  was  to  furnish  water  for  domestic,  fire  and 
general  purposes,  by  a  plan,  so  far  as  is  known  to  this  writer,  not 
adopted  in  any  other  place  in  this  artesian  region.  The  well  was 
bored  120  feet  deep,  twenty  of  which  was  through  solid  rock,  when 
artesian  water  was  reached  which  rises  to  within  twenty  feet  of  the 
surface.  A  stone  tower  was  erected,  thirty-six  feet  high,  which  is 
twenty  feet  in  diameter  at  the  ground,  and  has  on  it  a  reservoir  of 
1,000  barrels  capacity.  This  is  surmounted  by  a  wind-mill  which  pumps 
the  water  to  the  reservoir ;  from  this  mains  are  laid  through  streets, 
and  from  them  hydrants  are  erected,  and  pipes  lead  into  the  houses. 
Families  are  charged  $6  per  year,  and  the  village  has  paid  $250  per 
annum  for  public  and  fire  uses.  This  last  charge  has  been  now  reduced 
to  $100  per  annum.  It  has  proved  a  perfect  success. 

The  fire  company  is  supplied  with  400  feet  of  hose,  a  pump,  and 
hooks  and  ladders.  J.  D.  Kelley  is  foreman  ;  Philip  Bauer,  chief;  W. 
J.  Hunter,  first  assistant  foreman.  There  are  eighteen  members.  E. 
L.  Wright  is  president ;  Richard  Eyrley,  secretary. 

H.  D.  Dement  &  Co.,  of  Dixon,  built  the  flax-mill  in  1870.  The 
mill  works  up  the  flax  straw  which  is  raised  in  this  vicinity  into  tow 
for  bagging.  It  has  been  in  charge  of  John  Soloman,  as  superintend- 
ent, ever  since  it  has  been  in  operation. 

CHURCHES,  SOCIETIES,  ETC. 

The  earliest  days  of  Methodism  at  Chebanse  have  no  records  here 
except  in  the  memories  of  a  very  few.  They  seem  to  have  acted  upon 
the  view  that  the  book  was  kept  open  in  another  sphere,  which  record 
the  present  writer  has  no  doubt  has  been  properly  kept.  Unfortu- 
nately, however,  it  is  not  in  a  library  to  which  he  has  had  access. 
Mr,  Andrew  Motter,  a  worthy  father  in  the  church,  came  here  and 
preempted  a  farm  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  17,  in  1855. 
The  religious  destitution  surrounding  called  him  into  active  service, 
and  knowing  that  he  had  a  call  to  preach  he  used  to  assemble  the  peo- 
ple in  the  depot  building,  or  at  such  other  places  as  he  could  find,  and 
there  preach  the  gospel.  He  is  spoken  of  as  a  sincere  and  earnest 
man,  who  never  lost  an  opportunity  to  do  good.  He  was  called  home 
to  his  reward  in  1862.  Timothy  Young,  who  came  from  New  York 
to  a  farm  on  Langham  creek  about  the  same  time,  found  that  he  was 
needed  in  the  ministry,  and  commenced  to  preach  as  a  local  preacher. 
He  afterward-  left  his  farm  and  took  appointments  in  the  itinerant 
work.  This  must  have  been  about  1860  and  1861.  There  were  two 
or  three  other  supplies  before  Rev.  H.  A.  Hobbs  was  appointed  to  this 
charge  by  conference,  which  was  in  1863.  During  this  time  George 


CHEBANSE   TOWNSHIP.  339 

Kogers  was  class-leader.  Kev.  A.  G.  Goodspeed,  now  located  at  Odell, 
was  appointed  to  this  work  in  1866,  and  remained  here  two  years, 
during  which  time,  by  his  earnest  personal  labors,  the  fine  church  was 
built  here  and  the  infant  church  organization  at  Clifton  was  greatly 
strengthened.  A  subscription  had  been  started  by  his  predecessor. 
Mr.  Goodspeed  failed  to  raise  the  money  to  purchase  material,  but 
went  to  Chicago  and  bought  the  lumber,  on  three-months  time,  of  an 
entire  stranger,  upon  his  own  personal  pledge  of  payment.  He  secured 
a  reduction  in  freight,  and  hired  Charles  Martin  to  superintend  the 
work,  which  was  all  done  by  the  day.  The  building  in  this  way  was 
put  up  at  a  cost  of  $2,775,  including  all  the  furniture  required,  and 
bible,  which  was  considerably  less  than  any  contract  offered.  It  is 
needless  to  say,  of  course,  that  the  people  of  Chebanse  responded  will- 
ingly, so  that  Mr.  Goodspeed's  pledge  was  made  good  without  any 
inconvenience  to  him.  The  building  is  32x55.  The  lot  was  donated 
by  the  railroad  company.  C.  E.  Howe  is  the  present  pastor.  The 
other  preaching  points  are  at  Leggett's  and  Warren's  school-houses. 
The  present  membership  is  sixty.  The  parsonage  was  built  about 
1863.  The  Sabbath  school  is  under  the  superintendency  of  Mr.  Chap- 
man. 

The  preliminary  meeting,  looking  to  the  organization  of  the  Bap- 
tist church,  was  held  at  the  house  of  H.  P.  Havens,  June  13, 1866.  At 
a  subsequent  meeting,  held  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Tyler,  the  following 
were  present  and  signified  their  desire  to  unite  and  form  a  church  :  H. 
P.  Havens  and  wife,  their  two  sons,  Reuben  and  Elisha,  and  their 
wives ;  William  P.  Gardner  and  wife,  Mr.  Evarts  and  wife,  J.  W.  Baker 
and  wife,  J.  J.  Tyler  and  wife,  Mariah  Tuttle  and  Hannah  Calhoun.  Rev. 
J.  M.  Whitehead,  of  Kankakee,  was  present,  and  it  was  resolved  to  meet 
July  5  to  perfect  the  organization,  and  the  churches  at  Onarga  and 
Kankakee  were  invited  to  sit  in  council  at  that  time.  Upon  the  day 
named  the  meeting  was  held,  and  after  articles  of  Christian  belief  were 
submitted  and  adopted  the  meeting  adjourned  to  the  school-house, 
where  council  was  duly  formed.  There  were  present  several  delegates 
from  the  church  at  Kankakee,  the  Rev.  D.  W.  Morgan  from  Onarga, 
and  the  Rev.  R.  Gilbert  from  Antioch.  The  new  church  was  duly 
recognized  and  the  following  services  were  held  :  Sermon,  by  Rev.  Mr. 
Gilbert ;  charge  to  the  church,  by  Rev.  Mr.  Morgan  ;  right  hand  of 
fellowship,  by  Rev.  Mr.  Whitehead.  Lots  were  donated  by  the  rail- 
road company,  and  a  committee  was  appointed  to  collect  means  to  build 
the  church.  Rev.  G.  W.  Lewis  was  the  first  pastor.  He  preached  each 
alternate  Sabbath  for  one  year.  The  church  was  built  in  1867  and  1868. 
Messrs.  Tyler,  Baker  and  ^Gardner  were  trustees,  and  together  with 


340  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

Mr.  Huckins,  comprised  the  building  committee.  The  church  is 
36x60,  and  cost  about  $3,000.  Rev.  A.  H.  Esty  was  called  as  pastor 
in  1871.  Rev.  Mr.  Wilderrnan  succeeded  him,  and  elders  Palmer  and 
S.  M.  Brown  have  also  in  turn  served  the  church.  The  present  mem- 
bership is  thirty-five.  The  Sabbath  school  has  been  maintained  in  the 
summer.  Reuben  Havens  is  superintendent.  The  membership  is 
about  seventy. 

Those  contemplating  the  organization  of  the  Congregational  church 
met  at  the  house  of  R.  S.  Laughlin,  Esq.,  September  6,  1868.  Mr. 
Laughlin  acted  as  chairman,  and  H.  C.  Wycoff  as  secretary.  A  council 
was  called  to  meet  October  27,  at  which  time  the  following  delegates 
from  sister  churches  were  present :  Rev.  Mr.  Brundage,  of  Paxton  ; 
Rev.  Mr.  Watson,  of  Loda ;  Rev.  Mr.  Beecher,  of  Kankakee ;  Rev. 
Mr.  Wycoff.  of  Monee  ;  and  brothers  Lyons,  of  Clifton,  and  Brown,  of 
Pilot.  Rev.  Mr.  Brundage  was  appointed  to  preach  the  sermon,  and 
Mr.  Beecher  to  extend  the  right  hand  of  fellowship.  The  church  was 
then  organized  with  the  following  members :  R.  S.  Laughlin,  D. 
Roadifer,  W.  O.  Roadifer,  M.  Elliott,  H.  G.  Wycoff,  Samuel  Kings- 
bury,  S.  Robinson,  Rhoda  Roadifer,  Lavina  Kingsbury,  Emily  Laugh- 
lin, Harriet  Laughlin,  Helen  Roadifer.  Martha  Elliott,  Mary  S.  Robin- 
son and  Martha  Burroughs.  December  10  the  following  officers  were 
elected  :  R.  S.  Laughlin,  D.  Roadifer  and  S.  Robinson,  trustees ;  M. 
Elliott  and  W.  O.  Roadifer,  deacons;  H.  G.  Wycoff,  clerk  and  treas- 
urer. Rev.  Daniel  R.  Miller  served  as  pastor  one  year  from  December 
1,  1868.  The  congregation  worshiped  half  a  year  in  Porch's  Hall, 
then  one  year  in  the  Baptist  Church,  and  for  a  few  months  in  the  Meth- 
odist Church.  A.  J.  Ford,  D.  Roadifer,  James  Flemming,  J.  M.  Bur- 
roughs and  F.  J.  Taylor  were  appointed  a  building  committee.  They 
purchased  a  lot  and  proceeded  to  build  the  church,  32x45,  which  is 
well  seated  and  neatly  furnished,  at  a  cost  of  $2,400.  Rev.  George  F. 
Chipperfield,  of  the  seminary,  commenced  his  labors  here  April  1, 
1878,  and  continues  to  preach  alternately  here  and  at  Clifton.  Mrs. 
Burroughs  is  clerk  of  the  church.  The  membership  is  43.  The  church 
was  dedicated  in  August,  1872,  free  of  debt.  The  Sabbath  school  num- 
bered sixty-four  when  organized.  Mr.  Rowell  is  superintendent. 

The  earliest  services  of  the  Catholics  here  were  held  in  the  house 
of  William  O'Rourk.  Father  Pernin  had  charge  of  the  mission,  though 
before  him  Father  Yanderpool,  who  was  the  resident  priest  at  L'Erable, 
said  Mass  here  occasionally.  The  church  (St.  Mary  and  Joseph)  was 
built  in  1867  or  1868,  while  Father  Pernin  was  here.  It  is  32x60, 
with  cupola  and  bell,  and  cost  $2,500.  Father  Schroudenbach  was  the 
first  resident  priest  in  1870,  for  one  year.  'After  him  Father  Kukan- 


CHEBANSE   TOWNSHIP.  341 

buch  served  the  church  here  for  two  years,  and  since  that  Father 
Gonant  for  seven  years.  The  church  at  Clifton  is  also  under  the  charge 
of  the  same  clergyman.  The  parsonage  was  built  in  1873  at  a  cost  of 
$1,300.  There  are  about  one  hundred  families  within  the  bounds  of 
this  charge,  who  attend  divine  worship  here,  and  a  more  numerous 
congregation  at  Clifton.  The  members  of  this  church  organized,  April 
7,  1878,  the  Chebanse  Father  Mathew  Total  Abstinence  Society : 
Father  Gonant,  president;  Frank  Hennessy,  vice-president;  John 
Mahoney,  second  vice-president;  Patrick  Murphy,  secretary;  William 
Burke,  treasurer.  The  society  numbers  sixty  members,  and  has  recently 
established  a  library.  It  is  in  efficient  working  order,  and  is  accom- 
plishing much  good. 

The  Chebanse  Lodge,  No.  429,  A.F.  and  A.M.,  was  instituted  Octo- 
ber 4,  A.L.  5865,  with  the  following  charter  members :  E.  W.  Warren, 
M.  Burnes,  E.  H.  Foss,  H.  A.  Hobbs,  W.  Furgeson,  W.  H.  Swain,  H. 
Hodges,  J.  W.  VanMeeter,  L.  G.  Blanchard,  E.  S.  Richmond  and  C.  S. 
Wolcott.  The  first  officers  were  J.  W.  VanMeeter,  W.M. ;  E.  H.  Foss, 
S.W. ;  M.  Burnes,  J.W.  Since  then  the  following  have  acted  as  mas- 
ters: Laban  Haworth,  E.  H.  Foss,  Matthew  Burnes,  Thomas  Barham, 
J.  H.  Sands  (six  years),  E.  G.  Fish.  The  present  officers  are:  R.  J. 
Macdonald,  W.M.";  L.  A.  Kinney,  S.W. ;  G.  W.  Burns,  J.W. ;  Frank 
McKee,  treasurer ;  F.  F.  Porter,  secretary ;  Frank  Jackson.  S.D. ;  P. 
E.  Hall,  J.D. ;  Henry  Tille,  T.  The  lodge  numbers  fifty-five  members, 
and  is  in  a  very  flourishing  condition.  The  Brown  House  has  just 
been  purchased  by  the  lodge  for  its  lodge  room  above,  expecting  to 
rent  the  lower  rooms.  The  meetings  are  on  Wednesday  night  on  or 
before  the  full  moon,  and  the  Wednesday  night  two  weeks  after.. 

TOWN    INCORPORATION. 

Chebanse  was  incorporated  as  a  town  under  the  old  law  in  1868. 
July  9  a  meeting  was  held,  at  which  Robert  Nation  presided,  and  G. 
W.  Binford  was  clerk,  for  the  purpose  of  voting  for  or  against  incorpo- 
ration, at  which  election  the  vote  stood  15  to  7  in  favor  of  incorporating. 
The  election  for  five  trustees  took  place  July  17,  at  which  S.  A.  Rob- 
inson, H.  Huckins,  Robert  Nation,  R.  S.  Laughlin  and  James  Robin- 
son were  elected.  S.  A.  Robinson  was-  chosen  president ;  and  T.  S. 
Sawyer,  clerk ;  P.  W.  Tracey,  constable ;  T.  Babcock,  street  commis- 
sioner. The  town  received  a  special  charter,  March  13,  1869.  May 
13, 1874,  a  petition  was  presented  to  the  board  to  call  an  election  to 
vote  for  or  against  reorganization  as  a  village  under  the  general  act  of 
1872.  The  election  was  held  May  29,  and  resulted  in  favor  of  such 
reorganization  by  a  vote  of  32  to  28.  The  present  officers  are  :  L.  A. 


342  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

Kinney,  president ;  E.  W.  Brown,  Patrick  Murphy,  H.  Huckins, 
Jerome  Bard  and  J.  P.  Schofield,  trustees;  Peter  E.  Hall,  clerk;  Mar- 
tin Grosse,  assessor;  James  Porch,  treasurer;  J.  D.  DeVeling,  police 
magistrate.  The  village  has  always  granted  license,  at  the  rate  of 
$300  per  annum.  The  following  have  been  postmasters  :  Mr.  Seavers, 
Amos  M.  Fishburn,  Mr.  Hitchcock,  Mary  Linsey,  T.  D.  Williams,  L. 
A.  Bristol,  A.  M.  Wilson,  Joseph  Leonard,  R.  J.  Hanna,  E.  S.  Rich- 
mond and  W.  J.  Hunter.  The  office  was  made  a  money-order  office  in 
1879. 

Thomas  S.  Sawyer  commenced  the  publication  of  the  Chebanse 
"  Herald "  in  the  fall  of  1868,  which  has  been  continued  without 
interruption  from  that  time  under  his  management.  It  was  the  aim 
of  the  publisher  to  make  a  paper  of  local  interest,  independent  in 
politics,  and  this  was  its  course  until  the  "  Liberal "  was  started  as  an 
exponent  of  the  views  of  liberal  republicanism  in  1872,  when  the 
"  Herald  "  became  republican  under  the  force  of  circumstances.  This 
"  change  in  front  in  the  face  of  the  enemy  "  caused  the  nomination  of 
its  editor  and  his  election  to  the  legislature,  where  he  made  a  record 
for  himself  of  which  any  young  man  might  well  be  proud.  The 
assembly  which  met  January  1,  1873,  had  before  it  the  important 
work  of  revising  the  laws  of  the  state,  and  bringing  into  one  volume 
the  legislation  of  a  quarter  of  a  century  and  make  it  conform  to  the 
provisions  of  the  constitution  then  recently  gone  into  effect.  Mr. 
Sawyer,  as  a  member  of  the  committees  on  judiciary,  judicial  depart- 
ment and  on  banks  and  banking,  took  an  important  part  in  that  revis- 
ion. Every  statute  in  that  book  had  to  pass  the  scrutiny  of  the 
judiciary  committee,  and  by  constant  attention  to  the  duties  of  a  rep- 
resentative, he  assisted  largely  in  perfecting  the  statutes  of  our  state. 
W.  W.  Gibson  started  the  "  Liberal  "  in  1872.  In  1873  it  passed  into 
the  hands  of  Dr.  J.  D.  DeVeling,  who  conducted  it  as  a  forcible  and 
consistent  advocate  of  the  views  of  the  independent  and  national 
greenback  party.  Though  fairly  successful  as  a  local  newspaper,  and 
meeting  with  good  patronage  both  from  its  party  friends  and  others, 
its  publication  was  discontinued  in  1879. 

Milk's  addition  to  Chebanse  was  laid  out  in  1868,  and  is  in  Kanka- 
kee  county,  the  county  line  dividing  it  from  the  original  town.  He 
built  a  large  building,  the  lower  part  of  which  is  occupied  by  his  com- 
bination store,  and  the  upper  portion  for  a  h6tel.  The  store,  like  all 
the  various  enterprises  of  Mr.  Milk,  is  characteristic  of  the  business 
activity  of  the  man.  Most  men  with  fifty  farms,  a  few  thousand  cattle, 
sheep  and  hogs  to  occupy  his  time  and  attention,  would  feel  satisfied 
with  one  store  to  look  after,  but  here  he  has  four  to  divide  his  spare 


CHEBANSE    TOWNSHIP.  343 

hours  among.  If  Satan  only  has  a  contract  for  supplying  work  for 
idle  hands,  there  is  not  much  danger  that  he  will  ever  have  to  take 
Mr.  Milk  under  supervision. 

CLIFTON. 

"Bespeak,  blessed  Clifton!  thy  sublime  domain, 
Here  lonely  wandering  o'er  the  sylvan  bower, 
I  come  to  pass  the  meditative  hour; 
To  bid  awhile  the  strife  of  passion  cease, 
And  woo  the  calms  of  solitude  and  peace. 
Fair  Nature!  thee,  in  all  thy  varied  charms, 
Fain  would  I  clasp  forever  in  my  arms ! 
Thine  are  the  sweets  which  never,  never  sate, 
Thine  still  remain  through  all  the  storms  of  fate. 
Though  not  for  me,  'twas  heaven's  divine  command 
To  roll  in  acres  of  paternal  land; 
Yet  still  my  lot  is  blessed,  while  I  enjoy 
Thine  opening  beauties  with  a  lover's  eye. 

H.  KIRKE  WHITE'S  "Clifton  Grove." 

Clifton  is  situated  on  section  3,  township  28,  range  14 ;  is  sixty- 
nine  miles  from  Chicago,  and  about  five  southwest  of  Chebanse.  This 
section  was  not  railroad  land  and  there  was  not  at  first  a  disposition  on 
the  part  of  the  company  to  make  a  station  here.  The  first  comers 
here  were  principally  from  New  England,  and  were  men  of  education 
and  plenty  of  theories,  but  very  little  practical  knowledge  of  western 
settlement.  The  site  was  a  delightful  one  and  the  country  back  of 
it  was  excellent.  In  the  summer  of  1855  W.  B.  Young,  L.  A.  White, 
J.  C.  and  C.  O.  Howe  came  from  Worcester,  Massachusetts,  and  com- 
menced making  farms  in  this  vicinity.  C.  O.  Howe  settled  where 
Yan  Duzor  now  lives,  and  his  brother  just  north  of  there.  Patrick  and 
Mary  Conaway  had  a  shanty  made  of  fence-boards  at  a  point  about 
one  mile  north,  and  this  came  to  be  known  as  Howe's  Port,  or  Howe's 
Landing.  As  it  was  not  a  station  on  the  road  there  was  no  regular 
name  for  it.  The  next  year  P.  E.  Kingman,  C.  H.  French  and  Capt. 
Lincoln  came  from  Boston  and  entered  land,  or  bought  it  from  the 
railroad,  and  commenced  farming.  In  1857  T.  W.  Howe  and  H.  K. 
White,  and  the  father  of  Clifton,  Mr.  William  A.  Viets,  came.  Mr. 
"Viets  was  born  on  the  Berkshire  hills,  made  famous  by  the  little  inci- 
dent of  William  Willis,  when  he  was  taunted  into  mustering  up 
courage  to  kiss  Susanah  Pease,  and  then,  as  his  courage  oozed  out, 
trying  to  place  the  blame  on  the  girl  herself.  He  was  engaged  in 
business  in  Chicago  and  believed  that  here  was  a  good  place  for  a 
town.  He  was  boarding  at  the  Clifton  House  at  that  time,  and  that 
incident  furnished  the  name  for  the  place,  not,  as  he  says,  because  it 
was  any  more  appropriate  than  Howe's  Landing,  but  the  name  sounded 


344  HISTORY    OF   IEOQUOIS    COUNTY. 

smoother  at  least.  Mr.  Yiets,  after  some  management,  succeeded  in 
getting  the  title  to  the  land  perfected,  and  laid  out  his  town,  covering 
about  80  acres  on  both  sides  of  the  railroad,  and  commenced  sell- 
ing lots  in  1858.  Previous  to  this  time  passengers  wishing  to  stop 
here  were  permitted  to,  and  once  a  week  freight  was  sent  here,  but 
only  on  the  pledge  that  it  should  be  unloaded  from  the  cars  with  as 
little  delay  to  the  train  as  possible.  A  switch  was  put  in  this  year 
and  a  post-office  was  established.  J.  B.  Duclos,  a  Frenchman,  built  a 
store  on  the  corner  south  of  the  hotel,  and  was  appointed  postmaster. 
Previous  to  this  the  house  now  owned  by  Mr.  Sheldon  was  built,  and 
in  fact  a  number  of  the  farm  houses  around  but  that*  long  known  as 
the  Davis  House  was  the  first. 

John  Barland  soon  after  put  up  a  store  next  to  the  one  Duclos  had 
built,  but  both  were  burned  two  years  later.  Mr.  Yiets  built  a  black- 
smith shop  to  start  with,  knowing  that  no  well-regulated  town  could 
get  along  without  one,  and  built  the  house  he  still  resides  in,  and,  with 
a  determination  to  do  well  whatever  he  did,  built  the  house  well  back 
from  the  road,  put  a  good  cellar  under  it,  and  made  it  as  convenient  as 
possible,  and  set  out  trees  on  his  own  and  railroad  land.  The  fine 
maple  grove  which  is  growing  along  the  railroad  was  of  his  planting. 
He  at  one  time  was  ordered  to  remove  them,  but  before  proceeding  to 
obey  the  order  he  expostulated  with  the  company  and  the  order  was 
countermanded,  after  they  became  satisfied  that  he  did  not  intend  to 
steal  the  railroad. 

Isaac  Yan  Duzor  came  here  from  Orange  county,  ]STew  York,  and 
built  the  Clifton  House  in  1858,  which  he  kept  for  fourteen  years. 
He  also  built  the  store  east  of  the  hotel.  When  it  was  done  he  went 
to  Chicago  looking  for  some  clever  fellow  who  would  trust  him  for 
goods  enough  to  fill  it.  He  found  his  man,  and  bought  his  first  bill  of 
$2,800  worth,  entirely  on  credit,  of  perfect  strangers.  The  hotel  busi- 
ness was  thriving  and  mercantile  business  booming.  He  afterward 
built  the  agricultural  Jwarerooms,  and  kept  that  trade  also.  Mr.  A. 
S.  White  now  has  the  hotel  and  it  is  still  one  of  the  nicest  public 
houses  on  the  line  of  this  road.  H.  K.  White  was  the  first  to  engage 
in  the  grain  trade.  He  was  prominent  in  advancing  the  interests  of 
the  place,  and  served  the  town  as  supervisor  and  in  other  official  capa- 
cities. He  died  in  1865. 

George  H.  Spooner  came  here  quite  early  and  engaged  in  house- 
building. He  was  an  educated  man  and  took  a  great  deal  of  interest  in 
public  affairs.  He  sold  out  here  and  intended  to  go  to  South  America, 
where  he  had  an  advantageous  offer.  He  went  east  to  make  a  short  visit, 
and  returning,  went  down  in  the  terrible  disaster  at  Ashtabula. 


CHEBANSE   TOWNSHIP.  345 

Several  additions  to  the  town  have  been  platted.  In  1869,  Howe's 
addition  of  nearly  100  acres  on  the  north  was  laid  out,  and  in  1873, 
Viets'  addition  on  the  east,  about  50  acres.  The  cemetery  was  laid  out 
in  1861.  The  interest  of  Howe  and  Kingman,  who  are  both  residing 
at  Hyde  Park  now,  and  in  business  in  Chicago,  on  the  west  side,  had 
the  usual  effect  of  such  divided  interests.  Business  was  on  the  east 
side,  the  church  on  the  west,  and  it  was  thought  that,  for  that  reason, 
probably,  the  school-house  ought  to  be  there  also.  In  building  the 
school-house  it  was  put  up  close  by  the  switch,  and  with  the  growth  of 
the  town  a  new  one  was  beginning  to  be  demanded.  In  this  juncture 
the  west-side  folks  got  the  district  divided,  but  unfortunately  for  them 
the  east  side  continued  to  be  the  old  district,  and  as  such  was  the  legal 
owner  of  the  house.  The  new  district  got  it  fixed  up  for  beginning 
their  school,  put  an  extra  board  on  the  steps,  puttied  the  windows, 
plastered  the  patches,  etc.,  and  in  the  still  hours  of  the  night,  when  all 
J;he  west-side  mothers  were  just  thanking  their  stars  that  the  next  day 
they  would  get  some  peace  at  home,  for  the  children  would  be  in  school, 
the  Yandals  and  the  Goths  of  the  east  side  sallied  forth  and  moved  the 
school-house  across  the  track,  and  what  they  took  by  night  they  held  by 
right,  and  the  new  district  put  their  names  down  on  the  assessor's  book 
for  a  new  one.  Two  two-story  school-houses,  each  about  28x40,  afford 
sufficient  room  for  the  schools,  and  each  is  surrounded  by  ample  and 
beautiful  grounds. 

There  is  a  very  pleasant  park  on  the  east  side.  The  block  some 
years  ago  came  into  possession  of  Mr.  Louther,  who  beautified  and 
added  to  its  already  shady  improvements,  and  when  Mr.  Ferris  took  it 
into  his  paternal  head  to  name  his  new-born  son  in  honor  of  the  dis- 
tinguished gentleman  who  owned  the  beautiful  block,  Mr.  Louther,  to 
return  the  compliment,  gave  the  park  to  the  lad.  There  is  so  much  of 
the  spirit  of  devotion  to  utility  only,  among  the  people  of  our  western 
towns,  that  it  is  a  real  pleasure  to  note, — right  in  the  middle  of  a  busy 
little  town  like  this,  where  the  attention  of  every  one  seems  engrossed 
with  trade,  or  the  current  price  of  hogs ;  where  the  first  question  asked 
when  neighbors  meet,  is,  "  Got  your  corn  shucked? "  or,  "  How 's  hogs?" 
— a  real  pleasure  to  find  a  spot,  like  an  island  in  the  waste,  where  some 
one  has  had  an  eye  to  the  beautiful  simply,  not  even  selfish  comfort 
adorned,  but  adorning  being  the  chief  object ;  where,  as  long  as  this 
generation  lives,  the  thoughts  of  those  even  who  pass  by,  as  the  writer 
did  in  a  minute's  walk,  will  be  turned  toward  the  beautiful  in  nature, 
and  thank  the  liberal  soul  who  has  bestowed  a  public  pleasure. 

Among  other  things  which  Mr.  Yiets  gave  his  attention  to,  was  the 
making  of  good  roads  that  should  lead  toward  Clifton,  and  in  the 


346  HISTOEY    OF   IROQTJOIS   COUNTY. 

making  of  these  he  indirectly  aided  to  drain  those  parts  of  the  land 
which  were  believed  to  be  too  wet  for  cultivation.  He  also  secured 
the  establishment  of  a  post-route  through  Clifton,  from  Plato  on  the 
east,  to  Sugar  Loaf,  Saunemin,  Pontiac  and  Minonk,  upon  which  were 
nearly  a  dozen  country  offices,  which  had  not  before  this  been  supplied 
with  mail  facilities.  Many  of  those  who  commenced  business  enter- 
prises here  early  lost  in  business  and  disappeared.  Smith  &  Gage 
have  done  a  large  and  lucrative  business  for  some  years.  C.  W.  Smith, 
the  head  of  the  firm  during  ten  years  of  changes  in  the  personnel  of 
the  firm,  is  a  thorough  and  accomplished  business  man,  'and  by 
thorough  attention  to  business  has  commanded  a  profitable  trade. 
Mr.  La  Motte,  of  L'Erable,  has  done  a  good  business  here  for  two 
years.  Ellis  Moore  has  been  doing  a  large  trade  here  for  two  years. 
Dr.  Marshall  has  been  in  the  practice  of  his  profession  here  ever  since 
he  returned  from  the  army,  and  most  of  the  time  has  carried  on  the 
drug  business.  Mr.  Yiets,  Dr.  Marshal,  Rev.  Mr.  Brown,  S.  P.  Wal- 
ton and  others,  have  nice  residences.  One  of  those  "  survey  towers," 
which  have  caused  so  much  comment  and  wonder  as  to  their  real 
object,  is  erected  on  the  farm  of  A.  B.  Cummings.  It  is  made  of  mas- 
sive timbers  set  in  the  ground  about  thirty  feet  apart  at  the  base,  and 
slanting  toward  each  other  until,  at  the  height  of  eighty  feet,  they  are 
about  twelve  feet  apart.  On  the  top  is  a  signal,  so  arranged  that  it 
can  be  seen  with  a  glass  from  the  top  of  the  next  tower,  which  is  some 
fifteen  miles  away.  The  real  object  did  not  seem  to  be  known,  except 
that  in  a  general  wa}7  they  were  for  surveying  this  portion  of  the  state, 
and  numerous  were  the  suppositions  in  regard  to  them.  The  real 
object  is  to  survey  accurately  an  arc  of  the  earth's  circumference,  and 
this  region  was  selected  on  account  of  the  long  stretch  of  open  level 
country  extending  from  Chicago  to  the  Ohio  &  Mississippi  railroad. 
The  exact  position  of  Chicago  had  been  determined  by  the  very  accu- 
rate lake  survey,  which  had  been  in  progress  for  years,  and  from  that 
city  south  over  the  Grand  Prairie  seemed  to  be  the  place  to  learn  by 
triangulation, — the  only  accurate  system  of  survey, — the  exact  length 
of  an  arc  of  the  earth's  surface,  and  estimate  from  that  the  diameter  of 
the  earth,  the  distance  and  size  of  the  planet  Yenus  and  other  heav- 
enly bodies.  All  this  is  done  by  triangles,,  only  one  short  side  of  the 
first  triangle  at  Chicago  being  actually  measured  by  chain. 

VILLAGE    ORGANIZATION. 

An  election  was  held  June  17,  1867,  to  vote  for  or  against  incor- 
porating under  the  general  act  of  1845,  which  resulted  in  a  vote  of 
thirty-seven  for  and  twenty-six  against  incorporating.  June  29  the 


OHEBANSE   TOWNSHIP.  347 

first  election  was  held  and  the  following  trustees  were  elected :  C.  O. 
Howe,  S.  B.  Walton,  L.  J.  Millspaugh,  A.  B.  Cummings  and  F.  Cazeau. 
For  police  magistrate  the  vote  was  a  tie  between  G.  H.  Spooner 
and  H.  Sanderson.  The  former  was  successful  in  casting  lots.  Mr. 
Millspaugh  was  chosen  president ;  S.  B.  "Walton,  clerk ;  C.  O.  Howe, 
treasurer.  The  limits  were  fixed  to  take  in  the  entire  section.  In 
1874  the  town  reorganized  under  the  general  act  of  1872.  License  has 
been  granted  each  year  but  one.  At  the  election  that  year  five  of  the 
candidates  were  tied  by  receiving  an  equal  number  of  votes,  and  the 
temperance  candidates  drew  the  "long  straws."  The  present  officers 
are :  R.  F.  Cummings,  president ;  John  Colby,  John  Hettinger,  S.  R. 
Beardslee,  L.  G.  Bergeron  and  Jacob  Gregorson,  trustees ;  C.  D.  Rob- 
erts, constable;  A.  B.  Cummings,  police  magistrate;  Thomas  Wyke, 
street  commissioner;  H.  J.  Swim,  clerk. 

CHURCHES. 

The  early  citizens  at  Clifton  were  principally  from  New  England, 
and  coming  here  did  not  leave  their  religious  and  denominational 
preferences  behind  them.  Among  their  first  organized  efforts  was  the 
forming  of  a  Congregational  church,  or  rather  in  the  building  of  the 
church  edifice,  in  which  the}7  were  seconded  by  Mr.  J.  C.  Howe,  of  Bos- 
ton. A  preliminary  meeting  was  held  November  26,  1859,  at  which 
Rev.  M.  E.  Tenny,  of  the  home  missionary  field,  was  present,  and  Rev. 
Mr.  Gould,  of  Loda.  The  following  persons  then  agreed  to  form  a 
church  :  W.  A.  Viets  and  wife,  Pliny  E.  Kingman  and  wife,  Isaac 
Van  Duzor  and  wife,  Charles  O.  Howe  and  wife,  Jabez  C.  Howe  and 
wife,  Martha  B.  Taft,  Demoresta  Walker,  C.  A.  Yiets  and  Patty  Good- 
hue.  At  a  meeting  held  January  8,  1860,  at  which  P.  E.  Kingman 
was  moderator,  and  C.  O.  Howe,  clerk,  the  organization  was  perfected 
by  the  election  of  W.  A.  Viets  and  C.  O.  Howe  deacons  for  a  term  of 
three  years.  Mr.  Gould  preached  for  awhile,  usually  in  the  hotel,  and 
Rev.  Mr.  Chipperfield,  a  student  in  the  seminary  has  preached 
since  1877.  The  present  membership  is  twenty-five.  The  church, 
which  is  32x55,  was  built  soon  after  the  regular  organization.  The 
lot  and  all  material  for  the  building  was  the  donation  of  Jabez  C. 
Howe,  of  Boston.  The  first  draft  of  $500  which  he  sent  on,  having 
been  lost  by  the  failure  of  the  person  to  whom  it  was  entrusted,  was 
replaced  by  Mr.  Howe  as  soon  as  the  fact  was  brought  to  his  atten- 
tion. The  Sabbath  school  has  been  kept  up  nearly  all  the  time.  A 
bible  class  was  in  the  habit  of  meeting  at  the  hotel  before  the  church 
was  formed. 

In  1859  the  following  Methodists,  R.  Mitchell,  J.  Sylvester,  A. 


348  HISTOKY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

Starkej,  and  Mrs.  A.  Sellers,  instituted  a  prayer  meeting  and  formed 
themselves  into  a  society  for  worship.  About  this  time  Rev.  Mr. 
Lokey,  of  Spring  Creek  circuit,  volunteered  to  preach  for  them  once 
a  month.  In  1864  the  society  was  for  the  first  time  officially  included 
in  that  circuit,  and  Rev.  T.  J.  "W.  Sullivan,  was  pastor  in  charge. 

George  Millspaugh  was  then  the  class-leader,  and  seems  to  have 
been  so  at  the  formation  of  the  class.  Rev.  A.  G.  Goodspeed,  now  of 
Odell,  was  the  next  preacher,  coming  in  1866  for  two  years.  At  this 
time  Mr.  S.  R.  Beardslee  was  appointed  class-leader,  a  position  he  still 
holds.  Rev.  F.  H.  Brown,  of  the  Rock  River  conference,  located  here 
and  preached  for  two  years.  He  was  not  only  a  man  of  great  fervor, 
full  of  religious  zeal,  but  also  a  man  of  good  business  capabilities,  and 
upon  him  devolved  the  labor  of  building  the  fine  church  edifice  which 
this  people  have.  It  is  34x56,  two  stories  high,  and  though  yet  unfin- 
ished internally,  presents  a  very  pleasant  appearance.  It  has  cost  thus 
far  $2,800.  The  present  pastor  is  Rev.  J.  P.  Forsythe.  The  present 
membership  is  sixty.  The  Sabbath  school  was  organized  in  1867,  with 
Thomas  Barham  as  superintendent.  S.  R.  Beardslee  is  the  present 
superintendent. 

The  Roman  Catholics  have  a  very  neat  and  tasty  church,  which 
was  built  in  1867,  30x50,  and  cost  $3,000.  The  earliest  services 
held  here  were  in  the  house  of  James  McGovern,  by  the  resident 
priest  at  L'Erable,  in  1862.  Services  were  sometimes  held  in  the  ware- 
house. The  resident  priest  at  Chebanse  officiates  here.  About  150 
families  worship  here. 

BIOGRAPHICAL. 

Humphrey  Huckins,  stock -dealer,  Chebanse,  is  one  of  the  pioneers 
of  this  county,  he  coming  here  in  1839,  and  his  wife's  family  in  1841. 
They  relate  numerous  anecdotes  of  the  trials  and  tribulations  incident 
to  a  pioneer  life.  Neighbors  were  scarce  and  at .  very  great  distances 
apart.  Danville  was  the  nearest  point  accessible  for  marketing.  An 
Indian  would  now  and  then  be  seen,  all  peaceable,  but  they  soon  disap- 
peared after  the  settlers  began  to  come  in.  Prairie  wolves  were  abun- 
dant, and  many  a  sheep  fell  a  prey  to  their  ravenous  appetites.  When 
the  railroad  was  being  built  they  boarded  the  hands,  as  no  other  place 
at  a  reasonable  distance  could  be  obtained,  and  it  was  actually  forced 
upon  them.  Mr.  Huckins  carried  the  hands'  dinner,  as  they  progressed, 
for  a  distance  of  several  miles.  An  ordinary  coffee-mill  was  brought 
into  requisition  for  the  purpose  of  grinding  their  meal,  and  hundreds 
of  other  modes  of  "  roughing  it "  they  were  compelled  to  go  through. 
Men  and  women  of  to-day  may  talk  of  hard  times,  but  they  know 


CHEBANSE   TOWNSHIP.  349 

absolutely  nothing  of  hard  times  in  comparison  to  these  hardy  sons  of 
toil, — the  early  pioneers  of  forty  and  fifty  years  ago.  Mr.  Huckins  was 
born  in  Clark  county,  Ohio,  April  8,  1819,  residing  there  till  1839, 
following  the  occupation  of  farming.  He  removed  to  Butler's  Point, 
Yermilion  county,  this  state,  remaining  two  years.  He  then  came  to 
Iroquois  county,  settling  near  the  mouth  of  Spring  creek.  His  father 
entered  some  200  acres  and  Mr.  Huckins  40,  adding  until  he  had 
accumulated  some  200  acres.  He  sold  out  and  went  to  Kankakee 
county,  living  ten  years,  and  then  came  to  Chebanse  in  about  1869, 
where  he  has  since  resided.  He  was  married  on  January  12,  1843,  to 
Miss  Sarah  Boyd,  who  was  born  in  Maryland  on  June  12,  1824.  They 
have  four  children :  Guy ;  Carrie,  wife  of  M.  A.  Swift,  of  Terre 
Haute,  Indiana ;  Mary,  wife  of  E.  G.  Fish,  of  Fisher,  Champaign 
county,  Illinois;  and  Frank.  Mr.  Huckins,  like  all  other  old  residents, 
has  held  all  the  offices  a  country  town  is  "  heir  "  to. 

Humphrey  Hennessy  (deceased)  was  born  in  the  county  of  Cork, 
Ireland,  in  1815,  and  at  the  age  of  thirty-five  came  to  America,  working 
as  a  farm  hand  in  the  state  of  New  York  for  three  years.  November 
1,  1853,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Margaret  Gleason,  and  immediately 
set  sail  by  canal  and  the  lakes  for  the  Great  Northwest.  Somewhere  on 
the, route  he  met  Col.  Howard,  who  engaged  and  brought  them,  by  way 
of  Joliet,  to  work  on  a  farm  at  Milk's  Grove,  Chebanse  township,  in 
this  county.  Mrs.  Hennessy  did  the  housework  for  a  large  number  of 
hands  for  nearly  three  years.  While  at  the  Grove  they  had  born  unto 
them  one  son,  Franklin  J.,  who  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  white  male 
child  born  at  the  Grove,  at  least  after  its  settlement  by  the  whites. 
The  Hennessys,  being  noted  for  their  industry  and  economy,  soon 
became  the  owners  of  a  farm  near  Sugar  Island,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Iroquois'river,  where  Mr.  Hennessy  died  on  July  29,  1870.  He,  during 
life,  was  always  greatly  interested  in  the  education  of  his  children,  and 
in  schools  and  public  improvements.  To  those  he  liked  he  was  an 
ardent  and  warm  friend  ;  but  he  held  no  intercourse  with  those  he  did 
not  like.  While  living  in  New  York  state  he  became  a  whig  on  prin- 
ciple, and  when  the  republican  party  came  into  existence  he  attached 
himself  to  that  faith,  and  on  no  account  would  he  vote  any  other  ticket. 
In  religious  views  Mr.  Hennessy  and  family  were  Catholics.  Mrs. 
Hennessy,  with  her  youngest  son,  who  manages  the  farm,  still  resides 
upon  the  old  homestead ;  while  her  son,  Franklin  J.,  is  in  the  employ 
of  Lemuel  Milk,  Esq.,  Chebanse,  in  his  general  merchandise  establish- 
ment, which  position,  by  his  general  good  conduct,  he  has  held  for  the 
past  six  years.  Franklin  was  born  July  29,  1854,  and  John  on  October 
29,  1857,  at  his  present  place  of  abode. 
22 


350  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

Peter  Enos  (deceased),  another  shining  light  of  this  township,  has 
gone  the  way  of  all  flesh.  He  was  born  in  Cayuga  county,  New 
York,  on  the  24th  of  March,  1826,  and  was  the  son  of  Jonathan  and 
Cynthia  (Howard)  Enos,  who  raised  a  family  of  eleven  children, 
seven  sons  and  four  daughters.  Mr.  Enos  left  New  York  at  the  age 
of  ten  years  (1836)  with  his  parents,  and  settled  in  Michigan,  where 
he  remained  on  a  farm  till  the  age  of  twenty-eight.  He  removed  to 
Kankakee  about  1853,  and  about  1855  or  1856  came  to  Chebanse 
township  and  preempted  160  acres  of  land,  purchasing  the  same  when 
it  came  into  market.  He  has  since  added  forty  acres  to  his  farm,  and 
in  1876  he  built  a  handsome  residence,  where  his  widow  still  resides 
in  peace  and  quietude.  Mr.  E.  left  two  other  fine  farms,  which  he 
had  accumulated  by  industry  and  economy,  besides  considerable  per- 
sonal property,  having  dealt  in  stock  to  a  great  extent.  The  farm 
where  his  wife  resides  is  one  of  the  finest  in  the  township,  having  an 
elegant  new  frame  building,  surrounded  with  shrubbery  and  a  dense 
grove  of  evergreens;  also  fine  out-houses,  etc.  He  was  one  of  the 
most  thorough  and  energetic  farmers  in  the  county.  An  upright, 
generous,  whole-souled  man,  a  friend  of  the  oppressed,  he  was  loved 
by  all  who  came  in  contact  with  him.  His  word  was  as  good  as  his 
bond.  He  had  no  enemies,  and  none  knew  him  but  to  admire,  and 
spoke  of  him  but  to  praise.  He  was  a  member  of  no  sect  or  society ; 
took  no  particular  interest  in  politics,  but  was  of  the  republican  faith. 
He  died  of  consumption,  January  28,  1880.  He  went  south  during 
the  summer  of  1879,  came  home,  and  died  in  Kankakee  at  his  brother's 
residence,  eleven  days  afterward,  leaving  a  loving  wife  to  mourn  his 
untimely  end.  When  the  gold  fever  broke  out  his  ambition  was  at 
once  fired,  and  with  his  team  he  started  for  Pike's  Peak,  and  from 
there  he  went  to  California.  He  was  married  January  19,  1865,  to 
Miss  Mary  E.  Luce,  who  was  born  on  Long  Island,  January  4,  1843. 

Joseph  Haigh,  farmer,  Chebanse,  deserves  something  more  than  a 
passing  notice  at  our  hands.  He  was  born  March  25,  1824,  in  York- 
shire, England.  Until  twenty-six  years  of  age  he  was  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  cloth,  when,  in  1851,  he  came  to  America,  settling  in 
Philadelphia,  and  started  in  the  business  of  manufacturing  cotton 
cloth.  Leaving  there  in  the  spring  of  1855,  he  went  to  Chicago  and 
improved  a  forty-acre  tract  of  land  for  a  personal  friend,  and  in  the 
month  of  July  of  the  same  year  he  came  to  Chebanse,  settling  on  the 
farm  where  he  now  resides,  within  a  mile  of  the  village  of  Chebanse. 
He  has  at  present  nearly  160  acres,  with  very  neat  and  pleasant  resi- 
dence, commodious  out-buildings,  good  fences,  etc.,  which  has  a  com- 
manding view  of  the  village  and  its  surroundings.  He  has  followed 


CHEBAKSE  TOWNSHIP.  351 

the  occupation  of  farming  and  stock-raising,  but  for  the  past  ten  years 
has  led  a  more  retired  life.  He  being  a  man  of  great  literary  attain- 
ments, he  has  devoted  a  great  deal  of  his  leisure  moments  to  writing 
for  publications,  both  editorial  and  poetical.  September  3,  1855,  he 
started  on  foot,  after  sunrise,  for  Danville,  a  distance  of  seventy-five 
miles,  making  sixty-three  miles  tlie  first  day.  His  mission  was  for  the 
purpose  of  entering  his  land,  the  land  office  being  then  located  at  Dan- 
ville. He  was  school  treasurer  for  seven  years,  and  many  a  time  has 
he  walked  to  Watseka  for  the  purpose  of  transacting  business  in  con- 
nection with  his  office  and  otherwise.  He  was  the  first  town  clerk 
elected,  holding  the  same  some  seven  or  eight  years.  On  two  occa- 
sions he  and  Robert  Nation,  Esq.,  visited  Camp  Butler,  at  Springfield, 
with  their  pockets  full  of  money,  for  the  purpose  of  paying  town  boun- 
ties to  soldiers  who  enlisted  on  behalf  of  Chebanse  township,  its  quota 
being  double  what  it  should  have  been.  He  was  married,  April  6, 
1861,  in  this  place,  to  Miss  Mary  A.  McGrady.  She  was  born  in  Can- 
ada, August  24, 1834.  They  have  an  only  child,  John  Freeman.  Mr. 
Haigh  belongs  to  no  denomination  or  society,  and  is  looked  upon  as  a 
representative  man  by  all  who  know  him  best. 

Joseph  Vander  Poorten,  farmer,  Clifton,  was  born  in  the  province 
of  Flanders,  Belgium,  February  16,  1828.  He  was  reared  on  a  farm, 
and  received  a  good  common-school  education.  At  the  age  of  twenty- 
seven  he  emigrated  to  America,  residing  one  year  in  Lewis  county, 
New  York,  and  in  April,  1856,  he  came  to  this  township.  He  pur- 
chased 80  acres  of  land,  and  has  since  added  120  more,  and  in  1877  he 
built  himself  a  very  commodious  and  comfortable  residence,  where  he 
still  resides.  He  was  married  in  L'Erable,  January  15,  1861,  to  Miss 
Auralia  Bunker,  who  was  born  in  Chambly,  on  the  Sorel  river,  Can- 
ada, April  12,  1840.  They  have  been  made  the  happy  parents  of  nine 
interesting  children,  six  living :  Emily,  Delphine,  Eugene,  Walter,  Nor- 
bert  and  Stephen;  the  deceased  were:  Emma,  Edwin  and  Addie.  Mr. 
Yander  Poorten  has  held  the  position  of  commissioner  of  highways,  and 
been  school  director  ever  since  1864.  By  perseverance,  industry  and 
hard  labor,  he  has  had  the  satisfaction  of  accumulating  a  nice  property. 
He  embraces  the  Catholic  faith  ;  and  in  politics  votes  for  the  man  who, 
in  his  opinion,  is  the  ablest  and  most  desirable. 

F.  Fronville,  farmer,  Clifton,  was  born  in  BonnefF,  Belgium,  April 
12,  1838.  His  parents  were  Joseph  and  Catherine  (Thiry)  Fronville. 
He  came  with  his  parents  to  this  country  in  1856,  stopping  three 
months  in  Chicago.  He  then  came  to  Iroquois,  residing  there  three 
years;  thence  to  Kansas  for  six  months.  Returning  again  to  this  town- 
ship he  worked  here  and  there,  wherever  he  could  obtain  work.  In 


352  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

1861  he  bought  40  acres,  and  has  since  erected  a  nice  residence,  and  has 
devoted  his  energies  to  farming.  He  was  married,  March  3,  1862,  to 
Miss  Rosalie  Ponton,  who  was  born  in  Canada,  September  29,  1842. 
They  have  eight  children :  Rosa,  Mary  L.,  Mary  A.,  Eugene,  Melina 
L.,  Emile  A.,  Amelia  F.  and  Louis  J. ;  and  one  deceased.  Mr.  Fron- 
ville's  father  still  resides  with  him,  at  the  good  old  age  of  seventy-three 
years.  Mr.  Fronville  has  been  school  director  two  years.  He  had  one 
brother  (Louis)  killed  in  the  late  war. 

E.  W.  Dodson,  farmer,  Chebanse,  was  born  in  Luzerne  county, 
Pennsylvania,  on  July  3,  1830.  His  parents  were  Stephen  B.  and 
Flavia  (Cobbs)  Dobson,  both  natives  of  the  same  county.  Mr.  Dobson 
was  raised  as  a  farmer,  but  taught  school,  clerked,  etc.,  part  of  the 
time.  In  1854  he  moved  to  Cook  county,  Illinois,  teaching  school 
that  winter.  In  1855  he  came  to  Kankakee  county,  and  in  1856  to  Iro- 
quois  county.  He  has  followed  surveying  to  some  extent.  In  August, 
1861,  he  enlisted  in  the  10th  111.  Inf.,  and  reenlisted  in  January,  1864. 
He  participated  in  the  battles  of  the  siege  of  Corinth,  Atlanta,  New 
Madrid,  Lookout  Mountain,  Jonesboro,  Sherman's  march  to  the  sea, 
back  through  the  Carolinas,  and  at  Bentonville,  North  Carolina, — 
Sherman's  last  fight.  He  then  went  to  Washington  and  participated 
in  the  grand  review  May  25 ;  was  mustered  out  July  4,  at  Louis- 
ville, Kentucky,  and  was  paid  oif  in  Chicago  on  the  12th,  and  returned 
home.  In  1865  he  was  elected  county  surveyor,  and  reflected  in  1867. 
He  also  held  other  minor  offices.  He  has  under  cultivation  120  acres. 
He  is  a  member  of  no  denomination,  and  is  an  active  republican.  He 
was  married,  November  29,  1877,  to  Miss  Martha  E.  Babcock,  who 
was  born  in  Charleston,  Massachusetts,  December  27,  1840. 

James  M.  Burroughs,  Chebanse,  was  among  the  early  settlers  in 
this  vicinity,  and  we  devote  space  to  his  biography  with  considerable 
pleasure.  He  was  born  in  Alstead,  New  Hampshire,  April  16,  1812, 
and  was  a  resident  of  that  immediate  locality  for  some  forty-five  years. 
He  was  raised  as  a  farmer  lad,  but  served  his  time  at  the  carpenter's 
trade,  following  the  same  in  connection  with  farming  till  about  1856, 
at  which  time  he  moved  west  and  settled  in  Sugar  Island,  this 
county,  having  preempted  160  acres.  He  soon  added  another  40,  and 
farmed  for  some  ten  years.  For  two  years  he  kept  store,  with  Dr. 
Buckner  as  a  partner.  In  March,  1869,  he  moved  to  the  village  of 
Chebanse,  purchased  a  large  lot  and  built  himself  a  house.  He  fol- 
lowed his  trade  for  six  years,  and  was  in  the  furniture  business  for 
three  years.  He  built  the  school-house,  Congregational  church  and  was 
engaged  on  the  Methodist,  and  on  every  hand  can  be  seen  evidences 
of  his  handiwork,  both  in  the  town  and  country.  He  has  been  a 


CHEBANSE   TOWNSHIP.  353 

member  of  the  town  council,  school  director  and  town  trustee.  Mrs. 
Burroughs  is  an  honored  member  of  the  Congregational  church.  He 
was  married  in  Bloomington,  April  2,  1858,  to  Martha  A.  Ransdell, 
who  was  born  in  Bowling  Green,  Kentucky,  December  25,  1826. 
They  have  two  children  :  Fred  M.  and  Burt  E.,  both  born  in  Sugar 
Island.  Mrs.  Burroughs  has  one  child,  deceased  (Anna  Ransdell), 
who  was  the  wife  of  Edwin  B.  Tyler.  She  died  December  29,  1872. 
Mrs.  Burrough's  wedding  tour  was  of  the  most  primitive  nature,  and 
our  fair  damsels  of  to-day  would  scarce  embark  on  the  sea  of  matri- 
mony, knowing  that  their  wedding  trip  was  to  be  in  a  lumber  wagon, 
mounted  on  their  "  Saratoga,"  and  that  their  "  best  bib  and  tucker  " 
had  to  be  protected  from  the  rain  by  the  friendly  shelter  of  a  sheep- 
skin, lovingly  thrown  around  her  by  her  sworn  protector.  Her  recep- 
tion room  was  furnished  with  an  old  rag  carpet,  bedstead,  a  chair  or 
two,  and  an  old  rusty  cook-stove  took  the  place  of  a  "  base-burner." 

Francis  W.  Howe,  farmer,  Clifton,  an  old  settler  and  a  well-to-do 
farmer,  was  born  in  Brookfield,  Massachusetts,  December  18,  1819. 
He  lived  with  his  parents  until  twenty  years  of  age,  and  then  went  to 
New  York  city,  going  into  the  wholesale  dry-goods  business,  in  which 
he  remained  till  1857.  In  the  fall  of  1857  he  moved  west,  settling  in 
Clifton,  this  township,  where  he  has  continued  to  remain.  C.  O. 
Howe  and  brothers  bought  4,000  acres  of  land  here,  of  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad  Company  and  Solomon  Sturgis,  of  Chicago,  in  or 
about  1855.  Mr.  Howe  came  two  years  later  and  took  up  120  acres. 
He  was  married,  January  8,  1845,  to  Miss  Sarah  S.  Cowdrey,  of  New 
York  city.  She  died  February  16,  1866,  in  her  forty-second  year.  He 
was  again  married,  October  3,  1867,  to  the  widow  of  the  late  H.  K. 
White,  a  well  known  and  respected  citizen  of  Clifton.  She  was  born 
April  18, 1830.  He  has  six  children  by  first  marriage  :  Helena  C.,  wife 
of  Edward  S.  Perry,  of  New  Haven,  Connecticut;  Arthur  L.,  Walter 
M.,  Oscar  C.,  William  F.  and  Isabel  A.  Josephine  D.  Howe  died  in 
New  York,  August  17,  1853.  Mr.  Howe  has  a  cozy  residence  on  the 
outskirts  of  the  village  of  Clifton,  with  large  and  beautiful  grounds 
surrounding  it,  uniformly  laid  out  with  shade  trees,  and  it  is  just  such 
a  home  as  any  one  might  well  covet. 

J.  P.  H.  Trescott,  justice  of  the  peace,  Chebanse,  was  born  in 
Luzerne  county,  Huntington  township,  Pennsylvania,  September  30, 
1825.  His  father,  Luther,  was  born  in  Canaan,  Connecticut,  and  his 
mother,  Eleanor  (Parke),  was  raised  in  New  Jersey, — both  being  of 
Quaker  parentage.  The  father  died  in  the  winter  of  1878,  and  the 
mother  in  February,  1864.  Mr.  Trescott  was  reared  on  a  farm,  and 
lived  in  his  native  township  until  1857,  when  he  removed  to  this  vil- 


354  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

lage,  arriving  here  March  28.  While  in  Luzerne  county  he  farmed 
during  the  summer  and  taught  school  during  the  winter.  He  also 
followed  farming  in  this  township  for  three  years,  and  teaching  school 
through  the  winter  seasons,  receiving  $22  a  month  and  board.  The 
times  being  very  hard  he  considered  himself  extremely  lucky  to  obtain 
employment  at  almost  any  remuneration.  After  three  years  of  ill 
health,  and  his  doctor's  bills  being  so  high,  he  was  obliged  to  quit 
farming.  He  moved  to  the  village  of  Chebanse,  May  1,  1860,  and  on 
September  1  he  formed  a  partnership  with  Amos  M.  Wilson,  with  a 
combined  capital  of  $40,  and  opened  a  butcher  shop,  and  two  months 
thereafter  he  bought  out  his  partner  and  continued  the  business  until 
1867,  in  connection  with  farming,  teaching,  etc.  In  April,  1862,  he 
was  elected  justice  of  the  peace,  and  has  continuously  held  the  office 
up  to  the  present  time.  Mr.  Trescott  was  married  to  Miss  Sallie  A. 
Dodson,  September  22,  1850.  She  was  born  in  Luzerne  county,  Jan- 
uary 21,  1829.  They  have  had  ten  children,  six  living:  Stephen  O., 
Luther  K.,  Amy  E.,  William  H.,  Lloyd  F.  and  Edward  L.  The  names 
of  the  deceased  are :  Olin  R.,  Ada  C.,  Harry  A.  and  Charles  F.  The 
first  was  buried  in  Pine  Grove,  Pennsylvania,  and  the  last  three  in 
Sugar  Island  Cemetery,  Kankakee  county.  Mr.  Trescott  was  formerly 
an  old  line  whig,  but  has  voted  for  every  republican  candidate  for  pres- 
ident that  has  been  placed  in  the  field. 

A.  B.  Cummings,  justice  of  the  peace,  Clifton,  was  born  in  Sutton, 
Massachusetts,  April  22,  1820,  his  mother  dying  when  he  was  but  ten 
months  old,  and  his  little  sister  aged  two  years. '  They  were  placed  in 
the  care  of  a  relative  till  he  was  about  sixteen  years  old,  when  they 
were  both  compelled  to  paddle  their  own  canoe.  He  drifted  about  till 
1840,  when  he  went  to  Milford  and  remained  there  till  1842,  going  to 
school.  Then  he  went  to  Holliston  Academy,  graduating  in  1844. 
He  taught  school  in  the  east  and  west  for  twenty-two  years.  He  came 
west  about  1854,  locating  in  Granville,  Putnam  county,  Illinois,  where 
he  got  his  first  "  boost "  toward  prosperity,  teaching  there  in  the 
Granville  Academy  for  two  and  a  half  years.  He  went  to  Wenona, 
Marshall  county,  and  thence  to  Clifton,  in  this  township,  where  he  has 
permanently  resided.  He  went  into  the  coal  and  lumber  business,  and 
continued  in  active  business  life  till  1877.  He  was  elected  justice  of 
the  peace  in  the  spring  of  1870,  and  is  still  acting  in  that  capacity. 
He  was  married  on  Thanksgiving  day,  1847,  to  Miss  Emily  Fowler, 
who  was  born  in  July,  1820,  in  Grafton,  Massachusetts.  They  have 
two  children  :  Robert  F.  and  Mary.  One  son  died,  Marion  P. 

William  A.  Viets,  retired,  Clifton,  is  virtually  the  founder  of  the 
village  of  Clifton.  He  was  born  in  Berkshire  county,  Massachusetts, 


CHEBANSE   TOWNSHIP.  355 

February  20,  1813.  He  was  brought  up  a  farmer,  as  was  his  father 
before  him.  In  1830  he  went  to  New  York,  stopping  five  years,  as  a 
clerk;  then  to  Cleveland,  Ohio,  for  three  years,  and  back  again  to 
New  York,  and  going  into  business  for  himself  till  1854.  He  then 
came  to  Illinois,  stopping  in  Chicago  till  1858,  and  from  there  he  came 
to  Clifton  and  settled,  he  owning  some  200  acres  of  land.  He  laid  out 
the  town  in  1861,  at  that  time  there  being  but  two  houses  on  the  east 
side  of  the  railroad.  The  town  was  first  settled  by  some  ten  families 
from  the  east, — first-class  citizens  and  well-to-do, — most  of  whom  have 
left  for  other  parts.  Mr.  Yiets  took  great  pride  in  decorating  the 
town  with  shade  trees,  nearly  all  of  which  were  planted  by  or  through 
him.  The  beautiful  little  cemetery  is,  we  understand,  owned  by  him, 
and  kept  up  at  his  own  expense,  he  having  made  great  outlay  in 
ornamenting  with  trees,  shrubbery,  etc.  The  citizens  a"re  indebted  to 
him  to  a  great  extent  for  his  pride  and  generosity  in  furthering  the 
interests  and  welfare  of  the  town.  He  has  held  all  the  various  town 
offices,  although  not  very  desirable  positions.  He  was  married  in  New 
York,  May  17, 1836,  to  Miss  Mary  E.  Pennoyer,  who  was  born  in  New 
York  city,  July  21,  1816.  She  died  in  New  York,  March  11,  1853. 
September  17,  1856,  he  was  married  to  Mrs.  Frances  N.  Reeves,  of 
Boston,  in  the  city  of  Chicago.  She  was  born  in  Boston,  February 
20, 1823.  He  had  by  first  marriage :  Catharine,  wife  of  John  R.  Cam- 
eron, of  Ottawa,  Illinois ;  Mary  P.,  wife  of  Madison  H.  Ferris,  of  Chi- 
cago; and  Charlotte.  By  second  marriage:  Helen  C.,  born  in  Chicago, 
June  22,  1857 ;  and  William  H.,  born  in  Clifton,  November  1,  1864, 
and  accidentally  killed,  March  17,  1879,  by  a  gunshot  while  out  hunt- 
ing. He  being  a  bright,  intelligent  boy,  a  dutiful,  a  loving  and  an 
only  son,  it  was  a  severe  and  sad  blow  to  his  fond  parents  and  doting 
sisters. 

Jerome  Bard,  merchant,  Chebanse,  was  born  in  Maine,  June  18, 
1832.  His  parents  were  William  and  Mehitable  (Wood)  Bard.  Mr. 
Bard  lived  in  his  native  town  until  twenty-one  years  old,  then  moved 
to  Massachusetts,  residing  there  some  eight  or  ten  years,  and  then  came 
out  west,  landing  in  Chicago  in  May,  1860,  and  shortly  afterward  came 
to  this  township,  where  he  engaged  in  the  purchase  and  shipping  of 
grain  to  Chicago  for  a  year  following.  He  then  enlisted  in  Co.  G, 
25th  111.  Vol.,  June  1,  1861,  serving  something  over  three  years. 
He  enlisted  as  a  "high"  private  and  was  mustered  out  as  an  orderly- 
sergeant  in  the  city  of  Springfield  in  the  month  of  August,  1864.  He 
was  engaged  in  every  battle  his  company  participated  in  during  the 
war,  the  first  being  that  of  Pea  Ridge,  followed  successively  by  the 
battles  of  Perryville,  Stone  River,  Chickamauga,  Mission  Ridge,  and 


356  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

numerous  skirmishes  on  the  line  of  march  from  Chattanooga  to 
Atlanta,  some  of  them  being  very  heavy  engagements.  Shortly  after 
reaching  Atlanta  his  regiment  turned  about-face  and  returned  to  Spring- 
field, Illinois,  where  they  disbanded.  Returning  to  Chebanse  he 
clerked  for  six  years,  excepting  two  years,  being  laid  up  with  rheuma- 
tism, since  which  time  he  has  been  in  business  for  himself,  having  a 
branch  store  at  Cabery,  Kankakee  county.  His  partner  is  Francis  T. 
McKee.  Mr.  Bard  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  E.  Robinson,  at  Kankakee, 
in  October,  1867,  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Whitehead.  He  has  two  living  chil- 
dren :  Bertie  and  Shirley ;  and  two  deceased  :  Mabel  L.  and  an  infant. 
Mrs.  Bard  was  born  in  Ohio  in  March,  1844.  He  has  lived  here  nine- 
teen years ;  at  present  is  a  town  trustee,  and  has  always  voted  the 
republican  ticket, — Abraham  Lincoln  being  the  first  presidential  candi- 
date to  receive  his  ballot. 

J.  N.  Frooninckx,  farmer,  Chebanse,  was  born  in  Lubeck,  Belgium, 
August  30,  1823.  He  lived  at  the  place  of  his  nativity  until  thirty- 
three  years  of  age,  and  attended  school  until  he  was  fifteen  years  old, 
and  has  farmed  during  his  life.  He  came  to  America  in  1856,  coming 
direct  to  Iroquois  county,  locating  on  what  is  known  as  the  Belgian 
Farm,  buying  his  present  homestead  of  160  acres  in  1860.  He  was 
married  in  the  old  country,  March  25,  1856,  to  Miss  Mary  A.  Lefevre. 
She  died  three  years  after  coming  to  this  country.  April  2,  1866,  he 
was  married  to  Miss  Yictoria  Shanjelon ;  she  was  born  in  Belgium 
December  22,  1835.  They  have  four  children  :  Mary,  Joseph,  Emil 
and  Gustav.  He  has  held  the  position  of  school  director,  taking  great 
interest  in  matters  pertaining  to  education.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Catholic  church. 

John  H.  Sands,  assessor,  Cbfebanse,  was  born  in  Holbeach,  Lincoln- 
shire, England,  March  3,  1824,  and  is  the  son  of  Henry  and  Mar- 
garet E.  (Ward)  Sands.  Mr.  Sands  served  an  apprenticeship  as  a 
general  wood-worker,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty  came  to  this  country, 
locating  in  New  York.  He  lived  there  until  1855,  and  then  moved  to 
Kendall  county,  Illinois,  farmed  five  years,  and  then  moved  to  the 
township  of  Chebanse  in  1861,  where  he  has  continued  the  occupation 
ever  since,  owning  120  acres,  in  a  good  state  of  cultivation.  In  1870 
and  1871  he  was  elected  to  .the  position  of  township  collector,  and 
during  the  years  1876  to  1879  inclusive,  held  the  office  of  assessor, 
which  duty  he  has  performed  faithfully  and  well.  In  the  fall  of  1863 
he  entered  the  pioneer  corps,  and  for  eight  months  served  in  the  vicinity 
of  Chattanooga,  and  was  discharged  in  July,  1864.  He  was  married  in 
the  town  of  Williamsburg  (now  consolidated  with  the  city  of  Brook- 
lyn) September  1,  1845,  to  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Smith,  who  was  born  in 


CHEBANSE   TOWNSHIP.  357 

the  town  of  Tydd,  St.  Mary,  England,  May  13,  1813.  They  have 
had  four  children,  two  living:  William  F.  W.,  and  Margaret  E.  W., 
now  the  wife  of  Peter  Wright.  The  two  deceased  were  :  Anna  M. 
W.  and  John  H.  W.  Mrs.  Sands  had,  by  a  previous  marriage,  two 
children,  both  living :  Mrs.  Anna  Bagley,  of  Brooklyn,  born  in 
Lincolnshire,  England,  May  15,  1835  ;  and  Jane  L.,  wife  of  John 
Jackson,  of  this  township,  born  in  New  York  city,  March  28, 
1840.  Mr.  Bagley  and  Mr.  Jackson  have  been  through  the  late  war, 
and  Mr.  Jackson  has  been  a  resident  of  this  township  since  1855.  Mr. 
Sands  was  captain  of  police  of  the  first  ward  of  Williamsburg,  the  first 
year  it  became  a  city.  He  is  a  member  of  the  M.  E.  church ;  of  the 
Chebanse  Lodge,  No.  429,  of  which  lodge  he  has  held  the  office  of 
Master  for  five  years  ;  and  has  always  been  a  democrat.  Mr.  Bagley 
was  killed  in  Washington  immediately  after  his  discharge,  before  he 
reached  home,  by  the  mere  wanton  act  of  a  guard  on  duty — a  flagrant 
murder. 

Judson  D.  Miner,  farmer,  Chebanse,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Proviso, 
Cook  county,  Illinois,  July  28,  1850.  His  parents  were  Peter  and 
Lavina  (Ackley)  Miner.  With  his  parents  he  moved  to  Wheaton, 
DuPage  county,  he  being  then  six  years  of  age,  and  lived  there  till 
June  1861,  and  then  moved  to  Chebanse,  leading  a  farmer's  life.  His 
brother  (Henry  A.)  died  in  September,  1862,  while  serving  his  country 
in  the  late  war.  Mr.  Miner  was  married  October  8.  1878,  to  Miss 
Eva  Luella  Col  burn,  who  was  born  in  Hillsdale,  Columbia  county, 
New  York,  July  21,  1853.  Mr.  Miner  has  a  snug  farm  of  80  acres 
under  good  cultivation. 

Louis  Henrotin,  justice  of  the  peace,  Clifton,  was  born  at  St.  Hubert, 
in  the  province  of  Luxemburg,  kingdom  of  Belgium,  July  19,  1839. 
He  resided  there  till  1859,  studying  medicine  and  graduating  from  the 
University  of  Liege,  Belgium.  In  1860  he  came  to  America  and  joined 
his  uncle  in  Chicago, — Dr.  J.  F.  Henrotin,  then  Belgian  consul.  In 
the  fall  of  the  same  year  he  settled  in  Iroquois  county,  and  returned  to 
Belgium  in  the  fall  of  1861,  and  in  the  spring  of  1862  he  returned  to 
his  adopted  country.  It  is  presumed  that  he  went  on  most  important 
business,  as  he  was  married,  December  26,  1861,  to  Miss  Amelia  Lam- 
bert, who  was  born  May  9,  1838.  Clifton  became  their  abiding  place. 
He  was  grain  merchant  from  1862  to  1868,  and  then  went  into  mercan- 
tile operations  till  the  fall  of  1870,  and  in  the  same  year  was  elected 
justice  of  the  peace.  In  1871  he  took  another  trip  to  Europe,  with  his 
family,  remaining  there  nearly  one  year,  and  coming  back  in  1872, 
once  more  settled  down  to  business.  As  a  coincidence  we  might  relate 
that  the  train  that  pulled  him  and  family  out  of  Chicago  on  their  last 


358  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

trip  to  Europe,  at  5:15  Sunday  evening,  was  the  last  that  went  out  on 
that  road  before  the  "  big  fire,"  and  when  they  arrived  in  Canada  the 
electric  news  reached  them  of  the  dreadful  conflagration.  In  connec- 
tion with  his  office  he  holds  the  position  of  town  collector.  He  has 
three  children:  Louisa,  Amelia  and  Gustav.  Edmund  L.  died  October 
10,  1879. 

J.  D.  DeVeling,  justice  of  the  peace,  Chebanse,  was  born  in  Co- 
burg,  Canada,  December  23,  1829.  His  parents  were  John  and  Mary 
(Twig)  DeYeling.  He  was  raised  in  Canada,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
four  moved  to  Michigan,  and  after  a  two-years  sojourn  returned  to 
Canada,  and  remained  there  till  the  winter  of  1858-9.  From  there  he 
went  to  southern  Illinois.  In  September,  1861,  he  took  up  his  abode 
in  Sugar  Island,  and  in  the  fall  of  1863  came  to  this'  village,  and  has 
ever  since  resided  here.  He  was  a  graduate  of  the  Eclectic  College  of 
Cincinnati,  taking  two  courses.  Prior  to  going  to  Cincinnati  he  studied 
medicine  in  Canada.  In  1864  he  opened  a  drug  store,  which  he  car- 
ried on,  in  connection  with  his  profession,  till  1875,  his  son  then  assum- 
ing control.  At  one  time  C.  C.  Sawyer  was  a  partner.  He  was  elected 
police  justice  in  the  summer  of  1868,  for  four  years,  and  reflected  in 
1877,  and  also  held  the  office  of  notary  public.  He  was  married  to 
Joana  Bebee,  in  Canada  West,  in  the  winter  of  1849-50.  They  are 
the  parents  of  six  children,  four  living :  Mary  W.,  John  M.,  W.  R.  and 
Clara  A.  The  other  two  died  in  infancy.  Mr.  DeVeling's  parents  were 
from  Glasgow,  Scotland.  In  connection  with  his  general  business  he 
is  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  "  Deze^ng's  patent  no-hame  wood 
horse-collar,"  of  which  he  is  the  assignee  of  the  patentee.  This  state 
is  under  his  sole  control,  and  he  is  also  interested  in  the  balance  of  the 
states.  Formerly  he  was  an  independent,  having  published  a  weekly — 
"  The  Independent " — for  six  years,  but  now  he  is  identified  with  the 
republican  party. 

William  Hunter,  retired  farmer,  Chebanse,  was  born  in  Washington 
county,  Pennsylvania,  April  12,  1797.  When  two  years  old  his 
parents  moved  to  Ohio  and  located  in  what  has  since  become  Fairfield 
county.  He  farmed,  worked  at  the  cooper's  and  carpenter's  trades, 
and  was  judge  of  the  Lincoln  county  court  for  six  years.  He  moved 
to  Huntington,  Indiana,  where  he  carried  on  the  hardware  business  for 
ten  years.  He  came  to  this  state  in  the  spring  of  1865,  settling  in 
Kankakee  county,  and  in  October,  1875,  came  to  this  village,  living  a 
peaceful  and  retired  life.  He  has  been  married  three  times,  his  first 
wife  being  Miss  Eliza  Cisney,  who  died  September  15,  1823 ;  the  sec- 
ond was  Mary  Ann  Matlock,  who  died  July  12,  1829,  and  he  married 
his  third  wife,  Miss  Mary  Ann  Crane,  March  5,  1830.  They  will  have 


CHEBANSE   TOWNSHIP.  359 

lived  together  for  fifty  years  if  they  survive  till  March  5,  1880,  their 
golden  anniversary.  His  present  wife  was  born  in  Carlisle,  Pennsyl- 
vania, September  12, 1805.  Mr.  Hunter  has  been  the  father  of  twelve 
children,  five  living :  Thomas  C.,  Emily  (Mrs.  James  Whiteside),  Wil- 
liam J.,  Eliza  and  George  C.  The  deceased  are  Allen  T.,  Caroline  E., 
Emeline,  John,  Harvey,  Mary  E.  and  an  infant.  He  has  held  the 
office  of  school  director.  He  voted  for  Andrew  Jackson,  turned  whig, 
and  is  now  a  republican ;  and  is  a  member  of  the  Congregational 
church. 

W.  J.  Hunter,  jeweler  and  postmaster,  Chebanse,  was  born  in  JEtna, 
Licking  county,  Ohio,  August  5,  1842.  His  father  is  the  venerable 
William  Hunter,  the  oldest  inhabitant  in  the  village.  At  the  age  of 
twelve  years  he  moved  with  his  parents  to  Huntington,  Indiana,  and 
attended  school  till  1861,  then  enlisted  in  Co.  F,  47th  Ind.  Yol.  Inf. 
After  reaching  Kentucky  his  regiment  was  ordered  to  Bowling  Green 
and  Fort  Donelson,  but  arrived  too  late  to  participate  in  their  capture. 
Several  forced  marches  brought  his  regiment  to  Riddle's  Point,  Mis- 
souri, where  a  siege  battery  was  planted,  and  an  engagement  took 
place  with  some  rebel  gunboats,  disabling  three  of  them.  At  Tipton- 
ville  they  intercepted  the  retreating  forces  from  Island  No.  10,  and 
captured  numerous  prisoners.  At  the  capture  of  Memphis  his  regi- 
ment was  the  first  to  enter  that  stronghold.  He  was  also  in  the  battles 
of  Fort  Gibson,  Raymond,  Champion  Hill,  Black  River,  siege  of 
Yicksburg,  Grand  Canton  Bayou,  Fort  Spanish,  Fort  Blakeley,  and 
a  great  number  of  other  battles,  skirmishes,  etc.  He  served  his  country 
faithfully  for  four  years  and  two  months,  having  reenlisted  as  a  vet- 
eran, and  was  discharged  November  3,  1865,  at  Indianapolis.  He 
came  to  Chebanse  in  1866,  and  clerked  until  he  went  into  business  for 
himself.  He  was  appointed  postmaster  by  the  postmaster-general  in 
the  administration  of  President  Grant,  in  June  1870,  and  still  retains 
the  position.  He  was  married  to  Miss  T.  Tracey,  March  5,  1871. 
They  have  two  children :  Addie  and  EfSe.  Mrs.  Hunter  was  born  in 
Erie,  Erie  county,  Pennsylvania,  November  29,  1846. 

Patrick  Murphy,  merchant,  Chebanse,  was  born  in  the  county  of 
Kilkenny,  Ireland,  March  17,  1851,  and  is  the  son  of  James  and  Cath- 
erine Murphy.  He  emigrated  to  this  country  with  his  parents  and 
settled  in  Hinsdale,  Berkshire  county,  Massachusetts,  in  the  spring  of 
1853,  he  being  then  but  two  years  of  age.  He  lived  there  for  six 
years,  and  then  removed  to  La  Salle  county,  Illinois,  in  the  spring  of 
1859,  his  father  dying  the  same  year.  Mr.  Murphy  was  reared  on  a 
farm,  and  continued  it  up  to  the  time  of  his  moving  to  this  township, 
which  was  on  March  16,  1867,  and  again  went  to  farming  until  1874, 


360  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

at  which  time  he  entered  the  employ  of  McKee  &  Bard,  clerking  for 
them  for  some  fifteen  months.  He  then  started  in  the  general  mer- 
chandising business  for  himself,  doing  a  thriving  trade  and  carrying  a 
full  stock.  He  was  married,  by  Rev.  Father  Gonant,  of  Chebanse, 
to  Miss  Bridget  Clabby,  May  1,  1876.  They  have  two  children : 
James  F.  and  Mary  L.  He  is  a  member  of  the  town  board,  and  is  also 
treasurer  of  the  Father  Mathew  Temperance  Society.  Mr.  Murphy 
is,  so  to  speak,  a  self-made  man. 

Thomas  S.  Sawyer,  lawyer  and  editor,  Chebanse,  was  born  Novem- 
ber 9,  1844,  at  Pomfret,  Windham  county,  Connecticut.  His  father, 
Lucius  E.  Sawyer,  was  born  on  the  same  farm  in  1817.  His  mother 
was  a  Miss  Patience  S.  Carpenter,  a  native  of  Rhode  Island.  Mr. 
Sawyer  moved  with  his  parents  to  Illinois  in  1856,  and  lived  on  a  farm 
until  eighteen  years  of  age,  then  taught  school  for  two  years,  and  after- 
ward was  appointed  to  a  clerkship  in  the  interior  department  at  Wash- 
ington, and  remained  there  until  removed,  in  1866,  by  Andrew  John- 
son for  political  differences.  While  in  Washington  he  commenced  the 
study  of  law,  and  pursued  it  after  removal  in  the  office  of  E.  Sanford, 
Morris,  Illinois,  until  June,  1867,  when  he  was  admitted  to  practice 
by  the  supreme  court  of  Illinois.  He  was  married,  in  the  summer  of 
1867,  to  Miss  Addie  A.  Barnes,  and  moved  to  Chebanse  in  the  fall  of 
1867,  where  he  has  since  resided.  He  has  three  children :  Lucius 
Clyde,  Patience  Aileen  and  Thomas  Roy,  all  living.  Mr.  Sawyer  has 
held  the  office  of  supervisor  for  four  years  ;  been  member  of  the  village 
trustees  —  last  two  years  as  president  of  the  board ;  and  represented  the 
counties  of  Kankakee  and  Iroquois  in  the  twenty-eighth  general  assem- 
bly. In  1869  he  commenced  the  publication  of  the  Chebanse 
"  Herald,"  a  weekly,  and  has  published  it  regularly  since  that  time. 
It  is  a  republican  sheet. 

John  Milton  Balthis,  proprietor  of  Orchard  Farm,  Chebanse,  was 
born  October  5,  1827,  in  Putnam,  Muskingum  county,  Ohio.  His 
father,  Major  John  Balthis,  was  from  Strasburg,  Shenandoah  county, 
Yirginia,  and  settled  on  the  banks  of  the  Muskingum  river,  about  1812, 
on  the  present  site  of  Putnam,  Ohio,  which  at  that  time  was  the  abode 
of  many  Indians.  The  name  Putnam  was  given  to  the  town  in  honor 
of  his  pioneer  friend,  Judge  Rufus  Putnam,  a  direct  descendant  of  old 
Israel  Putnam,  of  Wolfden  notoriety.  These  two  pioneers,  together 
with  Philip  Zane,  Increase  Mathews,  Horace  Nye  and  Catherine 
Buckingham,  were  the  proprietors  of  what  is  now  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  and  prosperous  towns  in  Ohio,  and  laid  a  social  foundation 
evidencing  the  sterling  traits  in  their  characters.  Politically,  John 
Balthis  was  a  stanch  old-line  whig,  and  was  commissioned  a  major  of 


CHEBANSE   TOWNSHIP.  361 

Ohio  militia  by  Governor  Trimble,  and  served  many  years  in  that  capac- 
ity ;  was  for  about  forty  years  a  member  of  the  town  council  of  Putnam, 
and  a  stanch  unflinching  friend  of  truth  and  virtue,  which  he  illustrated 
through  a  long  life.  To  his  family  and  friends,  of  him  it  might  be 

said : 

"  His  life  was  gentle,  and  the  elements 
So  mixed  in  him  that  Nature  might  stand  up 
And  say  to  all  the  world,  '  This  was  a  man.1 " 

He  died  in  1873,  seventy-six  years  old,  and  left  a  widow,  Lenity 
Balthis,  who  was  from  Portland,  Maine,  who  shared  all  his  privations  in 
early  life,  and  whose  charitable,  kindly  disposition,  relieved  the  wants 
of  many  all  through  her  life,  and  whose  children  drop  a  tear  in  re- 
membering her  gentle  ministrations  to  all  their  wants  through  years  of 
great  bodily  afflictions,  which  it  was  hers  to  bear.  Her  maiden  name 
was  Morton.  She  died  in  1873,  three  weeks  later  than  her  husband,  aged 
sixty-seven,  and  in  the  beautiful  Woodlawn  cemetery,  Putnam,  Ohio, 
a  fine  granite  monument  marks  their  grave,  inscribed  as  follows : 

"OUR  FATHER  AND   MOTHER." 

"  Oh  that  those  lips  had  language  ! 
Life  has  passed  but  roughly  with  us  since  we  saw  thee  last." 

By  your  children :  Calvin  C.,  Esther,  Eliza  Ann,  John  Milton,  Amanda,  William, 
Adeline,  Columbia  A.,  Albert  Leroy. 

John  Milton  Balthis  was  married  May  1,  1849,  to  Susannah  Olivia 
Hamilton,  daughter  of  Rev.  Samuel  Hamilton,  presiding  elder  in  the 
Ohio  conference  for  over  forty  years,  as  the  publications  of  the  M.  E. 
Book  Concern,  of  Cincinnati,  show,  and  one  of  the  ablest  councilors  and 
earnest,  successful  preachers  in  the  conference;  of  sterling  traits  of 
character,  whose  fund  of  anecdote  and  incidents  of  early  pioneer 
preacher's  life  are  the  history  of  the  church  in  Ohio  and  Virginia.  He 
a  native  of  Maryland.  He,  at  the  early  date  spoken  of,  pitched  his 
tent  with  his  brothers  in  the  unbroken  forests  of  Hopewell  township, 
Muskingum  county,  Ohio,  ten  miles  of  Zanesville,  and  dedicated  their 
home  to  God  in  the  great  timber,  amid  a  storm  and  all  the  solemnity 
of  the  wilderness  around  them.  He  lived  to  see  prosperity  all  around 
him.  Mr.  Hamilton  married  Edith  Harrison,  of  Harrisonburg,  Virginia, 
daughter  of  Robert  Harrison,  a  relative  of  General,  afterward  Presi- 
dent, Harrison  ;  a  woman  of  gentle  graces  and  fine  influence,  lamented 
at  death  by  all  who  knew  her.  Her  death  long  preceded  Mr.  Hamilton, 
who  died  in  1853,  aged  sixty-three  years,  and  is  buried  on  the  family 
homestead,  near  Asbury  chapel,  Hopewell  township,  Muskingum 
county,  Ohio.  Mr.  Hamilton  is  buried  in  the  old  cemetery  at  Somerset, 


362  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

Perry  county,  Ohio.  Their  children  are:  Sarah,  Jane,  Susan,  Edith, 
Martha  and  Mary.  Susannah  received  her  education  at  Putnam  Female 
Seminary,  together  with  earlier  learning  in  the  schools  of  her  native 
home  township.  John  Milton  Balthis  received  his  schooling  in  the 
public  schools  of  Putnam  and  at  the  Mclntire  Academy  of  Zanesville, 
Ohio.  At  an  early  period  his  taste  led  him  to  a  blacksmith,  where  he 
forged  out  a  rude  set  of  engraving  tools,  with  which  he  engraved  draw- 
ings of  his  own,  and  transfers  on  wood.  These  coming  to  the  notice 
of  Uriah  Park,  editor  of  the  Zanesville  "  Gazette  "  (the  most  influen- 
tial paper  in  central  Ohio),  once  author  of  Park's  arithmetic,  pleased 
our  editor,  and  he  forthwith  employed  the  young  artist  to  make  some 
diagrams  for  his  book ;  and  so  well  was  he  pleased  with  the  illustrations 
that  he  insisted  on  giving  him  letters  of  credit  and  recommendation, 
which  stated  to  Messrs.  Doolittle  &  Munson,  that  it  introduced  a  young 
friend  of  irreproachable  character,  the  phraseology  of  which  our  young 
artist  has  never  forgotten,  and  which  secured  for  him  a  desk  in  the 
office  of  the  first  bank-note  and  wood  engravers  west  of  the  mountains 
and  in  Cincinnati.  During  the  time  in  the  engraving  office  our  artist 
illustrated  the  Ladies'  Repository  of  the  M.  E.  Book  Concern,  works  on 
natural  history,  and  the  "  Twelve  Months  Volunteer,"  a  "  History  of  the 
War  with  Mexico,"  and  a  great  many  other  engravings  for  various  pur- 
poses, also  Robinson's  system  of  school-books.  The  association  with  artists 
in  Cincinnati,  and  his  free  access  to  the  Western  Art  Union  gallery, 
had  developed  in  the  mind  of  our  engraver  a  taste  for  the  beautiful,  in 
nature  and  art,  which  is  always  present ;  and  he  can  truly  say  that  to  him 
now  on  the  farm,  "  a  thing  of  beauty  is  a  joy  forever";  and  the  ever- 
varying  moods  of  natural  scenery,  the  deep-vaulted,  starry  sky,  and  all 
the  harmonies  of  nature,  are  sources  of  inexpressible  joy ;  hence  farm 
life  and  rural  scenes  are  where  he  prefers  to  pass  his  life.  From  Cin- 
cinnati, in  1853,  he  went  to  Cleveland,  Ohio,  engaging  in  the  dry-goods 
business;  from  there  to  Zanesville,  and  thence  to  Oskaloosa,  Iowa, 
where  wild  lands  he  owned  demanded  attention.  Believing  that 
Illinois  was  the  best  field  for  his  enterprises  he  settled  on  a  beautiful 
farm  in  Copley  township,  Knox  county,  Illinois,  where  he  resided  when 
the  war  of  the  rebellion  broke  out,  and  being  all  his  life  a  stanch 
whig  and  republican,  the  fire  on  Sumter  called  every  man  to  show  his 
colors;  and  the  heated  discussions  that  followed,  between  loyal  men 
and  copperheads  (so  called),  found  in  Mr.  Balthis  a  warm  and  earnest 
champion  for  the  Union  cause,  and  so  pronounced  was  he  in  his  denun- 
ciations of  the  disloyal  sentiments  of  those  who  opposed  the  war,  that 
his  township  republicans  nominated  him  unanimously  for  the  office  of 
supervisor  (where  supplies  had  to  be  voted  for,  for  support  of  the 


CHEBANSE   TOWNSHIP.  363 

brave  soldiers'  families,  and  earnest  talk  to  be  done  to  beat  back  disloyal 
utterances),  and  when  the  vote  was  counted  on  the  day  of  election,  Mr. 
Bal this  received  every  loyal  vote  of  his  township.  He  took  his  seat  in 
the  board,  and  the  records  of  the  meetings  show  that  not  a  vote  of  his 
gave  aid  and  comfort  to  the  enemies  of  his  country ;  the  journals 
showing  his  voice  raised  always  in  defense  of  her  integrity,  and  he 
prides  himself  on  this  record.  To  show  the  estimation  in  which  Mr. 
Balthis  was  held  during  these  trying  times,  by  the  loyal  people  of 
Knox  county,  we  insert  here  a  comment,  published  in  the  Knoxville 
"  Gazette,"  a  loyal  and  leading  paper,  of  a  convention  held  in  the 
court-house  at  Knoxville,  in  defense  of  the  union  cause,  of  which  Mr. 
Balthis  was  unanimously  chosen  secretary,  arid  J.  D.  Hand,  president. 
"  The  unconditional  Union  convention,  which  was  held  at  the  court- 
house last  Saturday,  to  nominate  candidates  to  be  supported  at  the 
November  election,  was  composed  of  ninety-three  delegates,  represent- 
ing eighteen  out  of  the  twenty  townships  of  the  county.  The  dele- 
gates were  men  of  intelligence,  fully  comprehending  the  situation  of 
the  country,  and  firmly  determined  to  throw  the  whole  influence  of 
the  county  on  the  side  of  the  administration  in  their  efforts  to  preserve 
its  dignity  and  unity,  by  vigorously  prosecuting  the  war  for  the  sup- 
pression of  the  rebellion.  The  convention  was  a  Union  convention  in 
name,  spirit  and  fact ;  not  a  bastard  production  like  that  by  which 
some  of  our  truly  loyal  citizens  were  entrapped  two  years  ago ;  and 
the  people  of  the  county  may  implicitly  rely  on  the  assurance  that  its 
nominees,  before  or  after  the  election,  will  not  be  found  bearing  dis- 
loyal badges,  in  the  shape  of  copperhead  pins,  or  taking  part  in  trait- 
orous assemblages,  and  siding,  framing  and  passing  infamous  resolu- 
tions of  resistance  to  the  authorities  in  putting  down  rebellion.  They 
are  for  the  country  all  the  time.  They  are  union  in  heart  and  in  back- 
bone, and  will  default  in  no  demand  made  upon  them  by  a  pure 
patriotism."  Mr.  Balthis  represented  his  township  also  in  the  above 
convention  and  held  the  office  of  supervisor  a  number  of  years,  when 
he  resigned  and  went  into  business  in  Chicago.  In  1867  he  removed 
to  his  320  acres  of  wild  land  near  Clifton  to  carry  out  a  long  cherished 
desire  to  realize  the  "  deep  pleasures  of  the  rural  life,"  and  to  show 
himself  what  his  indomitable  perseverance  has  brought  about.  We 
extract  from  the  Chicago  "  Tribune "  the  description  of  his  farm  and 
career,  written  by  the  Hon.  M.  L.  Dunlap,  of  Champaign  county  : 
"  Here  is  a  man  by  trade  an  engraver,  but  as  he  could  not  brook  such 
close  confinement  he  left  it  for  another  business,  and  trusting  to  a  few 
thousand  dollars  from  savings  of  his  labor  and  his  business  tact,  he 
made  the  venture.  Every  plan  was  carefully  considered ;  every 


364  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

improvement  proposed  had  to  be  subjected  to  figures,  and  every  day's 
labor  was  applied  to  some  useful  end.  His  house  is  substantial  and 
elegant ;  its  rooms  contain  an  elegant  piano,  and  another  hundreds  of 
volumes  of  valuable  works.  He  kept  steadily  at  his  task,  through  sum- 
mer's sun  and  winter's  frost.  In  the  field  and  the  garden,  in  the  haul- 
ing of  building  material,  in  the  marketing  of  hay  and  corn  he  played 
the  working  farmer,  and  has  carved  out  one  of  the  most  pleasant  and 
comfortable  homes  that  gladden  the  '  Grand  Prairie.' "  His  artistic 
taste  finds  great  enjoyment  in  natural  scenes ;  in  nature's  art  gallery, 
he  is  pleased.  We  extract  from  a  leading  county  paper  an  editorial  visit 
to  the  farm  :  "  The  beautiful  '  Orchard  Farm '  was  reached  about  one 
o'clock,  and  Mr.  J.  M.  Balthis,  its  big-hearted  proprietor,  received  us 
with  as  hearty  a  welcome  as  the  father  in  scripture  gave  his  prodigal 
son.  In  a  few  minutes  the  whole  party  felt  perfectly  at  home  in  the 
elegant  arid  nicely  furnished  house.  We  will  not  make  your  mouth 
water  with  a  description  of  the  good  things  we  enjoyed  while  there, 
for  fear  we  will  not  do  justice  to  the  magnificent  '  Orchard  Farm,'  its 
well  informed  proprietor,  his  amiable  lady  and  their  intelligent  family. 
The  place  is  appropriately  named,  and  though  only  eight  years  old,  its 
thrifty  orchard  of  1,000  trees  is  one  of  the  finest  we  ever  saw.  The 
fields  slope  gently  to  the  south,  and  the  farm  .presents  a  rich,  produc- 
tive appearance  even  such  a  year  as  this.  Five  hours  swiftly  passed, 
while  the  party  also  had  the  pleasure  of  examining  many  art  specimens 
of  Mr.  Balthis,  who  is  an  artist  of  more  than  ordinary  talent,  and  was 
once  a  skillful  engraver  in  Cincinnati,  whose  associates  were  Sontagg, 
White,  Grosvenor,  Whiteridges,  Stillman,  and  the  artists  of  the  '  West- 
ern Union  Art  Gallery.' ';  Mr.  Balthis  is  the  father  of  six  chil- 
dren :  Althea,  Yernon,  Alberta,  Estella,  Jenny  Lind,  Fanny,  Edith 
and  Harry  Hamilton,  who  was,  May,  1879,  appointed  a  cadet  midship- 
man in  United  States  Naval  Academy,  at  Annapolis,  Maryland,  from 
the  eighth  congressional  district  of  Illinois,  by  the  Hon.  G.  L.  Fort. 
Young  Balthis  passed  a  most  creditable  examination  in  June,  1879.  In 
conclusion,  we  deem  the  above  details  of  a  successful  life  due  to  one  of 
Iroquois  county's  most  enterprising  farmers,  showing  what  well 
directed  eifort  can  do,  coupled  with  untiring  industry  and  integrity  of 
character,  to  build  up  a  state  which  is  formed  of  "  substantial  citizens." 
Erick  Nelson  (deceased)  was  born  in  Norway  January  6, 1821.  He 
came  to  America  in  1839,  going  back  in  1847,  and  returning  again  in 
1848.  He  settled  in  Yorkville,  Kendall  county,  New  York,  following 
the  business  of  farming.  In  the  month  of  February,  1868,  he  moved 
with  his  family  to  this  township,  locating  where  his  family  now  reside, 
on  the  homestead,  containing  80  acres,  with  a  240-acre  tract  on  the 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


CHEBANSE   TOWNSHIP.  365 

east.  He  built  a  nice,  roomy  residence  at  the  time  of  settling,  and  it 
is  a  great  pity  his  life  could  not  have  been  spared  to  reap  the  reward 
of  his  labors  in  the  society  of  his  interesting  family.  He  died  March 
6,  1878,  and  was  buried  with  Masonic  honors.  He  was  married  in 
Christiania,  Norway,  February  19, 1848,  to  Miss  Isabel  Anderson,  who 
was  born  October  14,  1827.  He  left  to  mourn  his  loss  a  wife  and  ten 
children :  Mary,  wife  of  Joseph  Yates,  deceased  ;  Caroline,  wife  of 
Thomas  Thorston ;  Sarah,  wife  of  Lester  Phelps ;  Andrew ;  Tina, 
wife  of  Samuel  Heather ;  Ella,  Anna,  Emma,  Lyda  and  Charley. 
Jennie  died,  aged  one  year,  August  30, 1864.  Mr.  Nelson  was  brought 
up  as  a  Lutheran, — the  laws  of  Norway  making  it  obligatory  on  the 
part  of  parents  to  send  their  children,  both  male  and  female,- to  school 
until  a  certain  age,  where  they  were  compelled  to  receive  a  ministerial 
education. 

Joseph  Yates  (deceased)  was  born  in  the  town  of  Mohawk,  Mont 
gomery  county,  New  York,  January  20,  1842.  He  enlisted  in  the 
army  in  Wisconsin,  August  15,  1862,  and  was  discharged  March  26, 
1863,  on  account  of  sickness,  and  sent  home.  At  Chicago  he  was 
under  the  physician's  care  for  seven  months.  He  died  August  10, 
1879.  He  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Nelson  May  27,  1877,  who 
was  born  November  16,  1848.  He  leaves  behind  to  grieve  over  his 
untimely  calling  off  a  loving  wife,  and  one  daughter,  Aileen,  who  was 
born  October  30, 1878. 

B.  J.  Wakeman,  nurseryman  and  florist,  Chebanse,  was  born  Janu- 
ary 15,  1840,  in  the  town  of  Addison,  Du  Page  county,  Illinois.  He 
lived  with  his  parents  till  nineteen  years  of  age,,  at  which  time  he 
enlisted  in  Co.  B,  33d  111.  Inf.,  under  command  of  Col.  Hovey.  He 
was  engaged  in  eighteen  battles,  some  of  the  principal  ones  being: 
Pea  Ridge,  Grand  Gulf,  Port  Gibson,  Raymond,  Jackson,  Champion 
Hill  and  Black  River, — all  being  fought  in  seven  consecutive  days. 
He  was  also  at  the  siege  of  Yicksburg,  capture  of  Mobile  and  numer- 
ous other  engagements.  He  was  discharged  and  reenlisted  as  a  "  vet" 
in  Texas,  serving  in  all  four  and  a  half  years,  and  was  finally  dis- 
charged in  the  winter  of  1866.  Returning  home  he  remained  two  years, 
then  came  to  Chebanse  in  1868,  going  into  the  nursery  business, 
having  an  eighty-acre  tract,  several  acres'  of  which  are  devoted  to  his 
nursery.  By  honorable  dealings  and  good  stock  he  has  worked  him- 
self a  fine  trade,  and  no  doubt  he  deserves  it.  He  was  married 
December  27,  1808,  to  Miss  Etta  A.  Root,  who  was  born  in  Albion, 
Orleans  county,  New  York,  August  9,  1845.  They  have  four  chil- 
dren: Mary  A.,  Lena  A.,  Grace  M.  and  George  C.  Mr.  Wakeman 
belongs  to  no  order,  except  the  Chebanse  Silver  Cornet  Band. 
23 


366  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

Geo.  W.  Trask,  Sr.,  farmer,  Chebanse,  was  borne  in  Hampshire 
county,  Massachusetts,  April  29,  1827.  His  parents  were  Norman  and 
Lucretia  M.  (Brace)  Trask.  He  was  raised  on  a  farm,  but  has  worked 
in  all  branches  of  the  wool-manufacturing  business,  and  came  west 
September  11,  1856,  stopping  some  three  years  at  Princeton,  Bureau 
county,  Illinois,  going  from  there  to  Grundy  county,  staying  ten  years. 
In  1869  he  came  to  this  county,  locating  on  his  present  farm,  contain- 
ing 320  acres,  raising  corn,  oats  and  flax.  He  was  married  July  4, 
1851,  to  Miss  Emily  Bacon,  who  was  born  in  Ware  village,  Massachu- 
setts, November  24,  1835.  Her  mother,  Mrs.  Mercy  Bacon,  was  born 
in  Brimfield,  Massachusetts,  in  1802,  and  is  still  Hying  with  her  daugh- 
ter. Mr.  Trask  has  been  school  director  for  nine  years.  He  has  four 
children:  Frank  H.,  George  W.,  Jr.,  Eugene  A.  and  Freddie. 

Erastus  Roadifer,  liveryman,  Chebanse,  was  born  in  Fairfield  county, 
Ohio,  April  11,  1843.  His  parents  were  Daniel  and  Rhoda  (Hough) 
Roadifer.  His  father  was  a  native  of  Virginia,  who  was  born  in  1803, 
and  is  still  hale  and  hearty.  Mr.  Erastus  Roadifer  resided  in  the 
county  of  Fairfield  till  1855,  when,  with  his  parents,  he  moved  to  La 
Salle  county,  Illinois.  He  there  followed  the  pursuit  of  farming  until 
1869,  and  then  came  to  Chebanse,  where  he  has  since  resided,  carrying 
on  the  livery  business,  being  the  principal  one  in  the  place.  He  is  a 
good  citizen  and  an  upright  business  man. 

William  W.  Gray,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Chebanse,  is  worthy  of  a 
place  in  the  history  of  Iroqupis  county.  He  was  born  on  the  Isle  of  Wight, 
England,  December  13,  1824.  Isaac  and  Sarah  (Hawkins)  Gray  were 
his  parents.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  emigrated  to  this  country  with 
father  and  mother,  stopping  in  Ohio  one  winter,  and  located  in  Rush 
county,  Indiana,  in  1831.  In  1837  he  moved  to  Adams  county,  Illi- 
nois, to  what  is  now  called  Coatsburg.  He  was  brought  up  on  a  farm, 
and  his  school  facilities  were  none  of  the  best.  When  about  twenty 
years  of  age  he  moved  to  New  Diggings,  Wisconsin,  and  teamed, 
bought  and  hauled  lead  ore  for  three  years.  While  in  New  Diggings 
he  married  Miss  Electa  M.  Slayton,  October  24,  1847.  She  was  born 
March  24,  1824,  in  Allegheny  county,  New  York.  In  company  with 
his  wife  he  returned  to  Adams  county,  stopping  there  till  1870,  when 
he  and  family  moved  to  Chebanse  township,  living  in  the  same 
house  up  till  the  present  time,  having  720  acres  and  good  out-build- 
ings. He  and  his  sons  are  extensively  engaged  in  the  raising  of  Per- 
cheron  Norman  horses  and  Hereford  cattle.  He  has  held  the  office  of 
road  commissioner,  school  director  and  school  trustee,  and  has  been  a 
member  of  the  M.  E.  church  for  thirty-seven  years;  steward,  class- 
leader,  and  delegate  to  the  annual  conference  held  at  Monmouth  in 


CHEBANSE   TOWNSHIP.  367 

1879.  In  politics  he  is  a  republican.  He  has  been  the  father  of 
eleven  children,  eight  living:  Isaac  N. ;  Sarah  M.,  wife  of  P.  S.  De 
Witt,  of  Will  county  ;  Anna  C.,  wife  of  Alonzo  Hammond,  of  Kanka- 
kee  county ;  George  H.,  Alice  L.,  William  W.,  Owen  L.  and  Ira  L. ; 
the  deceased  were :  Charles  W.,  William  H.  and  John  L. 

Rev.  Charles  Gonant,  pastor  of  SS.  Mary  and  Joseph  Church, 
Chebanse,  was  born  January  25,  1836,  in  the  province  of  Lorraine, 
France.  He  prepared  for  the  ministry  in  the  city  of  Nancy,  when,  at  the 
age  of  twenty-two,  he  went  to  Dublin  and  spent  six  months  in  his  studies 
at  the  All  Hallows  College,  and  then  left  the  country  of  his  birth  and 
came  to  America  in  1858,  landing  in  Alton,  and  after  due  time  was 
ordained  by  the  first  bishop  of  Alton  (Bishop  Juncker)  in  the  same  year. 
He  was  in  Springfield  for  some  three  months  in  1858,  after  which  time 
he  had  charge  of  congregations  in  Decatur,  Assumption  and  Litchfield. 
After  leaving  Litchfield.  in  1871,  he  returned  to  France  to  attend  affairs 
incident  to  the  death  of  his  father,  and  then  returned  to  this  country  in 
1872.  After  his  return  home  he  became  the  assistant  of  Father  O'Neill, 
of  Chicago,  and  faithfully  and  well  performed  the  duty  assigned  him 
for  the  six  months  following.  He  then  removed  to  Chebanse  in  1872, 
where  he  has  held  charge  and  resided  ever  since.  He  has  charge,  also, 
of  the  Clifton  parish,  consisting  of  150  families,  and  the  parish  of 
Chebanse,  containing  100.  When  Father  Gonant  came  here,  the 
church  edifice  was  but  a  mere  shell,  but  through  his  energy  and  good 
management  he  soon  completed  the  building,  containing  ample  grounds, 
also  the  parsonage  adjoining.  The  church  is  the  neatest  in  the  town, 
and  great  credit  is  due  him  for  its  early  completion.  He  is  also  presi- 
dent of  the  Father  Mathew  Temperance  Society,  which  numbers 
fifty-seven  members,  and  has  been  the  means  of  doing  a  great  deal  to 
advance  the  temperance  cause  in  this  place. 

John  F.  Grosse,  deceased,  was  born  in  Prussia,  Germany, 
January  18,  1838,  and  emigrated  to  America  in  1856,  and  located  in 
Bloom,  Cook  county,  Illinois,  and  worked  at  farm  work  until  the 
breaking  out  of  the  war  of  the  rebellion,  when  he  enlisted  in  the  36th 
111.  Inf.,  and  served  his  adopted  country  faithfully  until  his  health 
failed  him.  He  was  discharged  from  his  command  for  disability,  and 
returned  to  Illinois  and  settled  in  the  town  of  Waltham,  La  Salle 
county,  where  he  engaged  in  farming,  and  continued  at  it  until  his 
brother  Henry  moved  to  Chebanse,  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  to  engage 
in  mercantile  life,  where  he  resided  until  his  death.  He  was  a  pen- 
sioner for  many  years  before  his  death,  on  account  of  disability  from 
sickness,  contracted  while  engaged  in  the  defense  of  his  adopted 
country.  He  married  in  Ottawa,  Illinois,  September  4,  1864,  Miss 


368 


HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 


Anna  Rabenstein,  who  was  born  November  2,  1841,  in  Sachsen 
Weimar,  Germany,  and  emigrated  to  America  in  1863,  and  resided 
with  her  father  and  brothers  in  Ottawa,  Illinois,  until  she  was 
married.  She  settled  with  her  husband  in  Chebanse,  and  the  two 
worked  together  in  the  mercantile  business  about  nine  years.  By  this 
united  effort  and  economy  they  accumulated  a  sufficiency  of  this  world's 
goods  to  keep  the  children  comfortably.  They  had  born  to  them 
several  children,  only  two  of  whom  survive :  Alfred  Charles,  who  was 
born  May  19,  1866,  at  Chebanse ;  and  Yictoria,  born  September  27, 
1870,  at  Chebanse.  John  F.  Grosse  suffered  a  long  and  lingering 
illness  of  .about  two  years,  contracted  in  the  army,  and  after  seeking 
health  in  Texas,  died  October  23,  1874,  at  Chebanse,  of  consumption. 
At  the  day  of  his  death  he  was  thirty-six  years,  nine  months  and  five 

days  old. 

OLD  SETTLERS'  REUNION. 

In  November,  1878,  the  old  settlers  of  Chebanse  had  a  reunion, 
which  was  held  in  DeVeling's  Hall.  About  two  hundred  persons  sat 
down  to  a  good  dinner,  and  many  happy  greetings  took  place.  The 
Chebanse  Cornet  Band  furnished  the  music,  and  quite  a  number  of  old 
settlers  made  speeches.  Memories  of  old  times  were  revived,  and  it 
was  a  very  enjoyable  occasion.  An  Old  Settlers'  Association  was 
organized,  with  Luther  Gnbtail,  president,  and  Joseph  Haigh,  sec- 
retary. 

The  second  annual  reunion  took  place  in  September,  1879.  It 
was  held  in  Chapman's  Grove  in  the  day  time,  and  in  DeVeling's 
Hall  in  the  evening.  The  following  poem  was  read  by  Joseph  Haigh, 
Esq.,  at  the  first  meeting,  and  was  received  with  hearty  applause: 

•    OLD  SETTLERS'  REUNION. 


BY   JOSEPH   HAIGH. 


Columbus,  centuries  ago, 
Discovered  this  great  land; 

But  you  and  I  and  others  know, 
He  stood  not  where  we  stand. 

He  traveled  mostly  on  the  coast, 
Well  pleased  with  what  he  found; 

But  after  him  there  came  a  host 
Who  traversed  all  the  ground. 

But  you  and  I,  old  SETTLERS  all, 
To  help  the  cause  advance, 

Were  left  to  settle  and  improve 
This  famous  place,  Chebanse. 

And  many  ups  and  downs  we  had, 
Oft  ready  to  despair; 


But  future  hopes  would  make  us  glad, 
And  raise  our  load  of  care. 

We  well  remember  this  vast  plain 

With  scarce  a  house  in  view, 
And  went  to  work  with  might  and  main, 

To  see  what  we  could  do. 

The  sturdy  sod  was  made  to  yield, 
That  corn  and  fruit  might  grow, 

And  soon  a  "  shanty  "  and  a  field 
Each  one  could  proudly  show. 

Hard  was  the  toil,  the  fare  not  best, 
And  rife  with  doubts  and  fears. 

This  country  then  was  the  FAR  WEST, 
And  we,  the  PIONEERS. 


MILK'S  GROVE  TOWNSHIP. 


369 


The  prairie  wolves  at  nigbt  would  howl, 
And  deer  then  roamed  at  will, 

Wild  chickens,  ducks  and  other  fowl, 
All  that  we  wished  to  kill. 

Our  cattle  roamed  for  miles  around, 

Upon  the  wild  domain, — 
Few  roads  or  fences  then  were  found, 

Their  movements  to  restrain. 

The  folks  enjoyed  themselves — tho'  few, 

More  social  than  to-day; 
Both  friends  and  country  then  were  new, 
.    And  everything  looked  gay. 

'Tis  more  than  twenty  years  since  then, 

And  what  do  we  behold? 
The  children  have  grown  up  to  men, 

And  young  folks  have  grown  old. 

But  greater  still  the  progress  made, 

As  seen  on  every  hand ; 
A  wilderness,  by  our  own  aid 

Is  made  a  fruitful  land. 

The  very  town -site  of  Chebanse, 
Was  vacant  prairie  land, 


Without  a  store  or  business  chance, 
For  there  was  no  demand. 

Little  by  little,  trade  began, 

Demand  and  then  supply, 
Till  not  another  village  can 

In  commerce  rank  so  high. 

The  country  too  has  prospered  well, 

Extending  far  and  wide, 
For  fruitful  farms,  as  all  can  tell, 

Are  every  nation's  pride. 

And  numbers  who  commenced  with  us, 

Still  further  west  did  roam, 
And  some  went  east,  and  north  and  south, 

And  some  to  their  long  home. 

But  we,  who  staid  until  the  last, 
And  have  come  here  to-night, 

Can  now  review  the  busy  past 
With  pleasure  and  delight. 

But  once  is  all  that  you  and  I 

Would  act  the  pioneer, 
And  we  prefer  to  live  and  die, 

And  then  be  buried  here. 


MILK'S  GKOVE  TOWNSHIP. 

Milk's  Grove  is  the  northwestern  town  in  the  county,  and  is 
bounded  on  the  north  by  Kankakee  county,  on  the  east  by  Chebanse, 
on  the  south  by  Ashkum,  and  on  the  west  by  Ford  county.  Its  legal 
description  is  town  29,  range  10  east,  and  the  north  third  of  town 
28,  range  10  east  of  the  third  principal  meridian,  embracing  terri- 
tory equal  to  a  congressional  township.  Its  name  was  derived  from 
the  small  grove  of  about  300  acres  in  sections  23  and  26  of  town  29, 
and  which  was  one  of  those  singular,  lone  bodies  of  timber,  away 
from  others,  not  upon  any  running  water,  which  put  the  theories  of 
those  who  explain  the  phenomena  of  timber  growths  to  a  severe 
test.  There  is  at  this  grove  a  small  lake,  and  these  circumstances 
made  it  an  available  place  for  early  cattle  operations.  Col.  William 
Howard,  of  Owasco,  Cayuga  county,  New  York,  entered  sometime 
late  in  the  forties  80  acres  in  each  of  sections  23  and  26,  as  a  place 
of  shelter  for  his  herd.  At  that  time  the  grove  was  known  as  "  Hick- 
ory Grove."  Col.  Howard,  though  its  first  purchaser,  never  lived 
here.  He  was  engaged  in  that  line  of  business  known  in  those  days 
as  that  of  drover,  buying  up  and  driving  to  market  whatever  would 
go  on  the  hoof,  but  generally,  of  course,  cattle  and  sheep.  He  knew 


370  HISTOKY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

by  a  look  the  points  of  a  good  animal  or  a  good  boy.  He  thought  he 
had  found  in  the  lad  a  good  specimen  when  he  took  Lemuel  Milk  as 
a  partner,  and  the  subsequent  history  of  the  boy  shows  that  Col. 
Howard's  judgment  was  quite  accurate.  For  several  years  they 
were  partners,  and  during  that  time  Milk  ranged  over  New  York  and 
Ohio,  buying  any  thing  which  he  "saw  money  in."  Some  sheep 
which  were  purchased  by  Mr.  Howard  in  Ohio  were  driven  here, 
and  Mr.  Rutledge  H.  Enos,  now  of  Kankakee,  came  here  as  the 
representative  of  Col.  Howard,  remaining  here  for  several  years. 
The  grove  then  naturally  came .  to  be  called  Enos'  Grove.  Sheep 
was  the  principal  line  of  husbandry,  at  first.  The  ewes  were  brought 
here,  and  for  some  years  were  let  upon  shares  to  those  who  would 
take  charge  of  them,  the  renter  giving  two  pounds  of  wool  per  head 
per  annum,  and  making  good  all  losses,  making  a  very  fair  arrange- 
ment for  both  parties.  The  principal  care  of  sheep  in  those  days, 
when  range  was  boundless,  was  to  protect  them  from  wolves  and 
from  the  various  diseases  which  they  were  liable  to.  Against  the 
former,  constant  watching  by  day  was  necessary.  They  call  it  herd- 
ing now;  but  in  those  days  boys  had  to. "watch  sheep."  By  night 
they  were  shut  in  high  rail-pens,  ten  or  twelve  rails  high,  made  so 
that  a  wolf  could  not  get  through  it.  Sheep  cared  for  in  this  way 
were  comparatively  safe,  until  the  coming  of  a  "  higher  civilization ' ' 
brought  the  inevitable  dog. 

In  1850  Col.  Howard  proposed  to  Mr.  Milk  to  buy  out  half  of  his 
interest  at  the  Grove.  It  is  a  sufficient  commentary  on  the  two  men 
who  had  for  some  years  been  in  business  together,  and  showing  the 
mutual  estimation  each  had  for  the  other,  that  Col.  Howard  advised 
the  young  man  to  go  west  where  he  would  have  a  field  equal  at  least 
to  his  energy  and  peculiar  abilities,  and  that  Mr.  Milk  bought  the 
half  interest  in  the  land  and  stock  here  without  seeing  it,  entirely 
on  the  representation  of  Mr.  Howard.  Seldom  did  a  mutual  confi- 
dence rest  on  a  better  foundation.  Mr.  Milk  gave  $3,750  for  the  half 
interest,  and  at  the  same  time  Howard  transferred  to  his  son  a  half 
of  his  remaining  interest.  Land  had  been  added  to  the  original  pur- 
chase, so  that,  at  the  time  of  Col.  Howard's  death,  1,320  acres  com- 
prised the  Grove  Farm. 

In  the  spring  of  1851  Milk  came  here  solitary  and  alone,  and 
across  lots.  He  came  'by  the  usual  method  of  travel  in  those  days 
(for  in  1851  Chicago  had  no  railroad),  to  Joliet ;  thence  to  Dr.  Todd's, 
this  side  of  "Wilmington.  The  old  stage  route  ran  then  from  Joliet, 
via  Wilmington,  Bourbonnais,  Middleport,  thence  to  North  Fork  and 
Danville.  He  picked  his  way  along  the  river  to  J.  B.  Hawkins', 


MILK'S  GROVE  TOWNSHIP.  371 

where  was  the  old  lime-stone  post-office,  an  advanced  outpost  of 
civilization.  Thence  on  a  bright  Sunday  morning  in  April,  with  the 
soil  thoroughly  soaked  with  the  continued  rains  of  that  season,  Mr. 
Milk  struck  out  into  the  unknown  wild,  with  a  horse  to  ride  and  a 
boy  to  guide, — both  of  which  were  loaned  him  by  Mr.  Hawkins, — 
through  the  barrens  to  find  Pilot  Grove,  the  home  then  of  Morey  F. 
Frink,  but  which  had  previously  been  owned  by  Mr.  Hawkins.  His 
horse  sank  under  him  in  the  quicksands,  and  his  heart  began  to  sink 
in  him,  as,  drawing  nearer  the  place  of  his  earthly  possessions,  he 
came  into  such  an  unearthly  country.  He  had  to  dismount  and  pull 
his  horse  out  of  the  sands.  Our  traveler,  however,  worked  his  pas- 
sage like  the  boy  driving  on  the  canal,  until  he  reached  solid  land  and 
Pilot  Grove.  Arriving,  finally,  at  the  residence  of  Mr.  Enos,  he  of 
course  made  a  careful  inspection  of  the  possessions  and  flocks  and 
herds  which  he  had  purchased  on  the  faith  of  Col.  Howard's  repre- 
sentations, and  was  thoroughly  satisfied  with  his  investments.  The 
grove  and  lake  were  about  what  he  had  expected :  but  the  beauty  of 
the  hill  and  valley  landscape  off  to  the  north  and  west,  the  grand 
stretch  of  plain  off  to  the  south,  for  miles,  the  miles  of  gently  roll- 
ing prairie,  extending  east  to  the  Iroquois,  twelve  miles  away,  just 
growing  green  under  the  warm  April  showers,  were  beyond  the  power 
of  immediate  comprehension. 

Certainly,  in  a  state  of  nature,  man  could  not  have  found  in  all 
this  vast  prairie  region  a  more  beautiful  or  alluring  location  than  this, 
for  five  miles  on  every  side  of  Hickory  Grove.  From  the  elevated 
position,  two  miles  west  of  the  grove,  where  the  town-house  now 
stands,  as  grand  and  extensive  a  view  could  be  had  as  the  human 
eye  could  well  take  in.  Not  a  house  could  be  seen  at  that  time,  save 
the  one  in  which  Mr.  Enos  resided.  The  nearest  neighbor  was  eight 
miles  away, — Mr.  Frink,  at  Pilot  Grove.  With  the  first  break  of 
day  the  grand  "boom  "  of  the  prairie  fowls,  which  now  has  so  nearly 
passed  away  that  many  of  the  residents  in  Illinois  have  never  heard 
it,  and  in  all  probability  never  will,  resounded  in  all  directions.  No 
writer  was  ever  knowu  to  describe  it^  and  the  present  one  does  not 
propose  to  try  it.  It  was  not  like  any  other  sound  or  reverberation 
in  nature  or  in  civilization:  a  continued  "boom,"  kept  up  for  an 
hour  or  more, — musical  without  being  melodious,  and  grand  without 
being  exciting. 

Mr.  Milk  was  more  than  pleased  with  the  view  and  the  prospect. 
Here  was  room  for  the  display  of  all  the  energy  and  business  activity 
of  the  most  ambitious.  He  had  an  ambition,  not  for  wealth,  though 
wealth  had  come  to  him,  but  for  business  activity,  for  flocks  and 


372  HISTORY    OF    IBOQUOIS   COUNTY. 

herds,  which  could  grow  fat  on  this  boundless  wealth  which  grew 
spontaneously  on  these  hills  and  valleys,  an  ambition  for  extensive 
and  large  enterprises  which  should  fully  occupy  his  active  mind  and 
full  physical  powers.  In  both  of  these  respects  his  ambition  has 
been  filled.  He  is  one  of  the  few  really  remarkable  men  of  the 
state.  The  right  man,  the  right  place,  and  the  right  time  met  at 
Milk's  Grove  in  1851.  Here  were  all  the  conditions  for  a  full  reali- 
zation of  all  the  hopes  and  anticipations  any  mortal  could  have.  He 
was  in  his  sphere,  and  grandly  has  he  filled  it.  With  the  death  of 
Col.  Howard  in  1853,  Mr.  Milk  bought  the  interest  of  his  son  and 
widow.  Howard  had  left  a  will  which  had  bequeathed  in  three  lines 
of  writing  all  his  real  and  personal  property  of  every  kind  to  his 
widow.  The  landed  estate  at  the  Grove  then  amounted  to  1,320 
acres.  The  land  around  here  had  then  been  withdrawn  from  market 
by  the  act  which  organized  the  Central  railroad,  but  it  was  soon  after 
thrown  open  for  sale. 

Wolves  were  the  great  pest  of  this  time.  Many  were  the  incidents 
which  the  keepers  of  the  flocks  had  with  them.  Lawrence  Myron, 
who  was  then  in  the  employ  of  Mr.  Milk,  was  returning  late  one 
evening.  Mistaking  the  scattering  timber  along  Langham  creek  for 
the  grove,  he  made  for  it  just  in  time  to  be  surrounded  by  a  pack  of 
hungry  fellows,  who  would  like  to  have  made  a  supper  of  him  if  he 
had  been  willing.  With  nothing  but  a  knife  to  defend  himself  with, 
he  marched  in  single  file,  at  double  quick,  with  the  point  of  the 
knife  thrown  out  as  a  rear  guard,  and  thought  he  was  accomplishing 
as  successful  a  retreat  as  did  the  ten  thousand  Greeks ;  though  Larry 
knew  little  of  Greek,  his  rear-guard  did  duty  nobly,  and  he  escaped 
without  a  scratch. 

For  several  years  after  Mr.  Milk  came  here,  sheep  were  the  prin- 
cipal stock,  but  soon  cattle  became  his  largest  interest.  His  landed 
interest  grew  with  the  rest.  He  purchased  later  a  considerable  tract 
of  the  county  lands  of  Dr.  Wilson,  who  had  purchased  of  Mr. 
Tollman  all  that  he  owned  in  this  part  of  the  county.  The  grove 
supplied  timber  enough  for  fencing  and  fuel,  and  he  soon  had  large 
fields  of  com  growing.  The  owners  of  the  distillery  at  Wilmington 
sent  teams  and  men  to  husk  his  crop,  paying  him  25  cents  per  bushel 
for  it  on  the  stalk.  Wool  was  a  profitable  crop  for  him.  By  the 
custom  here,  he  received  two  pounds  per  head  for  rent  of  sheep. 
The  price  was  usually  from  30  to  40  cents  per  pound,  and  was 
marketed  in  Joliet. 

When  the  war  began,  Mr.  Milk  was  in  good  shape  to  realize  the 
good  prices  which  the  war  caused.  He  had  then  1,300  head  of  neat 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  Of  ILLINOIS 


MILK'S  GROVE  TOWNSHIP.  375 

cattle,  one  thousand  of  which  (averaging  1,100  pounds)  he  sold  for 
$55  per  head,  which  would  indicate  that  in  ten  years  he  had  pros- 
pered fairly.  The  years  which  followed  were  full  of  business 
activity,  great  deals  in  cattle  and  live  stock  followed  each  other,  and, 
with  prices  constantly  enhancing,  these  were  sufficiently  successful. 

His  practice  has  been  to  buy,  instead  of  raise,  cattle  and  feed 
them  at  three  years  old.  The  home  farm  at  the  grove  has  always 
been  under  his  own  management ;  the  others  are  rented.  The  houses 
and  buildings  on  his  farms  are  all  good,  better  than  we  usually  find 
on  rented  farms.  His  theory  is  that  he  can  secure  a  better  class  of 
renters  by  liberal  provisions  for  their  wants,  a  result  which  he  has 
certainly  obtained.  In  1870  he  commenced  a  system  of  draining  the 
flat  lands  lying  south  from  the  grove,  and  has  followed  it  up  very 
effectively.  A  main  ditch  was  run  into  Langham  creek,  arid  laterals 
from  all  directions  lead  into  it.  Few  men  have  had  a  larger  ex- 
perience, and  none  have  found  the  advantages  coming  from  thorough 
and  systematic  ditching  more  encouraging. 

His  feeding  has  been  carried  on  on  the  most  extensive  scale, — stall- 
feeding  as  many  as  1,300  head  of  cattle  in  a  single  season,  with 
thousands  of  hogs.  The  present  winter  he  is  feeding  5,000  sheep, 
intending  to  have  them  ready  for. the  spring  market.  To  carry  on  this 
successfully,  his  farms  are  supplied  with  good  sheds,  and  some  of 
them  with  excellent  barns. 

He  has  about  fifty  farms,  ranging  in  size  from  80  acres  to  a  section, 
not  all  of  which,  however,  are  in  this  township,  and  his  especial 
pride  is  to  have  them  kept  neat  in  general  appearance  and  clean  in 
culture. 

The  general  filling  up  of  the  township  did  not  occur  until  quite 
recently.  Its  first  settler  was  Mr.  R.  H.  Enos,  who  had  charge  of 
the  farm  when  it  was  first  bought  by  Col.  Howard,  and  continued  in 
charge  of  it  for  some  years  after  Mr.  Milk  became  interested  in  it. 

The  township  was  set  off  as  a  separate  town  in  1872.  There  was 
from  the  first  an  aversion  to  serving  as  township  officers,  which  has 
not  yet  been  overcome,  though  the  voters  have  been  fortunate'  in 
finding  in  Mr.  B.  W.  Gilborne  a  man  who  was  willing  to  sacrifice 
his  own  personal  peace  to  attend  to  the  affairs  of  the  public. 

At  the  first  election,  R.  C.  Munger  was  chosen  supervisor; 
B.  W.  Gilborne,  clerk ;  Samuel  Walker,  assessor ;  C.  W.  Sumner, 
collector ;  and  Ti.  C.  Munger,  justice  of  the  peace.  The  present 
officers  are  B.  W.  Gilborne,  supervisor,  assessor  and  justice  of  the 
peace ;  C.  W.  Sumner,  clerk ;  arid  F.  M.  Laughlin,  collector. 


376  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

BIOGRAPHICAL, 

Lemuel  Milk,  farmer,  stock-raiser  and  general  merchant,  Che- 
banse,  whose  portrait  appears  in  this  work,  was  born  in  Ledgyard 
township,  Cayuga  county,  New  York,  October  18,  1820.  His  father 
was  born  in  Westport,  Massachusetts,  and  his  mother  (formerly  Miss 
Mary  Hathaway)  was  born  in  New  Bedford,  Massachusetts.  At  the 
age  of  two  years,  Mr.  Milk  moved  with  his  parents  to  the  town  of 
Fleming,  Cayuga  county,  New  York,  where  they  lived  in  a  log  house 
for  six  years.  After  residing  in  said  town  for  twenty-eight  years, 
farming,  raising  and  driving  stock,  he  removed  to  this  state  and 
settled  in  what  was  formerly  known  as  Hickory  and  Enos'  Grove, 
but  afterward  changed  to  Milk's  Grove  township,  its  present  name, 
it  being  called  after  himself.  He  bought  a  half  interest  of  Col. 
William  Howard  in  the  said  grove,  which  at  that  time  contained  160 
acres.  After  the  death  of  Mr.  Howard,  he  bought  the  undivided 
half  of  the  heirs,  which  contained  1,320  acres.  By  steadily  increas- 
ing his  landed  domain,  he  soon  became  the  possessor  of  9,000  acres 
in  one  body,  but  in  1875  he  commenced  selling  off,  reducing  this 
immense  tract  to  6,000  acres.  He  has  several  other  farms  in  this 
county,  store  property  and  lots  in  the  village  of  Chebanse,  over 
1,000  acres  in  Kankakee  county,  as  well  as  other  property  in 
Kankakee,  Wilmington,  Manteno  and  Chicago,  and  also  12,000 
acres  in  one  body  in  Indiana.  Besides  his  half-dozen-stores-in-one  in 
Chebanse,  he  raises  great  quantities  of  wheat,  corn,  oats,  hay,  flax, 
etc.,  all  of  which,  not  used  by  him,  finds  its  way  to  the  Chicago 
markets.  Mr.  Milk  does  not  confine  himself  alone  to  farming  and 
merchandising,  but  deals  heavily  in  stock,  having  at  the  present 
writing  (1880)  some  200  horses,  500  head  of  cattle,  1,200  hogs,  and 
5,250  sheep.  He  is  by  all  odds  one  of  the  most  noted,  as  well  as 
one  of  the  most  extensive  farmers  and  stock-dealers  in  the  state  of 
Illinois,  if  not  in  the  West.  His  Illinois  land  alone,  if  sold  before 
the  last  financial  crisis,  would  have  brought  him  the  magnificent  sum 
of  $500,000  and  upward, —  so  much  for  grit,  energy  and  thrift. 
He  was  married  to  Miss  Jane  A.  Platt,  June  1,  1854,  she  being  a 
native  of  Butternut,  Otsego  county,  New  York,  and  was  born  May 
20,  1831.  They  have  been  blessed  with  two  children,  both  living : 
Jennie  M.  and  Sherwood  P.  Mr.  Milk  never  held  public  oifice, 
not  being  a  chronic  office-seeker,  neither  has  he  been  a  member  of 
any  denomination.  In  his  early  days  he  voted  the  democratic  ticket, 
but  in  later  years  he  cast  his  vote  with  the  republican  party. 
Although  not  in  the  army,  he  rendered  his  country  valuable  service 
in  the  way  of  contributions,  etc.,  for  the  purpose  of  raising  troops 


MILK'S  GROVE  TOWNSHIP.  377 

in  the  late  war.  Although  he  carries  on  mercantile  business  here, 
and  heavy  farming  operations  in  Milk's  Grove  and  surrounding 
country,  his  family  reside  in  Kankakee  city. 

William  Walsh,  farmer,  Chebanse,  was  born  in  the  county  of 
Dublin,  Ireland,  on  January  12,  1834.  His  father  was  John,  and 
his  mother  was  Bridget  (Lynch)  Walsh.  All  the  education  Mr. 
Walsh  received,  was  obtained  in  Ireland,  and  he  was  brought  up  on 
a  farm.  In  1855  he  came  to  this  country,  making  direct  for  this 
township,  and  working  for  Mr.  Milk  for  two  years  —  the  first  work 
performed  after  coming  here.  His  next  move  was  to  Chebanse, 
working  four  years  on  the  railroad.  He  then  returned  to  the  Grove 
and  remained  for  four  years,  and  then  bought  his  present  place  of 
160  acres  of  Mr.  Milk.  He  was  married  in  Chebanse,  on  May  2, 
1860,  to  Miss  Catharine  Gallagher,  who  was  born  in  the  county  of 
Dublin,  Ireland,  in  1836.  They  have  six  children :  Charles,  John, 
Mary  H.,  William,  Edward,  and  Robert;  deceased,  Emeline. 

Joseph  Wadleigh,  farmer,  Herscher,  Kankakee  county,  is  one  of 
the  heaviest  land-owners  in  the  township.  He  was  born  in  New 
York,  June  2,  1817.  When  quite  young  his  parents  moved  to 
Cincinnati,  Ohio,  living  there  a  number  of  years,  then  moving  to 
Oxford,  Butler  county,  Ohio.  His  parents  having  gone  to  their  last 
resting  place,  Mr.  Wadleigh,  in  the  summer  of  1847,  crossed  the 
plains  to  Oregon,  in  a  train  of  forty  wagons,  under  command  of 
Capt.  Hawes,  their  conveyance  being  of  the  most  primitive  charac- 
ter. Oxen  drew  them  to  their  destination,  the  trip  taking  some  five 
months'  time.  Being  a  tinsmith,  he  opened  the  first  establishment 
of  that  kind  in  that  locality,  and  remained  one  year.  In  1848  he 
got  the  gold  fever, — it  being  epidemic.  He  left  Portland,  Oregon, 
in  a  sail-vessel,  reaching  California  in  October.  He  located  at  Suters 
Fort  (now  Sacramento  City)  and  went  into  the  tinsmithing  busi- 
ness. He  made  the  surveyor's  chain  that  was  used  in  laying  out  the 
city.  He  mined  but  a  day  and  a  half,  his  trade  being  worth  up- 
ward of  $100  a  day,  an  ordinary  milk-pan  selling  for  an  ounce  of 
gold.  One  year  thereafter,  he  returned  via  Panama  and  New  York, 
to  his  home  in  Oxford,  Ohio,  and  in  1859  moved  to  Kankakee,  and 
the  next  spring  to  this  township.  He  was  married  in  Hamilton, 
Ohio,  July  27,  1851,  to  Miss  M.  J.  Morey,  who  was  born  in  Somer- 
ville,  Butler  county,  Ohio,  December  12,  1829.  They  have  seven 
children:  Romeo  F.,  Theodore  S.,  Josephine,  William  M.,  Robert 
W.,  Henry  L.,  and  Sheridan  J.  He  has  been  school-treasurer  since 
1866.  His  farm  consists  of  1,600  acres,  with  good  house,  out-build- 
ings, etc.  He  rents  two  tenant  houses,  also  land  to  smaller  owners 


378  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

adjoining.  His  first  house  was  a  double  one,  one  end  being  occupied 
by  himself  and  family,  and  the  adjoining  room  used  as  a  barn.  A 
great  change  has  been  wrought  during  the  past  twenty  years. 

Theodore  Wheeler  is  one  of  the  leading  farmers  and  stock-raisers 
of  this  township.  He  has  a  magnificent  farm  of  320  acres  ;  a  fine 
residence,  large  granaries,  out-houses,  etc.,  and  a  fine  orchard  con- 
taining 1,500  bearing  trees,  from  which  he  gathers  a  crop  of  1,500 
to  2,(»00  bushels  yearly,  and  makes  some  twenty  barrels  of  cider. 
His  farm  lies  on  the  sectional  line  dividing  Milk's  Grove  from  Che- 
banse  township.  He  raises  nearly  everything  a  farm  produces,  his 
principal  crop  being  corn,  which  he  feeds  to  his  stock,  he  dealing 
extensively  in  horses,  cattle,  sheep  and  hogs.  He  was  born  on  the 
Mohawk  river,  state  of  New  York,  on  September  27,  1830.  He  was 
raised  on  a  farm,  and  lived  at  the  place  of  his  birth  till  1853.  Com- 
ing west  he  worked  three  years  in  Edgar  county,  Illinois  ;  then  re- 
turned east,  and  June  26,  1859,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Elizabeth 
Andrews,  who  was  born  May  19,  1844,  in  the  birthplace  of  her 
husband.  In  the  fall  of  1860  they  came  to  Illinois,  stopping  two 
years  in  Salina  township,  Kankakee  county,  and  in  the  spring  of  1863 
moved  to  his  present  residence.  When  he  located  the  county  was 
mostly  a  wild,  uncultivated  waste,  not  a  house  to  be  found  for  some 
fifteen  miles  to  the  south,  and  on  the  west  it  took  nearly  a  half  day's 
journey  to  reach  the  house  of  a  neighbor.  He  has  never  craved 
office,  but  has  held  the  position  of  school  director  "for  some  time.  He 
has  two  children  :  Willard  A.  and  Elma. 

William  S.  Wood,  farmer,  Clifton,  is  a  native  of  Orkney  Isles, 
Scotland,  and  his  wife  was  Miss  Margaret  Russell,  and  was  born  and 
raised  twenty  miles  from  Edinburgh,  Scotland.  Mr.  Wood  came  to 
the  United  States  in  the  month  of  July,  1852,  stopping  a  year  and  a 
half  in  the  state  of  New  York,  then  moved  to  Bloomington  and  other 
points  in  this  state,  and  finally  brought  up  at  Milk's  Grove  township, 
this  county,  in  1868,  settling  down  on  his  present  homestead.  His 
residence  being  on  an  eminence  sufficiently  .high  to  give  him  a  mag- 
nificent view  of  the  lowlands,  he  can,  on  a  clear  day,  see  for  a  dis- 
tance of  fifteen  or  twenty  miles.  By  dint  of  industry  and  economy, 
Mr.  Wood  has  secured  himself  and  family  a  comfortable  home. 
They  have  two  children  :  Isabella  and  Arthur ;  two  deceased  :  Ada 
and  Caroline. 

Richard  Duckworth,  farmer,  Chebanse,  is  a  well-known  and  promi- 
nent resident  of  this  township.  He  was  born  in  New  Hartford,  Oneida 
county,  New  York,  April  14,  1834.  His  parents  were  George  and 
Mary  (Nuttall)  Duckworth,  both  natives  of  Lancashire,  England.  His 


MILK'S  GROVE  TOWNSHIP.  379 

father,  who  is  still  living,  was  born  in  1796,  and  his  mother  in  1806. 
Mr.  Duckworth  was  two  years  of  age  when  his  parents  removed  to 
Lisbon,  La  Salle  (now  Kendall)  county,  in  1836,  and  remained  with 
them  till  twenty-two  years  of  age,  then  went  to  work  on  his  own 
farm  in  Grundy  county,  and  moved  on  his  farm  in  Milk's  Grove  in 
1868,  where  he  still  resides.  He  has  a  beautiful  place,  handsome 
residence,  good  barns,  finely  laid  out  yard,  dotted  with  evergreens, 
etc.,  and  has  240  acres.  He  enlisted  September  18,  1861,  in- Co.  K, 
8th  111.  Cav.,  commanded  by  John  F.  Farnsworth.  It  was  organ- 
ized in  St.  Charles,  Kane  county,  and  joined  the  army  of  the  Poto- 
mac under  Gen.  McClellan.  He  served  three  years,  and  was  under 
fire  106  times,  without  receiving  a  wound.  Some  of  the  principal 
battles  he  was  engaged  in  were :  Williamsburgh.  Baltimore  Cross- 
roads, Fair  Oaks,  Richmond,  Turkey  Creek,  Malvern  Hill,  Second 
Bull  Run,  South  Mountain,  Antietam,  Fredericksburg,  Gettysburg, 
Falling  Waters,  and  all  the  engagements  his  regiment  participated 
in,  and  never  missed  a  day's  service  while  it  was  in  active  operation. 
He  lost  two  horses,  one  being  shot  from  under  him.  He  was  mar- 
ried April  11,  1869,  to  Miss  Susan  Daller,  who  was  born  in  Nor- 
way September  19,  1843.  They  have  three  children:  Elon  J.  F., 
William  A.  and  Austin  W., — the  last  two  being  twins.  Mr.  Duck- 
worth is  a  Congregationalist  and  his  wife  a  Lutheran. 

Reuben  C.  Munger,  farmer  Chebanse,  deserves  mention  in  our 
pages.  He  was  born  in  Delaware  county,  New  York,  September 
15,  1836.  He  came  with  his  parents  to  this  state,  and  settled  in  the 
town  of  Roscoe,  in  1842.  His  father  (the  Rev.  Obadiah  W.  Munger) 
was  a  Methodist  minister,  and  brought  his  sons  up  to  farming,  he 
generally  being  the  possessor  of  one.  In  1843  they  moved  to  Boone 
county,  remaining  one  year ;  then  to  Kendall  county,  and  leaving 
there  in  1848,  moved  to  a  farm  of  200  acres  that  his  father  purchased 
further  south,  living  there  till  1869.  Mr.  Munger  moved  to  this 
township  in  January,  1869,  and  has  rented  and  resided  on  the  same 
place  for  fifteen  years.  He  has  a  quarter  section  of  his  own,  but 
that  not  being  large  enough  to  suit  his  ideas  of  farming,  he  lets  the 
same,  and  rents  the  extensive  and  beautiful  place  where  he  now 
resides.  He  was  married  December  30,  1858,  to  Miss  Lydia  A. 
Jacobs,  who  was  born  March  22,  1837.  They  have  been  blessed 
with  two  children:  William  W.,  born  November  25,  1859,  and 
Catharine  A.,  March  22,  1862.  He  was  supervisor  for  the  first  two 
years  of  the  organization  of  the  township,  and  is  now  treasurer  of 
the  board  of  road  commissioners,  and  is  also  school  trustee.  He 
was  the  first  justice  of  the  peace  for  one  year.  He  has  been  a  member 


380  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

in  good  standing  of  the  Masonic  fraternity  for  sixteen  years,  and  a 
strict  member  of  the  Methodist  church  for  twenty-seven  years,  and 
is  a  Good  Templar,  as  are  also  his  family. 

B.  W.  Gilborne,  farmer,  Cabery,  Ford  county,  was  born  in 
Ireland,  on  November  1,  1825.  Living  there  till  fourteen  years  of 
age,  he  came  to  America  all  alone,  in  1840.  He  resided  in  Mont- 
gomery county,  New  York,  some  ten  years,  working  on  a  farm  and 
teaching  school.  In  1850  he  went  to  Schoharie  county,  New  York, 
living  there  till  1864,  when  he  enlisted  in  Co.  F,  13th  N.  Y.  heavy 
artillery,  the  next  year  being  transferred  to  Co.  A,  and  after  the  fall 
of  Richmond,  was  consolidated  with  the  7th  heavy  artillery.  He 
was  in  the  siege  service,  fighting  at  Petersburg  and  Richmond.  He, 
with  four  others,  had  charge  of  the  mail-boat  Fawn  for  a  short  time, 
on  the  Dismal  Swamp  Canal,  leading  from  Elizabeth  river  via  the 
Great  Bridge,  Pungo  Landing,  and  Corn  Jack.  He  was  on  provost- 
guard  and  police  duty  at  Norfolk  and  Portsmouth,  and  was  finally 
discharged  on  August  24,  1865.  He  then  returned  home,  arid  in 
1867  he  moved  west,  stopping  at  Rogers,  Ford  county,  and  two 
years  thereafter,  moved  to  the  town  of  Chebanse,  now  Milk's  Grove 
township.  He  was  the  first  town  clerk,  serving  two  terms ;  has 
been  assessor  for  five  years,  justice  of  the  peace  for  three  years, 
commissioner  of  highways  for  two  years,  and  supervisor  one  year, 
all  of  which  he  still  continues  to  hold.  He  is  also  farmer  and  school- 
teacher. In  fact  he  has  been  father  and  grandfather  of  the  township 
for  the  past  five  years,  he  having  attended  to  about  all  the  business 
that  has  been  transacted.  He  was  married  on  July  25,  1852,  to  Miss 
Lodoizker  Minard,  who  was  born  on  January  30,  1830.  They  have 
four  children:  Mary  E.,  now  wife  of  Levi  C.  Latham ;  William  H., 
Alice  and  John ;  James  D.  and  Charles,  deceased.  He  has  40  acres 
which  he  farms  during  the  summer,  and  teaches  school  in  the  winter, 
which  occupation  he  has  followed  for  the  past  thirty  years. 

William  Hipkie,  farmer,  Herscher,  Kankakee  county,  was  born 
in  Bergenhusem,  Germany,  on  March  4,  1841.  He  remained  in  the 
old  country  till  the  age  of  fourteen,  then  coming  to  America  he  went 
direct  to  Wisconsin,  and  lived  there  four  years ;  then  to  Illinois  in 
1861,  residing  in  Lisbon,  Kendall  county,  some  nine  years  ;  then  to 
this  township,  buying  his  present  farm  of  160  acres,  which  is  beauti- 
fully located  on  rising  ground,  in  the  heart  of  an  extensive  prairie 
country,  and  commanding  a  fine  view  of  the  surrounding  scenery. 
He  was  married  November  12,  1871,  to  Miss  Mary  J.  Duckworth, 
who  was  born  in  Lisbon,  Kendall  county,  February  5/1845.  Her 
father,  the  venerable  George  Duckworth,  is  still  living  at  the  ad- 


MILK'S  GROVE  TOWNSHIP.  381 

« 

vanced  age  of  eighty -three  years,  and  residing  a  portion  of  the  time 
with  her.  Mr.  Hipkie  has  held  the  office  of  trustee  and  school  direc- 
tor for  three  years  each.  He  has  accumulated  his  worldly  posses- 
sions by  hard  work  and  perseverance.  He  has  one  child,  George  F., 
born  on  March  2,  1873. 

J.  0.  Dunkelberger,  farmer,  Herscher,  Kankakee  county,  was 
born  in  Perry  county,  Pennsylvania.  September  10,  1825.  He  was 
raised  in  Pennsylvania,  living  there  till  forty-two  years  old.  On 
February  20,  1867,  he  moved  his  family  to  Illinois,  settling  in  Liv- 
ingston county  for  eight  years,  and  in  1875  came  to  this  county, 
locating  in  Milk's  Grove  township,  section  16,  having  240  acres.  It 
is  all  well  hedged ;  has  a  tine  young  orchard,  and  is  under  good  cul- 
tivation. He  was  married  March  24,  1853,  to  Miss  Sarah  Bear, 
in  Carlisle,  Pennsylvania,  and  she  was  born  November  22,  1832, 
in  Perry  county,  Pennsylvania.  They  have  eight  children  :  William 
H.,  Elmira,  Charles  H.,  Edward  L.,  Daniel  M.,  James,  John  O.  and 
Jeremiah  C.  ;  and  Franklin,  deceased.  Mr.  Dunkelberger  has  been 
school  director  for  three  years,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran 
denomination. 

F.  B.  White,  farmer,  Kempton,  Ford  county,  was  born  in  the 
state  of  New  York,  August  1,  1842.  He  was  raised  on  a  farm 
till  1862,  when  he  enlisted  August  13,  in  Co.  K,  125th  N.  Y.  Vols., 
Col.  Willard  commanding.  His  battle  was  at  Harper's  Ferry, 
where  11,000  soldiers  were  engaged,  and  all  taken  prisoners,  being 
completely  hemmed  in.  They  were  paroled  on  the  day  after,  and 
some  9,000  sent  to  Chicago;  were  exchanged,  and  returned  to  the 
field.  He  participated  in  ten  other  battles :  Gettysburg,  Wilder- 
ness, Mine  Run,  Spottsylvania  Court-house,  Bristol  Station,  Cedar 
Mountain,  Stony  Creek,  Manassas  Gap  and  Swamp  Wood.  He  re- 
ceived a  severe  wound  at  Spottsylvania  Court-house  by  the  explo- 
sion of  a  shell, — an  ounce  ball  entering  his  right  shoulder;  also  a 
bayonet  lunge  in  his  left  leg.  On  April  1,  1865,  he  received  his 
discharge  and  returned  home.  In  1876  he  went  to  Morris,  Grundy 
county,  and  in  1877  came  to  this  township, — his  present  homestead 
falling  into  his  possession.  He  has  611  acres,  with  good  house  and 
out-buildings.  He  was  married,  March  14,  1877,  to  Miss  Eliza- 
beth Stone,  who  was  born  September  20,  1843.  She  has  five  chil- 
dren bearing  the  name  of  her  first  husband,  Mr.  John  Capen  :  Hat- 
tie  M.,  Charles  S.,  Mary  E.,  Carrie  A.  and  Herbert  N. 


382  HISTOKY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 


IROQUOIS  TOWNSHIP. 

Iroquois  township  is  in  the  central  portion  of  the  county,  and  em- 
braces the  entire  congressional  township  known  as  T.  27,  R.  13  W.  of 
the  2d  principal  meridian.  The  Iroquois  river  runs  across  its  north- 
eastern part  for  six  or  seven  miles,  and  Spring  creek  passes  across  its 
western  half  from  near  its  southwestern  corner,  in  a  northeasterly 
direction  to  its  junction  with  the  Iroquois,  on  section  15.  So  large  a 
portion  of  the  township  was  originally  timber  (probably  one-third  of 
its  area)  that  all  the  'requirements  for  early  settlement  were  found  here. 
The  surface  is  gently  rolling,  very  little  of  it  being  so  flat  as  not  to  be 
capable  of  thorough  drainage  by  the  ordinary  methods  of  open  ditches 
or  tiles.  The  eastern  half  of  the  township  is  decidedly  sandy,  and  is 
easily  worked,  and  capable  of  producing  magnificent  crops.  Coal  has 
recently  been  discovered  near  by  the  river,  on  or  near  section  14;  but 
the  general  depression  in  the  coal-mining  business  has  prevented  the 
development  of  what  may  in  the  near  future  be  an  important  interest. 
The  township  is  wholly  within  the  artesian  district ;  and  many  of  the 
wells,  which  have  an  average  depth  of  about  100  feet,  flow  fine  streams, 
and  one  on  the  premises  of  Mrs.  Harroun  runs  a  stream  strong  enough 
to  drive  an  overshot  waterwheel,  for  churning.  Corn  has  always  been 
the  staple  crop,  but  considerable  flax  is  raised,  the  absence  of  any  mar- 
ket for  the  straw  being  the  only  serious  drawback.  Dairying  is  increas- 
ing in  importance,  and  the  growing  of  winter  wheat  has  received  a 
strong  impetus,  owing  to  the  fine  crops  of  the  two  years  last  past. 
Few  of  the  farmers  have  engaged  much  in  cattle-feeding,  or  in  raising 
fancy  stock  or  sheep.  On  nearly  every  farm  is  seen  a  small  patch  of 
sorghum  growing,  and  several  small  mills  find  steady  employment  dur- 
ing the  fall  in  working  up  the  product.  The  fine  flowing  wells  make 
dairying  an  object  with  many  of  the  farmers,  and  Holstein  cattle  are 
becoming  favorites  with  those  who  desire  a  cross  which  will  be  supe- 
rior for  milk.  The  water  from  these  flowing  wells  is  run  through  the 
milk-house  and  cools  the  milk  quickly,  keeping  it  at  the  uniform 
temperature  at  which  the  cream  rises  most  perfectly,  and  in  the  winter 
prevents  freezing,  except  on  some  rare  occasions  of  very  severe  weather. 

The  hedges  are  generally  in  good  condition,  the  buildings  good  and 
neat.  Few  of  the  farms  have  been  overrun  by  noxious  weeds,  and  the 
highways  present  a  condition  of  perfect  grading,  which  few  townships 
in  this  prairie  country  can  surpass.  Opinions  vary  considerably  as  to 
the  real  value  to  the  town  of  the  road-grader,  which  is  owned  by  the 
town  ;  but  the  better  opinion  is,  that  at  least  three  times  as  much  earth 


IROQUOIS   TOWNSHIP.  383 

is  moved  by  the  machine  as  would  be  done  by  the  same  number  of 
teams  with  scrapers,  though  it  often  fails  to  deposit  the  earth  where 
it  is  most  needed,  and  the  road-bed  is  left  too  narrow. 

The  earliest  inhabitants  migrated  from  Ohio  and  Indiana  largely. 
Latterly  many  came  from  the  counties  north  and  west  of  here,  and  the 
French  settlement  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county  has  spread  into 
this  township.  Yery  little  of  the  land  is  held  by  non-residents,  and 
small  farms  are  the  rule. 

EAELY  SETTLEMENTS   AND    INCIDENTS. 

The  date  of  the  first  settlements  (which  were  upon  Spring  creek) 
was  in  April,  1835.  In  the  opinion  of  "William  Flesher,  to  whom  the 
writer  is  under  many  obligations,  and  who  seems  to  be  a  man  well 
calculated  to  retain  an  excellent  remembrance  of  facts,  the  first  entries 
of  land  were  made  in  June,  18887  by  John  Flesher  and  Levi  Thomp- 
son. They  entered  a  half-section  each  in  sections  28  and  29,  under 
the  impression  that  they  were  getting  the  timber  land,  which,  in  fact, 
was  in  sections  20  and  21,  upon  which  they  already  had  claims.  They 
had  selected  the  right  numbers  and  would  have  entered  the  land  in 
the  latter  sections,  but  parties  at  the  land  office  deceived  them  by 
telling  them  that  the  timber  was  in  the  other  sections.  They  after- 
ward entered  a  portion  of  the  timber  land.  Mr.  Thompson,  who  lives 
at  Gilrnan,  thinks  his  father  settled  here  on  section  20,  where  Mr. 
Calkin  lives,  in  1832.  He  has  always  understood  that  his  parents 
were  driven  away  from  here  by  the  Indians  in  1832  or  1833.  A  very 
careful  sifting  of  all  the  evidence  at  his  disposal  satisfies  the  writer 
that  the  date  fixed  by  Mr.  Thompson  is  too  early  by  at  least  two  or 
three  years.  The  Thompson  family  had  lived  near  Milford  before 
coming  here,  and  there  participated  in  the  fright  and  flight  which  came 
from  a  scare  in  regard  to  approaching  hostile  Indians.  The  Indians 
did  not  come  but  the  pioneers  did  run.  At  the  time  this  settlement 
was  made  the  Indians  had  removed,  but  there  were  a  few  lingering 
around  their  village,  which  was  near  the  mouth  of  Spring  creek,  near 
the  farm  so  long  owned  and  occupied  by  H.  A.  Butzow,  Esq.,  county 
clerk.  These  Indians  came  occasionally  to  the  white  man's  house  for 
something  to  eat,  but  never  molested  any  one.  Mr.  John  Wilson, 
who  did  not  come  to  this  township  to  live  until  three  years  later, 
relates  that  in  his  absence  from  his  cabin  on  one  of  his  frequent  busi- 
ness trips  some  Indians  came  to  his  cabin  to  get  salt  to  season  their 
venison.  Wilson,  coming  home  in  the  night,  had  not  been  noticed  by 
these  wanderers,  and  they  returned  to  get  salt  late  at  night,  and  were 
so  frightened  (the  fright  was  largely  mutual)  at  finding  the  cabin  occu- 
24 


384  HISTORY   OF   IEOQUOIS   COUNTY. 

pied,  that  they  ran  "  like  white-heads."  They  were  afterward  made  to 
understand  that  they  were  welcome  to  his  house,  and  during  the  entire 
winter  supplied  him  with  venison  and  fish  for  his  table.  These  are  be- 
lieved to  be  the  only  Indian  incidents  here  after  the  settlement  by  whites 
in  this  township.  The  next  one  who  came  here  was  Jedediah  Darby, 
who  settled  just  at  the  west  line  of  the  township,  near  the  residence  of 
Mr.  Kirby.  He  and  his  wife  both  died  and  were  buried  there.  This 
must  have  been  in  1835.  Owen  Darby  came  the  same  spring  and 
took  the  claim  where  Flesher's  burying-ground  is,  and  sold  it  to  John 
Flesher.  Lemuel  Flesher,  a  cousin  of  John's,  took  a  claim  on  section 
21,  which  he  afterward  sold  to  John,  and  went  to  section  30,  where 
Mrs.  Harroun  now  resides,  and  built  a  cabin.  He  afterward  owned 
the  place  where  Kirby  lives,  and  put  out  the  orchard  from  which  Mrs. 
Kirby  now  supplies  the  Oilman  market  with  apples.  After  selling 
that  he  took  up  and  improved  the  place  opposite  the  Washington 
school-house,  which  he  sold  to  Brelsford,  and  took  the  place  where 
Davis  lives,  which  he  sold  to  Keene  and  went  farther  up  stream. 

John  Flesher,  on  the  other  hand,  continued  to  reside  on  the  place 
he  made,  and  his  children  still  live  on  the  same  place,  and  entertain 
their  friends  under  the  same  hospitable  roof  which  he  erected  in  1837. 
It  was  a  magnificent  house  for  the  times.     It  was  22x28,  with  rived 
clap-board  roof.     The  floor  was  sawed  at  Webster's  mill,  near  Milford. 
The  upper-floor  joists  are  22  feet  long,  and  were  all  (eleven  of  them) 
split  out  of  one  log,  and  hewed  so  accurately  that  it  is  almost  impossi- 
ble to  detect  any  irregularity  in  them.     Mr.  Flesher  came  in  one  of 
those  old-fashioned  Pennsylvania  wagons,  now  entirely  gone  out  of 
date,  and  brought  some  cattle  with  him.     There  were  many  evidences 
of  recent  Indian  occupation  here  when  he  came.    The  poles  which  had 
answered  them  for  tents  were  still  standing,  and  down  at  their  camp 
were  graves  of  a  peculiar  nature, — that  is,  they  were  peculiarly  marked. 
There  were  slabs  at  the  head  and  foot,  and  they  seemed  roofed  over 
with  pickets.     These  remained  undisturbed  until  the  fire  burned  up 
the  wood.      They  were  never  desecrated  by  the  relic  fiend.      There 
was  no  mill  at  this  time  nearer  than  Denmark,  near  Danville,  but 
there  was  a  corn-cracker  at  Milford.     It  was  a  several  days'  job  to  go 
to  mill,  for  besides  the  distance,  it  often  occurred  that  one  had  to  wait 
his  turn  for  several  days.     Levi  Thompson,  who  was  the  first  comer, 
made  his  home  on  section  20,  where  Mr.  Calkin  now  resides.     He  had 
come  from  Indiana  in  1832.     Mr.  Thompson  died  here  about  1846. 
They  had  nine  sons,  all  of  whom  grew  up  to  manhood  but  one,  four 
of  them  going  into  the  army  and  giving  their  aid,  and  two  their  lives, 
to  their  country.    James  died  at  Yicksburg.    He  was  a  most  estimable 


IROQUOIS  TOWNSHIP.  385 

young  man,  and  had  already  served  nearly  three  years  in  the  20th  reg. 
William  served  four  years,  and  is  now  in  Alabama.  Levi  served  in 
the  113th,  and  now  resides  with  his  mother  in  Gilman.  Newton,  who 
also  saw  service  in  the  army,  died  in  Michigan.  About  1850  Mrs. 
Thompson  married  Mr.  Harwood,  and  lived  for  awhile  on  the  farm 
Mrs.  Harroun  now  lives  on.  She  now,  at  the  age  of  seventy-five, 
resides  at  Gilman,  where  some  of  her  children  live  with  her,  still 
strong  and  hearty  after  having  borne  the  hardships  of  pioneer  life. 

John  Johnson  came  in  1836,  and  made  his  cabin  on  the  place  where 
Mr.  Peters  lives.  He  only  remained  two  years,  and  then  moved 
farther  up  stream.  He  devoted  his  time  principally  to  bee-hunting. 
He  was  a  Scotchman.  He  died  there.  Wm.  Huckins  came  from 
Springfield,  Ohio,  in  the  spring  of  1837,  and  bought  land  of  Flesher 
on  section  21,  just  east  of  where  the  latter  resided.  He  built  a  house 
which  still  stands,  near  where  the  Gravellots  reside.  They  had 
a  large  family  of  children.  The  farm  was  purchased  by  the  Gra- 
vellot  brothers  when  they  came  here  from  France,  in  1854.  There 
were  six  brothers  and  a  sister  in  this  family.  The  change,  com- 
ing from  the  champagne  country  of  France  to  the  howling  wilder- 
ness, for  howling  it  was  then,  is  strongly  impressed  on  their  minds, 
but  they  never  got  sick  of  the  country.  A  nephew  who  came  with 
them  could  not  stand  it,  and  returned  to  carry  the  news  to  France. 
Julius,  John  and  Hipered  live  here  still.  All  are  unmarried.  The 
latter  served  in  the  76th  reg.  during  the  war.  The  other  brothers 
went  to  Kansas.  The  sister  died  here.  Her  husband,  Mr.  Chappaux, 
started  in  1859  to  go  to  Oregon,  but  was  never  heard  from  after  he 
reached  Utah.  It  is  supposed  he  suifered  death  at  Mountain  Meadows. 
An  only  daughter  lives  here  with  her  uncles. 

A  queer  old  character  by  the  name  of  William  McCutcheon,  whose 
name  is  still  known  here  only  as  having  been  given  to  the  slough 
which  winds  down  through  to  the  creek,  came  here  from  Milford  in 
1837,  and  took  up  a  claim  on  S.W.  J  of  section  30,  where  A.  D.  Harroun 
lives.  He  was  an  uneasy  mortal,  never  satisfied  with  his  lot  or  his 
prospects.  Whenever  it  rained  he  would  complain  of  being  drowned 
out,  and  if  it  clid  not  rain  he  thought  everything  was  going  to  burn 
up.  He  had  no  claims  to  beauty.  It  is  said  that  the  first  time  Hi. 
Vennum  met  him  in  the  road  he  gave  him  his  hat,  remarking  as  he 
did  so  that  he  believed  he  (McCutcheon)  was  entitled  to  it  by  the  law 
of  the  road.  It  was  the  first  time  Hiram  had  ever  met  a  homelier  man 
than  himself.  He  had  a  large  family  of  girls,  and  the  boys  thought, 
as  he  lived  out  on  the  prairie  all  alone,  and  had  the  range  of  ten  coun- 
ties, that  he  owned  all  the  land  he  could  see.  In  1844  it  rained  all 


386  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

the  time,  and  the  slough  which  bears  his  honored  name  was  "  boom- 
ing "  from  early  spring  till  fall,  much  as  some  of  the  later  residents 
remember  that  it  did  in  1869.  The  old  man  got  disgusted,  and  traded 
his  land  to  J.  F.  Wright  for  a  lot  of  dry  goods,  and  dressed  his  girls 
all  out  gorgeously  and  started  for  Missouri  in  a  covered  wagon. 

The  first  school  was  taught  by  Jacob  O'Feather,who  was  from  Indiana, 
and  who  settled  on  section  25  of  Douglas  township,  in  1836,  in  a  house 
which  stood  on  section  30,  probably  about  1838.  The  school  was  main- 
tained by  subscription,  and  pupils  came  from  four  miles  away.  They 
used  "  Elementary  Spelling  Book,"  "  English  Reader,"  and  whatever 
book  the  pupil  chanced  to  have.  Mr.  Prentiss  taught  a  term  in  a  cabin 
on  the  Cavena  place,  and  Miss  Mary  Peck  taught  a  term  in  a  cabin  which 
stood  near  where  the  burying-ground  now  is.  The  first  district  school- 
house  was  built  near  where  the  bridge  crosses  the  creek,  on  section  19, 
about  1845.  David  Gardner,  a  mason  by  trade,  afterward  a  merchant 
at  Middleport,  now  a  capitalist  at  Chicago,  taught  the  school.  Elijah 
Barton,  the  Harwoods,  the  Lawheads,  the  Fletcher  children  and  the 
Huckins  children,  were  among  those  who  attended.  William  Scott, 
Dan  Wright  and  Alfred  Fletcher,  also  taught  school  here  early. 

The  first  post-office  in  town  was  kept  by  Levi  Thompson,  at  his 
house  on  Spring  creek.  It  was  established  in  1838,  and  was  called 
Pink-a-Mink,  the  Indian  name  of  the  river.  Mr.  Wentworth,  in  his 
address  at  the  old  settlers'  reunion,  speaks  of  having  the  Plato  post- 
office  established  in  1838.  It  is  supposed  that  he  had  confounded  the 
names,  and  that  it  is  this  office  which  he  referred  to,  as  it  is  certain  that 
the  Plato  office  was  not  established  until  two  years  after  that  date. 
This  office  lasted  but  a  few  years. 

Dr.  Fowler,  of  Bunkum,  was  the  first  to  practice  medicine  here, 
and  Dr.  Harwood,  of  Middleport,  was  the  next.  Dr.  J.  H.  Kester 
was  the  first  to  locate  in  the  town.  He  improved  the  place  where  Mr. 
Mitchell  lives,  and  remained  here  until  1864,  when  he  sold  and  went 
to  the  western  part  of  the  state.  Dr.  Cunningham  was  engaged  in 
practice  here  before  the  all-pervading  quinine  was  in  vogue.  He 
understood  human  nature  better  than  he  did  medicine,  and  he  was 
sharp  enough  to  practice  accordingly.  J.  R.  Smith  located  a  land  war- 
rant on  one  quarter  of  section  31,  and  carried  on  a  blacksmith  shop 
there.  Frederick  Harwood  came  from  Indiana  in  1843,  and  took  up 
land  where  Mrs.  Harroun  now  lives,  on  section  30.  He  died  in  1878 
at  the  age  of  sixty-nine.  He  was  a  worthy  and  exemplary  man,  and  a 
good  neighbor.  Mrs.  Harwood  is  still  living.  They  had  five  boys  and 
two  girls,  most  of  whom  reside  in  the  county. 

Maurice  Kirby,  an  Irishman,  who  came  to  America  in  1829,  and 


IROQUOIS   TOWNSHIP.  387 

worked  on  public  works  in  various  places,  came  over  from  Indiana 
about  1840,  to  spy  out  the  land  and  see  if  he  could  not  get  a  piece  of 
land  which  he  could  own.  He  seems  to  have  been,  in  his  younger  days 
at, least,  much  given  to  placing  great  confidence  in  what  those,  whom 
he  thought  his  friends,  told  him.  "When  looking  for  land,  some  one 
told  him  that  the  finest  land  in  this  whole  country  was  along  White 
Woman's  creek  (Langham  creek),  and  that  the  delay  of  a  single  day 
might  deprive  him  of  it,  for  Cassady  (then  famous  as  a  land  speculator 
at  Danville)  was  going  to  enter  the  whole  batch  of  it  right  off.  All 
that  was  necessary  in  those  days  to  make  land  "go  off  like  hot  cakes," 
was  to  circulate  a  report  that  Cassady  or  Dr.  Fithian  was  after  it. 
Away  went  Maurice  to  Danville  on  the  wings  of  the  wind,  or  as  near 
as  he  could  to  that  style,  and  entered  the  first  quarter  he  could  get  hold 
of.  After  this  was  secured,  and  Maurice  was  happy  over  his  possessions, 
the  registrar  entered  into  a  friendly  conversation  with  him  :  "  Maurice," 
said  he,  "you've  made  a  poor  selection ;  the  land,  it  is  true,  is  of  very 
superior  quality;  but  the  wolves,  man, — the  wolves  are  that  bad  that 
no  man,  most  especially  an  Irishman,  can  stand  it  for  a  single  night. 
They'd  tear  the  tender  members  of  your  family, — the  childer',  man ; 
and  it's  more  than  an  even  chance  if  they  would  not  even  devour  the 
old  ones,  to  say  nothing  of  the  snakes  that  are  in  it."  Maurice  was 
seeking  a  country,  it  is  true,  but  it  was  not  exactly  that  kind  of  a 
neghborhood  that  he  wanted.  He  determined  to  abandon  his  pur- 
chase, and  started  back  to  Indiana,  at  a  good  lope,  wishing  at  every 
step  that  Cassady  had  the  land.  In  1844  he  came  to  where  he  now 
resides,  and  bought  of  Lemuel  Flesher.  The  wolves  and  snakes  could 
hardly  have  been  worse  on  "  White  Woman's  creek  "  than  they  were 
here  at  first.  He  had  to  keep  his  door  bolted  after  dark  to  keep  the 
children  in  and  the  wolves  out. 

Alfred  Fletcher  came  here  with  his  father  in  1849  and  bought  a 
farm  in  section  30.  He  taught  school  for  a  while,  for  $20  per  month 
and  board.  He  "  boarded  round,"  as  the  term  was,  and  was  always 
sure  to  make  the  longest  stay  where  the  girls  were  plentiest  and 
prettiest.  He  was  the  first  clerk  of  the  township  and  has  frequently 
performed  the  duties  of  the  various  offices. 

L.  D.  Northrup  laid  out  the  town  of  Point  Pleasant  in  1836,  on 
the  east  side  of  Spring  creek,  about  eighty  rods  from  the  Iroquois 
river.  It  was  a  great  time  for  laying  out  towns,  and  there  were  not 
many  men  who  had  a  river  front,  who  did  not  have  at  least  a  town 
plat  in  anticipation.  This  place  was  also  a  candidate  for  the  county- 
seat.  James  Smith,  who  was  a  noted  surveyor  of  that  day  on  the 
upper  Spring  creek,  did  the  surveying.  There  was  an  Indian  burying- 


388  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

ground  here,  and  at  the  time  the  village  was  laid  out  the  graves  were 
marked  by  puncheons  on  them,  laid  in  the  shape  of  a  roof. 

The  next  settlement  which  was  made,  in  point  of  time,  and  the 
first  in  point  of  prospective  importance,  was  that  at  Plato,  by  what 
was  known  as  the  Plato  company.  This  company  was  composed  of  a 
number  of  business  men,  who  purchased  the  land  now  owned  and 
occupied  by  John  Wilson,  in  1835  or  1836,  and  laid  out  a  town  with 
all  the  customary  expectations  and  paraphernalia  of  that  day.  The 
plat  which  was  taken  east  to  make  the  lots  sell  was  beautifully  done. 
The  broad,  deep-blue  river,  with  snorting  steamboats  trying  to  find 
room  to  tie  up  at  its  wharves,  would  remind  one  of  the  Danube  instead 
of  the  Iroquois.  The  plat  was  on  the  south  and  west  of  the  river. 
It  was  the  expectation  of  the  proprietors  to  secure  the  location  of  the 
county-seat  here,  and  was  freely  advertised  in  New  York  and  Boston 
as  "one  of  the  handsomest  locations  for  a  city  in  the  world,"  as  indeed 
it  was.  A  sale  of  lots  was  made,  and  some  of  the  lots  sold  for  more 
than  those  did  in  Chicago.  It  was  the  "  head  of  navigation  "  on 
the  Iroquois  river,  and  the  prospective  capital  of  a  rich  and  fertile 
country.  The  notes  which  were  given  for  the  lots  were  by  their 
terms  to  become  due  when  the  steam-mill  in  contemplation  was  com- 
pleted. The  failure  to  secure  the  county-seat  made  it  undesirable  to 
go  on  with  work  on  the  mill,  and  it  was  never  completed. 

The  story  of  this  county-seat  strife  is  interesting.  The  Plato  com- 
pany believed  that  they  had  the  best  chance,  and  that  the  inducements 
they  offered  would  be  sufficient  to  secure  it,  but  a  little  accident  interfered 
to  spoil  their  plans.  Lieut.-Gov.  John  Moore,  of  McLean  county, 
Gen.  Whitesides,  and  Capt.  Covel,  of  Bloomington,  were  the  com- 
missioners to  select  a  county-seat.  They  were  to  meet  here  on  the 
ground  in  May,  1837.  The  two  former  came,  but  Covel's  sickness 
prevented  his  attendance.  The  members  of  the  company  were  on 
hand  and  made  their  proposition.  Moore  and  Whitesides  thought 
favorably  of  it,  and  had  Covel  been  present  would  have  accepted  the 
offer  made, — that  of  donating  fifty  lots  in  consideration  of  the  location 
of  the  county-seat;  but  they  adjourned  the  matter  for  a  few  weeks. 
At  their  second  meeting  all  commissioners  were  present,  but  the  pro- 
prietors were  absent.  The  financial  storm  which  was  sweeping  over 
the  country  was  seriously  threatening  every  branch  of  trade.  These 
men  were  engaged  in  business,  and  though  they  were  notified  to  be 
present,  each  had  so  much  on  his  hands  to  take  care  of  his*  own  busi- 
ness affairs  that  he  would  not  give  his  time  to  it.  Mr.  Flesher  nearly 
killed  two  horses  riding  to  get  them  to  attend  the  meeting  of  the 
commission.  Their  offer  was  made,  and  the  Middleport  party  knew 


IRGQUOIS   TOWNSHIP.  389 

what  it  was,  and  they  made  an  offer  of  100  lots.  This  the  commis- 
sioners thought  veiy  liberal,  and  Gov.  Moore  said  for  the  commission 
that  the  Plato  company  would  have  to  do  better.  The  members  of 
the  company  failing  to  put  in  an  appearance,  the  commission,  after 
remaining  three  days,  went  on  and  closed  with  the  offer  of  the  Middle- 
port  citizens,  and  Plato  "  went  back."  About  1840  a  post-office  was 
established  and  John  Wilson  appointed  postmaster, — a  position  he  still 
holds.  The  land  in  this  township  had  been  opened  for  sale,  but  was 
afterward  withdrawn  from  market  to  permit  the  selection  of  "  state 
lands."  These  lands  were  donated  by  the  general  government  to  the 
state,  under  the  act  of  September,  1841,  donating  the  proceeds  of  the 
sale  of  lands,  and  a  large  amount  of  lands  to  the  several  states,  and  the 
law  permitted  a  selection  to  be  made  of  the  choicest  lands.  Selections 
were  made  all  the  way  from  the  Kankakee  river  to  Middleport,  except 
around  Plato.  John  Wilson  had  one  eye  on  this  land  and  the  other 
on  the  surveyors,  and  prevailed  on  them  not  to  touch  what  he  wanted. 
The  price  was  fjxed  On  these  "state  lands,"  ranging  from  $3  to  $8  per 
acre,  the  price  to  decrease  each  year  fifty  cents  per  acre  on  all  the  lands 
except  those  valued  at  $3,  until  they  should  reach  $3  and  $4.  The 
last  were  sold  in  1858. 

When  Mr.  John  Wilson  came  here,  about  1836  or  1837,  there  were 
six  settlements  in  the  county :  Milford,  Bunkum,  Middleport,  Upper 
Spring  Creek,  around  about  Onarga  and  Del  Rey,  Lower  Spring  Creek 
and  Ash  Grove.  Mills  and  markets  were  from  forty  to  100  miles 
away.  The  settlers  were  honest,  frugal  and  hospitable ;  none  were 
rich,  but  no  one  left  a  cabin  hungry.  Any  one  within  twenty  miles 
was  a  neighbor.  The  advent  into  this  new  country  of  a  man  of 
the  experience  and  education  of  Mr.  Wilson  was  a  great  aid  to  the 
development  of  the  country  and  society.  He  was  well  and  thoroughly 
versed  in  all  land  matters,  and  was  a  teacher  of  much  more  than  ordinary 
ability.  The  lack  of  schools  was  keenly  felt  by  many  of  the  pioneers, 
and  Mr.  Wilson's  reputation  preceded  him  to  the  new  country.  His 
acquirements  were  discussed,  and  his  feats  recounted.  He  was  soon 
called  on  by  citizens  who  lived  along  the  upper  Spring  creek  to  teach 
their  school.  Mr.  Jonas  Smith,  who  represented  the  citizens  then,  said 
they  would  give  him  $30  per  month  and  board  for  himself  and  horse. 
They  built  a  house  capable  of  seating  sixty  scholars,  and  so  great  was 
the  rush  of  those  coining  in  from  all  over  the  county,  that  the  seats 
were  full  all  winter.  The  parties  who  got  up  the  school  and  guaran- 
teed his  pay  made  a  good  speculation  out  of  it,  for  there  were  so  many 
scholars  that  the  tuition  of  their  own  children  was  free. 

The  post-office  at  Plato  was  established  in    1840,  and  Mr.  Wilson, 


390  HISTORY    OF   IROQUO1S    COUNTY. 

who  was  then  appointed  postmaster,  has  continued  in  that  office  ever 
since,  through  all  the  changes  of  administration.  He  is  the  oldest 
postmaster  in  the  country  west  of  the  Allegheny  mountains,  there 
being  a  few  in  the  eastern  states  who  have  seen  longer  service.  The 
office  was  served  at  first  by  the  stage  route  from  Joliet  to  Danville.  The 
offices  south  of  this  were  Middleport,  Milford,  North  Fork  and  Den- 
mark. Two-horse  coaches  made  the  trip  once  a  week.  After  the  railroad 
was  built  the  office  was  served  from  Kankakee  for  awhile,  now  from 
Clifton  twice  a  week.  One  of  the  first  schools  taught  here  was  by 
Mrs.  David  Pierce  before  her  marriage  in  1845.  It  was  in  the  neat  little 
cabin  standing  near  by  the  old  house,  having  an  old-fashioned  stick- 
and-mud  chimney,  a  brick  hearth  and  one  small  window  of  four  lights 
of  glass.  The  door  was  swung  on  wooden  hinges,  and  a  stout  leather 
latch-string  invited  those  hungry  for  education  to  walk  in.  Split  logs 
were  used  for  benches,  and  pins  driven  into  the  wall  of  the  house  served 
for  support  for  the  desks,  ranged  around  on  three  sides  of  the  room. 
They  paid  Miss  Webster  $6  per  month  and  board  for  teaching.  Of 
course  she  "  boarded  around." 

Joseph  P.  Starit  came  here  and  settled  on  the  prairie  twentj^-five 
years  ago,  on  section  22,  that  is,  if  hiding  from  wolves  out  on  a  prairie 
could  be  called  settling.  He  has  run  a  threshing  machine  for  thirty- 
seven  years.  When  he  "learned  the  trade,"  in  1840,  the  machine 
known  as  the  "ground  hog"  was  in  general  use.  It  delivered  the 
grain,  chaff  and  straw  all  in  a  heap,  and  you  could  rake  the  straw  off 
as  when  threshing  with  a  flail,  and  the  grain  was  scooped  into  a  rail- 
pen,  where  it  was  considered  safe  until  it  could  be  "  cleaned  up." 
Next  in  order  came  the  traveling  machine,  as  it  was  called,  which  was 
moved  around  from  shock  to  shock,  leaving  the  straw  on  the  field.  The 
first  "  separators  "  that  came  around  did  not  have  the  straw-carriers 
attached.  It  was  th.ought  to  be  a  great  invention.  He  has  had  con- 
siderable experience  of  "  going  through  the  mill "  in  his  time.  A 
refractory  tumbling-rod  once  took  off  the  tout  ensemble  of  his  wearing 
apparel,  and  gave  him  a  taste  of  what  "  evolution  "  meant. 

Henry  A.  Butzow  came  here  soon  after,  and  undertook  to  make  a 
farm  at  the  mouth  of  Spring  creek.  He  was  early  called  on  to  per- 
form the  duties  of  the  various  township  offices,  all  of  which  he  per- 
formed with  such  neatness,  and  in  such  an  accurate,  business-like 
manner,  that  he  was  selected  as  the  candidate  of  the  farmers'  party  for 
county  clerk  in  1873.  He  was  elected  by  a  large  majority,  and  has 
justified  the  judgment  of  his  friends  in  making  a  most  acceptable  and 
popular  clerk.  He  was  reflected  in  1877.  The  earliest  religious 
meetings  in  this  portion  of  the  township  were  held  by  Elder  Boon,  of 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  Of  ILLINOIS 


IROQUOIS   TOWNSHIP.  391 

the  Christian  denomination,  in  1843  or  1844.  The  Methodists  com- 
menced holding  meetings  here  about  1848,  and  have  continued  hold- 
ing meetings  at  the  school-houses  nearly  all  the  time  since.  A  class 
was  formed  here,  and  at  present  the  regular  preaching  is  at  the  Sturte- 
vant  school-house. 

EAST    OF   THE   KIVER. 

The  east  side  of  the  river  was  settled  from  about  1839,  by  Samuel 
Lyman,  Thomas  Yates,  with  his  father,  Atis,  Alexander  Sword,  James 
M.  Moore,  the  last  of  whom  settled  here  in  1850.  When  Mr.  Yates 
first  came  here  the  principal  articles  of  trade,  and  which,  in  the  absence 
of  gold  and  silver,  were  used  as  currency,  were  deer  skins,  honey  and 
tallow.  Mr.  Yates  never  had  less  than  a  barrel  or  two  of  honey  stowed 
away  against  a  time  of  need,  and  down  on  Spring  creek  the  story  was 
current  that  "  Yates  boys  had  cakes  of  tallow  to  sit  on  instead  of 
stools,  made  large  enough  "so  they  could  trundle  them  up  to  the  table 
to  sit  on." 

The  Illinois  Central  railroad  company  took  considerable  of  the  land 
in  this  township.  By  the  terms  of  the  act  of  congress  under  which 
the  road  was  built  the  company  was  entitled  to  each  alternate  section 
of  land  for  six  miles  on  either  side  of  its  line,  and  where  any  lands 
which  would  have  belonged  to  them  under  such  act  had  been  previ- 
ously taken,  they  were  entitled  to  select  from  lands,  within  a  range  of 
fifteen  miles,  as  much  as  had  been  thus  taken. 

THE   FERRY    WAR. 

Dixoir's  Ferry  which  connects  the  shores  of  Iroquois  with  those  of 
Martinton,  at  Plato,  has  been  the  cause  of  a  long,  a  bitter  and  an 
engrossing  contest  in  the  field,  on  the  water  and  in  the  courts,  which 
finally  resulted  in  the  issuing  of  the  following  license :  "  To  William 
Dixon,  issued  for  five  years  from  the  date  hereof,  July  25,  1879.  Rates 
of  toll  established  by  the  board  of  supervisors :  For  double  team,  15 
cents ;  same,  both  ways  on  the  same  day,  20  cents ;  horse  and  rider,  10 
cents;  footman,  5  cents;  cattle  and  horses,  3  cents;  hogs  and  sheep,  2 
cents.  H.  A.  Butzow,  clerk.  Fee,  $6,  paid."  The  ferry  had  been 
established  twenty  years  before,  but  as  at  that  time  there  was  no  one 
to  run  it,  and  no  business  to  do,  it  was  unused.  The  other  ferry,  half  a 
mile  down  stream,  was  in  use,  but  all  those  who  lived  east  of  the  river 
in  Iroquois  and  along  the  line  of  Martinton  had  to  pass  over  the  land 
of  John  Wilson  to  reach  the  ferry.  This  was  considered  trespass  by 
Mr.  Wilson,  but  as  he  had  permitted  it  almost  twenty  years.it  bid  fair 
to  become  a  road  by  limitation.  To  prevent  this  Mr.  Wilson  fenced 
up  the  road,  and  Stock,  the  rival  ferryman,  undertook  to  tear  down 


392  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

the  fence.  This  brought  on  an  encounter  between  Stock  and  the  picket- 
guard  which  Wilson  had  thrown  out,  which  did  not  exactly  prove  fatal, 
but  led  to  a  law-suit,  Stock  claiming  that  the  road  through  Wilson's 
woods  had  been  used  twenty  years,  and  that  hence  he  had  a  right  to 
reduce  the  fence  which  Wilson  had  erected  across  it  to  kindling  wood. 
A  three-days  law-suit  followed.  The  three  towns  of  Iroquois,  Martin- 
ton  and  Danforth  were  interested.  Eighty  witnesses  were  called,  and 
Wilson  carried  the  day.  Then  an  appeal  followed,  of  course,  and  the 
Stock  party  took  a  new  twist  on  Wilson's  reserved  ferry  rights  by  pro- 
ceeding to  prove  that  the  road  which  led  along  the  town  line  to  his 
ferry  from  the  east  was  never  legally  laid  out,  it  having  been  laid  a 
forty  instead  of  a  sixty-foot  road,  and  twenty  years  had  not  yet  made  it 
legal.  This  took  the  Wilson  party  between  wind  and  water.  They 
had  got  their  ferry  rights  maintained  by  the  aid  of  the  law,  and  had 
shut  up  the  road  which  led  away  from  his  ferry,  and  now  the  Stock 
party,  aided  and  abetted  by  the  Martinton  officials,  had  shut  up  the 
only  road  leading  to  it.  At  the  same  time  a  legal  road  was  opened  half 
a  mile  north  of  the  old  one,  which  run  directly  to  Stock's  fern*.  Then 
business  had  to  begin  anew.  A  petition  was  circulated  to  lay  out  the 
town-line  road  again,  but  the  commissioners  of  highways  were  very 
slow  to  act,  and  an  appeal  was  taken  to  the  supervisors.  About  this 
time  straw  was  put  under  a  bridge  which  was  supposed  to  have  been 
intended  by  the  Stock  party  to  ignite  the  bridge  and  render  travel  to 
Dixon's  impossible.  Both  ferries  are  in  full  operation,  not  doing  busi- 
ness enough,  of  course,  to  support  one,  but  neither  will  be  suppressed. 
It  has  been  captured  and  recaptured  almost  as  many  times  as  Harper's 
Ferry  since  the  time  of  old  John  Brown. 

One  of  the  most  distressing,  and  from  all  its  surroundings  one  of 
the  most  singular  crimes  ever  known  in  the  history  of  this  county,  was 
the  murder  of  Mrs.  Malousen  by  her  husband,  in  May,  1872.  Joseph 
Malousen  was  a  worthy  and  respected  man.  Nobody  would  have  deemed 
him  capable  of  committing  such  a  shocking  crime,  but  that  his  mental 
organization  was  somewhat  deficient  seems  certain  from  the  result.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church,  and  married,  against 
the  rules  of  his  church,  a  woman  who  had  been  previously  married,  but 
who  had  long  been  separated  from  her  husband,  but  had  not  been 
legally  divorced.  His  priest  reproved  him  sharply  for  his  marriage  and 
told  him  that  he  could  not  recognize  him,  and  the  church  could  not  while 
living  in  such  an  unauthorized  state.  This  preyed  on  his  mind  so  that 
he  was  almost  beside  himself,  and  when  returning  from  Watseka  on 
foot  with  his  wife,  whom  he  really  loved,  in  the  evening,  he  sat  down 
and  talked  with  her  on  the  bank  of  the  creek  a  while.  He  then  pushed 


IROQUOIS   TOWNSHIP.  393 

her  in  and  jumped  in  and  held  her  down  under  the  water  till  life  waa 
extinct.  He  then  took  off  her  skirt  and  left  it  in  a  field  a  short  dis- 
tance away,  and  put  the  hand-basket  which  she  was  carrying  under  a 
bridge  some  distance  away,  and  secreted  himself.  Of  course  the  mur- 
dered woman  was  soon  found,  and  the  neighbors  commenced  the  search 
for  him  with  a  rope,  and  it  is  believed  his  life  would  have  been  of  little 
value  had  he  been  found.  A  -week  later  he  gave  himself  up  to  the 
sheriff,  saying  that  he  could  not  bear  the  terrible  feelings  any  longer. 
He  confessed  his  crime  and  was  sentenced  to  the  penitentiary  for  four- 
teen years.  His  behavior  there  was  such  that  he  has  already  worked 
out. 

The  only  railroad  in  the  township  is  the  Toledo,  Peoria  &  Warsaw, 
which  was  built  in  1858  and  1859,  and  runs  along  the  southern  boun- 
dary line.  A  company  was  formed  and  surveys  were  made  in  1872  for 
building  the  La  Fayette,  La  Salle  &  Clinton  railroad.  By  its  survey  it 
was  to  cross  the  river  at  or  near  Plato,  and  run  through  the  north- 
eastern corner  of  this  township.  The  building  was  about  to  be  com- 
menced, the  bonds  having  been  placed  with  Jay  Cooke  &  Co.,  for  sale, 
when  the  failure  of  that  house,  and  the  consequent  panic  in  financial 
affairs,  put  a  stop  to  this,  as  it  did  to  all  other  railroad  enterprises. 
There  is  some  prospect  that  this  road  will  be  built. 

W.  F.  Higgle  was  first  clerk ;  A.  B.  Thompson,  assessor ;  and 
William  Flesher  and  Isaac  Riggle,  justices  of  the  peace.  The  present 
officers  are :  S.  N.  Calkin,  supervisor,  now  in  his  sixth  term ;  J.  B. 
Eno,  clerk,  now  in  his  seventh  year ;  A.  Flesher,  assessor ;  J.  B.  Eno, 
collector ;  Robert  Goodman  and  C.  H.  Martin,  justices  of  the  peace. 
In  1863  a  special  vote  taken  for  or  against  township  organization,- 
resulted  45  for,  to  1  against.  In  1867  there  were  72  for,  to  6  against. 
A  vote  was  taken  May  14,  1867,  for  or  against  annexing  to  Kankakee 
county  all  of  town  29,  ranges  10,  11,  12,  13  and  14  west,  and  10  and 
11  east,  which  then  belonged  to  Iroquois  county.  It  resulted  unani- 
mously against  annexation.  The  township  has  usually  been  democratic 
politically,  and  latterly  very  close  when  party  lines  have  been  drawn. 
The  records  of  town  meeting  show  a  remarkable  number  of  tie  votes. 
Before  township  organization  this  was  a  part  of  Jefferson  precinct, 
and  voting  was  done  at  Mr.  Jefferson's  house. 

BIOGRAPHICAL. 

No  person  in  Iroquois  county  has  been  more  thoroughly  and  con- 
tinuously alive  to  all  the  interests  of  the  county,  from  almost  its  earliest 
settlement,  than  John  Wilson,  of  Plato.  He  was  born  in  county 
Down,  Ireland,  in  1813,  and  four  years  later  came  to  Baltimore,  Mary- 


394  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

land,  with  his  father,  who  had  been  for  some  years  county  officer,  a 
position  answering  in  part  to  the  office  of  sheriff  before  its  duties  had 
been  clipped  by  what  is  known  as  township  organization,  but  having 
a  certain  jurisdiction  in  several  counties.  For  twelve  years,  while  Mr. 
Wilson  carried  on  mercantile  business  in  Baltimore,  John  was  in 
school.  On  the  removal  to  Ohio  of  the  elder  Wilson,  John  remained 
and  taught  school  at  Fredericksburg,  meanwhile  qualifying  himself  to 
teach  civil  engineering,  draughting,  penmanship,  commercial  educa- 
tion, etc.  In  June,  1835,  he  arrived  at  Danville,  with  as  good  a  prac- 
tical education  as  any  man  in  the  thriving  settlement,  and  for  two 
years  served  as  clerk  in  the  land  office,  under  Judge  McRoberts,  teach- 
ing a  commercial  class  each  winter  in  the  branches  which  he  had 
prepared  himself  to  teach.  He  also  taught  commercial  classes  in  Chi- 
cago, La  Fayette,  and  several  in  Urbana.  It  was  while  he  was  at 
Danville  that  he  formed  an  intimate  friendship  for  Mr.  Lincoln,  which, 
notwithstanding  their  opposite  political  views  and  party  associations, 
continued  till  the  death  of  the  martyr  president.  When  the  Plato 
Company  was  formed,  —  a  company  which  had  a  considerable  landed 
interest  here, — he  came  here  to  reside  as  the  agent  of  the  company. 
In  1830  he  taught,  not  the  first,  but  probably  the  second,  school  on 
Spring  creek,  and  which  was  the  forerunner  of  the  Grand  Prairie  Sem- 
inary, now  flourishing  near  where  he  taught.  So  much  had  the  fame 
of  the  schoolmaster  spread  that  the  building  which  had  been  put  up 
for  the  school,  holding  sixty  pupils,  would  not  accommodate  the  appli- 
cants. Soon  after  this  he  quitted  the  employ  of  the  Plato  Company, 
and  assisted  James  Smith,  county  surveyor.  He  improved  two  farms 
on  the  Iroquois  river,  which  he  sold,  and  afterward  became  owner  of 
the  Plato  Company's  property,  and  has  added  to  it  until  he  has  now 
1,100  acres  of  land,  of  unsurpassed  fertility  and  beauty.  He  was 
county  surveyor  for  four  years,  and  prepared  and  published  one  of  the 
most  complete  and  accurate  county  maps  ever  issued  in  a  new  county, 
and  which  is  still  considered  authority.  He  was  appointed  the  first 
postmaster  at  Plato,  in  1840  or  1841,  and  has  held  the  position  unin- 
terruptedly for  thirty-nine  years.  He  is  believed  to  be  the  oldest  post- 
master in  the  country.  He  was  appointed  in  1846  one  of  the  commis- 
sioners of  the  Kankakee  and  Iroquois  river  slack-water  improvement. 
He  perfected  the  survey  of  the  rivers,  and  made  estimates  on  the  work, 
commencing  at  the  upper  end  of  the  rivers.  He  was  overruled  by  the 
other  commissioners,  who  decided  to  commence  at  Wilmington.  They 
put  in  one  dam  and  lock  there,  which  was  washed  away  by  the  next 
spring  freshet.  He  was  appointed  on  the  second  commission  in  1861, 
but  the  war  then  progressing  prevented  any  work  being  accomplished. 


IROQTJOIS   TOWNSHIP.  395 

He  prepared  maps  of  Yermilion,  Champaign  and  Kankakee  counties, 
and  was  engaged  for  some  time  making  surveys  for  the  Illinois  Central 
railroad,  and  platting  their  lands.  He  married,  in  1839,  Samautha 
Butler,  who  died  in  1843,  leaving  one  child,  now  Mrs.  Reynolds,  who 
lives  in  Michigan.  He  was  married  in  1845,  at  Urban  a,  to  Amy  E. 
Carson,  who  is  still  living.  He  is  the  father  of  eight  children,  all  liv- 
ing :  John  J.  and  Robert  Bruce,  who  are  married,  live  near  by ;  Thomas 
F.  at  Ashkum ;  Isabella  Dixon  lives  at  the  ferry ;  Joseph  F.,  Alfred 
and  Pauline  at  home.  He  carries  on  his  large  farm,  which  is  well 
stocked,  feeding  cattle  in  large  numbers.  Politically,  he  has  always 
been  a  democrat,  and  in  religious  belief  is  a  spiritualist  in  sentiment 

Enoch  H.  Long,  farmer,  Watseka,  was  born  in  Hawkins  county, 
east  Tennessee,  in  1826.  He  removed  to  Indiana  in  1842,  and  to  Ash 
Grove  ten  years  later.  His  great-grandfather  served  Shelby,  and  re- 
ceived three  balls  at  the  battle  of  King's  Mountain,  which  he  carried 
in  his  hip  until  his  death.  His  grandfather  died  in  Tennessee  during 
the  late  war.  He  was  a  cousin  of  John  C.  Calhoun,  the  famous  leader 
of  South  Carolina  political  views.  Mr.  Long  married,  July  1,  1855, 
Almira  Sturtevant,  and  has  seven  children :  Sarah  L.,  William  C., 
James  A.,  Thomas  L.,  George,  Laura  J.  and  Lucy  May.  He  has  lived 
a  number  of  years  in  Iroquois  township,  where  he  has  a  good  farm, 
with  excellent  buildings.  He  has  been  for  years  a  devoted  friend  of 
the  church,  and  his  influence  has  been  in  favor  of  good  society  and 
good  government. 

Maurice  Kirby,  farmer,  Crescent  City,  came  to  America  in  1829, 
when  he  was  twenty  years  of  age,  having  been  born  in  Ireland  in 
1809.  For  a  number  of  years  after  coming  to  this  country  he  was 
employed  on  various  public  works  throughout  the  country,  having 
been  engaged  on  the  "Wabash  and  Erie  canal,  and  other  works  of  a 
similar  nature,  in  the  states  of  New  York,  Virginia,  Ohio  and  Indiana. 
In  1840  he  bought  the  200-acre  farm  on  which  he  now  resides  in  this 
township,  it  at  that  time  being  wild  land,  but  did  not  move  on  it  until 
1850,  previously  marrying  Miss  Caroline  Griffin,  the  same  year,  in 
Parke  county,  Indiana.  Their  family  consists  of  four  children,  two 
boys  and  two  girls:  Mary  Francis,  born  in  1850;  Caroline,  born  in 
1856 ;  John,  born  in  1860  ;  and  James,  born  in  1865.  During  the 
early  years  of  their  residence  here  they  had  to  endure  numerous  trials 
and  hardships,  but  he  is  now  enjoying  the  fruits  of  his  industry. 

Tobias  Danner,  farmer,  Crescent  City,  was  born  in  Ohio  in  1814. 
His  grandparents  were  from  Germany,  and  his  parents  were  born  in 
Virginia.  They  came  to  Indiana  in  1830.  He  came  to  this  county  in 
1852,  and  lived  three  miles  southeast  of  Watseka.  In  1864  he  came  to 


396  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

his  present  residence  to  live.  In  1837  he  married,  and  from  that  union 
six  children  were  born:  Robert  is  married  and  lives  near  Watseka; 
John  B.  is  married  and  lives  near  his  father;  Samuel  O.  also  lives  near; 
Mrs.  Charlotta  Harwood  lives  in  Crescent,  and  Catherine  E.  died  at 
the  age  of  twenty-four.  He  was  married  a  second  time,  in  1871,  to 
Rachel  Tarbott,  who  has  two  daughters  and  one  son.  Mr.  Danner  has 
been  a  constant  member  of  the  Methodist  church  for  thirty-seven  years. 

George  Fidler,  farmer,  Plato,  was  born  in  Ross  county,  Ohio,  in 
1823.  At  the  age  of  four  years  he  came  with  his  parents  to  Tippeca- 
noe  county,  Indiana,  and  married  Harriet  Parker  in  1848.  A  few  years 
after  they  came  to  this  county  and  settled  near  where  he  now  lives,  on 
section  4.  He  has  a  farm  of  320  acres,  and  20  acres  of  timber  land. 
They  are  the  parents  of  ten  children,  six  of  whom  survive :  David  A. 
is  married  and  lives  near  by,  has  five  children ;  Rebecca  Jane  Miller, 
who  lives  a  mile  from  her  father,  has  two  children ;  Mary  P.  Miller 
has  one ;  William,  Owen  and  Curtis  live  at  home.  Melissa  died  at 
three  months ;  Susan  Mildred  at  sixteen  months ;  Albert  when  eight 
years  of  age,  and  Johnnie  at  the  age  of  seven.  Mr.  Fidler  has  never 
held  office  of  any  kind  except  that  for  several  years  he  has  served  his 
district  as  school  director. 

J.  B.  Eno,  teacher,  Crescent  City,  was  born  in  Hartford  county, 
Connecticut,  November  26,  1825.  Determining  to  devote  his  life  to 
teaching,  after  attending  the  academy  at  his  native  place  some  years,  he 
attended  Suifield  Literary  Institute,  then  under  the  charge  of  S.  Dryden 
Phelps,  the  "  poet  teacher."  Graduating  at  the  State  Normal,  at  New 
Britain,  he  has,  with  very  little  intermission,  continued  to  teach  until 
this  time,  commencing  in  1839.  He  taught  nine  years  in  Connecticut 
and  three  years  in  western  New  York.  He  was  married,  in  1855,  to  Miss 
Holcomb,  and  removed  to  Illinois  with  the  Connecticut  colony,  which 
settled  in  the  western  part  of  this  county  in  1856,  since  which  time  he 
has  resided  in  this  county,  teaching  in  "Watseka,  Chatsworth,  and  in 
nearly  every  town  in  this  vicinity,  holding  the  position  of  deputy 
superintendent  of  schools  for  some  years.  In  1863  he  was  the  candi- 
date of  his  party  for  superintendent.  His  wife  died  in  1864,  leaving 
two  daughters:  Carrie  and  Cora.  In  1866  he  married  Miss  Alida 
Pardy,  who  has  three  children :  Mary,  Kittie  and  Jerrie.  He  is  be- 
lieved to  be  the  oldest  teacher  in  this  part  of  the  state,  having  devoted 
thirty-four  years  of  his  life  to  that  work.  Coming  here  at  a  time  when 
education  was  in  its  infancy,  he  has  done  much  to  strengthen  the  edu- 
cational interests  of  the  county.  Mr.  Eno  has  long  been  a  member  of 
the  Congregational  church,  and  has  been  devoted  to  the  interests  of 
that  church  and  society  at  Crescent  City.  Politically  he  has  always 


IROQUOIS   TOWNSHIP.  397 

been  a  democrat,  and  has  frequently  been  called  on  to  perform  the 
duties  of  township  office.  He  is  the  present  clerk,  collector  and  treas- 
urer of  Iroquois  township. 

S.  Newell  Calkin,  farmer,  Crescent  City,  was  born  in  Du  Page 
township,  Will  county,  his  education  being  in  the  work  on  the  farm 
and  in  the  common  schools.  At  the  opening  of  the  rebellion  he 
enlisted  in  Barker's  dragoons,  which  soon  after  saw  service  in  the 
army  of  the  Potomac,  acting  for  some  time  as  McClellan's  body-guard. 
In  December,  1863,  the  regiment  to  which  it  became  attached  reen- 
listed  as  veterans  and  was  sent  to  the  department  of  the  Gulf.  They 
participated  in  the  disastrous  Red  River  campaign  and  then  marched 
back  again.  It  was  probably  one  of  the  companies  of  this  regiment 
about  which  the  story  is  told  with  a  good  show  of  truth,  that  returning 
in  such  a  dilapidated  condition  so  far  as  their  nether  garments  were 
concerned,  a  stylish  officer,  on  being  invited  to  partake  of  a  dinner  by 
some  ladies  who  desired  to  show  hospitality,  was  obliged  to  decline  on 
account  of  the  unpresentable  appearance  he  would  make  should  he 
dismount.  His  father  removed  to  this  township  about  this  time.  Mr. 
Calkin,  at  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  service,  married  Miss  Adelaide 
George,  March,  1865,  and  came  here  to  reside  where  he  now  lives,  on 
section  17.  He  has  six  children :  Samuel,  Gertie,  Henry,  Jacob, 
Mary  and  Hannah.  For  six  years  past  he  has  been  the  supervisor  of 
Iroquois  township  and  has  given  evidence  of  very  good  qualifications 
for  the  important  position.  In  the  fall  of  1879  he  received  the  unani- 
mous nomination  of  the  independent  greenback  party  for  the  office  of 
county  treasurer. 

Samuel  Loveridge,  farmer,  Watseka,  was  born  in  England  in  1835. 
Receiving  a  good  education,  and  having  a  decided  aptitude  for  clerical 
work,  he  applied  for  a  clerkship  in  the  commissary  department  of 
Her  Majesty's  service  during  the  Crimean  war,  and  received  the 
appointment,  serving  twenty-one  months,  and  until  the  close  of  hostil- 
ities, most  of  the  time  at  Scutari,  in  Asiatic  Turkey.  On  returning  to 
England  he  sailed  for  America,  and  traveled  extensively  to  find  such  a 
place  as  he  wanted.  He  traveled  all  over  the  southern  Atlantic  states 
looking  for  a  place  to  engage  in  the  business  of  producing  pitch. 
During  a  portion  of  the  war  he  was  engaged  as  clerk  in  the  quarter- 
master's department  at  Louisville,  Kentucky.  In  1864  he  married 
Miss  Eliza  Scrymgeour,  of  Jeifersonville,  Indiana.  They  have  two 
children  :  Maggie  and  Jessie.  He  came  to  this  township  to  live  in 
1865,  and  resides  on  section  35.  He  has  served  as  assessor  of  the 
township,  and  for  several  years  past  has  been  an  elder  of  the  Presby 
terian  church  at  Watseka. 


398  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

S.  G.  Staples,  grain  dealer,  Crescent  City,  was  born  in  Canton,  St. 
Lawrence  county,  New  York,  in  1824.  His  parents  were  Quakers 
from  Rutland  county,  Yermont,  where  many  of  the  family  still  reside. 
The  originators  of  the  family  in  America  came  from  the  north  of  Ire- 
land to  Massachusetts,  one  going  from  thence  to  Vermont.  Levi 
Staples  moved  early  to  the  Wyoming  valley,  where  he  was  killed  at 
the  time  of  the  massacre,  but  his  wife  escaping,  took  her  young  child 
and  rode  on  a  mule  all  the  way  back  to  Connecticut.  Mr.  Staples, 
at  the  age  of  thirteen,  being  thrown  on  his  own  resources,  went 
to  Lewis  county  and  worked  on  a  farm.  At  nineteen  he  went  to 
Taberg  to  learn  the  trade  of  turner  and  cabinet-maker.  He  attended 
school  awhile  at  Delta,  and  afterward  went  to  Whitestown,  Oneida 
county,  where  the  then  famous  Beriah  Green  was  preaching  "  abo- 
lition sentiments"  of  a  decidedly  radical  nature.  Few  who  listened 
to  him  failed  to  drink  in  the  effects  of  his  cogent  reasoning,  or  to  be 
moved  by  his  terrible  invective.  Young  Staples  was  no  excep- 
tion. He  continued  in  school,  teaching  a  portion  of  each  year  to 
acquire  the  means  to  meet  his  expenses.  He  then  followed  his  trade 
for  a  few  years,  and  was  carrying  on  a  shop  on  the  farm  of  Jesse 
Williams,  the  originator  of  the  cheese-factory  system,  at  the  time  he 
built  the  first  factory.  The  machinery  for  the  mammoth  cheese,  which 
was  exhibited  all  over  the  country,  was  made  in  his  shop.  He  was 
married  to  Miss  Barber,  of  Lee,  Oneida  county,  New  York,  and 
removed  to  Oneida,  Knox  county,  Illinois,  in  1856,  where  for  seven 
years  he  carried  on  an  extensive  and  prosperous  grain  and  broom- 
corn  trade.  He  returned  to  Whitestown  to  engage  in  the  lumber 
trade  in  1864,  and  then  came  to  Crescent  city  in  1869,  and  built  the 
elevator  here,  continuing  in  the  general  grain  trade  nntil  recently,  and 
is  now  engaged  in  the  flax-seed  trade.  Of  his  three  children,  Wilbur 
A.  is  married  and  lives  in  Middleport ;  Nettie  E.  and  Emma  B.  are  at 
home  with  their  parents.  Mr.  Staples'  political  views  were  early  in 
life  molded  into  radical  anti-slavery  shape.  He  has  for  some]  years 
been  a  justice  of  the  peace. 

Alexander  Swords,  farmer,  Watseka,  was  born  in  Perthshire,  Scot- 
land, in  1815.  After  receiving  a  good  classic  and  scientific  education  he 
devoted  his  life  to  engineering.  He  served  as  coalgreave  of  the  Town 
Hill  Colliery  for  seven  years.  On  leaving  he  was  given  a  public  dinner, 
and  the  silver  snuff-box  presented  him  on  that  occasion  bears  the  date 
of  1842.  He  was  then  employed  by  Mr.  A.  Allison,  of  Edinburgh, 
to  prospect  for  minerals,  with  a  view  to  erecting  large  iron  works. 
The  six  blast-furnaces  erected  by  the  Ockley  Iron  Works,  in  the  county 
Fife,  were  the  result  of  the  investigations  he  then  made.  After  the 


CKESCENT  TOWNSHIP.  399 

erection  of  the  works  lie  engaged  in  railroading,  which  was  just  then 
coming  into  importance  in  that  country,  in  Ayrshire  and  Lanark- 
shire, and  some  of  the  magnificent  works  of  railroad  engineering  and 
building  on  the  Edinburgh  &  Northern  railroad  still  attest  his  skill. 
He  served  very  efficiently  as  county  officer  in  Clackmannanshire  for 
eighteen  months.  He  then  concluded  to  come  to  America,  and  on 
August  5,  1855,  landed  in  New  York,  and  before  the  end  of  the 
month  had  located  his  land,  five  miles  southeast  of  Chebanse.  In 
1869  he  came  to  live  on  section  3  of  Iroquois  township,  where  he  still 
resides.  He  was  educated  a  Presbyterian,  and  holds  strongly  to 
that  faith.  In  1876  he  received  a  sunstroke,  from  which  he  has  not 
entirely  recovered. 

i 
CRESCENT  TOWNSHIP. 

Crescent  township  occupies  a  central  position  in  the  county,  and 
embraces  the  entire  congressional  township,  town  26,  range  13  west 
of  the  second  principal  meridian.  It  was  originally  entirely  prairie 
land,  except  something  less  than  two  acres  near  the  center  of  its 
eastern  boundary,  and  from  this  reason  had  no  early  settlers  upon  it. 
The  surface  of  the  soil  is  finely  rolling  and  has  a  gentle  declivity 
toward  the  north,  where  its  streams  find  their  way  into  Spring  creek 
and  the  river.  It  has  comparatively  few  wide  stretches  of  flat  land, 
and  all  are  capable  of  drainage.  In  the  eastern  half  of  the  town  the 
soil  is  sandy,  and  some  knolls  rise  high  enough  to  give  a  sightly 
view.  A  considerable  portion  of  the  land  was  purchased,  or  is  now 
held,  by  non-residents.  Some  2,000  acres  are  owned  by  the  brothers 
Ains worth, — Thomas  living  at  Chandlerville,  and  Richard  at  Mason 
city,  and  other  parties  hold  considerable  quantities.  The  farmers  are 
principally  engaged  in  raising  corn,  though  flax  and  other  small 
grains  are  raised  in  considerable  quantities.  Few  have  engaged  in 
cattle-raising  and  feeding  to  a  great  extent.  Indeed  such  of  the 
farms  as  are  held  by  actual  residents  on  them,  are  generally  too  small 
for  cattle-farms,  and  most  of  them,  especially  through  the  central 
portion  of  the  town,  are  yet  too  new  to  have  good  and  sufficient 
fences  or  hedges.  A  good  work  is  being  done  in  grading  and  ditch- 
ing the  roads.  For  this  purpose  a  grader  is  owned  by  the  town  and 
is  used  in  working  out  the  road  taxes.  The  town,  is  wholly*  within 
the  artesian  region,  and  flowing  wells  are  everywhere  to  be  found, 
the  depth  of  which,  though  varying  some,  is  less  than  it  is  in  the 
township  north,  and  more  than  in  those  south  of  it.  The  earliest 
settlements  were  made  near  the  northeast,  northwest  and  southeast 
25 


400  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

corners  of  the  town,  these  points  being  nearest  the  timber  of  adjoin- 
ing townships. 

EARLIEST    SETTLERS. 

So  far  as  any  records  can  be  obtained  from  the  memory  of  those 
now  here,  John  Johnson  appears  to  have  been  the  first  who  made  a 
home  here.  He  came  to  live  on  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  1, 
about  1846.  He  lived  there  until  his  death,  about  1855.  His  widow 
and  two  daughters  live  in  Watseka ;  another  daughter,  Mrs.  Lewis 
Wilson,  lives  on  section  36  of  this  township ;  another  daughter  lives 
in  this  town,  and  a  son  in  Yermilion  county.  In  1848  Joseph  Myers 
bought,  where  he  now  resides,  the  east  half  of  the  northwest  quarter 
of  section  1,  of  Thomas  A.  Norvell,  of  Gilman,  where  he  has  resided 
thirty  years.  Things  were  pretty  wild  here  at  that  day.  Deer  were 
plenty.  John  Flesher  was  returning  from  Middleport  one  day,  and 
came  across  two  bucks  who  had  got  their  horns  so  interlocked  that 
they  could  not  be  separated.  He  drove  them  home  in  that  condition, 
and  with  sundry  regrets  that  he  had  taken  such  a  cowardly  advantage 
of  the  noble  brutes,  on  account  of  their  necessities,  killed  them.  Mr. 
Sleeth  came  to  reside  on  section  2,  about  1849,  where  Mr.  Arris 
Boughton  now  lives.  Moses  Tullis  came  here  to  live  on  the  east 
part  of  section  2,  about  1850,  and  his  brother  on  section  1.  Moses 
died  here  in  1874,  and  his  widow  still  owns  her  portion  of  the  land, 
and  lives  with  a  daughter  near  Milford.  George  W.  Lovett,  now  of 
Watseka,  came  here  and  made  a  farm  on  the  northwest  corner  of 
section  11,  about  1859.  Nathan  Harrison,  Edward  Hitchcock, 
the  Hutchinson  family,  Jacob,  Isaiah,  Daniel  and  John,  were  all 
early  settlers  in  the  township.  The  first  settler  in  the  northwestern 
part  of  the  township  was  Ben.  Wright,  on  section  7,  in  1849.  He  had 
a  habit  of  stuttering,  by  which  he  is  best  remembered.  He  is  also 
remembered  by  William  Wilson  by  another  habit,  which  in  this 
particular  case  was  a  bad  one.  His  memory  was  treacherous,  and  he 
forgot  to  tell  Wilson  that  there  was  a  mortgage  on  the  farm  when  he 
sold  it.  Mortgages  were  not  as  common  then  as  a  few  years  later, 
and  the  honest  farmer  in  buying  did  not  think  it  necessary  to  demand 
an  abstract  of  title.  It  was  probably  the  first  case  on  record  of 
mortgaging  a  farm  in  Crescent  township,  for  at  that  day  insurance 
companies  were  investing  their  money  in  Missouri,  Tennessee, 
Georgia,  and  other  southern  state  bonds,  in  preference  to  taking  such 
security  as  an  Illinois  farmer  could  give.  After  selling  his  farm,  Mr. 
Wright  went  west. 

Robert  Clark  entered  the  two  western  eighties  of  section  19,  as 
early  as  1852,  and  James  Lewis,  who  lived  at  the  timber  northwest  of 


CRESCENT   TOWNSHIP.  401 

here,  entered  the  next  eighty  east  of  that  in  1854.  It  had  on  it  the 
first  house  put  up  in  this  part  of  the  township.  The  house  built  by 
James  Crow,  on  section  20,  in  1858,  was  the  next. 

The  house  on  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  8,  known  as  the 
Hunter  House,  was  built  in  1859  by  Thomas  Davie.  He  lived  there 
one  year,  and  went  to  Onarga.  Benjamin  Hunter  bought  it  in  1861, 
and  came  here  to  live  in  1866.  He  was  a  blacksmith ;  and  as  he 
lived  on  the  highway  of  travel  between  Onarga  and  Watseka,  he 
established  a  shop  there,  and  for  a  few  years  did  a  very  considerable 
business.  In  the  general  settlement  of  the  country  he  found  himself 
not  only  off  the  thoroughfare  of  travel,  but  even  cut  off  from  a  road 
entirely.  There  were  two  houses  on  section  15  built  soon  after  this 
one  was  built  by  Davie.  David  Schoolcraft  lived  in  one  of  them, 
and  the  other  is  occupied  by  Mrs.  Spring.  Hiram  Dunn  took  up  a 
part  of  section  6  in  1854.  He  erected  buildings  and  got  a  post-office 
established,  and  named  it  Crescent,  and  expected  to  secure  a  station 
there.  But  the  ways  of  railroad  officials  are  past  finding  out.  John 
F.  Wright  put  up  a  store  just  west  of  Dunn's  house,  which  was 
occupied  for  a  store  but  a  short  time. 

The  first  who  settled  in  the  southeast  corner  of  the  township  was 
Mr.  Hoover.  He  entered  the  land  where  Mr.  Hurd  now  lives,  on 
section  25,  and  built  on  it  in  the  summer  of  1853.  Henry  Cobb,  and 
Jedediah,  his  brother,  entered  section  27, — the  former  building  on  it 
in  the  spring  of  1854,  and  the  latter  in  the  fall.  William  Cunning- 
ham and  his  sons-in-law,  Harvey  Roll  and  Russell  Search,  came  in 
1855.  Mr.  Cunningham  and  Mr.  Search  entered  land  on  section  33, 
and  Mr.  Roll  on  23.  They  had  trouble  in  securing  the  entry  of  the 
land  they  had  selected.  A  portion  of  the  land  belonged  to  the  Illi- 
nois Central  railroad,  and  a  considerable  portion  was  wet,  so  that  really 
there  was  not  much  space  for  choice.  After  having  looked  up  the 
land  they  wanted  they  went  to  Danville  and  "put  in  their  numbers," 
when  they  were  informed  that  applications  were^  on  file  for  those 
very  pieces,  and  they  could  not  now  attend  to  the  matter.  The  plain 
truth  of  the  matter  was,  that  a  half-score  of  land-sharks  had  filed 
applications  for  all  the  land  in  this  vicinity,  and  the  officers  were 
aiding  them  by  permitting  the  applications  to  lie  dormant  until  some 
one  came  along  who  was  willing  to  buy  them  off.  Mr.  Search  was  a 
young  man  of  little  experience  in  such  matters,  and  still  he  had  good, 
plain  sense  enough  to  see  that  "  something  was  rotten  in  Danville," 
and  went  around  town  inquiring  of  every  body  how  he  could  secure 
the  entry  of  his  land,  but  did  not  get  any  light,  and  went  back  to 
Indiana.  Unsatisfied  with  his  former  trial  he  returned  to  Danville 


402  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

to  renew  the  attempt.  This  time  some  one  told  him  that  if  he  would 
go  up  in  a  certain  office  he  would  find  a  certain  man  there  who 
would  accommodate  him.  He  found  his  man  and  stated  his 
case,  and  was  told  that  if  he  would  give  him  $15  per  tract  he 
would  undertake  to  secure  the  land  for  him.  This  he  felt  to 
be  an  outrage ;  but  the  land  he  must  have,  and  closed  the  bar- 
gain with  the  "shark"  and  entered  the  southeast  and  northwest 
quarters  of  section  33.  Mr.  Cunningham  did  not  fare  so  well ;  he 
was  obliged  to  pay  $60  to  secure  his  entry.  There  was  a  gang  of 
men  around  Danville  who  grew  rich  on  what  they  extorted  from 
those  who  went  there  to  do  business.  This  was  called  doing  a  "land- 
office  business,"  and  became  a  by- word.  Settlers  came  in  slowly  after 
this.  The  financial  panic  of  185Y  retarded  the  development  of  the 
new  country,  and  crippled  those  recently  coming  here.  There  were 
no  roads,  and  those  living  here  were  warned  out  to  work  the  roads 
over  at  Watseka.  At  those  times  when  the  water  was  high,  it  was 
impossible  to  travel. 

About  1865  the  Germans  began  to  come  in  here,  and  they  very 
soon  made  a  change  in  the  condition  of  things.  Always  industrious, 
they  soon  changed  the  wild  lands  into  waving  fields,  and  the  wet 
lands  into  fruitful  meadows.  They  built  their  church,  store  and  shops 
at  Woodworth,  a  mile  south  of  here,  and  are  bringing  the  land, 
which  so  long  lay  idle,  into  the  high  cultivation,  for^  which  they  are 
noted  everywhere.  ,  '"" 

The  general  reader  who  has  not  lived  in  this  portion  of  the  town, 
and  has  had  no  occasion  to  cross  it  before  bridges  were  thrown 
across,  may  need  to  be  told  that  "  Shave  Tail"  is  the  wide  slough 
•extending  from  just  north  of  Woodworth,  in  a  northwesterly  direc- 
tion toward  Spring  creek,  and  becomes  Jefferson's  Branch  after  it 
becomes  a  stream  of  dignity  enough  to  be  called  by  that  name.  Its 
name,  though  partially  hidden  in  unauthenticated  rumor,  has  the 
following  history  :  The  upper  end  is  a  broad  lake  during  the  wet 
season,  and  afforded  good  trapping  grounds  for  those  in  quest  of 
musk-rats.  A  solitary  bachelor  hunter,  who  in  an  early  day  had  his 
traps  there,  whiled  away  a  part  of  his  tedious  hours  in  courting  a 
fair  damsel  who  resided  at  Jefferson's  Point.  The  boys  of  that 
neighborhood,  who  are  acknowledged  to  have  been  a  little  uncivil 
in  their  treatment  of  strangers,  seemed  to  have  entertained  the 
opinion  that  there  were  no  more  girls  at  the  point  than  would  go 
'round.  McCutcheon  had  recently  gone  off  to  Missouri  with  his 
wagon-load  of  girls,  nicely  dressed  up  in  their  store  clothes,  which  he 
'  got  in  exchange  for  his  farm,  and  there  was  fear  that  marriageable 


CRESCENT  TOWNSHIP.  403 

girls  were  about  to  become  something  of  an  object  in  that  neck  of 
the  woods.  Not  with  the  intention  of  being  cruel,  but  simply  to 
notify  the  trapper  that  his  visits  were  no  longer  considered  advis- 
able, some  of  the  boys  one  night  shaved  off  the  tail  of  his  horse, 
and  then,  when  he  started  back  to  his  traps  in  the  morning  with  a 
blanket  thrown  over  the  rear  of  his  horse,  the  boys  hooted  at  him 
derisively.  It  is  perhaps  unnecessary  to  add  that  he  did  not  come 
courting  to  Jefferson's  Point  anymore. 

During^high  water  it  was  practically  impossible  to  cross  Shave 
Tail,  and  many  a  ducking  resulted  from  attempts  to  ford  it.  In  1869 
the  terrible  rains  put  half  of  this  country  under  water  so  much  of  the 
time  that  but  very  little  was  raised.  It  was  a  discouraging  time  for 
men  who  had  payments  to  make  on  their  land,  and  had  nothing  to 
depend  on  but  their  own]  hands.  There  was.no  school,  and  so 
much  of  the  land  in  this  district  belonged  to  the  Central  railroad  that 
but  little  of  it  was  accessible,  and  taxes  were  higher  than  they  have 
ever  been  since.  The  expense  of  building  the  school-house  fell  on 
two  or  three  men. 

The  fires  were  the  greatest  danger.  All  was  open  prairie.  One 
day  when  Mr.  Deitz  was  returning  from  Crescent  the  first  year  he 
was  here,  he  saw  his  place  entirely  enveloped  in  the  smoke  of  a  great 
fire.  He  had  done  but  little  plowing  on  the  west  side  of  his  house, 
and  everything  indicated  that  the  fire  would  sweep  over  all  that  he 
had,  in  which  case  his  family  could  hardly  escape  alive.  Putting 
his  horse  to  the  very  best  speed  it  had,  he  got  home  too  late  to  be 
of  any  assistance,  but  found  that  his  wife,  by  the  timely  assistance 
of  a  lad  named  Roderick  Stocking,  had  kept  back  the  fire  from  reach- 
ing the  buildings  at  the  expense  of  badly  blistered  hands  and 
scorched  clothing.  It  was,  indeed,  a  narrow  escape,  but  such  were 
the  early  dangers  of  those  who  changed  this  prairie  into  fruitful 
farms. 

The  United  Brethren  have  a  church  organization  at  Providence 
school-house,  belonging  to  the  Ash  Grove  circuit.  A  class  was 
formed  by  Rev.  Martin  Connor  in  1874,  at  Prairie  Center  school- 
house.  Rev.  Elias  Bruner,  Rev.  Jehu  Garrison,  Rev.  Harrison 
Jones  and  Rev.  Mr.  Meredith  have  since  preached  there.  The  class 
now  numbers  about  twenty.  Frank  Mitchell,  J.  J.  Edwards,  Tim- 
othy Hoag  and  D.  Underwood  have  acted  as  class-leaders  at  different 
times  in  its  history. 

Crescent  remained  a  part  of  Belmont  township  until  April,  1869, 
when  it  was  erected  into  a  separate  one,  and  named  Grenard,  from 
Mr.  E.  Grenard,  who  was  the  first  supervisor.  Two  years  later  the 


404  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

name  was  changed  to  Crescent,  because  the  name  of  the  station  was 
Crescent  City.  At  the  first  election  E.  Grenard  was  chosen  super- 
visor; David  John,  clerk;  H.  C.  Boughton,  assessor;  E.  Hitchcock, 
collector,  and  C.  M.  Potts  and  A.  J.  Harwood,  justices  of  the  peace. 
At  that  date  the  number  of  votes  cast  was  103.  The  voting  popu- 
lation has  just  about  doubled  in  the  intervening  ten  years.  The  pres- 
ent township  officers  are  :  E.  Hitchcock,  supervisor;  J.  S.. Harwood, 
clerk ;  E.  C.  Barber,  assessor ;  O.  M.  Boughton,  collector ;  and  R. 
A.  Lower  and  M.  B.  Gifford,  justices  of  the  peace.  Previous  to  the 
separation  of  the  township  from  Belmont,  the  united  town  had  voted 
bonds  to  aid  the  construction  of  [the  Chicago,  Danville  &  Yincennes 
railroad.  After  the  separation  (July  28,  1877),  a  special  town  meet- 
ing was  held  to  vote  for  or  against  the  payment  of  such  portion  of  that 
indebtedness  as  should  be  equitably  apportioned  to  Crescent.  The 
vote  stood  for  such  payment,  none  ;  against  such  payment,  50,— 
showing  a  unanimity  of  public  sentiment  against  assuming  respon- 
sibility for  the  debt.  The  township,  which  was  then  known  as  Gre- 
nard, had,  in  1870,  522  native-born  inhabitants  and  19  foreign-born, 
making  a  total  of  541.  The  census  to  be  taken  this  year  will  show  a 
large  increase  to  near  1,000. 

CRESCENT    CITY. 

As  the  country  became  settled  up  between  Watseka  and  Gilman, 
the  authorities  of  the  railroad  saw  that  they  must  give  the  farmers 
better  facilities  for  marketing  their  grain,  and  decided  to  put  in  a 
switch  and  establish  a  station  on  the  farm  of  Mr.  Hiram  Dunn,  in 
1866,  or  about  that  time,  on  section  6.  With  this  in  prospect,  Mr. 
Dunn  got  a  post-office  established,  and  Mr.  Biggies  was  appointed 
postmaster.  To  this  Mr.  Dunn  gave  the  name  of  Crescent,  deriving 
the  idea  from  the  circular  shape  of  the  timber,  which  skirted  Spring 
creek  and  the  Iroquois  river,  in  its  curved  stretch  from  section  6  in 
this  to  section  6  in  Belmont  township.  While  Mr.  Dunn  was  await- 
ing the  slow  motions  of  the  railroad  officials,  he  learned, — what  he 
never  would  have  discovered  in  his  home  down  in  the  wild  woods  of 
Clinton  county,  New  York,  where  no  railroad  ever  penetrated, — that 
station-starting  on  these  prairies  goes  by  favor,  and  while  he  had 
not  thought  of  buying  a  station  on  his  land,  the  officers  were  await- 
ing a  proposition.  The  post-office  at  Crescent  had  been  held  by 
various  parties  there,  as  they  could  be  induced  to  take  it.  Mr. 
Harwood,  George  Close,  George  Wright,  and  P.  F.  Dunn  had  it  in 
turn  for  a  short  time  each.  In  the  fall  of  1868,  Mr.  J.  D.  Young 
opened  a  store  in  a  small  building  on  section  31,  opposite  Mr.  Dunn's 


CRESCENT   TOWNSHIP.  405 

lands,  and  the  post-office  was  shoved  on  him  as  his  first  honor 
when  coming  to  the  new  place.  During  the  year,  Samuel  Crumpton, 
of  Chatsworth,  became  interested  in  the  property  where  Crescent 
City  now  stands,  and  had  no  difficulty  in  inducing  the  railroad 
company  to  put  down  a  switch  and  establish  a  station  there.  About 
the  last  of  the  year  Mr.  Young  moved  his  store  there  into  a  building 
he  bought  of  David  Scott,  where  he  continues  to  do  business. 
When  the  post-office  was  removed  here  by  Mr.  Young,  the  name 
was  changed  to  Crescent  City.  He  continued  postmaster  until  1874, 
when  C.  E.  Barber,  the  present  postmaster,  was.  appointed.  David 
Scott  owned  all  of  section  5,  except  80  acres,  and  Mr.  Crumpton, 
his  brother,  and  Charles  E.  Allen  and  his  mother,  became  interested 
in,  or  purchasers  of,  the  entire  interest  which  Scott  had.  The  town 
was  laid  out  and  platted  in  1869.  Fred.  March  commenced  business 
here  next  after  Young,  and  J.  B.  Mires  at  the  same  time  started  the 
blacksmith  business.  A.  J.  Harwood  built  the  first  residence 
which  stands  just  south  of  Young's  store.  Mr.  Scott  had  put 
in  scales  and  commenced  to  buy  grain,  when  S.  G.  Staples  bought 
his  trade,  erected  the  elevator  and  commenced  the  lumber  business. 
Charles  E.  Allen  afterward  engaged  in  mercantile  business  in  the 
building  lately  occupied  by  Mr.  Matkin  as  a  hardware  store.  When 
Mr.  Egley  came  here,  he  bought  Mr.  Allen's  business,  and  continued 
it  a  while,  and  in  1873  built  the  store  he  now  occupies.  Charles 
Sykes,  a  carpenter,  came  here  from  Maryland  and  built  the  house 
where  Solomon  Kaylar  lives,  in  1869,  lived  there  one  year  and  sold 
it  to  Dr.  Plowman.  Mr.  Eno  lived  in  it  one  year  and  taught  the 
school.  The  next  house  was  built  by  Elisha  Ferguson  the  same 
year.  It  is  now  occupied  by  Dr.  Brelsford. 

The  school-house  was  built  in  1870.  It  is  26x36,  two  stories 
high,  and  cost  $1,250.  Harry  Fink  came  here  to  buy  corn,  and 
built  the  house  now  owned  by  Mr.  Egley.  Mr.  Fink  remained  here 
two  or  three  years.  In  1870  Mr.  Short  moved  the  hotel  building  in 
from  his  farm,  and  kept  tavern  for  a  few  years,  and  sold  it  to  J.  B. 
Mounts.  Mr.  McConan  kept  it  awhile  before  Mr.  Mounts.  J.  B. 
Grice  built  the  hotel  known  as  the  Union  House,  on  the  corner  south 
of  Egley 's  store,  and  kept  it  till  1879,  when  Mr.  Littell  bought  the 
building  and  moved  it  across  the  railroad  and  fitted  it  up  for  a  resi- 
dence. A.  Cousan  was  first  to  engage  in  the  drug  trade.  Drs. 
Mendenhall  &  Plowman  followed.  They  sold  to  Gifford  &  Critzer, 
and  went  to  Georgetown.  When  Dr.  Critzer  was  elected  coroner, 
he  sold  to  R.  E.  Fidler  and  removed  to  Papineau.  Mr.  S.  G. 
Staples  built  the  elevator  in  1869,  and  continued  to  run  it  for  some 


406  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

years.  It  is  28x42,  cost  $4,500,  and  has  a  capacity  of  7,000  bushels. 
The  grain  trade  has  been  large  here  from  the  beginning,  and  is 
constantly  increasing.  During  the  last  year  about  300,000  bushels 
were  shipped.  The  village  has  always  been  remarkably  healthy, 
owing  in  a  great  measure  to  the  excellent  water.  There  are  twenty- 
eight  artesian  wells  in  Crescent  City.  The  range  of  depth  is  from 
70  to  130  feet,  and  cost  from  $24  to  $33  each. 

CHURCHES. 

The  First  Congregational  church  was  organized  by  Rev.  Joseph 
E.  Roy,  December  4,  1869.  Rev.  M.  "W.  Pinckerton,  a  student  of 
the  theological  seminary,  came  here  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Roy, 
who  for  many  years  had  charge  of  the  church  organization  of  that 
denomination  in  this  part  of  the  state,  and  assembled  the  people  of 
Congregational  views,  meeting  at  first  in  Union  school-house,  No.  3, 
Iroquois  township.  At  the  first  meeting,  November  21,  J.  G.  Johnson 
was  elected  moderator,  and  J.  B.  Eno,  clerk.  A  committee,  con- 
sisting of  Messrs.  Johnson,  Eno  and  Robert  Carson,  was  appointed 
to  examine  candidates.  Rev.  Mr.  Roy  was  present  at  the  meeting, 
December  4,  and  preached  the  sermon,  after  which  the  following 
members  were  constituted  a  church :  Robert  Carson  and  wife,  Isa- 
bella Carson,  J.  B.  Eno  and  wife,  J.  G.  Johnson  and  wife,  Julia 
Dunn,  Sybil  Davis,  J.  W.  Williams  and  wife,  Ada  E.  Harroun,  A. 
S.  Harroun,  George  Carson  and  Josephine  Alexander.  Robert 
Carson  was  elected  deacon  ;  George  L.  Hemperly,  treasurer ;  J.  B. 
Eno,  clerk ;  and  Messrs.  Carson,  Harris  and  S.  G.  Staples,  trustees. 
A  constitution  and  rules  were  adopted.  Mr.  Pinckerton  continued 
to  serve  the  church  until  July,  1871,  when  receiving  an  appointment 
by  the  missionary  board  to  the  Zulu  mission  in  South  Africa,  he  re- 
signed his  position  here.  Services  were  regularly  held  each  alter- 
nate Sabbath  here  in  the  school-house  and  in  the  elevator,  and  in 
1870  the  present  church  edifice  was  erected.  It  is  28x38,  with 
spire  and  bell;  cost  $1,365.87,  and  is  free  of  debt.  The  house  was 
dedicated  July  28,  1871,  Revs.  Messrs.  Palmer  and  Roy  officiating. 
Rev.  James  "W.  West  was  chosen  pastor  in  1872,  and  has  filled  the 
relation  ever  since,  preaching  each  alternate  Sabbath.  He  resides 
in  Onarga  township,  and  preaches  at  the  Onarga  Second  church, 
which  is  near  where  he  resides.  He  was  educated  at  Franklin  Col- 
lege and  Lane  Seminary,  graduating  in  1852.  He  preached  ten 
years  in  Ohio  and  five  at  Tonica  before  coming  here. 

There  had  been  a  class  established  by  the  Methodists,  arid  meet- 
ings held  at  the  Washington  school-house,  of  which  Father  Riggles 


CRESCENT  TOWNSHIP.  407 

was  the  leader,  previous  to  the  present  organization,  the  data  of 
which  were  not  at  the  disposal  of  the  writer.  Rev.  Mr.  Sullivan 
preached  for  a  time.  The  organization  now  existing  dates  from  1865. 
S.  Harris  and  wife,  Tobias  Danner  and  wife,  Mrs.  James  Mitchell, 
J.  D.  George  and  wife,  J.  M.  Calkin  and  wife  and  two  daughters, 
were  the  members  of  the  class  then  formed.  Rev.  Mr.  Thorp  was 
preacher ;  he  remained  only  a  short  time.  Rev.  "W.  T.  Kerr  is  now 
serving  his  third  year.  There  are  two  other  preaching  appointments 
besides  the  Crescent  church.  A  portion  of  the  time  there  have  been 
three  or  four.  These  appointments  have  been  at  the  Pierce,  Sturte- 
vant,  Johnson  and  Hitchcock  school-houses.  With  the  liberal  Chris- 
tian spirit  which  has  ever  pervaded  the  two  denominations  here,  the 
Methodists  have  occupied  the  Congregational  church  ever  since  that 
building  was  erected  each  alternate  Sabbath,  and  the  Sabbath  school 
has  been  maintained  as  a  union  school  all  this  time.  The  first  Sab- 
bath school  was  organized  when  Mr.  Eno  came  here  to  live  in  1858. 
All  Christian  people  united  in  the  work,,  including  members  of  the 
Congregational,  Christian,  Presbyterian,  Methodist  and  United 
Brethren.  Mr.  Eno  was  elected  superintendent;  Nelson  Riggles, 
secretary  ;  Miss  Alma  French  (now  Mrs.  Harris),  treasurer.  The 
school  was  held  at  the  Washington  school-house.  Mr.  Eno  contin- 
ued to  act  as  superintendent  until  1864,  when  Father  Harris  acted 
for  one  session.  When  Mr.  George  came  here  in  1865  he  was  chosen 
superintendent,  and  has  continued  to  act,  with  very  little  intermis- 
sion, until  the  present  day.  It  has  always  been  an  interesting  school, 
and  full  of  life  and  animation. 

The  services  of  the  Roman  Catholics  began  here  in  1869,  on  the 
arrival  of  Mr.  J.  D.  Young  to  reside  here.  There  were  then  a  few  scat- 
tering families  of  that  faith  in  this  vicinity,  and  services  were  usually 
held  in  Mr.  Young's  house.  In  1870  Father  Fanning,  then  of  Gil- 
man,  now  of  Fairbury,  was  appointed  to  the  Crescent  mission,  and 
commenced  holding  regular  monthly  services  here.  The  rapid  set- 
tlement of  the  country  around  brought  in  many  more  families,  and 
since  then  the  priest-iii-charge  at  Gilman  has  also  been  in  charge  of 
this  mission.  Since  then  Fathers  Clemment,  Bloome,  Van  Schwad- 
ler  and  McGar  have  officiated  in  turn.  The  church  was  built  in 
1874;  size,  28x40,  and  cost  $800  incomplete.  About  twenty-five' 
families  worship  here.  The  cemetery  is  at  Gilman. 

The  Standard  Lodge,  No.  607, 1.O.O.F.,  was  organized  February 
9,  1876,  with  the  following  charter  members:  C.  C.  Kindt,  N.G.; 
C.  E.  Barber,  Y.G.;  L.  W.  Critzer,  secretary;  William  Crecy  and 
Fred.  Ivlinkman.  The  lodge  was  instituted  by  deputy-master  M. 


408  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

F.  Peters,  and  "W.  H.   Egley  was  elected  treasurer ;  S.  N.  Calkin, 
financial    secretary ;   James  Parker,  warden.     The   lodge   numbers 
thirty-three  members,  and  is  in  a  prosperous  condition.    Its  meetings 
are  Thursday  night.    The  present  officers  are:  James  Parker,  N.G.; 
S.  N.  Calkin,  V.G.;  T.  B.  Alberty,   secretary;  E.  E.  Fidler,  finan- 
cial secretary;  W.  H.  Egley,  treasurer;  C.  E.  Barber,  lodge  deputy. 

The  Crescent  Lodge,  No.  125,  Good  Templars,  was  organized 
December,  1876,  with  twenty-five  charter  members ;  S.  G.  Staples 
was  worthy  chief  templar.  The  present  officers  are  :  J.  J.  Osborne, 
"W.C.T.;  Allie  George,  Y.T.;  Dora  Smith,  secretary;  Charles  Pix- 
ley,  financial  secretary ;  Nettie  Cast,  treasurer ;  Charles  Calkin, 
marshal ;  Ida  Barber,  deputy  marshal ;  Gracie  Cast,  inside  guard  ; 
W.  H.  Hart,  outside  guard ;  Kev.  W.  T.  Kerr,  chaplain ;  Mrs.  A. 
Barber  and  Mrs.  T.  E.  Kerr,  right  and  left  supporters ;  C.  E.  Bar- 
ber, P.W.C.T.  and  lodge^and  county  deputy.  The  lodge  numbers 
forty-eight,  is  in  good  working  order,  and  meets  Saturday  nights. 

The  Crescent  City  Horse  Company  was  organized  November  15, 
1877,  with  James  Parker  as  president ;  G.  S.  Petero,  vice-president ; 

A.  J.  Harwood,  secretary ;  William  Flesher,  captain.     Its  organiza- 
tion is  uniform  with  other  such  companies  in  this  part  of  the  state 
and  in  other  states.     Its  objects  are,  by  concert  of  action  and  a  be- 
coming secrecy  in  operations,  to  apprehend  persons  guilty  of  stealing 
horses  and  other  stock,  by  following,  or  by  turning  out  when  called, 
and  hunting  such  criminals.     Their  signs  are  so  arranged  as  to  be 
"given  at  a  great  distance,  and  thus  they  are  efficient  in  aiding  mem- 
bers of  other  similar  organizations  whom  they  have  never  seen.    This 
company  numbers  thirty-three.     It  meets  the  first  Saturday  of  each 
alternate  month.     The  present  officers  are  :   Owen  Kern,  president ; 

G.  S.  Petero,  vice-president ;  C.  E.  Barber,  secretary  and  treasurer ; 
James  Parker,  captain  ;  R.  B.  Craig,  S.  N.  Calkin,  William  Flesher, 
W..B.  Davis  and  C.  L.  Hart,  lieutenants. 

The  Crescent  City  Cadets,  Co.  F,  9th  Bat.  111.  National  Guards, 
was  organized  September  15,  1878,  by  Capt.  M.  B.  Giiford.  It  was 
mustered  into  state  service  by  Maj.  Peters,  now  colonel  commanding 
the  battalion,  with  sixty-four  members.  M.  B.  Giiford  was  captain ; 

B.  Braderick,  first  lieutenant ;  P.  F.  Dunn,  second  lieutenant ;  R. 
A.    Lower,   orderly-sergeant;     E.   Dyer,    second   sergeant;    Henry 
Flesher,   third  sergeant;  •  Brainard,    fourth   sergeant.     Jacob 
Kaylar  is  color-guard  of  the  batallion.     The  company  is  uniformed 
with  United  States  regulation  uniform,  and  armed  with  Enfield  rifles. 
Capt.  Gifford  resigned  his  commission  when  he  removed  from  the 
state. 


CRESCENT   TOWNSHIP.  409 

BIOGRAPHICAL. 

Samuel  John,  farmer,  Woodland,  was  born  in  this  county,  in  1845, 
and  has  always  lived  here.  His  father,  Lemuel,  and  his  uncle,  "William, 
came  to  the  county  in  1830,  and  were  among  the  very  first  to  make 
their  homes  in  this  new  country.  Lemuel  died  in  1848,  in  Belmont 
township,  leaving  a  widow  and  four  children.  Mrs.  John  died  in  186T. 
Two  of  her  children,  Samuel  and  Mrs.  Wilson,  reside  in  Crescent  town- 
ship. Samuel  marrjjsd,  in  1874,  Miss  Sarah  Strain,  whose  parents  were 
among  the  first  settlers  in  the  county.  Six  years  ago  he  came  into 
this  township  to  lire,  and  has  a  fine  farm  of  200  acres,  in  section  36. 

George  W.  Wilson,  farmer,  Woodland,  was  born  on  Christmas  day, 
1837,  near  Watseka,  where  his  father,  Alexander  Wilson,  lived  at  that 
time.  Alexander  came  to  this  county  in  1833,  and  took  up  the  farm 
where  Mrs.  Aaron  Jones  lives,  which  he  sold,  and  bought  a  farm  east 
of  Sugar  creek,  near  to  where  Watseka  now  is,  known  as  the  Beckett 
Farm.  He  had  been  a  merchant  in  Ohio,  and  carried  on  a  tan-yard 
here.  He  went  to  Texas  in  1855,  but  returned  in  1860.  George  Wil- 
son has  always  lived  in  this  county,  and  has  been  engaged  in  farming. 
In  1860  he  married  Miss  Sarah  J.  John,  whose  parents  had  been  among 
the  earliest  settlers  in  this  county.  Mr.  John  left  four  children : 
Thomas,  Samuel,  Mrs.  Wilson  and  Mrs.  Clifton.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wilson 
have  seven  children  :  Alexander  T.,  Lemuel  J.,  Texyanna,  George  F., 
Survenea,  Sydney  M.  and  Flora  Agnes.  Two  have  died.  They  have 
a  fine  farm  on  section  35. 

A.  C.  Cast,  farmer  and  fruit-grower,  Crescent  City,  was  born  in 
Ohio  in  1837,  and  removed  with  his  father,  Hiram  Y.  Cast,  to  Yer- 
milion  county,  about  1840,  where  his  father  died  in  1844.  His  mother, 
Mrs.  Cast,  married  Henry  Alexander,  and  removed  to  Iroquois  county 
in  1851,  where  he  took  up  a  farm  of  300  acres,  in  section  1  of  Douglas 
township,  when  this  part  of  the  county  was  very  new.  Mrs.  Alexan- 
der had  three  children  by  her  first  marriage,  and  two  by  her  second. 
One  was  killed  by  falling  out  of  a  wagon.  Mr.  Alexander  died  from 
disease  contracted  in  the  army,  and  his  wife  died  about  the  same  time. 
Of  their  children,  Aquilla  C.  lives  at  Crescent  City,  and  John,  near  by. 
Josephine  and  George  Alexander  also  live  at  Crescent  City.  A.  C. 
Cast  married  Isabella  J.  Robinson  in  1857.  Her  father,  W.  D.  Rob- 
inson, carne  to  Del  Rey  to  live  about  1848,  where  he  had  a  considerable 
farm,  and  carried  on  an  extensive  cattle  trade.  Of  the  eight  children 
of  Mr.  Cast, five  are  living:  Nettie  Y.,  Alma  G.,  Carrie  R.,  Elmer  and 
Alta  E.  Willie,  a  bright  boy  of  ten  years,  was  instantly  killed  by  a 
fall  from  a  running  horse ;  Annie  and  Gertie  died  in  infancy.  Mr. 


410  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

Cast  is  living  in  Crescent  City,  and  is  extensively  engaged  in  raising 
fruit. 

Russell  Search,  farmer,  Woodland,  was  born  in  Ohio,  1824.  He 
was  living  in  Indiana  when  the  land  which  had  been  withdrawn  from 
market  by  the  Illinois  Central  railroad  was  opened  again,  and  con- 
cluded to  get  married  and  get  a  farm  out  on  this  prairie.  The  former 
was  managed  easy  enough,  but  it  took  considerable  work  to  get  the 
latter.  The  "speculator's  ring"  then  held  sway  at  Danville,  and  it 
was  almost  impossible  to  enter  land  there.  He  came  here  late  in  the 
year  1854,  and  went  to  work  getting  out  lumber  for  a  shanty.  In  Feb- 
ruary, 1855,  he  married  Nancy  A.  Cunningham,  whose  parents  came 
here  to  live  soon  after,  and  now  reside  in  Minnesota.  Mrs.  Search 
died  in  1866,  leaving  four  children :  Mary,  Lewis  R.,  Martha  E.  K., 
and  Abner.  In  July,  1870,  he  married  Miss  German,  and  has  two 
children  :  Emma  and  George.  He  has  a  good  farm  on  section  33, 
being  the  same  land  he  took  up  twenty-five  years  ago.  Politically, 
Mr.  Search  has  always,  since  the  growth  of  that  party,  been  a  repub- 
lican. 

Edward  Hitchcock,  farmer  and  sewing-machine  agent,  Crescent 
City,  was  born  in  1835,  in  Connecticut.  He  was  educated  in  the 
common  school  until  thirteen  years  old,  when  he  commenced  active 
life.  While  living  in  Connecticut  he  was  laboring  as  a  mechanic,  or 
in  mercantile  pursuits.  He  married  at  Davenport,  Iowa,  in  1856,  Miss 
Juline  Brooks,  to  whom  six  boys  and  three  girls  have  been  born. 
They  came  to  Crescent  township  to  reside  in  1857,  where  they  still 
reside  on  section  18.  Their  daughter,  Mrs.  Francis  Stocking,  is  in 
Kansas.  Their  other  children,  Lillian,  Leverett,  Hattie,  Edward,  Jr., 
Charles,  Lewis,  Frank  and  Gilbert,  are  at  home.  During  his  residence 
here  Mr.  Hitchcock  has  been  engaged  in  farming,  and  most  of  the 
time  has  been  selling  sewing-machines  in  this  county.  He  has  also 
been  the  agent  for  Thomas  and  Richard  Ainsworth,  in  charge  of  their 
lands  in  this  county.  He  has  been  six  times  supervisor  and  three 
times  collector  of  the  township.  During  most  of  his  life  he  has  acted 
with  the  democratic  party,  but  is  now  in  hearty  unison  with  the  inde- 
pendent party.  He  is  a  man  of  large  information  and  accurate  busi- 
ness habits. 

Elisha  Ferguson,  carpenter,  Crescent  City,  was  born  in  Ohio  in 
1840.  He  came  to  this  county  in  1858,  and  worked  at  his  trade  of 
carpenter  and  house-builder  in  the  new  settlements  then  starting.  He 
built  the  first  house  in  Gilman  that  year,  when  the  hands  and  help 
were  obliged  to  go  to  Onarga  for  their  meals  and  lodging.  He  has 
often  traveled  over  these  prairies  when  there  was  only  one  house 


CRESCENT   TOWNSHIP.  411 

between  Old  Middleport  and  Jefferson  Point.  He  lived  three  years 
at  Onarga,  three  at  Watseka,  and  removed  to  a  farm  five  miles  east 
of  Onarga,  where  he  continued,  while  farming,  to  carry  on  his  trade- 
He  built  the  third  house  in  Crescent  City,  the  one  now  occupied  by 
Dr.  Brelsford.  He  also  built  the  one  now  owned  by  Mr.  Downing, 
and  the  one  adjoining  it,  where  he  now  resides.  In  1860  he  married 
Miss  Mary  J.  Grear,  whose  parents  came  to  Jefferson  Point  in  1854. 
Mrs.  Grear  and  some  of  her  children  still  reside  near  here.  Mr.  Fer- 
guson has  five  children  :  Minnie,  William,  Lillie,  Charlie  and  Grace. 
At  present  Mr.  Ferguson  has  charge  of  the  lumber  yard  of  Mr.  Egley. 

George  N.  Downing,  farmer,  Crescent  City,  was  born  in  Sciota 
county,  Ohio,  in  1832.  His  father,  William  Downing,  moved  from 
there  in  1846,  with  their  eight  children,  and  entered  land  three  miles 
east  of  Watseka,  and  lived  there  seven  years.  He  afterward  lived  in 
Middleport  and  Myersville,  in  Vermilion  county,  and  then  went  to 
Kansas,  where  he  died.  He  was  an  earnest  and  devoted  member  of 
the  Methodist  church.  One  of  his  daughters,  Mrs.  Longnecker,  lives 
near  Woodland,  and  his  son,  Simeon,  is  in  Iowa.  George  N.  Downing 
was  married  in  1854,  to  Miss  Dulina  E.  Botsford,  of  this  county.  Her 
father  resides  at  Fairbury  now.  For  a  time  they  lived  near  Texas.  In 
1867  he  bought  in  section  12  and  removed  there,  where  he  resided 
for  twelve  years.  He  now  lives  at  Crescent  City.  He  has  served  as 
school  director  for  a  number  of  years. 

C.  C.  Deitz,  farmer,  Onarga,  was  born  at  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania, 
in  1832.  His  parents  were  German,  and  had  but  recently  migrated  to 
this  country.  He  was  early  put  to  work,  having  very  little  school 
education,  his  time  being  mostly  spent  in  the  lime  kiln.  His  father 
lived  for  thirteen  years  on  Klein's  farm,  Lebanon  county,  Pennsylvania. 
In  1856  he  came  to  Indiana  and  went  thence  to  Iowa,  but  returned  and 
married  in  1857,  and  went  to  farming  on  rented  land.  About  1865  he 
removed  to  this  state,  and  in  1868  bought  and  improved  the  farm  he 
now  lives  on  in  section  31,  enduring  the  hardships  which  are  consequent 
to  a  new  location.  Here  Mrs.  Deitz  died,  January  17,  1870,  leaving 
seven  small  children,  the  youngest  being  but  a  few  hours  old :  Melissa 
Jane,  Milton  A.,  Anna  Laura,  John  H.,  Charles  F.,  Sarah  Estella  and 
Eliza,  who  died  at  seven  months  old.  March  27,  1871,  he  married 
Mrs.  Emma  Thompson,  who  was  one  of  fourteen  children  of  Adam  G. 
Orth,  Esq.,  a  brother  of  Hon.  Godlove  S.  Orth,  of  Indiana.  She  was 
first  married  at  Mercersburg,  Pennsylvania,  and  was  living  there  at  the 
time  of  the  rebel  raid  into  Pennsylvania,  and  her  family  were  consider- 
able sufferers  by  that  incursion.  Mrs.  Deitz  had  one  daughter,  Fannie, 
when  married,  and  has  since  had  two  sons:  Godlove  Orth  and  Cyrus 


412  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

Edgar.  Mr.  Deitz  has  a  farm  of  200  acres  which  is  finely  managed 
and  neatly  farmed.  He  is  a  man  of  strong  mental  powers  and,  con- 
sidering his  early  disadvantages,  a  mind  well  stored  with  information, 

Daniel  W.  Webster,  farmer,  Crescent  City,  was  born  at  Hanover. 
New  Hampshire,  in  1822.  His  father,  Benjamin,  was  a  cousin  of  the 
great  national  statesman,  Daniel  Webster,  and  enjoyed  in  a  great  meas- 
ure the  esteem  and  confidence  of  his  relative.  Mr.  Webster,  at  the  age 
of  twenty-two,  after  completing  a  good  common-school  education,  went 
to  Massachusetts  and  followed  various  occupations,  clerking  and  teach- 
ing a  portion  of  the  time.  In  1850  he  married  Miss  Augusta  Robin- 
son at  Lowell.  He  afterward  returned  to  New  Hampshire  and  engaged 
in  farming.  He  removed  to  Kendall  county,  Illinois,  in  1865,  and 
three  years  later  came  to  his  present  place  of  residence,  where  he  has  a 
farm  of  160  acres  in  section  18.  He  has  three  children  :  Mrs.  Ella  A. 
Cook  resides  in  Kendall  county  ;  Frederick  D.  is  at  Dodge  City, 
Kansas ;  and  Miss  Lilla  M.  is  engaged  in  teaching.  Politically  Mr. 
Webster  has  long  been  a  radical  anti-slavery  man.  He  is  a  man  of 
large  experience  in  business  affairs  and  has  a  mind  well  stored  with 
information. 

J.  D.  Young,  merchant  and  general  dealer,  Crescent  City,  was  born 
in  Perry  county,  Ohio,  in  1845.  His  parents  were  from  Bavaria,  and 
immigrated  to  America  in  1828.  At  the  age  of  twenty  he  enlisted  in 
the  126th  Ohio  Yol.  Inf.,  and  marched  with  the  old  flag  through  the 
wilderness,  up  and  down  the  Shenandoah  valley,  and  "  on  to  Rich- 
mond," where  he  saw  the  surrender  of  the  Confederate  hosts.  He  was 
wounded  in  the  battle  of  the  Wilderness,  May  7,  1864,  but  served  out 
his  time,  being  transferred  first  to  the  Invalid  Corps,  then  to  the  Vet- 
eran Reserve  Corps.  After  the  close  of  the  war  he  went  to  El  Paso, 
Woodford  county,  and  engaged  with  his  brothers  in  trade.  In  1868 
he  commenced  keeping  a  store  in  a  building  which  stood  on  section  31, 
Iroquois  township,  one  mile  west  of  where  Crescent  City  now  is,  and 
was  appointed  postmaster  of  Crescent.  A  year  later  he  removed  to 
Crescent  City,  and  was  the  first  to  open  business  here,  where  he  still 
continues  to  carry  on  a  large  and  increasing  mercantile  trade,  and  deals 
in  cattle,  hogs  and  grain.  He  has  two  farms  in  section  4.  He  mar- 
ried Miss  Duquid  in  Perry  county,  Ohio,  in  1868.  The}'  have  one 
child,  Katy.  He  has,  during  the  entire  life  of  this  place,  been  one  of 
the  most  active  and  industrious  business  men,  and  was  the  prime 
mover  in  organizing  and  building  the  Roman  Catholic  church  here. 

George  Egley,  mercantile,  grain  and  lumber  dealer,  Crescent  City, 
has  been  extensively  identified  with  all  the  business  interests  of  Cres- 
cent City  since  its  first  year.  He  was  born  at  Burlington,  New  Jer- 


CRESCENT   TOWNSHIP.  413 

sey,  in  1829.  At  the  age  of  six  years  he  was  left  an  orphan,  and  very 
soon  had  to  learn  to  rely  on  his  own  resources.  Without  the  care  of 
parents,  he  came  up  with  very  few  advantages  of  education,  and  early 
learned  the  trade  of  a  wagon  and  carriage-maker,  which  he  carried  on 
for  several  years,  after  which  he  became  interested  in  cranberry  cul- 
ture, which  was,  like  all  his  undertakings,  successful.  He  came  west 
in  1869  and  had  his  attention  called  to  the  new  opening  at  Crescent 
City,  and  having  sufficient  capital  to  commence  a  general  trade,  with 
energy  and  industry  to  back  it,  he  engaged  in  the  grain  trade  and  farm- 
ing. In  1873  he  opened  the  mercantile  business,  which,  with  the  aid 
of  his  sons,  he  has  continued  to  carry  on.  He  soon  after  commenced 
the  lumber  trade,  and  later  bought  the  elevator,  repaired  and  enlarged 
it,  and  still  occupies  it.  He  has  added  farm  to  farm,  until  he  is  prob- 
ably the  largest  resident  landholder  in  the  township.  He  has  served 
as  supervisor  of  each  of  the  townships  of  Iroquois  and  Crescent.  In 
September,  1851,  he  married  Martha  R.  Kirkbride,  who,  with  her  four 
children,  are  all  living.  The  eldest  son,  John  K.,  is  living  on  a  farm 
in  Iroquois  township.  W.  H.  is  in  charge  of  the  store  at  Crescent 
City.  Mrs.  Lizzie,  wife  of  M.  B.  Gifford,  has  recently  removed  to 
Nebraska.  George  B.,  the  later  addition  to  his  family,  is  now  six 
years  old.  Politically  Mr.  Egley  has  always  called  himself  a  democrat, 
and  holds  strongly  the  ancient  dogmas  of  that  persuasion  :  "  Free  trade 
amd  sailors'  rights."  He  has  universally  been  a  successful  man  in 
business  enterprises. 

Charles  E.  Barber,  grain-dealer  and  postmaster,  Crescent  City,  was 
born  in  Oneida  county,  New  York,  in  1836.  He  received  a  good 
common-school  education  and  then  attended  the  seminary  at  Charlotte- 
ville,  and  the  Claverack  Institute,  under  the  charge  of  Rev.  Alonzo 
Flack,  after  which  he  went  west  and  engaged  in  farming  in  Wisconsin. 
He  returned  to  Oneida  county  and  taught  school  winters  and  worked 
at  farming  summers.  He  afterward  took  charge  of  a  large  lumbering 
business  at  Forest  Port  for  a  time,  and  then  came  to  Crescent  City  in 
1870,  wiere  he  took  charge  of  the  railroad  office,  after  which  he 
engaged  in  the  lumber  business  with  Mr.  Egley  two  years.  He  then 
bought  Mr.  Egley's  interest  and  continued  the  business  for  five  years. 
He  is  now  in  the  flax-seed  and  implement  trade.  He  has  held  the 
office  of  township  treasurer  for  several  years,  and  is  the  present  post- 
master, justice  of  the  peace,  and  assessor.  In  1860  he  married  Miss 
Adaline  Dickerson,  of  Rome,  New  York ;  and  they  have  three  chil- 
dren :  Ida,  Hattie  E.  and  Charles  E.  Politically,  Mr.  Barber  has 
always  been  a  republican  of  decided  views. 

Julius   C.  Gaebler,    harness-maker,   Crescent  City,   was    born    in 


414  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

Saxony  in  1843.  His  father  was  a  cabinet-maker  and  died  when 
Julius  was  three  years  old.  He  enjoyed  the  good  school  advantages 
of  that  country,  attending  school,  as  the  law  requires,  from  the  age  of 
six  till  that  of  fourteen,  after  which  he  was  bound  out  to  learn  the 
harness-making  trade,  giving  for  the  four-years  instruction  $75  and  a 
good  feather  bed.  He  did  so  well  that  they  let  him  off  after  serving 
three  years,  and  he  went  out  to  work  as  a  journeyman.  He  worked 
in  Paris  seven  years,  and  came  to  this  country  in  1868.  He  worked  in 
New  Haven,  Connecticut ;  then  in  Omaha  and  Columbus,  Nebraska, 
where  he  married,  in  1871,  Bertha  Van  Brandt,  who  died  soon  after. 
In  1873  he  married  Amalia  Merberger.  He  came  to  Crescent  City  in 
1874  and  worked  for  Harwood  &  Graham  one  year,  since  which  time 
he  has  worked  on  his  own  account.  He  has  three  children :  Bertha, 
Herman  and  Edward. 

James  A.  Hasbrouck,  farmer,  Crescent  City,  was  born  in  Ulster 
county,  New  York,  in  1843.  He  was  brought  up  on  a  farm  but  had 
good  educational  advantages.  The  Hasbroucq  (as  it  was  formerly 
spelled)  family  were  originally  from  France,  but  found  a  refuge  in 
Germany  before  the  revocation  of  the  edict  of  Nantes,  which  was  so 
oppressive  early  in  the  seventeenth  century.  Abraham  came  to  this 
country  about  1675,  and  settled  at  Esopus,  Ulster  county,  where  the 
family  has  for  two  centuries  had  its  home.  James  A.  taught  school 
for  five  years  and  then  went  through  a  course  of  study  at  Eastman's 
Commercial  College  at  Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  under  the  care  of 
the  late  Hon.  Harvey  G.  Eastman.  He  came  west  in  1865  and  com- 
menced the  business  of  house-builder  and  contractor  in  Chicago,  which 
was  fairly  successful.  He  then  resumed  school-teaching,  teaching  the 
school  at  Leyden  five  years,  and  the  graded  school  at  Des  Plaines  three 
years.  In  1871  he  married  Sarah  E.  Smith,  daughter  of  William 
Smith,  of  Watseka.  She  was  a  graduate  of  the  Cook  County  Normal 
School,  of  the  class  of  1870,  when  it  was  under  the  charge  of  Prof. 
Wentworth.  They  have  three  children  :  Mary,  Harry  and  Howard. 
In  1874  he  purchased  a  farm  of  160  acres  on  section  8,  one  mile  from 
the  station,  where  he  still  resides.  He  has  been  school  trustee,  and  is 
now  township  treasurer. 

H.  L.  Pape,  merchant,  Crescent  City,  was  born  in  Westphalia  in 
1850.  His  father  was  a  physician  and  gave  him  a  good  education. 
He  graduated  from  the  High  School  at  Lemgo,  and  in  1869  came  to 
America.  He  was  engaged  as  clerk  with  Henry  Strandes,  of  Chicago, 
and  afterward  as  a  traveling  salesman  for  F.  H.  Roebbelen.  He  then 
returned  to  Germany.  He  came  back  here  and  commenced  business 
at  Papineau.  October  18, 1877,  he  married  Mary,  daughter  of  William 


PIGEON"    GROVE   TOWNSHIP.  415 

Schwer,  of  Crescent  township,  and  in  1879  opened  a  store  at  Crescent 
City.     He  has  one  son,  Erwin. 


.    PIGEON"  GKOYE  TOWNSHIP. 

The  township  of  Pigeon  Grove,  which,  during  nearly  all  of  its 
history,  has  been  portions  of  Loda  and  Fountain  Creek,  is  legally 
described  as  town  24,  range  14  west  of  the  second  principal  meridian. 
It  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Artesia  and  Ash  Grove,  on  the  east 
by  Fountain  Creek,  on  the  south  by  Yermilion  and  Ford  counties, 
and  on  the  west  by  Loda.  The  township  was  all  prairie,  except  the 
grove  of  about  80  acres  on  section  2.  Pigeon  creek  runs  across  the 
town  from  southwest  to  northeast,  and  numerous  branches  which 
show  pebbly  bottoms  flow  across  it,  having  the  same  general  direc- 
tion. It  is  wholly  within  the  artesian  region,  water  being  reached  at 
a  depth  of  about  forty-two  feet.  In  the  northern  portion  the  wells 
flow,  but  in  the  southern  part  of  the  town  they  do  not.  The  land  is 
deep  and  fertile,  and  the  surface  beautifully  rolling. 

It  is  one  of  the  singular  things  about  the  settlement  of  this  part 
of  the  country  that,  with  all  the  wealth  of  advantages  which  rich 
soil,  plenty  of  water  and  superior  drainage  gave,  it  was  only  till  a 
late  date  that  it  became  settled  up.  For  fifty  years  it  has  been 
known  and  traveled  over  by  persons  passing  back  and  forth  from  the 
streams  flowing  into  the  Illinois  to  those  of  the  Wabash.  It  was  not 
an  unknown  country.  At  all  seasons  of  the  year  it  was  seen,  and 
its  beauties  recognized  by  hundreds  of  persons.  Herds  of  cattle 
were  kept  here  by  those  who  must  have  seen  the  peculiar  advan- 
tages of  the  country.  Twenty-five  years  ago  the  Central  railroad 
was  only  from  five  to  ten  miles  away  from  it ;  yet  it  remained  for 
many  years  a  comparative  waste,  while  people  who  ought  to  have 
seen  its  worth  were  pushing  into  Missouri,  Iowa  and  Wisconsin,  to 
live  upon  poorer  lands,  to  find  a  more  distant  and  uncertain  market 
and  a  less  healthy  home. 

Few  people  who  live  within  this  town  know  anything  of  the  dan- 
gers of  early  travel  over  this  route,  between  Spring  creek  and  the 
Middle  fork.  From  the  friendly  timber  at  Blue  Grass,  on  the  latter, 
to  that  of  the  Spring  creek  below  Buckley,  was  about  twenty-five 
miles  as  the  bird  flies. 

William  and  Stephen  Cissna  bought  the  Pigeon  Grove  Farm  in 
1855.  They  purchased  one  section  of  the  railroad  company,  and 
the  balance  of  Coleman,  Milford  &  Hanna.  They  have  1,200  acres 

26 


416  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

in  sections  1,  2  and  12.  Stephen  carne  here,  bringing  a  house  with 
him  from  Chicago  by  railroad,  and  put  it  up  here  on  the  farm. 
The  grove  had,  at  one  time,  been  the  place  for  roosting  of  innumer- 
able swarms  of  pigeons.  These  "roosts"  were  great  curiosities 
when  visited  at  night.  The  birds  would  pile  upon  the  trees  until 
they  would  break  down  by  the  weight  of  the  mass,  and  all  during 
the  night  keep  up  such  a  flutter  that  at  a  little  distance .  it  sounded 
like  thunder.  Persons  would  come  into  the  place  at  night  and  kill 
thousands  of  them  with  poles,  and  carry  them  oif  by  wagonfuls.  It 
could  hardly  be  called  sport. 

Stephen  Cissna  resided  here  for  a  number  of  years,  grazing  and  feed- 
ing cattle.  There  was  no  end  to  the  range  for  cattle,  and  he  usually 
handled  600  or  700  head.  He  now  resides  in  Watseka.  'His  son,  who 
was  engaged  at  the  stock-yards  in  the  commission  business,  died  very 
suddenly  in  Colorado,  in  October,  1879.  William  Cissna  came  here  to 
reside,  from  Indiana,  in  1868,  and  has  since  carried  on  the  large  busi- 
ness of  the  grove  farm.  In  boring  the  well,  water  was  reached  at 
the  depth  of  forty  feet,  when  the  auger  fell  three  feet  to  solid  rock, 
which  shows  that  the  cavity  which  was  reached,  and  which  is  filled 
with  water,  is  three  feet  thick.  Thomas  Willis,  Philip  Weaver  and 
Moses  Stroup  settled  on  section  19  more  than  twenty  years  ago. 
Isaac  Oathout  and  George  McMullin  settled  on  section  20  about  the 
same  time.  William  Bissell  was  an  early  settler  on  section  17. 
Joseph  Hindman,  who  lived  on  section  5,  was  killed  in  1878,  by  being 
thrown  from  his  wagon  when  coming  home  in  the  night. 

There  are  several  families  of  Germans  living  in  the.  southern  part 
of  the  township. 

A  considerable  portion  of  the  lands  of  this  township  are  held  by 
non-residents.  Corn  is  the  principal  crop,  though  flax  is  an  im- 
portant crop,  giving  an  average  product  of  from  eight  to  ten  bushels 
per  acre. 

THE    CATTLE    WAK. 

• 

The  war  which  came  near  drenching  the  fair  soil  of  Pigeon  Grove 
with  the  blood  of  many  cattle,  but  which  was  finally  arbitrated  by 
the  payment  of  pretty  heavy  awards,  occurred  in  1868.  The  close 
of  the  great  rebellion  opened  the  vast  cattle  herds  of  Texas  to  pur- 
chase, and  the  cattle  men  of  the  north  who  began  to  find  the  supply 
here  growing  short,  found  that  there  was  immense  money  in  the 
Texas  steers.  Good  three  .and  four-year-olds  could  be  bought  there 
for  about  one-quarter  what  cattle  of  a  like  age  cost  here.  This 
looked  like  a  great  speculation,  and  indeed  it  was,  until  it  was  found 
that,  owing  to  some  subtle  cause,  not  yet  thoroughly  understood  or 


PIGEON    GROVE   TOWNSHIP.  417 

explained,  the  ground  over  which  they  fed  during  the  first  year  after 
leaving  their  native  state,  was  so  poisoned,  that  the  native  cattle 
here  feeding  on  the  same  ground  would  become  affected  with  a  fatal 
disease,  known,  for  want  of  a  more  appropriate  name,  as  Spanish 
fever.  To  prevent  this  and  the  great  loss  to  farmers  in  this  state, 
the  legislature  passed  an  act  forbidding  the  importation  of  Texas 
and  Cherokee  cattle,  which  was  of  course  a  proper  measure,  but  its 
weakness  was  in  the  inability  to  enforce  it.  The  constitution  of  the 
United  States  gives  to  congress  the  power  to  regulate  commerce 
between  the  states.  Some  parties  in  Indiana  (Tower  &  Earl), 
brought  on  a  lot  of  Texas  cattle  and  unloaded  them  at  Loda,  and  fed 
them  leisurely  across  this  county  into  Indiana,  and  were  beyond  the 
reach  of  law.  Soon  after  this  Messrs.  Milk,  Burchard,  Taylor  and 
Andrews  bought  1,700  head  of  cattle  in  Louisiana,  which  they  in- 
sisted did  not  come  within  the  statute  inhibiting  importing  from 
Texas,  and  brought  to  Loda  and  took  them  to  their  herding  ground 
in  the  northern  part  of  the  town,  around  section  10.  They  had  been 
brought  a  long  distance,  and  from  lack  of  care  and  a  sudden  cold 
spell,  some  of  them  were  dead  when  they  reached  Loda,  and  more 
before  they  got  out  of  town.  This  fact  was  enough  to  cause  uneasi- 
ness, although  it  was  generally  known  that  these  cattle  were  not 
affected  with  Spanish  fever.  In  July  the  native  cattle  began  to  die 
of  the  fatal  disease,  and  the  citizens  assembled  at  Zion  school-house 
to  take  measures  for  relief.  They  demanded  that  the  Louisiana 
cattle  should  be  kept  within  a  certain  range,  which  demand  was 
cheerfully  acceded  to  by  Milk  &  Co., — in  fact  it  should  be  recorded 
to  the  credit  of  the  cattle  men,  that  every  stipulation  made  by  them 
was  scrupulously  fulfilled.  This  the  citizens  all  willingly  admit.  A 
week  later  matters  had  taken  a  very  different  shape.  Many  cattle 
had  died,  and  the  citizens  had  become  thoroughly  aroused.  Night 
and  day  nothing  was  talked  of  but  methods  to  rid  themselves  of  the 
Texans.  Indeed,  it  is  said  that  men  who  never  owned  a  hoof  were 
among  the  most  demonstrative.  The  adjourned  meeting  was  held 
under  circumstances  of  the  most  intense  excitement.  The  citizens 
invited  in  their  two  most  discreet  and  wise  friends,  Hon.  Addison 
Goodell,  of  Loda,  and  Hon.  John  A.  Koplin,  of  Buckley,  to  have 
the  benefit  of  their  wise  counsel.  Mr.  Milk  came  accompanied  by 
Hon.  T.  P.  Bonfield,  of  Kankakee,  as  his  counsel.  Mr.  Milk's 
object  plainly  was  to  allay  the  excitement.  He  claimed  that  he  was 
within  the  law ;  that  the  disease  had  spread  from  the  herd  of  Tower 
&  Earl,  and  not  from  the  herd  which  was  being  threatened  with 
annihilation  by  the  incensed  citizens.  Mr.  Bonfield,  in  his  best  efforts 


418  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

to  present  the  matter,  only  seemed  to  further  arouse  the  temper  that 
prevailed.  A  motion  was  then  made  to  ask  Milk  &  Co.  to  withdraw 
from  the  house  while  the  citizens  decided  what  they  would  do.  Mr. 
S.  B.  Warren  went  out  and  held  a  consultation  with  Mr.  Milk,  which 
resulted  in  another  address,  this  time  from  Mr.  Milk  himself,  which 
is  pronounced  "the  greatest  effort  of  his  life."  While  insisting 
that  they,  Milk  &  Co.,  were  not  responsible  for  the  losses,  still  he 
agreed  that  they  would  pay  for  all  that  had  died,  and  buy  all  that 
were  sick,  and  satisfy  the  people  that  they  did  not  come  there  to 
injure  them ;  that  if  the  people  stampeded  their  herd,  he  could 
promise  them  they  should  never  receive  one  cent,  as  the  loss  of  the 
herd  would  put  it  out  of  the  power  of  the  owners  to  pay.  This  pro- 
position was  agreed  to,  and  losses  were  appraised  by  a  committee 
and  paid.  Mr.  Milk  says  it  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  nearly  every 
heifer  or  calf  which  they  were  called  on  to  pay  for  was  of  most  ex- 
cellent blood,  with  pedigrees  running  back  to  the  finest  milkers  and 
best  stock  of  the  continent ;  that  there  was  not  one  which  was 
admitted  to  be  a  cull  or  a  scrub ;  every  cow  was  the  best,  and  every 
calf  hand-fed  with  such  care  as  to  make  it  of  great  value  to  the 
owner ;  while  the  number  which  had  been  the  gifts  of  deceased  or 
absent  relations  was  very  large.  This  ended  the  war  in  Pigeon 
Grove,  but  it  only  commenced  the  fight  with  Milk  &  Co.  Suits  were 
at  once  commenced  against  them  by  persons  who  were  not  embraced 
in  the  stipulation  at  Pigeon  Grove.  Some  parties  in  other  counties 
who  had  sent  cattle  to  this  region  in  herds,  undertook  to  collect 
their  losses  by  law.  These  suits  were  numerous  and  very  annoying, 
and  were  kept  in  the  court  for  years.  In  the  meantime  Mr.  Andrews 
had  died,  and  his  estate  was  suffering  by  the  inability  to  settle  it, 
which  with  other  complications  that  arose,  rendered  it  necessary  for 
the  defendants  to  settle  in  some  way.  After  nearly  ten  years  of 
litigation,  they  were  all  disposed  of  by  compromise.  The  popular 
feeling  was  very  strong  against  the  men  who  were  engaged  in  hand- 
ling these  Texas  cattle.  A  lot  which  were  brought  on  after  this  war, 
were  refused  removal  from  the  cars  at  every  station  from  Tolona  to 
state  line,  and  were  finally  jumped  from  the  cars  between  stations 
over  in  Indiana.  Taken  all  in  all,  this  Texas  cattle  war  was  one  of 
the  most  exciting  episodes.  It  has  been  the  object  of  the  writer  to 
present  it  correctly,  and  it  is  due  to  Messrs.  Milk  &  Co.  to  say  that 
they  believed  then  and  still  believe  that  their  herd  was  not  respon- 
sible for  the  infection,  that  the  law  did  not  forbid  importation  of 
cattle  from  Louisiana,  and  that  they  did  not  make  a  very  big  specu- 
lation out  of  it  anyway. 


PIGEON    GKOVE   TOWNSHIP.  419 

An  unsuccessful  attempt  was  made  in  February,  1875,  at  the  special 
meeting  of  the  board  of  supervisors,  to  secure  the  organization  of  the 
township  from  portions  of  Loda  and  Fountain  Creek.  Supervisor 
Robert  Carey  presented  the  petition  of  some  one  hundred  citizens  of 
the  territory  thus  proposed  to  be  organized,  and  asked  that  it  be  re- 
ferred to  the  "  committee  on  erroneous  assessments."  The  committee 
was  a  favorable  one,  but  as  the  duties  of  that  committee  were  hardly 
that  of  carving  out  new  townships,  his  request  was  not  granted.  The 
petition  was  referred  to  a  special  committee,  consisting  of  K.  Shank- 
land,  Robert  Carey  and  F.  Babcock.  It  was  proposed  at  that  time  to 
name  their  town  in  honor  of  the  popular  and  patriotic  order  which 
had  so  strong  a  hold  on  its  citizens,  "  Grange."  Messrs.  Shankland 
and  Babcock,  a  majority  of  said  committee,  reported  that  it  was  inex- 
pedient to  grant  the  prayer  of  the  petitioners,  while  Mr.  Carey  entered 
a  decided  protest  against  the  report.  The  report  was  argued  by  Mr. 
Babcock  and  by  Mr.  Copp,  of  Loda,  in  the  affirmative,  while  Messrs. 
E.  S.  Ricker,  William  Flemming  and  Moses  Stroup  presented  very  ear- 
nestly the  views  of  the  petitioners.  The  report  was,  however,  adopted. 
Messrs.  Hamilton,  Carey  and  Sprague,  of  the  board,  were  active  friends 
of  the  organization,  and  they,  together  with  Mr.  Davis,  of  Ash  Grove, 
and  Hitchcock,  of  Crescent,  voted  against  the  report.  At  the  Septem- 
ber meeting  of  the  board,  the  same  year,  a  new  petition  was  presented, 
signed  by  one  hundred  and  thirty-one  legal  voters  of  the  proposed  new 
town,  and  one  signed  by  sixty-two  voters  of  Fountain  Creek,  asking  for 
the  erection  of  the  township,  to  be  named  Pigeon  Grove.  Mr.  William 
Flernming  attended  the  meeting  to  look  after  the  interests  of  his  pro- 
spective constituents.  After  a  lengthy  discussion  the  petition  was 
granted,  receiving  in  addition  to  the  votes  above  mentioned  those  of 
Messrs.  Calkin,  Duckworth,  Koplin,  Maggee,  Masters,  Palmer,  Parker, 
Jones,  Shankland  and  Switzer.  The  election  of  officers  was  ordered  to 
be  held  at  Zion  school-house.  The  township  was  finally  divided  in 
1876.  William  Flemming  has  been  supervisor;  Clark  Martin,  clerk  ; 
and  J.  W.  Gosslee,  assessor,  ever  since  the  organization  of  the  town. 
Myron  Cunningham  was  collector  the  first  year,  and  James  Hill  since. 
J.  W.  Gosslee  and  Moses  Stroup  have  been  the  justices  of  the  peace. 

BIOGRAPHICAL. 

"William  Cissna,  Ash  Grove,  was  born  in  Chillicothe,  Ohio,  June 
17,  1816.  His  parents  were  Stephen  and  Sarah  (King)  Cissna.  His 
youth  up  to  the  age  of  sixteen  was  spent  in  a  little  village,  north  of 
Chillicothe,  and  from  sixteen  to  twenty  he  lived  in  Columbus,  Ohio, 
learning  the  trade  of  tanner  and  currier,  which  he  followed  in  La 


420  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

Fayette,  Indiana,  the  year  after  he  left  Columbus.  In  the  winter  of 
1837—8  he  went  to  Warren  county,  near  Williamsport,  where  he 
subsequently  followed  farming  a  short  time,  and  then  engaged  in 
buying  and  selling  stock  for  his  uncle,  George  E.  King.  After  working 
two  years  for  his  uncle  he  started  on  his  own  account,  buying  cattle, 
the  most  of  which  he  drove  to  Detroit.  In  the  year  1844  he  opened 
out  a  stock  of  general  merchandise  in  Williamsport,  in  which  business 
he  continued  for  about  ten  years  with  marked  success.  All  this  time 
he  was  still  in  the  cattle  trade  ;  he  also  bought  grain  and  packed  pork. 
He  continued  in  the  stock  trade  and  farmed  on  one  of  his  farms  near 
Red  Wood  Point,  in  Warren  county,  after  he  quit  Williamsport,  until 
1864,  when  he  bought  a  farm  east  of  Watseka,  in  Iroquois  county. 
After  staying  here  two  years  he  came  to  his  present  farm  in  Pigeon 
Grove  where  he  has  since  remained.  He  owns  all  of  two  sections  here 
in  one  body,  and  devotes  his  entire  attention  to  raising  and  feeding 
stock ;  putting  on  the  market  annually  about  300  head  of  cattle  and 
500  head  of  hogs.  Pigeon  Grove  is  all  included  within  Mr.  Cissna's 
farm.  The  protection  from  winter  storms  afforded  by  the  Grove,  com- 
bined with  an  abundance  of  flowing  water,  renders  this  one  of  the  most 
desirable  stock  farms  in,  the  county.  Mr.  Cissna  was  very  active  in 
bringing  about  the  organization  of  the  township,  but  has  preferred  to 
attend  to  his  own  business  and  keep  out  of  township  offices.  In 
politics  he  is  a  republican.  He  is  a  genial  old  bachelor. 

William  H.  Berry,  farmer,  Buckley,  was  born  at  Trenton  Point, 
Maine,  August  17,  1858.  He  came  with  his  parents  to  La  Salle 
county,  Illinois,  and  from  there  went  to  Tipton  county,  Iowa,  and  then 
back  to  La  Salle  county,  from  whence  he  came  to  Pigeon  Grove  town- 
ship. He  now  lives  with  his  parents  on  section  2,  where  his  father 
owns  160  acres.  His  father,  Sabin  J.  Berry,  was  born  in  Maine  in 
1829,  and  his  mother,  whose  maiden  name  was  Isabel  W.  King,  was  also 
a  native  of  Maine,  born  in  1830.  They  were  married  in  1853,  and  have 
three  children  besides  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  whose  names  follow : 
Mark  K.,  George  H.  and  Alice  E.  William  H.  received  a  common- 
school  education.  He  is  a  single  man  in  good  circumstances.  He  is  a 
republican. 

John  A.  Bush,  farmer,  Buckley,  was  born  January  4, 1833,  in  Arm- 
strong county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  grew  up  to  manhood.  He 
received  only  a  common-school  education.  His  parents'  names  were 
Andrew  and  Martha  Bush.  In  1857  he  came  to  Knox  county,  Illi- 
nois, and  shortly  after  went  to  Warren  county,  where  he  followed  the 
carpenter's  trade  for  three  years.  In  the  spring  of  1860  he  went  to 
La  Salle  county  and  worked  with  a  mole  ditching  machine  for  three 


LOVEJOY   TOWNSHIP.  421 

years.  He  was  married,  January  19, 1863,  to  Isabella  L.,  daughter  of 
Matthew  and  Catherine  Brown,  and  remained  in  La  Salle  county  until 
1868.  He  then  removed  to  this  township,  where  he  has  made  a  home 
and  a  finely  improved  farm  of  160  acres  from  the  raw  prairie  sod.  He 
has  a  fine  orchard  just  beginning  to  bear.  Mr.  Bush  is  the  father  of 
seven  children,  one  of  whom  died  in  infancy.  Their  names  and  dates 
of  birth  follow:  Minnie  B.,  born  March  29,  1864;  George  F.,  born 
September  30,  1865  ;  Cora  C.,  born  October  24,  1868 ;  David  L.,  born 
March  9,  1871;  James  L.,  born  November  16,  1873;  Mary  E.,  born 
June  14,  1876,  and  John  M.,  born  September  22,  1878.  Mr.  Bush's 
wife  is  a  Presbyterian. 

Augustus  M.  Crane,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Oakalla,  was  born  in 
New  Jersey,  July  30,  1820.  He  learned  a  trade  at  the  age  of  fourteen 
and  this  he  followed  for  several  years,  after  which  time  he  returned  to 
farming.  He  then  moved  from  New  Jersey  to  Missouri,  where  he 
staid  eight  years.  In  1865  he  came  to  this  state  and  settled  in  Ford 
county.  After  three-years  residence  there  he  came  to  this  county, 
where  he  has  since  resided.  He  was  married  in  New  Jersey,  in  1844, 
to  Anna  E.  Miller,  who  was  born  in  New  Jersey  in  1825.  She  died 
April  19, 1879.  They  were  the  parents  of  four  children,  two  living, 
Anna  H.  and  William  J.  The  deceased  were  Edward  B.  and  an 
infant.  Mr.  Crane  has  held  the  office  of  school  trustee,  and  is  a  repub- 
lican. 


LOYEJOY  TOWNSHIP. 

This  township  lies  west  of  Prairie  Green  and  south  of  Milford,  and 
contains  all  of  the  congressional  town  24,  range  12  west.  This  terri- 
tory was  formerly  a  part  of  Milford  township,  and  was  established  as 
an  independent  township  by  vote  of  its  people  at  the  first  election, 
held  in  April,  1868,  at  the  house  of  John  Adsit.  The  petition  for  sep- 
aration was  signed  by  thirty  voters,  and  was  granted  at  the  February 
(1868)  term  of  the  board  of  supervisors. 

One  of  the  first  actions  of  the  people  at  the  town  meeting  was  the 
passage  of  a  resolution  restraining  stock  from  running  at  large ;  also  a 
resolution  providing  for  a  survey  of  all  the  lands  in  the  township,  the 
expenses  of  such  survey  to  be  defrayed  by  a  tax  of  so  much  per  acre  on 
all  of  the  lands  in  the  township.  July  3,  1868,  at  an  election  called  to 
vote  for  or  against  giving  aid  to  the  Chicago,  Danville  &  Vincennes 
railroad  to  the  amount  of  $3,000,  the  vote  was  twenty-three  for,  and 
three  against.  Lovejoy  had,  in  addition  to.  this,  assumed  $60,007.12  of 
the  railroad  indebtedness  of  Milford  township,  which  had  been  voted 


422  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

before  the  division  of  the  township.  The  people  at  first  were  nearly 
unanimous  on  the  question  of  giving  aid  to  this  road,  but  in  later  years 
a  party  has  arisen  that  is  endeavoring  to  avoid  the  payment  of  the 
bonds  which  were  issued  under  the  acts  of  the  people.  The  payment 
of  the  bonds,  both  as  to  principal  and  interest,  has  been  enjoined. 

The  surface  of  Lovejoy  is  rather  level,  yet  it  has  good  natural  drain- 
age, and  all  of  the  soil  can  be  cultivated.  Like  its  sister,  Prairie 
Green,  it  was  treeless  in  its  wild  state,  save,  perhaps,  the  "  Lone  Tree," 
which  is  still  standing  near  the  big  spring  on  the  farm  of  M.  C.  Daw- 
son.  Gay  creek  runs  north  through  the  township,  nearly  in  the  center, 
while  on  the  west  is  Little  Fountain  creek,  or  Little  Burson,  as  it  was 
formerly  called,  also  flowing  north.  Artesian  water  is  found  almost 
anywhere  within  the  boundaries  of  Lovejoy  by  boring  a  short  distance, 
but  flowing  wells  are  found  only  in  the  northwest  part  of  the  township. 

Lovejoy  was  first  settled  in  the  north.  The  "  Red  Pump  "  was  the 
first  building  erected  in  the  township.  This  was  on  the  line  of  Hub- 
bard's  trace  or  the  old  Chicago  road,  and  not  far  from  the  north  line  of 
the  township.  It  was  erected  by  Strickler,  of  Milford,  as  early  per- 
haps as  1845.  Before  the  building  was  begun  there  had  been  some 
breaking  done,  and  a  shanty  put  up.  A  well  was  dug,  and  into  it  was 
inserted  a  log  pump, —  one  of  the  old-fashioned  kind, —  which  was 
painted  red,  and  hence  the  name  of  the  farm  and  of  the  tavern  that 
was  kept  here  in  the  early  days,  when  the  first  house  to  the  south  was 
Bicknell's,  away  over  in  Vermilion  county. 

The  "  red  pump "  was  a  great  institution  in  its  day,  and  its  day 
compasses  several  years.  Long  processions  of  teams  and  herds  of 
cattle  were  daily  watered  here  when  the  ponds  and  sloughs  were  dry, 
as  they  nearly  always  were  at  the  season  of  the  year  when  it  was  prac- 
ticable to  go  to  Chicago  with  teams.  The  well  never  failed,  and  the 
old  pump  faltered  not  for  many  years.  Joseph  Heifner  bought  the 
"  Red  Pump  Farm  "  from  Strickler,  and  sold  it  to  Endsley  and  Scott, 
who  lived  here  in  1853,  and  Scott,  who  bought  out  Endsley's  interest 
in  the  farm,  now  occupies  the  old  tavern.  A.  P.  Hurd,  Potter  Austin 
and  the  Adsits,  settled  east  of  the  "red  pump"  in  1852  or  1853, 
while  to  the  south  was  John  Crawford. 

When  J.  B.  Wilson  came  to  settle  in  Lovejoy,  in  March,  1855,  he 
chose  a  location  on  Little  Burson  creek,  as  it  was  then  called.  This 
was  near  the  line  of  Fountain  Creek  township,  in  section  7.  There 
were  then  living  near,  John  Robinson,  in  section  7,  and  Charles  Hil- 
dreth,  in  section  8.  John  Finney  then  owned  the  Hamilton  place,  and 
lived  in  section  11,  near  where  Mr.  Hamilton's  house  now  stands. 

The  only  early  settlement  of  note  in  the  south  part  of  the  township 


LOVEJOY   TOWNSHIP.  423 

was  made  by  John  Leemon,  now  living  in  Fountain  Creek  township. 
He  moved  on  his  farm  here  in  1857. 

There  are  several  large  stock  farms  in  Lovejoy.  Among  those  who 
have  made  the  business  of  stock-raising  or  of  buying  and  selling  a  suc- 
cess, we  may  mention  Charles  Dawson,  J.  L.  Hamilton  (at  present 
county  treasurer),  J.  B.  Wilson,  A.  J.  Hall,  Jo  Williams,  J.  W. 
Clements  and  Richard  Miskimmen. 

Wellington,  the  only  town  in  Lovejoy,  was  laid  out  in  1872,  near 
the  center  of  section  14.  It  consists  of  about  thirty  blocks  lying  on 
each  side  of  the  Chicago  &  Eastern  Illinois  railroad.  Main  street 
extends  east  and  west  on  the  half  section-line.  The  first  street  east  of 
the  railroad,  and  running  nearly  parallel  with  it,  is  named  Hamilton 
avenue,  and  east  of  that  is  Donovan  street.  To  secure  the  location  of 
the  switches  and  depot  here,  J.  L.  Hamilton  and  R.  T.  Race  each  do- 
nated 40  acres  of  land  to  the  railroad  company  where  the  town  now 
stands. 

Wellington  has  had  its  share  of  fire.  The  first  depot  was  burned 
with  Stone's  elevator  soon  after  the  town  was  begun ;  another  fire 
burned  out  Daniel  Weston,  and  others  in  November,  1875.  The  town, 
however,  has  steadily  grown  and  now  contains  several  fine  residences 
and  business  houses.  Coney  &  Pate  and  Rothgeb  &  Austin  deal  in 
general  merchandise  ;  Daniel  Weston  has  a  good  stock  of  drugs  ;  Malo 
and  son  have  each  a  blacksmith-shop ;  A.  C.  Bowlby  attends  to  making 
and  mending  boots  and  shoes  for  the  people ;  and  J.  Jones  keeps  a 
boarding-house,  where  the  wants  of  the  inner  man  are  well  supplied. 

The  principal  business  of  Wellington  is  that  of  buying  and  shipping 
grain.  Wilson  &  Pate  are  the  leading  firm  in  this  line.  In  the  winter 
of  1878-9,  this  firm  shipped  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  million 
bushels  of  corn  alone,  and  in  1879  handled  21,000  bushels  of  flax-seed. 
The  shipments  of  the  crop  of  1879  from  this  place  would  perhaps  ex- 
ceed 400,000  bushels.  There  is  also  considerable  live-stock  and  }iay 
shipped  from  this  point. 

The  only  church  building  in  Wellington  is  that  of  the  Methodists, 
which  was  constructed  in  1878,  but  is  not  yet  quite  completed  and  has 
not  been  dedicated.  It  stands  in  the  southeast  part  of  the  town,  its 
size  is  30x45  feet,  and  will  cost  when  completed  about  $1,500.  Ser- 
vices have  been  held  in  the  church  since  Christmas,  1878.  The 
trustees  were  William  Brown,  R.  M.  Hamilton,  Alex.  Pate,  John 
Bradford,  Robert  Keely  and  E.  Butler.  In  the  summer  of  1873  a 
Methodist  class  of  six  members,  was  formed  in  Wellington ;  the  mem- 
bers were  William  Brown  and  wife,  R.  M.  Hamilton,  John  Haskins, 
Nicholas  Holmes  and  his  daughter  Katy.  This  society  was  then  in 


424  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

Milford  circuit.  Rev.  A.  Beeler  was  pastor  until  1875.  Since  1877 
the  present  minister,  Rev.  J.  D.  Calhoun,  has  had  charge  of  the  church 
here  and  three  other  nourishing  societies,  one  at  "  Round  Top,"  in 
Prairie  Green  ;  at  Amity  church,  near  J.  B.  "Wilson's ;  and  at  Bethel,  in 
Fountain  Creek  township.  There  is  a  parsonage  in  Wellington  that 
was  built  in  1878,  which  cost  about  $800,  where  Rev.  J.  D.  Calhoun 
now  resides. 

During  a  Methodist  revival  at  Amity  school-house  in  1868  the 
directors  of  the  school,  with  J.  B.  Wilson  at  the  head,  refused  the 
use  of  the  school-house,  except  from  Friday  night  to  Sunday  inclusive. 
The  directors  took  this  action,  as  they  believed,  for  the  good  of  the 
school  then  in  session.  This  led  to  a  movement  to  build  a  church. 
The  United  Brethren  of  Fountain  Creek  proposed  to  help  the  Meth- 
odists and  build  a  Union  church,  but  as  they  could  not  agree  on  a  site 
the  United  Brethren  drew  off  and  built  a  church  of  their  own  in 
Fountain  Creek  and  the  Methodists  did  likewise. 

J.  B.  Wilson,  L.  B.  Russell  and  their  father-in-law,  P.  J.  Hickman, 
of  Indiana,  gave,  in  cash,  $200  each  to  build  a  church  at  the  Amity 
graveyard,  on  the  southwest  corner  of  section  6.  With  these  liberal 
subscriptions  it  was  not  difficult  to  obtain  enough  more  to  carry  the 
work  on  to  completion.  The  building  is  30x40  feet,  plainly  yet  sub- 
stantially built  and  finished,  and  cost  about  $1,700.  There  is  an  inter- 
esting Sunday  school  connected  with  the  church. 

Amity  graveyard,  where  the  church  is  located,  was  set  apart  as  a 
resting-place  for  the  dead  early  in  1859.  In  January  of  that  year  J. 
B.  Wilson  and  Richard  Hickman  each  had  a  death  in  his  home,  and 
there  being  no  burying-place  nearer  than  eight  miles,  Mr.  Wilson 
proposed  to  Mr.  Hickman  that  they  select  a  site  for  a  graveyard  in 
their  own  neighborhood.  The  site  was  chosen  and  $12  paid  by  J.  B. 
Wilson  and  Richard  Hickman  to  Levi  Hickman,  the  owner  of  the  land, 
which  secured  two  acres  in  the  corner  of  section  6,  which  was  deeded 
to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  for  graveyard  and  burying- 
ground,  free  to  all.  The  two  children,  whose  death  led  to  the  selec- 
tion of  the  site,  were  buried  January  16,  1859.  There  are  now  about 
200  graves  here,  many  of  them  marked  with  costly  monuments. 

Section  16,  in  Lovejoy  township,  or  more  properly  in  town  24, 
range  12,  its  legal  school  title  was  sold  at  public  sale  February  2, 1862, 
for  the  sum  of  $15,401.20.  This  large  sum  is  a  perpetual'  fund  for  the 
maintenance  of  schools  in  the  township.  The  interest  arising  from 
this  fund  is  nearly  sufficient  to  defray  all  the]ordinary ^expenses  of  the 
schools.  School  taxes,  therefore,  are  light,  unless  for  building  pur- 
poses, or  for  paying  interest  on  building  bonds.  There  are  five  school- 


LOVEJOY   TOWNSHIP.  425 

houses  in  Lovejoy.  Each  district  supports  a  school  about  nine  months 
in  the  year.  The  best  teachers  are  generally  secured,  and  the  schools 
of  Lovejoy  are  the  pride  of  her  people. 


BIOGRAPHICAL. 


J.  B.  Wilson,  farmer  and  grain  merchant,  Wellington,  was  born  in 
Warren  count}7,  Indiana,  April  7,  1836.  When  he  was  very  young 
his  parents  moved  from  Indiana  to  the  lead  mines  of  Wisconsin,  and 
from  there  to  Lee  county,  in  Iowa  territory.  Mr.  Wilson's  first  recol- 
lections are  of  living  in  this  county,  where  his  father  died,  in  1844. 
His  mother  moved  to  Mahaska  county  and  built  one  of  the  first  houses 
in  Oskaloosa,  Iowa ;  this  was  in  the  winter  of  1844-5.  He  remembers 
that  the  Indians  were  very  numerous  there  then.  In  the  fall  of  1845 
he  removed  with  his  mother  to  Benton  county,  Indiana,  and  in  1848  to 
Warren  county,  in  that  state.  His  mother  married  again.  He  staid  in 
the  home  of  his  stepfather  until  September  24, 1852,  and  then  struck  out 
for  himself,  working  for  the  farmers  in  Warren  county  up  to  February, 
1854,  when  we  find  him  sailing  out  from  New  York  on  the  old  Northern 
Light,  bound  for  the  newly  discovered  land  of  gold.  He  arrived  in 
California  in  April,  and  at  once  repaired  to  Sutter's  old  mill,  where 
for  one  year  he  engaged  with  boyish  eagerness  in  gathering  up  the 
golden  sands  that  formed  the  nucleus  of  his  present  comfortable  for- 
tune. His  trip  to  California  had  been  made  by  way  of  Lake  Nica- 
ragua, but  on'  his  return  he  crossed  the  isthmus  on  the  first  through 
train  from  Panama  to  Aspinwall.  He  came  directly  to  this  town- 
ship, and  soon  invested  $1,000  of  his  California  gold  in  the  north  half 
of  section  7,  and  a  small  tract  (of  timber  land,  all  of  which  he  bought 
of  Ambrose  Wood,  of  Fountain  Creek  township.  This  was  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1855.  He  at  once  began  to  improve  his  land,  and  now  has  one 
of  the  finest  farms  in  the  county.  He  was  married,  February  28,  1856, 
to  Eliza  J.  Hickman,  daughter  of  Peter  Hickman,  of  Warren  county, 
Indiana.  She  died  September  12,  1874.  By  this  union  they  had 
seven  children :  Mary  E.,  wife  of  Alex.  Pate,  of  Wellington ;  Sarah 
A.,  wife  of  Alonzo  Hall ;  Thomas  N.,  Martha  F.,  Eliza  J.,  Lewis  B., 
living;  and  William  C.,  deceased.  On  June  1, 1876,  he  was  married  to 
Rachel  A.  Mills,  of  Warren  county,  Indiana.  There  is  one  child  by 
this  last  marriage,  named  Hattie.  Mr.  Wilson  early  began  to  buy 
stock  and  ship  to  Chicago.  In  1873  he  commenced  buying  grain  and 
hay  and  shipped  from  Wellington.  The  next  year  he  associated  him- 
self with  Alex.  Pate,  and  together  they  began  and  still  carry  on  the 
largest  grain  business  in  Wellington,  and  perhaps  the  largest  on  the 
road,  between  Danville  and  Chicago.  They  also  do  a  large  business  in 


426  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

flax-seed.  Mr.  Wilson  has  been  a  republican  from  the  time  the  first 
shot  was  fired  on  Fort  Sumter,  in  1861.  He  has  served  the  people  of 
his  township  as  supervisor,  and  has  held  the  office  of  school  director 
for  twenty  out  of  twenty-one  years,  since  the  organization  of  the  dis- 
trict. Mr.  Wilson  has  also  been  justice  of  the  peace. 

John  Greer,  farmer,  Hoopeston,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  in  1812, 
and  is  of  German  descent.  His  early  life  was  spent  in  Pennsylvania. 
In  1833  he  began  flat-boating  on  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi,  which  he 
followed  until  1839,  when  he  located  on  a  farm  of  320  acres  near  Napo- 
leon, at  the  mouth  of  the  Arkansas  river.  He  remained  here  farming 
until  1846,  when  he  went  to  Madison  parish,  Louisiana,  and  engaged 
in  furnishing  cordwood  for  steamboats.  In  1850  he  was  employed  in 
the  construction  of  the  New  Orleans  and  Ohio  telegraph  line.  About 
1852  he  began  farming  in  Madison  parish,  Louisiana,  opposite  Vicks- 
burg,  where  he  owned  520  acres.  He  sold  this  farm  in  1859.  During 
the  time  that  he  owned  it  he  was  engaged  during  the  winter  in  building 
levees  on  the  banks  of  the  river.  February  26,  1841,  he  was  married, 
at  Napoleon,  Arkansas,  to  Miss  Eliza  Adams,  of  Danville,  Illinois,  who 
was  at  that  time  visiting  friends  and  relatives  at  that  place.  Mr. 
Greer  has  been  very  unfortunate  with  his  children,  all  of  whom  died  in 
infancy  or  when  quite  young,  except  Nelson  B.,  who  was  born  March 
31,  1844.  Two  of  his  children,  John  and  Eleanor,  lie  buried  in  the 
cemetery  at  Vicksburg,  Mississippi.  In  November,  1853,  Mrs.  Greer 
went  from  her  home  in  Vicksburg,  with  her  son,  to  Danville,  Illinois, 
partly  on  account  of  her  health,  but  mainly  to  educate  her  son  Nelson, 
then  a  promising  boy  of  ten  years.  Mr.  Greer  remained  in  the  south 
and  had  a  large  contract  for  building  levees,  when  he  received  news  of 
his  wife's  death,  which  happened  February  26,  1854.  He  arranged  his 
business  as  speedily  as  possible  and  came  to  Danville,  which  from  that 
time  on  until  1861  he  made  his  home.  He  owned  considerable  town 
property  in  Danville,  and  began  buying  land  in  Prairie  Green  and 
Lovejoy  townships  in  1857,  where  he  now  has  a  farm  of  about  1,000 
acres,  with  several  tenement  houses  on  different  parts  of  it.  August 
]  9,  1867,  his  son  Nelson  was  killed  by  descending  into  a  well  on  the 
farm  in  Prairie  Green  township,  in  which  a  tenant  of  Mr.  Greer's  had 
just  expired  from  the  effects  of  carbonic  acid  gas.  This  was  a  sad 
stroke  to  Mr.  Greer.  He  had  intended  to  make  a  stock-farm  of  his 
lands  here,  but  the  death  of  his  son  changed  his  plans,  and  now  he  has 
many  tenants  on  his  farm.  Mr.  Greer  has  passed  through  a  long,  busy 
and  eventful  life,  has  seen  his  wife  and  children  go  down  into  the  grave 
before  him  ;  yet  he  possesses  a  cheerful  mind,  an  active  body,  and  per- 
haps has  many  years  yet  to  travel  in  the  journey  of  life.  His  residence 


LOVEJOY   TOWNSHIP.  427 

is  in  Lovejoy  township,  but  the  most  of  his  farm  lies  in  Prairie  Green. 
He  has  always  taken  a  great  interest  in  tree-planting,  and  exhibits  a 
commendable  pride  as  he  shows  to  his  friends  the  groves  and  orchards 
which  were  planted  by  himself  and  his  son  when  they  first  began  to 
improve  their  prairie  farm. 

Charles  Dawson,  farmer  and  stock-dealer,  Wellington,  was  born 
December  14, 1839,  and  is  the  son  of  Charles  W.  and  Mary  J.  (Hooker) 
Dawson,  who  were  the  first  settlers  of  Warren  county,  Indiana,  near 
Pine  Village,  and  who  are  now  living  in  Iroquois  county,  near  Milford. 
When  about  fifteen  years  of  age  he  came  with  his  parents  to  this 
county,  and  at  about  the  age  of  twenty  he  began  to  buy  live-stock, 
which  business  he  has  followed  ever  since.  He  was  married  in  Wat- 
seka,  November  21,  1861,  to  Julia  Cadore,  of  French  descent,  and  a 
native  of  Canada.  Her  parents  were  living  in  Kankakee  at  the  time 
of  her  marriage,  and  now  live  in  Kansas.  Mr.  Dawson  has  two  chil- 
dren :  Mary  A.  and  Priscilla  R.  He  owns  400  acres,  beautifully  situ- 
ated on  the  banks  of  Gay  creek,  just  south  of  the  Red  Pump  Farm. 
His  residence  and  barn,  which  are  the  finest  in  the  township,  are  on 
the  east  bank  of  the  creek,  near  the  "  Big  Spring "  and  the  "  Lone 
Tree,"  a  famous  "  watering  place  "  for  the  red-skins  more  than  half  a 
century  ago.  Since  coming  to  his  present  home  in  1872,  he  has  fed 
considerable  stock,  besides  being  constantly  engaged  in  buying  and 
shipping.  He  is  a  strong  republican. 

Joshua  Galloway,  farmer,  Wellington,  was  born  July  16,  1819,  in 
Union  county,  Ohio,  and  was  raised  near  Lebanon  in  that  state.  His 
parents  were  natives  of  Pennsylvania.  His  father  died  when  he  was 
three  years  old.  He  received  a  very  limited  education,  and  at  the  age 
of  thirteen  went  to  work  at  tanning  and  dressing  leather,  where  he 
remained  until  he  was  eighteen.  For  the  next  three  years  he  worked 
on  a  farm  in  Warren  county,  Ohio,  and  then  learned  the  blacksmith's 
trade,  became  a  good  workman,  and  followed  the  business  steadily  for 
some  years.  He  has  also  engaged  in  other  mechanical  pursuits,  and 
farming,  previous  to  corning  to  this  county  in  1859.  He  first  settled 
in  Prairie  Green  township,  on  section  4,  where  he  remained  eight 
years.  In  1865  he  bought  the  farm  of  160  acres  which  he  now  owns, 
and  moved  on  it  in  1868,  where  he  has  since  remained.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  Ohio,  August  5, 1850,  to  Sarah  J.  Martin.  The  first  nine  years 
of  their  married  life  they  spent  in  Indiana,  and  then  came  to  Iroquois 
county  as  before  stated.  They  have  four  children :  Mary  A.,  born 
May  28,  1854;  J.  J.  Haynes,  born  January  26,  1856;  H.  Xenophon, 
born  May  15,  1858,  and  Lorinda  P.  A.,  born  December  12,  1860.  As 
a  public  officer  Mr.  Galloway  has  always  been  honest,  and  has  faith- 


428  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

fully  discharged  the  duties  of  his  offices.  He  was  commissioner  of 
highways  in  Prairie  Green  for  three  years.  In  Lovejoy  ne  has  served 
as  school  trustee,  has  been  collector  two  years,  and  when  his  present 
term  expires  will  have  served  as  justice  of  the  peace  nine  years.  His 
fine  home  and  farm,  about  midway  between  Wellington  and  Hoopeston, 
is  the  result  of  a  long  life  of  unceasing  industry  and  practical  economy. 
Here  he  expects  to  spend  the  declining  years  of  his  life. 

Abram  C.  Bowlby,  cordwainer,  Wellington,  was  born  January  17, 
1844,  in  Washington,  Warren  county,  New  Jersey.  His  father  fol- 
lowed boating  on  the  Morris  canal,  and  died  when  Abram  was  ten 
years  old.  His  mother,  whose  maiden  name  was  Euphema  Smith,  still 
lives  with  an  only  daughter  in  New  Jersey.  His  youth  was  spent 
mainly  in  New  Jersey.  In  1862  he  went  south  and  worked  for  the 
government  at  Fortress  Monroe,  and  afterward  he  drove  team  for 
Uncle  Sam  at  Washington,  District  of  Columbia.  His  mother  opposed 
his  desire  to  enlist  in  the  army.  He  left  home  and  enlisted  at  Scran- 
ton,  Pennsylvania,  November  3,  1863,  in  Capt.  J.  C.  Paine's  detach- 
ment of  United  States  Signal  Corps  for  three  years.  After  his  enlist- 
ment his  mother  wrote  him  to  be  a  good  soldier  and  do  his  duty. 
August  15,  1865,  he  was  honorably  discharged  at  Georgetown,  District 
of  Columbia.  He  came  to  Ohio  in  1865.  He  was  married,  August  16, 
1866,  to  Mary,  daughter  of  W.  K.  and  Caroline  Williamson.  They 
have  had  five  children  :  Euphema,  Edna  and  William  Bartley,  who 
are  living ;  and  two  who  are  dead,  Augustus  and  Jennie  Maud.  Mr. 
Bowlby  came  to  Yermilion  county  in  1873,  where  he  lived  two  years, 
and  then  settled  in  Wellington.  In  the  fall  of  1875  he  lost  nearly  all 
of  his  household  goods  in  the  fire  that  destroyed  Weston's  drug  store. 
This  was  a  great  misfortune  to  him,  coming  as  it  did  in  the  midst  of 
hard  times.  He  at  once  went  to  work  to  repair  his  losses,  and  by 
unceasing  industry  he  has  secured  a  home  for  his  family  in  the  thriv- 
ing town  of  Wellington,  where  he  is  now  having  a  prosperous  trade. 

Joseph  Williams,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Wellington,  was  born  in 
Harrison  county,  Ohio,  May  27,  1839.  His  parents  were  Nathan  and 
Sarah  (Hoopes)  Williams,  the  latter  still  living  at  Hoopeston.  When 
two  years  old  his  father  died.  He  started  out  in  the  world  to  "  do  for 
himself"  at  the  age  of  fourteen.  He  hired  out  to  a  farmer  for  eight 
months,  at  $6  per  month,  and  placed  the  money  at  interest.  He  was 
engaged  in  working  on  a  farm  near  his  old  home  until  the  spring  of 
1858,  when  he  came  to  Prairie  Green  township,  where  he  farmed  in 
partnership  with  his  brother.  He  was  principally  engaged  in  break- 
ing prairie  here  for  two  or  three  seasons.  He  remained  in  partnership 
with  his  brother  until  about  1863.  He  then  bought  160  acres  near 


LOVEJOY   TOWNSHIP.  429 

Kendal  Shankland,  but  sold  out  and  came  to  Lovejoy,  where  he  has 
lived  since  1866,  except  one  winter  spent  on  the  farm  of  Mr.  William 
Adsit,  during  which  time  he  fed  230  head  of  cattle  for  Mr.  Adsit.  He 
was  married  April  6,  1864,  to  Mary  J.  Adsit,  daughter  of  William 
Adsit,  the  largest  land-owner  in  the  township.  He  has  four  boys : 
William  A.,  born  February  12,  1865  ;  Thomas  N.,  born  January  14, 
1867 ;  John  B.,  born  April  26,  1869 ;  and  Frank  O.,  born  December 
1,  1875.  Mr.  Williams'  farm  lies  in  sections  21  and  22,  and  embraces 
640  acres,  of  which  his  wife  owns  a  quarter-section.  He  has  built  about 
twelve  miles  of  post-and-board  fence,  besides  improving  by  setting 
hedges  and  trees.  His  farm  is  well  adapted  to  stock-raising,  which  is 
his  principal  business. 

John  S.  Bradford,  farmer,  Wellington,  was  the  first  justice  of  the 
peace  of  Lovejoy  township.  He  was  born  in  Muskingum  county, 
Ohio,  August  23,  1830.  His  parents  came  from  Virginia.  His 
mother's  father  was  a  second  cousin  to  General  Winfield  Scott.  Mr. 
Bradford's  father  still  lives  in  Grant  county,  Indiana,  in  his  eighty-first 
year.  At  the  age  of  twenty-three  Mr.  Bradford  came  with  his  parents 
to  Indiana,  where  he  followed  the  blacksmith's  trade  until  he  had  to 
quit  on  account  of  his  poor  health.  He  came  to  Lovejoy  township  in 
1865,  and  in  the  spring  of  1866,  settled  on  the  farm  he  now  owns  and 
occupies  near  the  town  of  Wellington.  He  has  brought  his  land  into  a 
high  state  of  cultivation.  Mr.  Bradford  early  began  to  plant  trees  to 
protect  his  home  from  the  sweeping  winds  of  winter,  and  now  he  is 
almost  surrounded  by  orchard  and  groves.  He  has  been  married  twice. 
By  his  first  marriage,  in  1855,  he  has  two  children  :  J.  L.  and  Mollie  C. 
J.  L.  has  been  in  the  Wisconsin  pineries,  hewing  his  own  way  in  the 
world,  but  was  recently  called  home  on  account  of  his  father's  failing 
health.  Mollie  C.,  an  intelligent  young  lady,  has  had  good  success  as  a 
teacher.  Mr.  Bradford  was  married  to  his  present  wife,  Huldah  Bald- 
win, February  6,  1863.  Her  parents  came  from  North  Carolina.  They 
have  one  child,  named  Lucy  E.  by  this  last  marriage.  Mr.  Bradford 
had  two  brothers  in  the  57th  Ind.  reg.,  one  a  captain  ;  both  died  of  disease 
contracted  in  the  service.  He  has  held  the  office  of  town  collector  for 
two  terms.  His  political  faith  is  that  of  stalwart  republicanism. 

William  Scott,  farmer,  Wellington,  was  born  in  Lawrence  county, 
Ohio,  November  22,  1827.  His  parents,  John  and  Martha  (Templeton) 
Scott,  moved  to  Shelby  county,  Indiana,  about  1834,  and  were  among 
the  first  settlers  of  the  county.  Mr.  John  Scott  was  in  the  war  of  1812. 
In  1853  the  subject  of  this  sketch  came  to  Illinois  with  A.  J.  Endsley, 
and  together  they  bought  of  Joseph  Heffner  the  "  Red  Pump  "  farm, 
containing  400  acres.  Mr.  Scott  was  married,  in  1856,  to  Martha  A. 


430  HISTORY    OF   IBOQUOIS    COUNTY. 

Rothgeb,  daughter  of  George  Rothgeb,  an  old  settler  of  Milford  town- 
ship. They  have  four  children  :  Carlile,  Olive,  Winfield  and  Anna,  all 
living.  After  his  marriage  Mr.  Scott  settled  a  short  distance  south  of 
his  present  home.  In  1873  he  bought  Endsley's  interest  in  the  farm, 
moved  his  house  up  to  the  Red  Pump,  where  he  still  lives.  Mr.  Scott 
is  a  member  of  the  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  Milford  Lodge,  No.  168,  and  also  of 
Gay  Creek  Grange.  He  now  owns  456  acres,  valued  at  $35  per  acre. 

Joseph  Galloway,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Wellington,  is  a  native 
of  Fountain  county,  Indiana,  and  was  born  October  19,  1840.  His 
parents,  Samuel  and  Prudence  Galloway,  had  eight  children,  seven  of 
whom  are  yet  living.  They  moved  to  Springfield,  Ohio,  when  Joseph 
was  quite  young ;  after  two  years  came  back  to  Fountain  county,  and 
removed  from  there  to  Warren  county,  Indiana,  where  they  still  live, 
near  the  close  of  a  happy  life.  Joseph  received  a  common-school  edu- 
cation in  Warren  county,  Indiana.  He  enlisted  in  September,  1861, 
in  the  33d  Ind.  Vol.,  where  he  served  three  years,  then  reenlisted  in 
the  same  regiment  as  a  veteran.  He  was  at  the  battle  of  Wild  Cat, 
Kentucky.  He  was  captured  by  the  rebels,  March  5,  1863,  at  Spring 
Hill,  Tennessee,  and  sent  to  Libby  prison.  He  was  in  prison  one 
month,  then  let  out  on  parole,  and  in  July,  1863,  he  was  exchanged. 
When  his  regiment  was  reorganized  he  was  in  the  20th  Army  Corps, 
under  the  command  of  Gen.  Hooker.  He  was  in  the  charge  at  Resaca, 
also  participated  in  the  battles  of  Dallas  Woods,  Kenesaw  Mountain, 
New  Hope  Church  and  Peach  Tree  creek.  He  was  in  the  march  to 
the  sea,  and  took  part  in  the  battle  of  Bentonville,  North  Carolina, 
and  other  skirmishes  on  their  victorious  march  through  Richmond  into 
Washington,  where  he  was  at  the  general  review.  He  was  discharged 
June  23,  1865,  and  has  been  for  many  years  a  resident  of  this  town- 
ship. Mr.  Galloway  was  married  to  Louisa  Haines,  March  28,  1867. 
Ella  M.,  Wilbert  U.,  Hettie  S.,  Maggie  E.  and  David  A.,  are  the 
names  of  his  children  by  his  first  wife.  He  was  married  again  to 
Rebecca  Doan,  February  28,  18T7,  and  has  one  child  by  this  union, 
named  Johnny.  Mr.  Galloway  now  owns  a  well  improved  farm  in  the 
northeast  part  of  the  township,  which  he  has  obtained  mostly  by  his 
own  labor.  He  has  been  elected  to  the  offices  of  town  clerk,  assessor, 
collector  and  school  trustee.  He  is  an  uncompromising  republican. 

J.  D.  Calhoun,  minister  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  Well- 
ington, was  born  in  Elaine,  Perry  county,  Pennsylvania,  November 
17,  1850.  He  was  the  son  of  John  M.  and  Catharine  (Kiner)  Calhoun. 
His  father  was  a  carpenter,  who  died  when  the  subject  of  our  sketch 
was  eight  years  old.  He  then  moved  with  his  mother  to  Geneseo, 
Henry  county,  Illinois,  where  she  still  resides  with  her  second  husband 


OF  THE 
UNIVERSITY  Of  HUNO!! 


LOVEJOY   TOWNSHIP.  431 

J.  B.  Terpenning.  Mr.  Calhoun  attended  school  at  Farm  Ridge,  La 
Salle  county,  Illinois.  He  taught  school  two  years  and  in  September, 
1873,  he  entered  the  Methodist  Episcopal  conference.  He  labored  for 
the  first  year  at  Eldridgeville,  in  Ford  county  ;  he  was  three  years  at 
Iroquois  in  this  county,  and  will  complete  his  third  year  at  Welling- 
ton in  September,  1880.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  and  Odd- 
Fellow  lodges  at  Iroquois,  and  is  a  republican  in  politics.  He  was 
married,  March  25,  1873,  to  Yina  J.  Robinson,  of  Geneseo,  Illinois. 
They  are  the  parents  of  three  children  :  William  S.,  Kate  E.  and 
Florence  G.,  all  living.  Mrs.  Calhoun's  parents  were  William  L.  and 
Catharine  Robinson.  Mr.  Calhoun.  is  respected  by  all  who  know  him. 
Of  him  it  may  be  said,  "  He  has  no  enemy."  He  is  an  earnest  worker 
in  his  Master's  vineyard.  He  aided  in  building  the  church  at  Iroquois, 
one  of  the  finest  in  the  county,  and  since  he  has  had  charge  of  Well- 
ington circuit  the  church  edifice  here  has  grown  up,  and  the  societies 
at  the  different  appointments  have  prospered  under  his  care. 

Matthias  Meeker  (deceased),  was  born  in  Essex  county,  New 
York.  His  parents  were  natives  of  New  York,  of  English  descent. 
When  about  twelve  years  of  age  he  came  with  his  parents  to  New 
Jersey,  and  finally  removed  with  them  to  Hamilton  county,  Ohio. 
Young  Meeker  went  to  Cincinnati,  and  was  engaged  in  the  yards  there 
building  steamboats.  He  followed  the  trade  also  in  the  yards  at  Louis- 
ville, and  New  Albany,  Indiana.  It  was  during  his  stay  at  New 
Albany  that  he  became  acquainted  with  Elizabeth  Allstott,  of  German 
descent,  who  was  born  in  Washington  county,  Indiana.  Miss  Allstott 
became  Mr.  Meeker's  wife  in  October,  1833.  They  lived  in  New 
Albany,  Indiana,  twenty-two  years.  All  this  time  $Lr.  Meeker  was 
busy  at  his  trade  in  the  yards,  or  on  boats  that  ran  on  the  Ohio  and 
Mississippi  rivers.  For  seven  years  he  was  with  one  captain.  In  1855 
he  traded  his  property  in  New  Albany  for  a  farm  of  200  acres  near 
Corydon,  Indiana,  and  began  farming,  but  still  clung  to  the  river  in 
the  winter.  In  the  financial  crisis  of  1857  he  lost  all  his  property. 
He  removed,  first  to  Jasper  county  and  then  to  Clark  county,  Illinois, 
in  1860,  where  he  staid  four  years,  then  he  came  to  Indiana  and  lived 
mainly  in  Yermilion  county,  in  that  state,  until  the  spring  of  1867. 
He  came  to  Iroquois  county  in  1867,  and  settled,  first  in  Fountain 
Creek  township,  then  came  to  their  present  home  in  the  spring  of  1873. 
Here  Mr.  Meeker  died  April  27,  1876.  He  was  the  father  of  ten  chil- 
dren, named  as  follows:  Margaret  J.,  William,  Julia,  Laura,  Halsey, 
Thomas,  Charley,  Amos,  Joshua  and  Mollie.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Meeker 
had  three  sons  and  three  sons-in-law  in  the  Union  army.  Their  son, 
William,  was  in  the  battle  of  Belmont,  and  died  of  sickness  soon  after. 
27 


432  HISTORY    OF    IEOQUOIS    COUNTY. 

Halseyand  Thomas  were  in  the  llth  Missouri.  They  were  mere  boys 
when  they  enlisted, — were  at  the  siege  of  Vicksburg  and  in  the  march 
to  the  sea.  Both  reenlisted  as  veterans.  One  of  the  sons-in-law  was 
killed  in  battle.  Mrs.  Meeker  willingly  let  her  boys  go  from  home  to 
defend  their  country,  and  certainly  no  one  more  richly  deserves  a  pen- 
sion than  she,  for  her  devotion  to  the  Union. 

William  M.  Miskimmen  (deceased),  and  Emma  Miskimmen,  his 
wife,  were  born  and  raised  in  Ohio.  Mr.  Miskimmen  was  born  in 
Wheeling  township,  Guernsey  county,  December  21,  1827,  and  Mrs. 
Miskimmen  was  born  May  3,  1828,  in  Coshocton  county.  They  were 
married  in  Ohio,  March  11, 1850.  Mr.  Miskimmen  was  a  merchant  in 
Ohio.  He  came  to  Henry  county,  Illinois,  and  was  for  some  time  en- 
gaged in  buying  and  selling  stock.  In  1868  he  removed  to  Lovejoy 
township,  and  settled  on  his  farm  adjoining  John  Greer's  on  the  west. 
Mr.  Miskimmen's  health  was  very  poor,  and  on  February  17,  1872,  he 
died  of  consumption.  They  have  two  children  living:  Richard  T., 
who  was  born  December  6,  1851,  and  who  married  Celia  Anderson, 
January  1,  1878 ;  also  Nannie  R.,  born  September  17,  1855,  wife  of 
B.  F.  Shankland,  of  Watseka. 

J.  W.  Clements,  farmer,  Wellington,  was  born  October  29,  1841,  in 
Athens  county,  Ohio.  His  parents  were  John  and  Sarah  A.  (Thompson) 
Clements,  natives  of  Ohio  and  Connecticut.  His  youth  was  spent  on 
his  father's  farm  in  Ohio  until  August  23, 1862,  when  he  enlisted  in  the 
92d  Ohio  Yol.  for  three  years.  He  followed  the  fortunes  of  his  regi- 
ment through  the  war,  marched  with  the  boys  to  the  sea,  was  in  the 
battle  of  Bentonville,  and  at  Washington  when  the  grand  review  took 
place,  although  unable  to  march  with  his  regiment  on  that  occasion. 
He  was  discharged  in  June,  1865,  and  returned  to  Ohio,  where  he 
remained  awhile,  then  spent  one  winter  in  Indiana,  and  came  to  this 
township  in  May,  1867.  He  began  farming  on  the  large  farm  of 
William  Adsit,  and  remained  here  until  1873,  in  the  spring,  when  he 
removed  to  his  fine  farm  of  320  acres,  in  sections  23  arid  26,  in  this 
township,  where  he  has  since  resided.  He  was  married,  October  15, 
1868,  to  Julia  A.,  daughter  of  William  Adsit,  of  Delaware  county, 
Indiana,  who  at  one  time  owned  1,760  acres  in  this  township;  but  he 
is  now  dividing  his  land  among  his  children,  having  recently  deeded 
320  acres  to  Mr.  Clements'  wife.  Mr.  Clements  is  the  father  of  four 
children  :  Lucy  E.,  Leroy,  Thomas  T.,  and  Elizabeth  M.  There  is  a 
step-son  named  Daniel.  Mr.  Clements  is  one  of  the  solid  men  of  Love- 
joy,  and  expects  to  make  this  his  permanent  home. 

William  Wilson  (deceased),  was  a  native  of  Ohio.  He  was  married 
to  Amanda  Pearson,  in  Ohio,  about  March  6,  1826.  Five  or  six  years 


LOVEJOY   TOWNSHIP.  433 

after  marriage  they  came  to  Warren  county,  Indiana.  Attica  was  then 
only  a  small  village.  Mr.  Wilson  built  a  house  in  the  woods  on  the 
80  acres  he  had  bought,  and  by  industry  acquired  80  acres  more.  The 
family  lived  here  for  about  seven  years,  and  then  sold  out  and  bought 
a  prairie  farm  of  200  acres,  nine  miles  northwest  of  Williamsport. 
Mr.  Wilson  lived  on  this  farm  up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  which 
occurred  November  1, 1871.  By  his  good  management  he  had  become 
the  owner  of  320  acres,  near  Sheldon,  in  this  county.  Mrs.  Wilson, 
after  her  husband's  death,  bought  80  acres  in  section  35,  in  this  town- 
ship, and  removed  here  with  her  two  sons,  James  and  Asa,  in  March, 
1875.  She  will  be  seventy-three  years  old  March  15,  1880.  Both  she 
and  her  husband  were  members  of  the  New  Light  church,  in  Warren 
county,  Indiana,  thirty-five  years  ago.  She  is  the  mother  of  eleven 
children,  whose  names  follow :  Margaret,  Cynthia,  Emily,  Nancy, 
Mary,  Sarah  C.,  James,  Asa,  John,  Amanda  and  William.  John 
enlisted  in  the  86th  Ind.  reg.,  in  the  fall  of  1864.  He  was  out  only 
three  months,  when  he  sickened  and  died.  James,  who  lives  with 
his  mother,  is  an  energetic,  wide-awake  farmer,  and  was  born  in  War- 
ren county,  Indiana,  July  6,  1849.  He  devotes  his  attention  mainly 
to  the  raising  of  corn,  for  which  purpose  he  rents  considerable  land, 
besides  managing  his  mother's  farm. 

A.  J.  Hall,  farmer  and  stock-dealer,  Wellington,  is  a  son  of  D.  A. 
and  Mary  M.  (Lemon)  Hall,  and  was  born  August  24,  1852,  while  his 
parents  were  visiting  at  Amboy,  Douglas  county,  Illinois.  Their 
residence  was  at  Newport,  Indiana.  In  March,  1862,  the  family 
removed  to  Fairmount,  Vermilion  county,  Illinois,  where  Mr.|Hall 
engaged  in  the  grain'  trade.  While  here  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
aided  his  father  by  driving  the  horses  to  the  "  power,"  when  shelling 
corn.  Two  years  after  this  his  parents  moved  to  Chicago.  His  father 
at  once  entered  the  live-stock  commission  business,  which  he  has 
followed  ever  since,  and  in  which  he  has  been  eminently  successful. 
Young  Mr.  Hall  attended  the  public  schools  in  Chicago,  and  was  one 
year  at  Bryant  &  Stratton's  Commercial  College  in  that  city.  In 
1867  he  was  employed  by  the  live-stock  commission  firm  of  Conover 
&  Hall,  of  which  his  father  is  a  member,  as  book-keeper,  in  which 
position  he  served  three  years,  and  was  for  four  years  more  employed 
by  the  same  firm  in  the  yards.  In  the  spring  of  1874  he  carne  to 
Lovejoy  township  to  manage  his  father's  farm  in  section  5,  containing 
655  acres,  where  he  has  since  resided.  He  is  now  engaged  in  feeding 
cattle  and  buying  and  shipping  stock.  His  previous  seven-years  ex- 
perience in  the  Union  Stock-yards  has  admirably  fitted  him  for  this 
business.  January  22,  1876,  he  was  married  to  Sarah  A.,  daughter  of 


434  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

J.  B.  Wilson,  of  this  township.  The  young  couple  have  a  pleasant, 
happy  home,  and  start  prosperously  out  on  life's  journey  in  the  rosy 
morn  of  wedded  life.  Mr.  Hall  is  a  republican.  He  belongs  to  the 
Blue  Lodge  of  Masons,  and  of  the  chapter  in  Hoopeston. 


PRAIRIE   GREEN  TOWNSHIP. 

This  township  occupies  the  southeastern  corner  of  Iroquois 
county,  and  embraces  all  of  T.  24,  R.  11  W. ;  also  a  narrow  strip  in 
R.  10  on  the  east,  containing  six  fractional  sections.  The  township  is 
all  prairie ;  its  surface  gently  undulating,  except  in  the  southeast, 
where  it  is  high  and  rolling.  The  soil  is  very  rich,  and  every  foot 
within  its  boundaries  is  capable  of  being  tilled  with  but  very  little 
artificial  draining.  Indian  corn  is  king  of  products  here,  not  much 
attention  having  been  given  to  the  production  of  wheat.  The  little 
republic  of  Prairie  Green  took  its  legal  birth  from  the  division  of 
Crab  Apple  township  in  the  winter  of  1858.  Kendall  Shankland, 
Robert  Finch,  H.  C.  Smith  and  a  few  others  were  the  leading  spirits 
in  obtaining  its  independence  of  Crab  Apple.  The  first  election  was 
held  in  April  following,  at  the  house  of  Robert  Finch  on  section  10, 
the  ballot-box  on  this  occasion  being  an  old  teapot,  the  lid  of  which 
was  raised  to  deposit  the  votes.  Nineteen  votes  were  cast,  all  in 
favor  of  separation.  Kendall  Shankland  was  elected  supervisor ;  H. 
C.  Smith  and  Washington  M.  Pugh  were  elected  justices  of  the 
peace ;  Robert  Finch,  assessor ;  A.  B.  Handy,  town  clerk,  and 
William  Sawyer,  collector.  K.  Shankland  served  the  people  so 
well  in  the  position  given  him  that  he  has  been  repeatedly  elected  to 
the  same  office,  so  many  times,  in  fact,  that  he  forgets  how  many 
terms  he  has  served.  H.  C.  Smith  also  served  three  terms,  and 
later  F.  Williamson  has  held  that  office.  Besides  those  first  elected, 
J.  C.  Pugh,  J.  H.  Hobart,  J.  C.  Shankland,  H.  J.  Calkins,  George 
Besse  and  John  W.  Hudson  have  served  as  justices.  H.  C.  Smith, 
William  I.  Hobart,  C.  M.  Harris  and  A.  S.  Shankland  have  held 
the  office  of  town  clerk.  Robert  Finch  has  been  the  principal  col- 
lector, serving  in  that  capacity  for  ten  years.  Lately  J.  W.  Dixon 
has  held  that  office.  Politically,  Prairie  Green  has  always  been  re- 
publican, and  in  its  early  years  was  nearly  unanimous.  For  a  long 
time  there  were  but  one  or  two  democrats  in  the  township.  In  the 
dark  days  of  the  war  for  the  Union  the  draft  was  avoided  in  this 
township  by  hiring  substitutes  to  fill  its  small  quota.  This  was  done 
by  K.  Shankland  and  Robert  Finch,  who  obtained  the  money  on 


PRAIKIE    GREEN   TOWNSHIP.  435 

their  individual  notes,  and  were  afterward  reimbursed  by  the  town- 
ship. 

A  quarter  of  a  century  ago  the  people  who  lived  along  the  belts 
of  timber,  and  the  few  pioneers  who  were  brave  enough  to  squat 
out  on  the  prairie,  thought  that  these  prairie  townships  would  never 
be  completely  settled.  Deer  were  then  numerous.  The  early  settlers 
need  never  be  out  of  venison.  Wolves  were  numerous,  and  the  few 
settlers  who  lived  here  then,  would  often  mount  a  horse  bareback,  and 
indulge  in  the  invigorating  sport  of  chasing  a  wolf  or  running  down 
a  deer. 

Robert  Finch  settled  on  a  fine  tract  in  the  southeast  part  of  the 
township  in  1853.  In  this  corner,  also,  settled  Abner  Mitchell,  K. 
Shankland,  R.  Adsit  and  Pixley,  about  the  same  time,  or  soon  after. 
Of  the  early  settlers  in  this  part  of  the  township,  three  (Finch,  Shank- 
land  and  Mitchell)  yet  remain,  still  owning  large  tracts  of  land  where 
they  first  settled.  In  the  northwest  corner  we  find,  in  1853,  on  sec- 
tion 5 :  Dale  Pierce,  in  the  spring ;  and  late  in  that  year  H.  C. 
Smith,  who  still  lives  where  he  first  pitched  his  tent.  A  few  years 
afterward  James  A.  Smith  started  a  farm  in  the  northeast  corner. 

• 

Here  also  David  Smalley,  in  1858,  began  to  help  his  father  improve 
what  is  now  the  Crowther  farm.  His  part  of  the  improving  was 
"  driving  "  fence-posts  ;  and  young  David  was  very  glad  to  return  to 
his  home,  near  Attica,  Indiana,  after  a  short  experience.  He  re- 
turned subsequently,  and  now  owns  the  best  and  largest  farm  in  that 
part  of  the  township. 

In  1857  John  Greer  began  to  break  the  sod  in  the  southwest  cor- 
ner, but  did  not  reside  here  until  some  years  after.  Breaking  sod  in 
those  days  was  a  good  business  for  the  favored  few  who  owned 
breaking-teams  and  a  "breaker."  The  breaker  was  a  large  plow, 
cutting  a  furrow  from  twenty  inches  to  two  feet,  designed  for  five  or 
six  yoke  of  oxen.  The  beam  was  mounted  on  trucks  ;  the  depth  was 
regulated  by  a  lever,  and  as  the  wheels  in  front  held  the  plow  in 
position  it  required  no  holding  ;  but  considerable  skill  in  driving  was 
necessary  when  starting  the  first  furrow,  often  a  half  mile  or  more  in 
length.  The  season  for  breaking  began  as  soon  as  the  grass  had 
got  a  good  start  in  the  spring,  and  did  not  end  until  near  the  first  of 
July.  Such  large  farmers  as  Finch  and  Shankland  commonly  had 
one  or  more  breaking  teams  running,  and  after  doing  their  own 
work  would  break  for  their  neighbors,  charging  from  $3  to  $4  per 
acre.  The  teams  were  allowed  to  feed  on  the  natural  grasses  they 
were  plowing  under  at  morning,  noon  and  night,  commonly  being 
' '  corralled ' '  after  dark  to  prevent  straying.  ~No  one  at  this  time 


436  HISTOKY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

had  any  idea  that  prairie  sod  could  be  plowed  with  horses.  This 
was  one  reason  why  the  prairies  did  not  settle  more  rapidly  at  first. 
As  soon  as  it  was  discovered  that  two  or  three  horses,  with  a  ten  or 
twelve-inch  plow,  could  turn  nearly  as  much  sod  as  an  ox  team,  the 
prairie  was  soon  dotted  with  little  shanties  or  neat  cottages,  and  the 
era  of  real  improvement  set  in. 

From  the  organization  of  the  township  there  has  been  -a  law 
restraining  stock  from  running  at  large.  This  was  quite  an  induce- 
ment to  the  poor  settler  to  start  a  home  in  this  township.  He  could 
take  care  of  his  own  stock  with  but  little  expense  ;  to  fence  against 
his  neighbors'  was  very  expensive. 

The  first  road  through  the  township  was  the  old  Attica  road,  which 
ran  in  a  northwest  direction  toward  Milford.  Road-making  in  Prai- 
rie Green  for  twenty  years  was  a  miserable  farce.  The  overseer 
would  warn  his  men  out  with  their  teams  and  tools.  On  the  day 
specified  they  would  assemble,  and  with  plow  and  scraper  would 
raise  the  semblance  of  a  grade  here  and  there,  which  the  judicious 
teamster  would  always  avoid.  The  greater  part  of  the  day,  however, 
would  be  spent  in  talking  about  the  crops,  discussing  politics  or  tell- 
ing stories, — the  overseer  often  taking  a  prominent  part  in  furnishing 
entertainment  of  this  nature  to  his  willing  listeners.  Mr.  Pixley,  who 
has  before  been  mentioned,  once  when  overseer  turned  his  road- 
working  force  into  his  hay-field.  They  soon  put  Mr.  Pixley 's  hay 
up,  he  promising  to  give  them  credit  for  road-work,  and  to  do  the 
work  himself.  At  his  leisure  Mr.  Pixley  hauled  a  quantity  of  flax 
tow  out  to  the  line  of  road  to  be  repaired,  making,  at  least  for  the 
time,  quite  a  formidable  grade.  But  it  all  ended  in  smoke,  for  the 
annual  prairie  fire  swept  that  way  soon  after,  and  left  not  a  trace  of 
Pixley' s  road  behind.  In  the  last  few  years,  however,  under  the 
contract  system,  the  roads  all  over  the  township  have  been  graded 
and  drained,  and  substantial  culverts  and  bridges  have  been  put  in 
wherever  needed. 

No  creek  nor  river  traverses  this  township.  The  north  fork  of 
the  Vermilion  cuts  off  a  little  of  the  southeast  corner.  Good  water 
for  stock  and  household  purposes  is  easily  obtained  by  digging  and 
boring  from  twenty  to  sixty  feet.  It  was  while  digging  a  well  on  the 
farm  of  Mr.  Greer,  August  19,  1867,  in  section  30,  that  a  very  trag- 
ical event  took  place.  The  well  had  been  dug  to  a  depth  of  about 
twenty-seven  feet,  and  partly  walled  up.  ~No  water  having  been 
found,  the  workman,  Mr.  Moore,  a  tenant  of  Mr.  Greer's,  was  down 
in  the  well  boring.  He  had  just  withdrawn  the  auger  to  clean  it. 
Mr.  Greer  and  Mrs.  Moore  were  at  the  brink  of  the  well  looking 


PKAIRIE   GREEN   TOWNSHIP.  437 

down,  when  suddenly  Mr.  Greer  heard  a  noise  similar  to  that  of  es- 
caping steam  from  a  locomotive.  He  knew  at  once  that  it  was  caused 
by  gas  escaping  through  the  hole  just  bored,  and  called  to  Mr. 
Moore  to  ascend  as  quickly  as  possible.  Mr.  Moore  had  been  stand- 
ing erect ;  he  now  stooped  over  and  reached  for  a  cup  that  was  on 
the  bottom  of  the  well,  and  instantly  fell  back  dead.  Mrs.  Moore 
seeing  her  husband  fall,  and  supposing  that  if  he  were  extricated  at 
once  he  might  be  saved,  entreated  Mr.  Greer  to  go  down  and  try  to 
get  him  out.  Mr.  Greer  began  to  descend ;  but  before  he  got  very 
far  he  saw  the  foolishness  of  risking  his  life  where  he  could  do  no 
good,  and  ascended,  mounted  a  horse,  and  galloped  off  to  the  nearest 
house  to  secure  assistance.  Arriving  at  his  residence,  he  met  his  son 
Nelson,  who  had  just  got  off  a  fleet  horse.  After  hearing  from  his 
father  what  had  happened,  the  young  man  mounted  his  horse,  and 
almost  flew  to  the  rescue  of  Moore.  Before  Mr.  Greer  and  two  or 
three  others  could  reach  the  spot  young  Greer  had  begun  to  descend 
into  the  fatal  well.  He  had  only  gone  down  a  few  feet  when  his 
hold  loosened,  and  he  fell  across  the  wall  a  few  feet  below  a  lifeless 
corpse.  It  seems  that  a  fountain  of  carbonic  acid  gas  had  been 
tapped  by  the  auger,  which  rapidly  filled  the  well,  even  to  overflowing. 
Shortly  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Greer' s  son,  the  news  of  the  fatal 
accident  spread,  and  the  neighbors  soon  assembled  to  help  extricate 
the  bodies.  It  was  difficult  to  do  this.  No  one  could  approach  the 
well  and  look  into  it  without  feeling  the  baneful  influence  of  the 
deadly  gas.  The  bodies  were  finally  drawn  out  by  means  of  an  iron 
hook  that  was  caught  into  their  boots  or  shoes.  This  sad  accident 
deprived  Mrs.  Moore  of  a  husband,  and  took  from  Mr.  Greer  an  only 
and  beloved  son. 

Mill  going  in  the  early  times  was  attended  with  much  inconven- 
ience. One  of  the  early  settlers,  J.  Crawford  Pugh,  a  blacksmith, 
had  a  mill  for  grinding  corn  run  by  horse-power  in  the  east  part  of 
the  township,  not  far  from  Mr.  Finch's.  He  conceived  the  idea  of 
making  a  wheel  for  the  wind  to  turn,  so  as  to  dispense  with  his 
horse-power.  He  erected  his  wheel,  which  was  an  immense  affair, 
thirty  or  forty  feet  in  diameter,  on  a  framework  of  massive  posts, 
the  raising  of  which  required  all  the  men  for  miles  around.  The 
projector  found  the  wind  a  very  unsteady  and  uncertain  power.  It 
did  the  farmers  some  good,  but  financially  it  was  a  failure,  and  the 
mill  has  long  since  disappeared.  This  same  J.  C.  Pugh  kept  a 
small  stock  of  groceries,  and  in  some  manner  his  place  acquired  the 
curious  name  of  "Goose  Nibble." 

There  is  now  no  cross-roads  store,  blacksmith's  shop,  post-office 


438  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

nor  town  within  the  limits  of  Prairie  Green  :  nor  does  any  railroad 
cross  its  territory,  yet  the  shadow  of  a  railroad  debt  falls  over  the 
land.  Prairie  Green  is  mostly  tributary  to  Wellington,  a  small  town 
on  the  Chicago  &  Eastern  Illinois  railway  about  one  mile  and  a  half 
west,  yet  this  township  has  some  institutions  that  would  do  credit  to 
much  older  and  more  favored  communities.  These  institutions  are 
due  to  the  genius  and  enterprise  of  several  unmarried  young  men  in 
the  northeast  part  of  the  town. 

First,  there  is  the  Prairie  Green  Glee  Club,  under  the  leadership 
of  R.  G.  Cowan,  an  institution  of  great  merit  and  long  standing,  com- 
prising nearly  a  dozen  voices,  all  above  mediocrity. 

The  Prairie  Green  Dramatic  Troupe  was  organized  in  October, 
1876,  and  contains  twelve  members  who  all  rank  high  in  histrionic 
talent.  This  company  has  played  for  various  charitable  and  public 
purposes,  and  each  time  has  received  the  highest  encomiums  of  both 
public  and  press.  The  officers  are :  Stage  manager,  R.  M.  Denholm ; 
treasurer,  H.  W.  Cowan ;  secretary,  E.  J.  Cody. 

The  Prairie  Green  Quadrille  Band,  an  association  organized  in 
1879,  now  numbers  twelve  instruments  :  Three  first  violins,  two 
second  violins,  three  German  flutes,  two  flageolets,  and  two  violon- 
cellos. This  orchestra  has  met  with  an  enthusiastic  reception  at  all 
performances  where  it  has  taken  a  part.  Its  leader  is  R.  G.  Cowan ; 
vice,  H.  Crowther ;  treasurer,  John  Cowan  ;  secretary,  R.  M.  Den- 
holm. 

The  Round  Top  Silver  Fife  Band,  as  an  organization,  dates  from 
October,  1879,  and  numbers  twelve  fifes,  two  drums  and  a  triangle. 
The  boys  have  made  rapid  progress  under  their  able  leader,  and 
promise  to  be  an  interesting  feature  at  future  public  and  political 
gatherings.  Leader,  R.  G.  Cowan ;  vice,  H.  W.  Cowan ;  treasurer, 
E.  J.  Cody  ;  secretary,  R.  M.  Denholm. 

The  Trego  Blue  Ribbon  Society  was  organized  in  the  winter  of 
1878,  under  the  lecturing  of  Mrs.  Trego,  and  numbers  over  200 
members.  It  meets  once  every  week.  It  maintains  its  interest 
unabated. 

The  schools  of  Prairie  Green  are  in  the  front  rank  among  the  edu- 
cational interests  of  the  county.  The  township  was  organized  into 
four  school  districts  about  the  year  1858.  Lamont  and  Prairie  Green 
school-houses  were  built  soon  after.  Round  Top  was  not  built  for 
some  years  after  these  two,  but  has  become  more  famous  than  all 
the  others.  It  was  so  named  on  account  of  the  roof  which  covered 
the  building,  having  the  appearance  of  being  round  at  a  distance, 
although  the  house  was  really  an  octagon  in  shape,  and  the  roof 


PRAIRIE    GREEN   TOWNSHIP.  439 

eight-sided.  The  foregoing  institutions  that  have  been  named,  all 
had  their  birth  in  and  about  old  Hound  Top.  There  are  now  seven 
schools  in  the  township,  all  well  attended  and  under  the  charge  of 
competent  teachers. 

The  school  fund  of  the  township  amounts  to  the  handsome  sum 
of  nearly  $12,000. 

While  speaking  of  the  institutions  of  Prairie  Green  we  must  not 
omit  the  broorn  factory  of  Robert  Finch,  of  which  his  son  Fremont 
is  superintendent  and  working  force.  The  low  price  of  broom-corn 
for  the  last  few  years  induced  Mr.  Finch  to  try  manufacturing.  Out 
of  his  crop  of  18Y9  he  will  make  about  350  dozen- brooms.  The  use 
of  tools  coming  nearly  as  handy  to  Fremont  Finch  as  the  use  of  his 
hands,  he  made  his  own  broom  machine,  learned  the  trade  in  a  few 
days,  and  is  now  an  expert  broom-maker. 

The  religious  history  of  Prairie  Green  is  perhaps  similar  to  that 
of  all  other  newly  settled  communities.  A  Methodist  class  was 
formed  at  Abner  Mitchell's  early  in  1858.  There  was  preaching 
around  at  houses,  and  after  the  school-houses  were  built  meetings 
were  held  in  them.  Nearly  every  winter  revivals  of  great  interest 
would  take  place  in  these  school-houses.  Some  of  these  first  Meth- 
odist preachers  did  not  turn  out  very  well,  however.  The  class  at 
Mitchell's  died  out  in  a  few  years. 

There  is  a  small  society  of  the  United  Brethren  at  Willow  Brook 
school-house,  and  a  prosperous  Methodist  class  at  Maple  Grove 
(formerly  Round  Top)  school-house.  This  is  under  the  ministration 
of  Rev.  J.  D.  Calhoun,  of  Wellington  circuit.  There  is  a  splendid 
Sunday  school  connected  with  this  society.  J.  W.  Dixon  has  been 
superintendent  since  its  permanent  organization  in  April,  1878,  and 
M.  Garrison,  secretary.  The  greatest  interest  is  kept  up  at  all  sea- 
sons of  the  year,  and  the  school  is  well  supported  by  regular  weekly 
contributions.  The  average  attendance  is  about  seventy-five. 

Christian  chapel  is  the  only  church  edifice  in  the  township.  It 
stands  on  section  12,  and  was  built  a  few  years  ago  at  a  cost  of  about 
$1,000.  J.  J.  Robb,  D.  Smalley,  B.  P.  Cowan  and  J.  B.  Ferrand 
gave  liberally  to  aid  in  its  construction.  Its  size  is  30x40,  and  it  is 
a  neat  and  substantial  structure,  and  is  owned  by  the  Christian  soci- 
ety of  the  neighborhood,  some  of  the  members  living  in  Indiana. 

BIOGRAPHICAL. 

F.  Williamson,  farmer,  Wellington,  was  born  in  this  county,  in  what 
is  now  Stockland  township,  September  6,  1843.  He  is  the  son  of 
Bethel  P.  and  Margaret  (Williams)  Williamson.  His  father  was  a 


440  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

native  of  Ohio,  and  his  mother  of  Indiana.  His  grandfather  was  the 
first  settler  of  Stockland  township.  Mr.  Williamson  spent  his  early 
life  on  his  father's  farm  in  Stockland  township.  In  August,  1862,  he 
enlisted  in  the  76th  111.  reg.  for  three  years.  He  took  part  in  the  siege 
of  Yicksburg,  and  participated  in  the  battles  of  Jackson,  Mississippi, 
Blakeley  and  Mobile.  One  of  the  hottest  engagements  he  was  ever  in  was 
at  Canton  and  Jackson  cross-roads,  where  the  76th  lost  117  men  in  one 
hour.  In  this  engagement  he  was  slighly  wounded  in  the  right  breast. 
During  his  three-years  experience  in  the  army  he  was  in  the  states  of 
Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  Alabama,  Florida,  Ar- 
kansas, Missouri  and  Texas.  He  was  married,  March  21,  1869,  to 
Dinah  Slaughter.  She  was  raised  in  Jefferson  county,  Indiana.  Her 
parents  are  both  living  in  Stockland  township.  After  marriage  Mr. 
Williamson  rented  awhile.  He  owns  the  farm  of  80  acres  where  he 
now  lives,  having  come  here  in  the  spring  of  1872.  He  has  four  chil- 
dren living:  Glennie  E.,  William  B.,  Leni  Leoti  and  Harlan  L. ; 
there  was  one  that  died  in  infancy.  Mr.  Williamson  has  been  collector 
of  this  township  for  two  terms,  and  is  now  serving  out  his  third  term 
as  supervisor.  He  is  a  republican. 

James  K.  Williamson,  farmer,  Wellington,  is  the  son  of  Bethel  P. 
and  Margaret  (Williams)  Williamson.  His  parents  were  the  first 
settlers  at  Crab  Apple  Grove,  in  Stockland  township.  He  was  born  in 
Stockland  township,  February  21,  184:5.  His  youth  was  spent  on  his 
father's  farm,  until  December,  1863,  when  he  enlisted  in  the  76th  111. 
Yol.  He  was  with  this  regiment  until  July,  1865,  and  was  then  trans- 
ferred at  Galveston,  Texas,  to  the  37th  111.  Yet.  He  was  in  several 
skirmishes  through  Mississippi,  and  was  mustered  out  at  Houston, 
Texas,  May  18,  1866.  After  coming  home  in  the  fall  of  1866,  he 
entered  the  school  at  Onarga,  where  he  remained  four  terms.  He  then 
began  farming  in  Stockland  township.  He  came  to  Prairie  Green  in 
1872 ;  here  he  rented  a  farm,  then  bought  80  acres,  but  did  not  keep  it 
long,  and  in  1876  went  to  Iowa.  While  in  Iowa  he  was  married  to 
Tinnie  Walton,  daughter  of  A.  L.  Walton,  an  old  settler  and  respected 
citizen  of  Iowa.  The  marriage  was  consummated  October  17,  1877. 
Since  his  marriage  he  has  lived  in  Prairie  Green,  and  has  been  engaged 
in  farming.  He  now  owns  80  acres.  He  has  one  child  named  J. 
Harley,  who  was  born  April  2,  1879.  Mrs.  Williamson  is  a  member  of 
the  Christian  church  at  Eden,  Iowa.  Mr.  Williamson  has  served  four 
terms  as  assessor  of  this  township.  In  politics  he  is  a  republican. 

A.  J.  Decker,  farmer,  Wellington,  was  born  about  1844,  in  Page 
county,  Yirginia,  and  is  the  son  of  Chrysley  and  Mary  Decker,  both 
of  whom  are  now  living  near.  They  were  natives  of  Yirginia,  and 


PRAIRIE    GREEN"   TOWNSHIP.  441 

came  to  Milford  township  about  1849.  Old  Mr.  Decker  rented  land 
in  the  vicinity  of  Milford  until  about  the  year  1865.  He  then  removed 
to  this  township.  In  August,  1862,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  enlisted 
in  the  113th  111.  Vol.  He  was  in  the  battles  on  the  Yazoo,  at  Mem- 
phis, and  Island  No.  10.  He  was  then  laid  up  with  the  measles,  and 
sent  to  the  hospital  at  Memphis.  He  rejoined  his  command  before  he 
was  really  well,  and  taking  cold  was  sick  for  nine  months.  All  this 
time  he  staid  with  his  command,  but  at  last,  being  unable  to  walk,  he 
was  discharged  and  sent  home,  in  August,  1863.  At  home  Mr.  Decker 
soon  regained  his  strength,  but  as  he  had  enlisted  with  a  view  to  see- 
ing the  end  of  the  contest,  he  now  reenlisted  at  Springfield,  Illinois, 
in  the  same  regiment,  and  finally  joined  his  old  comrades  at  Memphis 
in  February,  1864.  He  took  part  in  the  battle  of  Holly  Springs,  and 
in  June,  1864,  was  captured  by  the  rebels  at  Ripley,  Mississippi.  He 
was  sent  to  Andersonville,  and  for  ten  months  suffered  all  of  the  tort- 
ures that  the  wretch  Wirz  knew  so  well  how  to  inflict.  When  he 
entered  the  prison-pen  he  weighed  150  pounds,  and  in  ten  months 
after  only  sixty-three.  While  here  he  saw  Jeft  Davis,  and  says  he 
heard  him  threaten  to  hang  Wirz  if  the  prisoners  were  not  treated 
better.  Mr.  Decker  was  so  reduced  that  he  could  not  walk  for  three 
months  after  he  had  been  released.  He  was  mustered  out  at  Quincy, 
in  July,  1865.  He  returned  to  his  parents,  where  he  remained  until 
he  was  married.  This  occurred  September  6,  1868,  his  bride  being 
Adiline  Stanton.  She  was  the  daughter  of  James  and  Martha  Stanton, 
natives  of  Virginia,  who  settled  near  Crawfordsville,  Indiana,  where 
she  was  born.  Her  mother  is  still  living  in  this  township  with  her 
children.  The  children  of  Mr.  Decker  are  named  as  follows:  Eva, 
born  June  10,  1869 ;  Alice,  born  February  21,  1872 ;  and  William, 
born  August  19,  1878.  Mr.  Decker  is  an  experienced  thresher,  and 
owns  a  steam  threshing  machine.  He  is  a  republican.  His  farm  con- 
sists of  120  acres  in  section  7,  worth  about  $4,000. 

Robert  Finch,  Arnbia,  Indiana,  was  born  at  Lawrenceburg,  Indi- 
ana, September  25,  1819.  His  parents  were  Jubal  and  Filena  (Earl) 
Finch,  of  English  descent.  His  father  was  a  practicing  physician,  and 
died  when  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  quite  young.  His  mother 
married  again  ;  lived  awhile  at  Yevay,  and  came  to  Fountain  county, 
Indiana,  in  1832.  He  staid  with  his  step-father  until  he  was  about 
sixteen  years  of  age,  and  then,  with  his  mother's  consent,  he  ran  away 
to  his  grandfather's,  near  Noblesville,  Hamilton  county,  Indiana.  He 
remained  here  about  one  year  and  then  returned  home.  At  the  age 
of  nineteen  he  went  to  Cincinnati,  intending  to  go  into  business  with 
a  cousin  there,  but  did  not  do  so,  and  went  to  his  uncle's,  Judge  Finch, 


442  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

at  Franklin,  Indiana,  where  he  attended  a  Baptist  school  for  six  months. 
He  then  taught  school  one  term  in  the  woods  near  here,  in  an  old- 
fashioned  log  school-house,  and  acquired  considerable  reputation  as  a 
school  teacher.  While  at  Franklin  he  and  William  S.  Holman,  who 
has  since  had  a  seat  in  congress,  started  the  first  debating  society  in 
Franklin.  From  Franklin  he  went  to  Crawfordsville,  where  he  at- 
tended two  terms  at  Wabash  College,  and  then  went  home,  teaching 
school  in  the  vicinity  until  1845.  At  this  time  he  came  from  Foun- 
tain to  Warren  county,  and  bought  a  farm  on  the  Grand  Prairie,  three 
miles  from  West  Lebanon.  In  1847  he  married  Sarah  A.  Crawford, 
daughter  of  Dr.  Crawford,  who  lived  near  Attica.  He  taught  school 
awhile,  and  then  moved  into  his  own  cabin  on  his  farm,  where  he  lived 
until  1853.  He  sold  this  farm  of  120  acres  for  $1,800.  He  invested 
a  larger  part  of  this  money  in  government  land,  entering  all  of  section 
26  and  half  of  section  25  in  Prairie  Green  township,  in  this  county. 
He  built  a  shanty  on  the  new  farm  and  moved  into  it.  This  was  in 
the  spring  of  1853.  The  shanty  was  afterward  used  for  a  stable.  His 
present  residence  is  an  old-style  family  mansion,  pleasantly  situated  in 
the  midst  of  his  fertile  acres.  Mr.  Finch  is  the  father  of  eleven  chil- 
dren, and  has  six  grandchildren.  His  children  are  named  as  follows : 
Edwin,  John,  Robert,  Cyrus,  Theodore,  Fremont,  Geneva,  Lizzie,  Fred- 
eric, Leon  and  Leonora,  all  of  whom  are  living.  Such  has  been  the 
confidence  of  the  people  in  Mr.  Finch's  ability  and  honesty  that  he  has 
always  held  office  since  the  organization  of  the  township.  He  is  a 
republican  in  politics. 

H.  C.  Smith,  farmer,  Wellington,  was  born  June  13,  1829.  His 
parents  were  Eli  and  Mary  Smith,  of  the  Society  of  Friends.  His  father 
was  an  industrious  shoemaker.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  the 
youngest  of  a  family  of  seven.  At  the  age  of  three  his  parents  died. 
An  aunt  took  care  of  him  until  he  was  fourteen  years  old.  He  lived 
with  his  sister  awhile  and  then  went  to  his  brother  and  staid  four 
years.  While  living  here  he  learned  the  shoemaker's  trade  of  his 
brother.  He  had  but  little  opportunity  to  obtain  an  education  from 
the  time  that  he  was  old  enough  to  work.  In  1846  he  went  to  Louisi- 
ana, and  spent  the  winter  in  chopping  cordwood.  He  returned  to 
Ohio  and  worked  awhile  on  a  farm,  and  in  1848  he  worked  at  digging 
iron  ore  at  Ironton,  Ohio.  He  was  also  engaged  for  awhile  on  a  flat- 
boat  that  carried  iron  ore  from  Ironton  to  Cincinnati.  While  on  the 
river  he  became  an  expert  swimmer,  and  by  reason  of  this,  has  saved 
three  men  from  drowning.  He  was  married,  December  25,  1849,  to 
Harriet  Moreland.  He  came  with  his  young  wife  to  Portland,  Foun- 
tain county,  Indiana,  in  April,  1851.  After  many  discouragements  he 


PRAIRIE    GREEN   TOWNSHIP.  443 

at  last  managed  to  save  fourteen  dollars,  and  made  the  first  payment 
on  the  40  acres  of  land  where  he  now  resides.  He  moved  here  in  De- 
cember, 1853.  He  went  to  work  wherever  work  could  be  had,  and  his 
children  grew  up  about  him  to  help,  and  at  last  the  home  was  paid  for. 
He  was  elected  town  clerk  of  Crab  Apple  township  one  term,  and 
served  as  justice  of  the  peace  from  the  organization  of  this  township, 
for  fourteen  years.  He  was  also  supervisor  for  three  terms,  and  assessor 
three  terms.  Mr.  Smith  has  six  children  :  Arabella,  Mary  E.,  Martha  E., 
Lorena  E.,  Morean  and  Eli  Tad.  Three  of  the  oldest  are  married,  and  all 
live  in  this  county.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Milford  Lodge  of  Masons. 
No.  168,  also  a  member  of  Prairie  Green  Grange,  No.  1166.  He  is 
a  republican. 

Kendall  Shankland,  farmer,  Hoopeston,  was  born  July  1,  1825,  at 
Eaton,  Ohio.  His  parents  were  Kentuckians,  and  were  among  the 
first  settlers  of  Ohio,  and  also  of  Warren  county,  Indiana,  where  they 
came  when  Kendall  was  about  four  years  of  age.  The  town  of  "West 
Lebanon  sprang  up  near  where  his  parents  settled,  and  here  the  subject 
of  this  sketch  grew  up  to  manhood.  His  education  was  rather  limited. 
He  was  married  in  Boone  county,  Indiana,  to  Amanda  Harris,  a  native 
of  Marion  county,  Indiana,  on  February  14,  1848.  They  lived  on  a 
farm  in  Warren  county,  Indiana,  near  West  Lebanon,  until  they  moved 
to  this  township  in  Ib54.  Mr.  Shankland  was  among  the  first  residents 
of  Prairie  Green.  He  now  owns  840  acres  of  land  in  this  township, 
besides  the  old  farm  in  Warren  county.  He  is  the  father  of  five  chil- 
dren :  Ben.  F.,  now  at  Watseka,  in  the  office  of  the  county  clerk  as 
deputy ;  George,  Florence,  David  and  Laura.  Mr.  Shankland  took  an 
active  part  in  organizing  the  township  of  Prairie  Green,  and  has  since 
been  prominently  connected  with  public  affairs  in  the  township  and 
county.  He  has  been  supervisor  in  all  for  eighteen  years,  and  was  the 
first  one  to  hold  that  office  in  the  township.  He  has  been  a  republican 
from  the  formation  of  that  party.  Mr.  Shankland  has  also  held  the 
office  of  school  trustee.  His  grove  and  orchard,  crowning  the  brow  of 
one  of  the  highest  knolls  in  the  township,  can  be  seen  for  miles  in  any 
direction. 

L.  E.  Barritt,  farmer,  Wellington,  was  born  March  28,  1836,  in 
Westville,  Champaign  county,  Ohio.  His  parents  were  Lemuel  and 
Matilda  (Pearce)  Barritt.  They  left  Ohio  and  settled  in  Madison 
county,  Indiana,  about  1839,  and  remained  in  that  county  until  1844, 
when  they  came  to  Warren  county,  Indiana,  and  from  there  to  Iro- 
quois  county,  Illinois,  in  1854,  and  settled  in  Stockland  township. 
They  both  died  in  this  county.  He  remained  with  his  parents  up  to 
the  age  of  twenty-two.  On  March  18,  1858,  he  was  married  to  Mary 


444  HISTOKY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

J.  Dawson,  daughter  of  C.  W.  and  Mary  J.  Dawson,  of  Milford  town- 
ship. Mrs.  Barritt  died  in  the  same  year,  December  2,  and  Mr.  Bar- 
ritt  returned  to  his  mother's  home  in  Stockland  township,  his  father 
having  died  the  year  before.  He  was  married  again,  September  4, 
1859,  to  Lavina  J.  Decker,  who  was  born  June  28,  1841.  Her  parents 
were  old  residents  of  Milford  township,  having  come  from  Virginia 
more  than  thirty  years  ago.  By  this  last  marriage  Mr.  Barritt  has 
three  children  living:  Cornelia,  born  November  17,  1860;  Andrew 
L.,  born  September  7,  1864 ;  and  Lillie  M.,  born  August  14,  1866. 
Jasper  S.  was  born  July  28,  1862,  and  died  December  17,  1877.  Mr. 
Barritt  and  his  first  wife  were  members  of  the  United  Brethren  church. 
He  and  his  present  wife  now  belong  to  the  Methodists.  He  has  100 
acres,  which  he  values  at  $4,000.  He  is  a  republican,  but  no  office 
seeker. 

Jasper  N.  Barritt  is  one  of  the  wide-awake,  progressive  farmers  of 
Prairie  Green.  His  comfortable  home  nestles  in  the  midst  of  the 
grove  and  orchard  which  his  own  hands  have  planted.  His  farm  is 
in  section  8,  and  consists  of  180  acres,  valued  at  $35  per  acre.  He 
was  born  February  4,  1841,  in  Madison  county,  Indiana.  He  is 
the  son  of  Lemuel  and  Matilda  (Pearce)  Barritt,  who  came  from  Ohio 
and  settled  first  in  Madison  county,  Indiana,  and  afterward  in  Warren 
county,  Indiana,  near  Pine  village.  In  1854  the  family  moved  to 
Stockland  township  and  settled  four  miles  east  of  Milford.  They 
owned  a  farm  at  that  place  and  also  the  land  where  Jasper  now  lives. 
He  staid  with  his  parents,  working  on  the  farm,  until  August  9,  1862, 
when  he  enlisted  in  the  76th  111.  Yol.  He  was  at  the  siege  of  Vicks- 
burg,  and  after  the  fall  of  that  city  was  in  the  battle  at  Jackson  and  in  a 
skirmish  at  Benton,  Mississippi.  He  was  mustered  out  at  Galveston, 
and  discharged  at  Chicago,  August  4, 1865.  He  was  married,  Septem- 
ber 17,  1865,  to  Matilda  Stephenson.  Her  parents,  Aaron  and  Eliza- 
beth Stephenson,  are  both  living  in  Warren  county,  Indiana,  having 
been  married  fifty-eight  years.  They  came  from  Ohio,  and  were  the 
first  settlers  of  Warren  county,  Indiana.  Mr.  Barritt  has  a  family  of 
four  lovely  daughters  and  one  boy.  Their  names  and  dates  of  birth 
are  as  follows :  Estel la,  August  14,  1866:  Mary  A.,  June  22,  1868; 
Lura  L.,  February  21,  1871;  Loda,  January  9,  1873,  and  Ira  J., 
November  6,  1878.  He  rented  a  farm  near  Milford  for  two  years  after 
marriage,  but  in  1868  he  moved  to  the  place  where  he  now  resides. 
Mrs.  Barritt  is  a  Methodist.  His  political  views  are  republican. 

James  B.  Handy  (deceased),  farmer,  Hoopeston,  was  born  on  Union 
Prairie,  in  Illinois,  west  of  Terre  Haute,  July  11,  1822,  and  died  in 
March,  1863.  His  parents  were  natives  of  New  York.  When  he 


PRAIRIE    GREEN   TOWNSHIP.  445 

was  about  twelve  years  old  he  went  with  his  parents  to  Newtown, 
Fountain  county,  Indiana.  They  bought  a  farm  there.  Young 
Handy  lived  with  his  parents  until  1842.  He  was  married  to  Keziah 
Poyner.  September  23,  1842.  He  bought  a  farm  and  resided  in  Foun- 
tain county  until  April,  1858,  when  he  came  to  the  neighborhood 
where  his  family  now  live.  He  bought  land  here  in  1859  and  moved 
to  the  farm  in  the  spring  of  1861.  In  1862  his  oldest  son,  Thomas  P., 
enlisted  in  the  76th  111.-  Vol.,  arid  died  the  same  year  of  measles,  at 
Columbus,  Kentucky.  Mr.  Handy  brought  the  body  home  for  burial. 
The  other  children  are  James  A.,  who  married  Cornelia  Koontz; 
Mary  A.,  wife  of  J.  M.  Houston  ;  Loretta  J.,  wife  of  Theodore 
Finch;  Emma  T.,  wife  of  Charles  Beebee;  and  John,  unmarried, 
who  lives  at  home  with  his  mother.  Mr.  Handy  enjoyed  the  confi- 
dence of  his  fellow  citizens.  He  was  the  first  town  clerk  of  the  town- 
ship, and  also  school  treasurer.  He  was  a  member  of  the  M.  E. 
church,  as  also  was  Mrs.  Handy.  She  now  belongs  to  the  United 
Brethren  church. 

N.  H.  Endsley,  farmer,  Arabia.  Indiana,  was  born  in  Fountain 
county,  Indiana,  February  15,  1842.  His  parents  were  Hugh  and 
Maria  (Osborne)  Endsley.  His  mother  died  when  he  was  quite 
young,  and  after  her  death  he  lived  with  an  aunt  in  Harrison  county, 
Missouri,  up  to  the  age  of  sixteen.  He  started  for  Pike's  Peak  in  the 
year  1858,  but  met  so  many  returning  that  he  came  back,  and  in  No- 
vember, 1858,  came  to  Vermilion  county,  Illinois.  He  next  came  to 
Iroquois  county  and  worked  awhile  for  Endsley  &  Scott,  at  the  "Red 
Pump,"  in  Lovejoy  township.  In  August,  1861,  he  [enlisted  from 
Fountain  county,  Indiana,  in  Harris'  Light  Cavalry,  afterward  known 
as  the  2d  N.  Y.  "With  this  famous  regiment  he  was  in  all  the  hard- 
fought  battles  in  which  the  army  of  the  Potomac'took  a  part,  and  was 
with  Gen.  Sheridan  in  the  Shenandoah  Yalley.  He  wras  wounded  at 
Gettysburg,  White's  Ford,  and  at  Hanover  Court-house.  Mr.  Endsley 
served  through  the  war,  then  returned  to  Vermilion  county,  and  was 
shortly  after  married  to  Amanda  Daniel,  daughter  of  Eli  Daniel,  who 
settled  on  the  round  bottom  above  Danville,  Illinois,  when  that  village 
contained  but  three  houses.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Endsley  are  both  members 
of  the  Maple  Grove  M.  E.  church.  He  is  also  a  member  of  Prairie 
Green  Grange  No.  1166.  He  is  the  father  of  five  children :  May, 
David  U.,  William  A.,  Frank  M.  and  John  W. 

Murray  McGrew,  farmer,  Hoopeston,  was  born  March  10,  1826, 
near  Steubenville,  Ohio.  His  parents,  James  and  Mary  (Pentecost) 
McGrew,  both  died  when  he  was  quite  young.  Being  a  poor  orphan 
boy  his  education  was  neglected.  His  youth  was  spent  in  Harrison 


446  .          HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

county,  Ohio.  He  was  married  to  Ann  Williams,  a  niece  of  Thomas 
Hoopes,  of  Hoopeston,  March  27,  1851.  He  followed  farming  in 
Harrison  county,  Ohio,  until  1864,  then  removed  to  Morgan  county, 
Ohio,  where  he  bought  a  small  farm.  He  soon  sold  this  and  came  to 
Vermilion  county,  Illinois.  In  the  fall  of  1865  he  bought  80  acres  in 
this  township,  where  he  built  a  shanty  and  commenced  farming  in  the 
spring  of  1866.  He  now  values  his  land  at  $35  per  acre.  He  has  four 
children  living  :  William,  Sarah  W.,  John  T.  (in  Nebraska)  and  Joseph. 
Elizabeth  died,  in  1865,  of  spotted  fever.  He  is  a  republican.  Mrs. 
McGrew  belongs  to  the  United  Brethren  church. 

William  Stanton  owns  120  acres  in  section  7,  where  he  lives.  He  has 
it  well  improved.  His  father,  Edwin,  was  a  native  of  Ohio,  and  his 
mother,  Martha  Peebles,  of  Virginia.  They  both  came  to  Indiana  at 
an  early  day  and  were  married  there.  They  were  Quakers.  Mr. 
Stanton  was  born  in  Montgomery  county,  Indiana,  October  3,  1837. 
When  he  was  quite  small  his  father  died,  and  as  he  grew  up  he  had  his 
mother  and  two  sisters  to  provide  for.  He  remained  with  his  mother, 
following  farming,  until  he  was  about  twenty-seven  years  old.  He  came 
to  Prairie  Green  to  live  about  the  year  1865.  He  was  married,  February 
28, 1869,  to  Margaret  Owens,  a  native  of  Warren  county,  Indiana.  Her 
parents,  George  and  Sarah  Owens,  were  natives  of  Virginia  and  Ohio. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stanton  met  with  a  severe  affliction  in  the  death  of  their 
daughter,  Lottie,  which  occurred  October  26,  1879.  She  was  born 
December  23,  1869.  Their  only  living  child  now  is  Addie,  who  was 
born  December  27,  1873. 

William  M.  Moore,  farmer,  Wellington,  was  born  September  10, 
1826,  in  Washington  county,  Indiana.  His  parents  settled  in  Tippe- 
canoe  county,  Indiana,  when  William  was  quite  young.  He  lived 
there  up  to  1848.  He  then  bought  land  in  Benton  county,  Indiana,  and 
lived  there  until  the  spring  of  1866.  In  1866  he  moved  to  his  farm  in  this 
township,  where  he  now  owns  half  of  section  20,  one  of  the  finest  and 
best  improved  farms  in  the  county.  He  was  married,  February  2 
1862,  to  Mahala  Brown;  they  have  four  children,  all  living:  Mary 
E.,  born  November  26,  1862 ;  Martha  V.,  born  December  25,  1864, 
Ella  M.,  born  November  3, 1867;  and  Ida,  born  January  1, 1867.  Mr. 
Moore  is  a  good  citizen  and  desires  neither  office  nor  notoriety. 

John  W.  Hudson,  farmer,  Wellington,  was  born  near  the  Yadkin 
river,  in  North  Carolina,  December  24,  1831.  His  parents  were  Peter 
and  Elizabeth  (Adinger)  Hudson  ;  the  former  was  a  native  of  South 
Carolina,  and  the  latter  of  North  Carolina.  Mr.  Hudson  and  his 
family  are  of  a  very  mixed  descent.  His  paternal  grandfather  was  an 
Englishman,  born  in  London.  He  came  to  America  and  settled  near 


PRAIRIE    GREEN   TOWNSHIP.  447 

Charleston,  South  Carolina.  He  was  in  the  revolutionary  war,  and 
reached  the  age  of  one  hundred  and  thirteen  years.  His  paternal 
grandmother  was  Welsh,  his  maternal  grandmother  Scotch,  and  his 
maternal  grandfather,  who  came  to  America  to  fight  the  English,  was 
a  Frenchman,  born  in  Paris.  This  Frenchman  settled  in  North  Caro- 
lina, and  was  one  of  "  Marion's  men."  Once  during  the  revolution 
he  was  hung  up  by  the  tories,  head  downward,  and  was  almost  dead 
before  he  was  discovered  and  released  by  his  comrades.  He  took  part 
in  the  war  of  1812,  and  was  killed  in  battle.  When  Mr.  Hudson  was 
about  six  years  old  he  came  with  his  parents  to  Montgomery  county, 
Indiana,  and  from  there  to  Tippecanoe  county,  where  in  a  few  years 
his  parents  died.  He  staid  with  a  blacksmith  for  some  time,  learned 
the  trade  and  the  use  of  tools  generally.  In  1852  he  went  to  Cali- 
fornia overland,  and  while  there  followed  mining,  teaming,  farming 
and  milling,  mostly  in  Trinity  county.  He  returned  in  1856  by  way 
of  the  Isthmus  of  Darien.  He  moved  from  Tippecanoe  to  Benton 
county,  and  then  to  Warren  county,  Indiana.  In  1866,  after  a  trip  to 
Kansas,  he  came  to  the  farm  he  now  lives  on,  in  this  township.  Mr. 
Hudson  was  in  the  150th  Ind.  Yet.,  Hancock's  corps,  from  February, 
1865,  until  August,  1865.  He  was  married  while  living  in  Tippecanoe 
county,  Indiana,  to  Priscilla  P.  Chizum,  who  was  born  in  Ross  county, 
Ohio,  March  13,  1823.  Her  parents  settled  on  the  Shawnee  prairie, 
in  Fountain  county,  about  1826.  They  were  of  Irish  and  Dutch 
descent.  Mr.  Hudson  has  one  son  living  named  Junior  F.,  and  also 
one  daughter,  whose  full  name  is  Rosa  Arctta  Civilla  Florence.  There 
is  one  dead,  named  Edward  M.  Mr.  Hudson  is  a  member  of  the  Blue 
Lodge  of  Masons,  and  of  the  chapter  at  Hoopeston.  He  has  given 
considerable  time  to  the  invention  of  corn-planting  and  corn-cultivat- 
ing machinery.  He  obtained  the  second  patent  for  a  double  corn- 
planter,  being  next  to  Brown,  and  also  claims  the  third  application  in 
the  patent  office  for  a  straddle  row,  riding  corn-cultivator.  He  and  his 
son  have  both  obtained  patents  on  check-row  corn-planters,  which  will 
doubtless  one  day  become  valuable.  Mr.  Hudson  has  also  applied  for 
a  patent  on  a  "  lock  nut,"  an  invention  of  great  interest  to  all  who  use 
machinery.  Mr.  Hudson's  farm  of  160  acres  lies  in  sections  17  and 
20.  He  values  it  at  $35  per  acre.  Mr.  Hudson  is  a  justice  of  the 
peace.  In  politics  he  is  a  greenback  republican. 

Isaac  N.  Bishop,  physician  and  farmer,  Ambia,  Indiana,  was  born  in 
Richland  county,  Ohio,  where  he  lived  until  twenty  years  of  age.  He 
then  went  to  Chicago,  where  he  entered  the  Chicago  Medical  School. 
Here,  under  the  direction  of  Prof.  Byford,  he  made  rapid  and  perma- 
nent progress  in  his  favorite  study.  While  an  undergraduate  he  was 
^ 


448  HISTORY    OF   IROQTJOIS    COUNTY. 

appointed  assistant  surgeon  of  the  57th  111.  Yet.  He  was  in  the 
Atlanta  campaign,  and  with  Sherman's  boys  in  the  march  to  the  sea. 
He  was  in  the  battles  at  Rome  cross  roads,  Georgia,  Black  river, 
South  Carolina,  and  Bentonville,  North  Carolina.  lie  was  mustered 
out  at  Chicago  in  July,  1865.  He  then  finished  his  studies  and  grad- 
uated with  honor,  receiving  his  diploma  in  the  spring  of  1866.  He 
began  the  practice  of  medicine  at  Salem,  Ohio,  where  he  remained 
about  one  year,  then  came  to  this  township.  He  was  married  January 
4, 1871,  to  Annie  Mitchell,  daughter  of  Abner  Mitchell,  one  of  the 
first  settlers  and  best  citizens  of  this  township.  They  have  two  boys; 
Ernest,  born  February  27,  1874;  and  Dorino,  born  August  27,  1877. 
Dr.  Bishop's  practice  extended  over  a  wide  territory,  embracing  adjoin- 
ing townships.  He  is  now  engaged  in  improving  his  farm  of  160 
acres,  in  section  35.  When  he  has  gained  a  competency  here  he 
expects  to  resume  his  practice.  Dr.  Bishop  is  a  republican. 

Samuel  Hazel,  farmer,  Hoopeston,  was  born  in  Wayne  county, 
Ohio,  July  5,  1825.  He  is  the  son  of  Hugh  and  Ruth  (Kearns) 
Hazel,  who  were  early  settlers  of  Wayne  county.  They  came  from 
Delaware.  He  lived  with  his  parents  up  to  the  time  of  his  marriage, 
which  occurred  November  9,  1847,  his  bride  being  Elizabeth  Bishop, 
sister  of  Dr.  Bishop,  of  this  township.  He  lived  in  Ohio  on  several 
different  farms  for  twenty  years.  In  1867  he  came  to  the  place  he  now 
occupies,  "squatted  "  on  the  raw  sod,  soon  after  bought  200  acres,  and 
now  owns  440  acres,  all  of  which  is  well  cultivated  and  improved.  In 
the  year  1870  Mr.  Hazel  raised  1,000  bushels  of  flax-seed,  which  he 
delivered  in  Danville  at  $2  per  bushel.  Helms  three  children  living. 
The  first  is  John,  who  is  married  and  living  at  Claypool,  Indiana.  He 
was  a  graduate  of  the  Miami  Medical  College  of  Cincinnati,  and  has  an 
extensive  and  successful  practice  where  he  resides.  The  second  son, 
Samuel  E.,  is  married  and  lives  in  Vermilion  county,  Illinois,  and  a 
daughter  named  Talitha,  wife  of  Henry  Seamann,  lives  on  an  adjoin- 
ing farm.  The  names  of  his  children  who  have  died  are  Alice, 
Edward  and  Cornelius.  Mr.  Hazel  is  a  member  of  Plato  Lodge, 
I.O.O.F.,  in  Lorraine  county,  Ohio.  In  politics  he  is  a  democrat. 
His  wife  is  a  member  of  the  United  Brethren  church. 

Philip  Swartz,  farmer.  Ambia,  Benton  county,  Indiana,  was  born 
in  Baden,  Germany,  May  1,  1825.  His  parents  were  Thomas  and 
Salmah  (Koos)  Swartz,  who  lived  and  died  in  Germany.  He  came  to 
this  country  in  1853,  and  for  three  years  worked  at  the  cabinet-maker's 
trade  in  Williamsburgh,  New  York.  He  then  went  to  Chicago,  and 
also  visited  several  other  cities  in  the  northwest,  working  occasionally 
at  his  trade,  and  finally  settled  in  Bloomington,  where  he  lived  several 


PRAIRIE   GREEN   TOWNSHIP.  449 

years.  He  lived  on  a  farm  near  that  city  a  few  years,  and  came  from 
there  to  his  present  home  in  this  township  in  1868.  He  now  owns  240 
acres  well  improved.  He  was  married,  in  1855,  to  Mary  A.  Koable,  a 
native  of  Germany.  They  have  six  living  children  :  Charley,  George, 
Frank,  Caroline,  Albert  and  William.  Four  are  dead :  John,  Anna, 
Henry  and  John.  Mrs.  Swartz's  parents  are  still  living  in  Germany. 
Her  father  was  in  the  last  wars  against  the  great  Napoleon.  Mr. 
Swartz  received  a  common-school  education.  He  and  all  his  family 
belong  to  the  German  Catholic  church.  His  political  views  are  demo- 
cratic. 

A.  W.  Kirkwood,  farmer,  Wellington,  was  born  in  Grant  county, 
Indiana,  May  15,  1838.  His  parents  were  Thomas  and  Jane  (McCor- 
mick)  Kirkwood,  natives  of  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio,  who  came  to  Indi- 
ana at  a  very  early  day.  They  were  of  Irish  descent.  Mr.  Kirkwood's 
life  was  spent  in  his  father's  family  up  to  the  age  of  twenty-one.  For 
two  years  after  he  worked  on  farms  in  the  vicinity  of  his  home.  He 
enlisted  in  the  84th  Ind.  Yols.  for  three  years,  in  August,  1862.  He 
was  in  the  Atlanta  campaign,  and  then  fought  at  the  battles  of  Frank- 
lin and  Nashville.  He  took  part  in  many  skirmishes  in  Tennessee  and 
Alabama,  and  was  mustered  out  at  Nashville,  in  June,  1865.  He  came 
back  to  Delaware  county,  Indiana,  and  worked  by  the  month,  and  also 
in  the  year  1867  farmed  on  his  own  account.  In  1868  he  came  to 
Lovejoy  township  and  began  working  for  William  Adsit,  where  he 
remained  eighteen  months.  He  was  married,  September  5,  1869,  to 
Mary  Slaughter,  daughter  of  William  and  Isabel  (McLain)  Slaughter, 
both  of  whom  are  still  living  in  Stockland  township,  in  this  county. 
In  the  spring  of  1870  he  settled  on  his  present  farm  of  80  acres,  in  sec- 
tion 17,  which  he  now  valuer  at  $2,500.  Mr.  Kirkwood  had  only  a 
common-school  education.  He  has  been  twice  elected  commissioner  of 
highways,  and  is  now  treasurer  of  the  board.  He  has  four  children : 
Charles  ft.,  born  July  20,  1872;  Laura  J.,  born  February  27,  1875; 
William  M.,  born  August  28,  1876,  and  Robert  L.,  born  May  28, 1878, 
also  an  infant,  dead.  Mr.  Kirkwood  is  a  member  of  Star  Lodge, 
Hoopeston,  No.  709,  and  of  the  chapter. 

George  H.  Hedger,  farmer,  Wellington,  was  born  October  9,  1852, 
in  Oswego  county,  New  York.  His  parents  were  also  natives  of  New 
York.  They  came  to  DuPage  county,  Illinois,  in  1854,  where  Mr. 
Hedger  received  a  common-school  education.  His  parents  then  removed 
to  Iroquois  county,  Middleport  township,  in  1869,  where  his  father 
owns  a  small  farm.  His  mother  died  there  January  3,  1879.  He  has 
one  brother  living  in  Wisconsin,  named  Hiram,  and  another  named 
Thomas,  in  this  county.  Mr.  Hedger  is  an  industrious  young  farmer, 


450  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

residing  at  present  in  this  township.  He  is  unmarried,  and  is  a  stanch 
republican. 

Samuel  Ebbert,  farmer,  Hoopeston,  Vermilion  county,  son  of 
Andrew  E.  and  Mary  Ebbert.  was  born  in  Montgomery  county,  Ohio, 
October  26,  1839.  He  moved  with  his  parents  to  Grant  county,  Indi- 
ana, when  he  was  nine  years  of  age.  He  was  early  thrown  on  his  own 
resources.  By  habits  of  industry  and  economy  he  soon  obtained  a  start 
in  the  world.  He  bought  his  present  farm  of  80  acres  in  1869,  and 
began  improving  it.  He  has  lived  here  ever  since.  He  married  Emily 
E.  Bradford,  of  Grant  county,  Indiana,  January  30,  1862.  Her  father 
was  one  of  the  oldest  settlers  of  that  county,  and  is  still  living.  They 
have  one  child  living:  Edwin  L.,  born  March  10,  1863,  and  one  dead. 
Mr.  Ebbert  enlisted  in  the  54th  Ind.  Yols.,  in  October,  1862,  for  one 
year.  He  was  with  Sherman  in  the  first  attack  on  Yicksburg,  and  at 
the  battle  of  Arkansas  Post;  he  also  aided  in  the  memorable  siege  of 
Yicksburg,  and  took  part  in  the  battle  at  Jackson,  Mississippi.  From 
there  he  went  to  New  Orleans.  He  was  out  with  Gen.  Banks'  com- 
mand to  Opelousas,  Louisiana,  and  returned  to  New  Orleans,  where 
he  was  discharged.  Pie  reached  home  December  25,  1863.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Ebbert  both  belong  to  the  M.  E.  church,  at  Wellington.  He  is  a 
republican. 

"W.  H.  Elstob,  farmer,  Wellington,  was  born  on  the  island  of  St. 
Helena,  October  20, 1849.  He  is  the  son  of  George  and  Eliza  (Coster) 
Elstob,  natives  of  England.  His  father  was  a  soldier  in  the  British 
army ;  he  held  the  office  of  sergeant.  He  was  stationed  at  St.  Helena 
for  seven  years,  and  died  there.  After  the  death  of  his  father,  which 
occurred  about  1850,  he  went  with  his  mother  to  London,  England. 
He  attended  school  there,  but  when  about  fifteen  years  of  age  he  went 
to  sea  in  a  merchant  vessel.  He  visited  the  West  Indies,  South 
America,  and  various  ports  on  the  Atlantic  and  Mediterranean.  His 
mother  still  lives  in  London,  In  1870  he  went  to  Canada,  then  visited 
Chicago,  and  drifted  into  Prairie  Green,  where  he  has  remained  ever 
since.  He  owns  40  acres  in  section  21,  where  he  lias  kept  bachelor's 
hall  for  the  last  five  years. 

Orlando  B.  Rollins,  farmer,  Hoopeston,  was  born  November  16, 
1838,  at  Pembroke,  New  Hampshire.  His  parents  were  Ivory  M. 
and  Sarah  M.,  natives  of  New  Hampshire,  of  English  descent.  He 
was  married,  November  20,  1858,  to  Phebe  C.  Hansom,  a  New  Hamp- 
shire girl.  They  came  to  Bureau  county.  Illinois,  in  1862,  remained 
there  on  a  farm  for  about  seven  years,  then  removed  to  Rantoul,  in 
Champaign  county,  and  came  from  there  to  their  present  home  in 
this  township.  They  have  three  children  living:  Hattie  M.,  Lettie 


PRAIKIE    GREEN   TOWNSHIP.  451 

H.  and  George  W.  There  is  one  dead,  named  Phelena.  Their 
daughter  Lettie  has  made,  by  herself,  a  patchwork  quilt,  containing 
about  12,000  pieces.  It  is  very  neatly  put  together,  and  is  a  wonder- 
ful piece  of  work  for  a  little  girl  of  twelve  years.  Mr.  Rollins 
enlisted  September  10,  1864,  in  the  146th  111.  Vol.  for  one  year. 
Being  a  Yankee,  Mr.  Rollins  has  devoted  considerable  thought  to  the 
contrivance  of  new  machines.  He  has  invented  a  self-adjustable, 
check-row  corn-planter,  which  works  without  wire  or  rope.  He  is 
also  at  work  on  a  corn-husking  machine,  which  he  thinks  will  be  a 
success.  His  check-row  corn-planter  has  been  patented. 

Joseph  Cowan,  "Wellington,  farmer,  was  born  in  Salford,  Lancashire 
county,  England,  June  31,  1836.  He  is  the  son  of  John  and  Hannah 
Cowan,  of  Scotch  and  English  descent.  When  thirteen  years  of  age 
he  went  to  Tinwald,  in  Scotland,  and  served  an  apprenticeship  of  five 
years  with  a  shoemaker.  He  then  returned  to  Salford,  and  worked  in 
a  large  dyeing  establishment  one  year.  He  then  came  to  America  and 
settled  in  Kendall  county,  Illinois.  He  was  married,  November  20, 
1856,  to  Isabella  Allen,  of  Livingston  county,  Illinois.  He  followed 
farming  in  Kendall  county  until  the  winter  of  1859-60,  when  he  re- 
moved to  Livingston  county,  and  continued  to  farm  up  to  the  fall  of 
1864.  Although  a  native  of  England,  Mr.  Cowan  was  an  ardent 
republican,  and  believed  in  the  vigorous  prosecution  of  the  war  to  put 
down  the  rebellion.  He  had  told  his  political  opponents  that  in  case 
he  were  drafted,  he  would  willingly  leave  home  and  faithfully  perform 
his  duty  as  a  soldier.  Following  the  draft,  it  was  discovered  that  a 
John  Cowan  had  been  drafted,  and  as  there  was  no  John  Cowan  to 
answer  to  the  call,  his  political  enemies  believed  that  the  man  drafted 
was  Joseph  Cowan,  and  supposed  he  would  avail  himself  of  the  mis- 
take in  entering  his  name,  and  evade  the  service.  Mr.  Cowan,  himself 
believing  that  he  had  been  chosen,  without  a  moment's  hesitation 
reported  for  duty,  and  was  placed  in  the  44th  111.  reg.  He  was  in  the 
battles  of  Spring  Hill,  Columbia,  Franklin  and  Nashville.  It  was 
afterward  discovered  that  one  John  Cowan,  who  had  left  the  country, 
had  been  really  drafted  instead  of  Joseph.  He  was  discharged  in 
June,  1865,  and  resumed  farming  in  Livingston  county,  until  1871, 
when  he  came  to  his  present  home  in  Prairie  Green.  He  owns  a 
well  improved  farm  here  of  80  acres,  in  section  2,  valued  at  $2,400,  all 
of  which  he  has  gained  by  his  own  exertions.  Mr.  Cowan  is  a  Free- 
mason. He  and  his  wife  and  two  of  their  children  are  members  of  the 
Christian  church.  He  is  the  father  of  eight  children,  named  as  follows : 
Jean  B.,  John  H.,  Andrew  G.,  Mary  E.,  Minnie  G.,  Joseph  H.,  Isa- 
bella and  Benjamin.  The  last  two  are  dead.  Mr.  Cowan  has  a  par- 


452  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

donable  pride  for  his  old  English  ancestors,  whom  he  can  trace  back  to 
the  time  of  William  the  Conqueror. 

David  Smalley.  farmer,  Wellington,  was  born  June  13,  1839.  His 
parents  were  William  and  Sarah  (Sargent)  Smalley,  who  were  married 
August  29, 1833,  in  Fountain  county,  Indiana,  where  they  were  living 
when  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born.  His  youth  was  spent  in 
Fountain  and  Warren  counties,  Indiana.  He  was  married,  October  3, 
1860,  to  Martha  Hickman.  Her  parents  were  Peter  and  Mary  Hick- 
man,  from  Delaware.  They  are  still  living  in  Warren  county,  Indi- 
ana. Mr.  Smalley  has  seven  children  living:  W.  Clark,  P.  Clay,  C. 
Burt ;  R.  Ora  and  A.  Dora,  twins ;  M.  Baxley  and  D.  Arthur.  Mr. 
Smalley  came  to  the  farm  he  now  lives  on,  in  section  1,  in'  the  spring 
of  1873.  He  has  now  360  acres.  When  he  came  here  there  was  noth- 
ing on  the  place,  while  now  he  has  fine  groves  and  a  young  orchard 
coming  on.  When  he  was  a  young  man  his  father  advised  him  to 
keep  out  of  lawsuits  and  bad  company.  He  has  followed  this  advice, 
and  to  this  may  be  attributed  much  of  his  success  in  life. 

Robert  M.  Denholm  was  born  in  Portobello,  near  Edinburgh,  Scot- 
land, in  the  year  1851.  He  was  educated  at  Dr.  Bell's  seminary,  in 
Edinburgh,  leaving  school  at  the  age  of  twelve  years.  He  then  served 
an  apprenticeship  of  five  years  to  the  bookselling  and  stationer's  busi- 
ness, in  Edinburgh,  and  was  also  employed  in  book-keeping.  In  1874: 
he  came  to  America  and  settled  in  Prairie  Green  township,  where  he 
has  been  principally  engaged  in  farming.  For  the  last  four  years  he 
has  kept  "  bach,"  and  has  taken  the  lead  in  all  the  amusements  of  the 
young  people  of  Prairie  Green,  being  the  life  and  center  of  the  social 
and  literary  enterprises  that  have  made  the  "  Round  Top  "  neighbor- 
hood famous  throughout  the  county. 


RIDGELAND   TOWNSHIP. 

This  township  occupies  the  western  part  of  what  was  originally 
known  as  Onarga.  At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  county  board  of 
supervisors,  held  September,  1878,  a  petition  was  presented,  asking 
that  a  certain  portion  of  the  township  of  Onarga — described  therem 
— be  organized  into  a  new  township  under  the  name  of  "Ridge." 
The  committee  to  whom  the  subject  was  referred,  recommended  that 
the  petition  be  granted ;  and  at  a  subsequent  meeting  [held  in  Janu- 
ary, 1879,  the  report  was  adopted  and  the  division  made,  the  vote 
being  twenty-two  yeas  and  one  nay.  The  official  act  is  as  follows : 
"  All  that  territory  of  the  township  of  Onarga  lying  west  of  a  line 


RIDGELAND   TOWNSHIP.  453 

commencing  at  the  northeast  corner  of  the  southeast  quarter  of  sec- 
tion 11,  town  26,  range  10  east  of  the  3d  principal  meridian  ;  run- 
ning thence  south  to  the  southeast  corner  of  section  26  of  said  town 
and  range ;  thence  west  to  the  northeast  corner  of  the  northwest 
quarter  of  section  35  of  said  town  and  range ;  thence  south  to  the 
southeast  corner  of  lot  one  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  2, 
town  25,  range  10,  shall  be  and  constitute  the  town  of  "Ridge." 
At  the  annual  meeting  held  in  September,  1879,  it  was  officially 
determined  that  "  all  territory  east  of  the  following  line,  commencing 
at  the  center  of  Sec.  35,  T.  26,  R.  10  E.;  thence  running  due  north 
on  the  half-section  line  to  south  line  of  Douglas  township,  which 
territory  now  forms  a  part  of  the  town  of  Ridgeland,  be  and  the 
same  is  hereby  attached  to  the  town  of  Onarga."  The  first  township 
election  was  held  in  the  Ridgeville  school-house,  on  the  first  Tuesday 
of  April,  1879.  I.  N.  Wilson,  A.  H.  Whiteside  and  J.  C.  Shear 
acted  as  judges  of  election.  The  following  were  elected  the  first 
officers  of  the  township  :  Supervisor,  A.  R.  Butler ;  town  clerk,  F\, 
R.  Jameson ;  assessor,  D.  B.  Moffat ;  collector,  William  H.  H. 
Dinning;  commissioner  of  highways,  H.  B.  Booth;  constables, 
Robert  Couch,  J.  B.  Miller;  justice  of  the  peaces,  B.  H.  Skeels,  J. 
M.  Mears.  At  this  meeting  the  name  of  the  township  was  changed 
from  "Ridge"  to  "Ridgeland,"  as  there  is  already  a  town  of  same 
name  in  Jackson  county.  This  township  was  originally  all  prairie, 
there  being  but  one  tree  standing  in  it.  At  present,  however,  the 
aspect  of  the  country  is  greatly  changed  in  consequence  of  the 
numerous  orchards  and  groves  of  willow  and  other  trees  that  have 
been  planted  on  nearly  every  farm.  The  newcomer  can  hardly 
realize  the  great  change  that  has  taken  place  in  the  appearance  of 
this  vast  prairie  under  the  transforming  hand  of  civilization.  The 
surface  of  the  township  is  generally  level,  in  some  portions  it  would 
seem  too  much  so.  This  level,  however,  is  considerably  relieved  by 
ridges,  generally  extending  in  an  easterly  and  westerly  direction, 
and  while  nowhere  is  the  surface  abruptly  broken,  yet  there  are  suffi- 
cient inclinations  to  admit  of  easy  and  permanent  drainage.  Spring 
creek  rising  in  Ford  county  on  the  west,  enters  this  township  near 
its  southwest  corner,  and  flowing  irregularly  in  a  northeasterly 
course  nearly  to  the  center,  bends  its  course  southeasterly,  leaving  the 
town  near  the  corner  of  section  35.  This  is  the  only  flowing  stream 
in  the  township.  But  little  do  the  people  care  for  that.  Nature  has 
provided  an  inexhaustible  supply  of  the  most  wholesome  water. 
The  artesian  wells  that  are  found  wherever  needed,  bring  unfailing 
streams  of  health  and  happiness  to  every  household.  That  fearful 


454  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

scourge  of  the  west,  as  well  as  of  the  east, — chills  and  fever, — is  un- 
known in  this  town.  The  artesian  water,  charged  with  strong 
medicinal  qualities  of  nature's  own  compounding,  stands  like  a 
"'flaming  sword"  to  protect  the  citizen  from  his  worst  foe,  sickness. 
No  more  healthful  region  can  be  found.  One  gentleman  declared 
that  he  had  been  entirely  cured  of  a  troublesome  rheumatic  affection 
solely  through  its  use.  Numerous  artesian  springs  are  found  in  the 
western  part  of  the  town,  and  are  truly  remarkable, — a  feature  that 
in  many  localities  would  certainly  be  turned  to  profitable  account. 
This  extreme  healthfulness  of  the  country,  together  with  the  unsur- 
passed fertility  of  the  soil,  adapted  as  it  is  to  the  growth  of  every 
vegetable  product,  is  the  principal  reason  assigned  why  so  many 
intelligent  people  have  been  content  to  make  this  section  of  the 
county  their  home.  For  several  years  past,  crops  have  failed  in  con- 
sequence of  excessive  moisture,  the  surface  being  too  level  to  permit 
of  a  ready  natural  disposal  of  the  surplus  water.  But  the  gradual 
extension  of  a  general  system  of  ditches,  and  increased  attention  to 
drainage  by  means  of  drain-tile,  are  perceptibly  removing  this  great 
obstacle  to  successful  farming. 

EARLY    SETTLEMENTS. 

Although  this  township  so  recently  formed  a  part  of  Onarga,  yet 
we  propose  to  trace  back  its  history  to  those  who  first  settled  its  fer- 
tile' lands.  Among  the  first  (if  not  the  first  to  locate  within  its  pres- 
ent limits),  was  John  Northrup,  on  Sec.  35,  T.  26,  K.  10  E.  He 
built  the  first  mill  and  made  the  first  brick  in  the  township.  He 
was  also  one  of  the  builders  of  the  old  court-house  at  Middleport. 

The  first  mill  is  thus  described  :  Some  "  hand-power"  mills  had 
been  previously  erected  lower  down  on  Spring  creek  ;  but  "  this  was 
the  first  departure  from  hand  power,  and  was  run  by  an  inclined 
tread  wheel  some  eighteen  feet  in  diameter, — horses  and  oxen  being 
used  indifferently.  He  (Northrup)  never  got  it  covered,  and  conse- 
quently never  did  much  grinding.  He  took  one-fourth  for  toll,  when 
he  tended  the  mill  himself;  but  when  his  patrons  ground  their  own 
corn  he  charged  one-eighth.  Reuben  Skeels  bought  the  stones,  and 
put  up  what  was  termed  a  '  stump-mill.'  The  general  features  of  this 
were  the  same  as  those  of  a  pug-mill,  or  ordinary  cane-mill.  Posts 
were  set  in  the  ground  and  the  burrs  were  placed  on  these.  A  sweep 
was  attached,  and  the  horses  went  round  in  a  circle." 

Benjamin  J.  Norville  came  in  1854,  and  located  on  section  27, 
although  he  had  previously  lived  in  Ash  Grove,  since  1841.  He, 
with  other  early  settlers,  was  obliged  to  go  to  Wilmington,  on  the 
Kankakee  river,  a  distance  of  fifty  miles,  to  mill. 


RIDGELAND   TOWNSHIP.  455 

In  1855  and  1856  the  township  began  to  fill  rapidly  with  enter- 
prising settlers.  Among  others  were  Garner  Oliver,  who  erected 
the  first  blacksmith's  shop.  His  customers  carne  from  a  distance  of 
fifteen  miles.  Previous  to  this  date  came  Samuel  F.  Everett,  in 
1853,  who  located  on  section  22.  William  A.  Hall,  Sr.,  came  the 
same  year.  Robert  Looker  came  in  1855.  In  1856  we  find  such 
enterprising  settlers  as  A.  N".  Gabel,  Sr.,  who  settled  on  Sec.  22, 
T.  26,  R.  10  E.  I.  W.  Wilson  on  same  section,  and  H.  B.  Booth  on 
section  32. 

In  1855  there  was  not  a  house  between  the  timber  on  Spring  creek 
and  Oliver's  Grove.  The  building  of  the  Illinois  Central  railroad 
was  undoubtedly  the  principal  inciting  cause  for  the  sudden  accession 
of  numbers  that  occurred  about  this  time ;  but  we  also  find  many 
who  resorted  to  farming  in  consequence  of  the  high  prices  that  pre- 
vailed during  the  Crimean  war. 

Joseph  Robinson  was  here  twenty-four  years  ago.  He  had  four 
sons  in  the  army. 

INCIDENTS. 

The  following  account  of  a  terrible  prairie  fire  that  swept  over 
the  township  on  the  morning  of  September  23,  1860,  is  furnished  by 
Mr.  Booth  :  On  Sunday  morning  a  very  destructive  prairie  fire  came 
up  from  the  southwest.  The  wind  was  blowing  a  gale,  and  every- 
thing was  very  dry.  The  fire  had  been  set  by  men  who  were  hunt- 
ing deer.  Mr.  Booth  saw  the  smoke,  but  felt  no  concern  for  his 
buildings,  as  he  had  taken  all  ordinary  precautions  against  fire.  The 
house  stood  on  plowed  ground  ;  and  about  200  feet  away  were  stable 
and  stacks  of  hay  and  grain.  In  the  stable  were  a  valuable  span  of 
horses,  wagon,  harnesses,  saddles,  etc.  Near  the  stable  stood  a 
double  corn-crib,  and  posts  and  lumber  sufficient  to  fence  80  acres 
were  near.  A  lot  of  hogs  were  included  in  the  "assets."  The  fire, 
driven  by  the  gale,  came  down  on  all  this  property ;  and  before  the 
family  could  realize  it,  everything  except  the  house  (a  small  one) 
was  consumed.  Twenty  cords  of  wood,  piled  near  the  house,  was 
also  burned.  The  only  thing  left  was  his  corn  crop,  which  was  not 
yet  gathered.  This,  to  a  man  just  starting  in  business,  was  a  severe 
blow.  The  house  was  saved  only  through  the  assistance  of  some 
men  who  fortunately  reached  the  scene  in  time.  Mr.  Booth's  loss 
was  over  §1,000.  Others  suffered  to  some  extent.  A  Mrs.  Lapham 
was  severely  burned  in  endeavoring  to  fight  the  fire.  A  trunk  con- 
taining considerable  money  had  been  removed  from  the  house  to  a 
supposed  place  of  safety,  but  it  was  consumed. 

About  September  15,   1857,  W.   F.   Talcott  murdered  David  J. 


456  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

Stanley.  These  two  men  came  to  Onarga  in  the  spring  of  the  same 
year,  and  bought  land  in  the  S.W.  £  of  Sec.  14,  T.  26,  R.10  east  of  the 
Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company.  Their  land  being  together,  and 
being  without  families,  they  boarded  together  for  a  few  weeks,  and 
finally  rented  a  shanty  of  M.  H.  Messer,  situated  just  west  of  their 
land,  where  they  kept  "ubach."  Stanley  finally  disappeared,  'and 
Talcott  stated  that  he  had  gone  to  Chicago.  It  was  known^  that 
Stanley  was  expecting  money,  and  some  suspicions  had  been  awak- 
ened in  the  -minds  of  a  few  persons,  but  nothing  was  saidjor  done  at 
the  time.  Some  time  after,  however,  some  clothing  and  a  watch 
known  to  belong  to  Stanley  were  found  in  Talcott' s  possession.  M. 
H.  Messer  and  others  then  caused  a  thorough  search  to  be  instituted 
very  quietly,  and  the  result  was,  that  the  place  where  Stanley  had 
been  buried  was  discovered  by  James  A.  Hall.  The  grave  was  ex- 
amined, and  Stanley's  body  found.  Talcott  was  at  once  arrested. 
He  was  indicted  iii  January,  1859,  and  took  a  change  of  venue  to 
Kankakee  county,  where  he  was  put  on  trial,  January,  1860,  and 
plead  guilty  to  manslaughter.  He  undoubtedly  was  guilty  of  willful 
murder ;  but  was  sentenced  to  state  prison  for  six  years.  Neither 
the  home  of  Stanley  nor  any  of  his  friends  was  ever  ascertained.  A 
very  full  account  of  the  above  was  furnished  the  writer  by  M.  H. 
Messer,  Esq.,  of  Onarga. 

RIDGEVILLE    STATION, 

On^the  Gilman  &  Springfield  railroad,  is  five  and  one-tenth  miles 
southwest  of  Gilman,  and  three  miles  west  of  Onarga.  This  village 
was  laid  out  by  Garner  Oliver  and  others,  and  is  a  place  of  consider- 
able shipping  importance.  Mr.  Oliver  himself  is  largely  engaged  in 
buying  corn  and  other  grain.  The  first  shipment  of  freight  was 
made  October  9,  1871,  E.  C.  Hall  was  the  first  postmaster  in  this 
town,  and  the  first  post-office  was  at  Ridge ville.  The* village  also 
contains  a  school-house. 

THE    VILLAGE    OF    THAWVILLE, 

So  named  in  honor  of  William  Thaw,  a  prominent  railroad  man  of 
Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania,  is  also  situated  on  the  Gilman  &  Spring- 
field railroad,  about  four  miles  southwest  of  Ridgeville.  It  is  situ- 
ated on  the  northeast  corner  of  lot  5,  in  N.W.  \  of  Sec.  6,  T.  25, 
R.  10  E.  Taylor  John  is  proprietor.  It  was  platted  about  November 
1,  1871.  It  contains  a  large  grain  elevator,  owned  by  G.  P.  Coin- 
stock  &  Co.,  and  managed  by  B.  H.  Skeels  for  P.  Risser  &  Sons, 
Onarga.  The  population  numbers  about  100. 

The  Congregational  church  and  society  own  a  fine  church  build- 


RIDGELAND   TOWNSHIP.  457 

ing  and  parsonage,  built  in  1875.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Sergeant  was  the 
first  pastor.  There  is  also  a  fine  two-story  school-house,  built  in 
1876,  designed  for  a  graded  school.  C.  C.  Stone,  of  Oilman,  has  a 
branch  store  here.  There  are  also  one  drug  store,  a  furniture  store, 
and  a  blacksmith's  shop  and  hardware  store  by  Gr.  E.  Butler. 
Thawville  has  a  library  of  over  200  volumes;  also  a  temperance 
union  and  a  debating  club.  Mrs.  A.  M.  Caswell  is  postmistress.  B. 
H.  Skeels  deals  in  lumber  as  well  as  grain.  The  shipments  from 
this  point  during  1879  were  very  large,  consisting  of  corn,  flax-seed, 
live-stock,  oats,  rye,  timothy  seed,  aggregating  nearly  200,000 
bushels,  and  over  120,000  pounds  of  butter,  poultry,  etc.  %] 

In  this  part]of  Ridgeland  is  found  an  enterprise  called  the  Thaw- 
ville Dairy  Association,  a  joint-stock  company  organized  in  Febru- 
ary, 1878,  under  the  general  state  law.  It  has  paid  out  over  $1,100 
in  the  erection  and  fitting  up  of  a  creamery,  and  is  out  of  debt.  The 
business  of  1879  paid  dividends  of  five  per  cent.  The  plan  of  oper- 
ating is  to  receive  in  and  weigh  the  milk  and  make  monthly  settle- 
ments, the  patrons  receiving  four-fifths  and  the  company  one-fifth  of 
the  net  proceeds.  It  is  interesting  tb  note  the  details  of  this  impor- 
tant enterprise,  showing  what  can  be  done  in  this  direction  to  de- 
velop the  manufacturing  interests  of  the  country  where  excellent 
water  and  fine  Jand  abundant  pasturage  are  found.  The  product 
during  the  season  for  1879  amounted  to  19,814  pounds  of  butter, 
which  sold  at  an  average  of  21£  cents  per  pound,  realizing  to  the 
patrons  an  average  profit  of  60£  cents  per  100  pounds  of  milk.  The 
smallest  amount  of  butter  made  [in  any  one  month  being  1,723 
pounds  in  October;  and  the  largest,  3,669  pounds  in  June.  The 
smallest  price  was  15^  cents  per  pound  in  June,  and  the  largest,  30f 
cents  in  October. 

There  are  two  other  "institutions"  found  in  the  town  of  Ridge- 
land,  which  must  be  noticed.  The  Farmers  Pioneer  Fire  and  Light- 
ning Insurance  Company,  organized  and  went  into  operation  Janu- 
ary 1,  1875,  with  David  Metzgar  as  president ;  Charles  W.  Sprague, 
secretary ;  and  W.  R.  Yeatch,  treasurer.  It  is  run  on  the  mutual 
plan,  and  is  controlled  entirely  by  farmers,  and  nothing  but  farm 
property  is  insured.  Since  it  organization  no  loss  has  been  incurred. 
The  original  premium  of  two  mills  on  the  dollar  has  therefore 
covered  all  expenses.  When  a  loss  does  occur,  a  pro-rata  assessment 
will  be  made.  The  amount  of  property  at  present  covered  by  the 
risks  of  this  company  is  about  $125,000. 

A  Farmers'  Club  has  been  organized  for  several  years.  It  was  at 
one  time  changed  into  a  "  Grange,"  but  has  since  reverted  to  its 


458  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

original  design.    It  is  one  of  the  oldest  in  the  country,  and  meets  on 
the  first  Saturday  of  each  month. 

There  is  but  one  cemetery  in  the  township,  situated  on  the  north- 
west corner  of  Sec.  5,  T.  25,  R.  10  E.  It  contains  as  yet  but  few 
graves.  Mention  has  been  made  of  the  only  tree  that,  about  1860, 
stood  in  the  township.  This  tree  was  known  as  the  "Lone  Tree," 
and  was  at  that  time  a  conspicuous  object.  It  stands  on  Mr. 
Kenoche's  farm,  near  the  bank  of  a  branch  of  Spring  creek,  and  is 
now  surrounded  by  quite  a  large  grove  of  native  trees.  It  is  said 
that  "  Onarga,"  the  daughter  of  an  Indian  chief,  was  buried  beneath 
its  shade,  having  been  killed  by  a  jealous  lover. 

BIOGRAPHICAL. 

Bellias  H.  Skeels,  dealer  in  grain,  coal  and  lumber,  Thawville,  came 
to  Iroquois  county  in  1853,  from  Columbus,  Ohio.  His  father  had 
previously  sent  a  large  number  of  cattle  to  this  section  for  herding,  but 
died  before  accomplishing  his  purpose,  viz  :  to  embark  largely  in  the 
raising  of  cattle.  Mr.  Skeels  came  to  see  the  country  and  has  since 
remained,  with  one  or  two  brief  exceptions.  His  first  regular  occupa- 
tion was  teaching.  He  was  afterward  engaged  in  farming.  Mr.  Skeels 
was  born  in  Columbus,  March  12,  1835.  His  parents,  Truman  and 
Betsey  B.  Skeels,  both  died  in  that  city.  Mr.  Skeels  is  essentially  a  self- 
taught  man,  his  educational  advantages  being  such  as  was  afforded  in  a 
log  school-house.  July  5,  1857,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Elvina  Wis- 
well,  daughter  of  E.  M.  Wiswell,  a  distinguished  Odd-Fellow  in  the 
state  of  Illinois.  Miss  Wiswell  was  born  in  Morgan  county,  Illinois, 
December  10,  1841.  They  have  two  children  :  Luella  and  Jeraldine. 
The  eldest  is  married  to  W.  J.  Thrasher,  of  Thawville.  Mr.  Skeels 
was  in  Onarga  before  a  house  was  built  there.  After  the  firing  on 
Fort  Sumter,  Mr.  Skeels  assisted  to  raise  a  company,  and  served  for  two 
and  a-half  years  as  first  lieutenant  in  the  25th  111.  Yol.  Inf.  He  has 
been  engaged  extensively  in  business  and  is  widely  known.  He  was 
deputy  United  States  assessor  during  President  Johnson's  administra- 
tion, and  has  also  served  one  term  as  deputy  sheriff  in  this  county.  He 
was  the  first  agent  of  the  Gilman,  Clinton  &  Springfield  railroad  at 
Thawville  station,  and  held  this  position  several  years.  He  is  a  Mason 
and  an  Odd-Fellow,  and  a  member  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  this  state. 

Samuel  F.  Everett,  farmer,  Ridgeville,  son  of  Jacob  and  Mary 
Everett,  was  born  in  Halifax,  Vermont,  December  18,  1823.  He  lived 
with  his  parents  until  twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  learned  the  trade  of 
machinist,  at  Worcester,  Massachusetts.  He  then  went  to  Lawrence 
and  remained  about  seven  years  working  at  his  trade.  While  here  he 


KIDGELAND   TOWNSHIP.  459 

married  Miss  Harriet  Sweet.  He  is  next  found  at  Rochester,  New 
York,  where  he  lived  two  years,  still  following  his  trade.  Mr.  Everett 
then  came  to  Chicago,  and  after  some  consideration,  concluded  to  settle 
in  Iroquois  county,  and  engage  in  farming.  In  furtherance  of  this  plan 
he  located  on  the  land  he  now  resides,  about  1853.  Mr.  Everett  has 
four  children  living :  Carrie  P.,  Edward  S.,  Charles  W.  and  Hattie  C. 
Mr.  Everett's  brother,  Joel  S.,  was  educated  at  Amherst,  and  went  as  a 
missionary  to  Smyrna,  where  he  died.  Mr.  Everett  has  a  fine  farm 
about  two  miles  west  of  Onarga,  and  is  emphatically  a  self-made  man. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Iroquois  County  Agricultural  Society. 

Robert  Looker,  farmer,  Del  Rey,  came  to  Iroquois  county  in  1855. 
He  first  preempted  80  acres  in  Sec.  27,  T.  26,  R.  10  E.  At  that  time 
there  were  but  two  or  three  houses  on  the  prairie.  Here  he  remained 
about  two  years,  and  then  lost  his  claim  and  improvements  through 
some  chicanery.  Mr.  Looker  suffered  greatly  through  the  sickness  of 
his  wife.  After  losing  his  claim  he  bought  of  the  Illinois  Central  rail- 
road the  land  on  which  he  now  lives,  lot  2  in  N.W.  \  of  Sec.  4,  T.  25, 
R.  10  E.,  at  $14  per  acre,  and  after  paying  the  interest  on  his  purchase 
had  $3  left  with  which  to  begin  again.  Here  he  has  remained,  and  has 
now  a  fine  farm  of  80  acres.  Mr.  Looker  has  done  a  great  deal  of  well- 
boring,  having  bored  over  300  wells,  most  of  them  in  this  county.  He 
was  born  in  Cambridgeshire,  England,  July  26,  1829.  "When  nine- 
teen years  old  he  married  his  first  wife,  Miss  Eliza  Gee,  and  they  raised 
a  family  of  two  children  :  John  and  Mary.  About  1850  he  emigrated 
to  Canada  and  farmed  about  four  years.  Hearing  of  the  rich  lands  of 
Illinois,  he  came,  and  selecting  a  claim,  built  a  house,  and  then 
returned  for  his  family.  His  wife  died  after  a  sickness  of  two  years. 
He  then  married  his  second  wife,  who  also  died  and  left  two  children. 
April  3,  1866,  he  was  married  to  Mrs.  Sarah  Conn,  whose  father  was  one 
of  the  oldest  settlers  in  this  county.  They  have  two  children  :  Cora  M. 
and  Edwin  O.  Mr.  Looker  has  experienced  some  severe  losses, 
especially  of  horses;  yet  these  have  been  retrieved  through  great 
energy  and  determination.  Mr.  Looker's  father  lived  and  died  on  the 
farm  in  England  that  had  been  continuously  occupied  by  his  ancestors 
during  a  period  of  128  years.  He  and  wife  are  members  of  the  M.  E. 
church. 

Henry  B.  Booth,  farmer,  Thawville,  came  to  Iroquois  county  in 
1856  from  Oneida  county,  New  York,  where  he  was  born  July  6, 1829. 
Previous  to  coming  here  he  spent  five  years  in  Canada  in  the  lumber 
business.  He  settled  on  Sec.  32,  T.  26,  R.  10  E.,  where  he  has  since 
resided.  As  illustrative  of  some  of  the  dangers  and  trials  of  the  early 
settlers,  Mr.  Booth  related  the  incident  of  a  destructive  prairie  fire, 


460  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

which  is  given  in  the  history  of  Ridgeland.  June  16,  1853,  Mr.  Booth 
married  Miss  Sophronia  A.  Brown,  daughter  of  Jabesh  Brown,  of  Mad- 
ison county,  New  York.  She  was  born  May  18,  1833.  They  have 
had  six  children,  of  whom  William  E.,  Charles  H.,  Chauncy,  LaMott 
R.  and  George  are  living.  A  daughter,  Jennie,  died  in  infancy.  Mr. 
Booth  has  a  beautiful  farm  and  a  model  home.  He  has  received  a  lib- 
eral education. 

Garner  Oliver,  grain  and  coal  dealer,  Ridgeville,  son  of  Garner  and 
Mary  Oliver,  was  born  in  Isle  of  Ely,  Cambridgeshire  county,  Eng- 
land, May  7,  1831.  His  father  was  a  veterinary  surgeon.  Mr.  Oliver 
learned  the  trade  of  blacksmith.  When  twenty  years  of  age  he  left 
England,  alone,  and  coming  to  the  United  States,  stopped  one  year  in 
Cayuga  county,  New  York,  and  finally  located  at  Michigan  City.  Here 
he  found  profitable  employment  in  the  car-shops.  While  here  he  was 
married  to  Miss  Isabella  Watts,  June  18,  1855.  In  consequence  of 
the  great  prices  realized  for  farm  products  during  the  Crimean  war, 
and  inspired  by  such  reports  as  this:  "A  man  in  Kankakee  county 
broke  and  fenced  a  quantity  of  land,  planted  sod-corn,  and  from  his 
sales  the  first  year,  paid  for  all  his  land  and  fences,"  Mr.  Oliver  was 
induced  to  turn  his  attention  to  farming.  He  came  to  Iroquois  county 
in  1856  and  located  on  section  21,  township  26,  which  land  he  entered 
at  the  government  land  office.  At  that  time  there  was  no  house  west 
within  thirteen  miles.  The  country  abounded  with  game  and  wolves. 
About  this  time  also  a  constant  stream  of  emigration  set  in.  The  first 
year  nothing  was  raised  in  consequence  of  dry  weather.  Subsequently 
wet  weather  produced  the  same  results.  Those  who  meant  business 
and  profited  by  experience  were  able  to  improve  this  state  of  things 
by  opening  ditches,  hence  their  condition  has  constantly  improved. 
Mr.  Oliver  is  one  of  the  persevering  kind  of  men,  and  has  succeeded 
where  others  have  failed  or  ignominously  retired  from  this  strife  with 
natural  obstacles.  Mr.  Oliver  set  up  a  forge  soon  after  he  came,  and 
his  customers  frequently  came  from  a  distance  of  fifteen  miles.  This 
was  the  first  shop  of  the  kind  erected  in  the  township.  Mr.  Oliver  is 
one  of  the  original  proprietors  of  the  village  of  Ridgeville,  and  is  now 
extensively  engaged  in  the  grain  and  coal  trade.  He  has  two  children: 
Susan  J.  and  Garner  W.  The  daughter  is  now  the  wife  of  F.  Jame- 

o 

son,  the  present  efficient  agent  of  the  Gilman,  Clinton  &  Springfield 
railroad,  at  Kidgeville. 

Isaac  W.  Wilson,  farmer,  Onarga,  came  into  Iroquois  county  from 
Seneca  Falls,  New  York,  in  1856.  He  was  born  in  Warren  county, 
New  Jersey,  April  23,  1824.  When  twenty-one  years  of  age  he  left 
his  native  place,  and  finally  came  to  Seneca  county,  where  he  learned 


RIDGELAND   TOWNSHIP.  461 

the  trade",  of  iron-molder,  and  continued  to  work  at  it  while  in  that 
state.  Mr.  Wilson  was  married  in  Oneida  county  to  Miss  Sarah  Gay- 
lord,  December  1,  1847.  In  1856  he  removed  to  Iroquois  county  and 
settled  on  80  acres  in  section  22,  town  26.  He  lias  since  added  more 
land,  so  that  now  his  farm  contains  240  acres.  Mr.  Wilson  has  filled 
various  local  offices,  and  for  four  years  was  president  of  the  County 
Agricultural  Society.  He  was  the  youngest  of -nine  children.  His 
father,  William,  died  while  he  was  yet  an  infant ;  hence  he  has  always 
been  dependent  on  his  own  efforts.  Mr.  Wilson  has  no  children.  Pie 
is  a  Mason.  When  he  came  to  this  township  there  was  not  a  fence  or 
building  outside  of  Onarga,  and  but  few  buildings  within  the  town. 

In  Alfred  N.  Gabel,  Sr.,  farmer,  Onarga,  we  find  the  characteristics 
of  a  remarkable  man.  He  was  born  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  No- 
vember 1,  1821,  and  educated  at  the  Pennsylvania  University.  Origi- 
nally designed  for  the  ministry,  ill  health  compelled  him  to  abandon 
this  design,  and  he  resorted  to  teaching  in  the  public  schools.  In  this 
position  Mr.  Gabel  was  not  content  to  follow  in  the  "  old  ways."  but 
was  able  to  carry  out  his  own  peculiar  and  progressive  ideas  on  the 
subject  of  education.  His  direct  ancestry  reaches  far  beyond  the  period 
of  the  founding  of  Philadelphia.  At  the  age  of  twenty -five  Mr.  Gabel 
abandoned  teaching,  and  undertook  the  management  of  the  extensive 
Bloomery  &  Taylor  Iron  Works,  in  Hampshire  county,  Virginia. 
Here  his  scientific  knowledge  became  practically  available,  and  he 
was  able  to  introduce  many  improvements  in  the  processes  of  manu- 
facture. In  this  business  he  continued  about  ten  years,  when  it  became 
necessary  for  him  to  return  home  to  settle  his  father's  estate.  This 
required  three  years.  In  1845  he  married  Miss  Ellen  B.  Beal,  of 
London,  England,  whose  father  had  been  inspector  of  vessels  in  the 
British  navy.  In  the  spring  of  1856  Mr.  Gabel  came  to  Illinois  and 
made  a  contract  with  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company,  and 
returning  to  Philadelphia,  commenced  selling  railroad  lands.  In  1857 
he  removed  with  his  family  to  Iroquois  county,  and  settled  in  Onarga. 
Here  he  began  the  cultivation  of  200  acres,  seven  miles  northwest  of 
Onarga.  At  the  end  of  two  years  he  sold  this  farm  and  continued  to 
live  in  Onarga  until  1862,  when  he  enlisted  in  the  9th  111.  Cav.,  but 
was  discharged  soon  after  through  sickness.  He  afterward  managed  a 
rented  farm  near  Onarga,  and  in  1865  bought  the  place  on  which  he 
has  since  resided,  about  two  and  a  half  miles  west.  Mr.  Gabel's  spe- 
cialty has  been  the  manufacture  of  syrup  and  sugar  from  the  sorghum 
cane.  In  this  he  has  been  remarkably  successful,  producing  a  very 
superior  article.  His  product  for  1879  was  about  5,000  gallons.  He 
has  succeeded  in  making  a  good  article  of  sugar,  and  is  still  experi- 


462  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

meriting,  believing  that  still  better  results  can  be  obtained.  He  is 
using  improved  apparatus,  and  aims  to  prosecute  his  work  on  purely 
scientific  principles.  He  commenced  the  work  in  1858  on  a  Cook's 
evaporator.  Mr.  Gabel  has  lately  invented  what  he  calls  a  "fertilizer 
dropper,"  designed  to  be  attached  to  a  corn-planter.  He  has  used  it 
successfully,  and  thinks  that  his  corn  crop  has  been  advanced  by  at 
least  three-weeks  time  through  its  use.  Mr.  Gabel  has  five  children 

o 

living :  Emma  V.,  Louisa  F.,  Alfred  1ST.,  Jr.,  Charles  Beal  and  Luther  L. 
Anson  L.  Lisk,  father  of  Byron  and  Allen  G.,  came  to  this  county 
at  an  early  day.  and  was  truly  one  of  the  pioneers'  of  its  civiliza- 
tion. He  was  the  special  friend  of  all  new  comers,  and  lost  much 
through  his  disposition  to  accommodate  others.  He  was  a  man  of 
untiring  energy,  and  was  fond  of  improving  new  farms,  and  was  care- 
fully attentive  to  the  planting  of  all  kinds  of  trees.  His  children,  as 
well  as  others,  are  now  enjoying  the  benefit  of  his  care  and  fore- 
thought. Every  part  of  the  farms  now  occupied  by  the  two  sons 
whose  names  stand  at  the  head  of  this  article  are  constant  reminders 
of  the  father  "  who  being  dead  yet  speaketh."  He  did  not  confine  his 
attention  to  any  one  class  of  trees,  but  evergreens,  fruit,  shade  and 
ornamental  trees  were  planted.  Truly  lie  made  the  prairie  to  "  bud 
and  blossom  as  the  rose."  He  was  born  in  Albany  county,  New  York, 
which  place  he  left  about  the  year  1847,  and  with  his  family,  consisting 
of  wife  and  one  son,  came  to  Michigan,  where  he  remained  about 
twelve  years.  He  removed  to  Iroquois  county  in  1859  and  located  on 
the  KE.  i  of  Sec.  5,  T.  25,  E.  10  E.  Mr.  Lisk  was  associated  with 
others  in  the  purchase  of  land,  upon  some  portion  of  which  he  con- 
tinued to  reside  until  his  death.  His  two  sons  and  only  children, 
Allen  G.  and  Byron,  now  occupy  the  land  he  owned,  and  have  con- 
tinued to  improve  and  beautify  the  same.  They  are  on  adjoining 
farms,  the  former  living  in  Artesia  township.  Allen  was  born  in 
Albany  county,  December  4,  1845 ;  Bjrron  in  Michigan,  February  25, 
1850.  He  was  educated  at  Grand  Prairie  Seminary  and  at  the  Illinois 
Industrial  University.  Both  the  brothers  are  largely  interested  in 
local  improvements  and  are  stockholders  in  the  Thawville  Creamery. 
Allen  is  a  director  of  the  Fanners  Pioneer  Fire  and  Lightning  Insur- 
ance Company.  Byron  has  devoted  considerable  attention  to  dairying, 
and  during  1879  had  the  management  of  the  creamery.  Allen  married 
Miss  Ruth  Bliss,  February  12,  1868,  and  has  five  children.  Byron 
was  married,  February  12,  1870  to  Miss  Alice  Henderson;  they  have 
three  children.  The  mother  of  these  sons,  Mrs.  Garritee  Lisk,  and 
wife  of  Anson,  taught  the  first  school  in  this  part  of  the  township,  in 
her  own  house  (the  same  now  occupied  by  Mr.  Veatch).  Another 


EIDGELAND   TOWNSHIP.  463 

fact  should  here  be  stated.  The  father,  when  a  young  man,  visited  the 
west,  traveling  the  entire  distance,  both  ways,  in  a  buggy. 

Jacob  C.  Shear,  farmer,  Thawville,  was  born  in  Albany  county,  New 
York,  November  19,  1828.  His  parents  were  Stephen  and  Gertrude 
Shear.  The  family  came  to  Seneca  county,  same  state,  when  Mr.  Shear 
was  three  years  of  age.  He  received  such  an  education  as  the  public 
schools  of  New  York  afforded.  When  twenty  years  old  Mr.  Shear 
married  his  first  wife,  Miss  Harriet  Steward,  by  whom  he  had  one  child, 
Francis,  now  married.  Mr.  Shear  removed  from  Seneca  county  in 
1858,  and  after  stopping  in  Indiana  a  short  time,  came  to  Iroquois 
county  in  May,  1859,  and  located  on  section  5,  town  25,  range  10  E.  In 
September,  1861,  he  enlisted  and  was  made  first  lieutenant,  Co.  M.,  9th 
111.  Cav.  He  served  nearly  three  years,  principally  in  Arkansas,  till 
1863,  then  from  Memphis  to  Corinth,  and  through  Mississippi.  A  large 
part  of  this  time  he  was  acting  captain,  the  captain  being  wounded. 
Mr.  Shear  has  also  served  one  term,  1877  and  1878,  as  sheriff  of  Iroquois 
county.  For  his  second  wife  he  married  Miss  Libbie  Reading.  They 
had  two  children  :  Charles  and  Herbert.  About  eleven  years  since  he 
married  Sarah  Brown.  They  have  three  children  :  Thomas,  Gertrude 
and  Tenyke.  Mr.  Shear  has  a  fine  farm  of  240  acres.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Onarga  Lodge,  "Watseka  Chapter.  In  politics  he  is  a  republican. 

Christian  Knoche,  farmer,  Ridgeville,  was  born  in  Germany,  July  3, 
1821.  He  was  married  in  his  native  land,  and  in  1848  emigrated  to 
the  United  States  with  his  wife  and  parents.  They  landed  at  New 
Orleans,  and  passing  up  the  Mississippi,  settled  on  land  in  St.  Francois 
county,  Missouri.  Leaving  his  parents  established  here,  he  went  to 
work  in  the  iron  furnaces,  and  devoted  his  earnings  to  the  purchase  of 
land.  He  continued  in  this  way  during  eight  years,  then  sold  out  and 
made  another  purchase  in  the  same  county.  About  this  time  he  began 
to  experience  trouble  from  the  guerillas,  and  was  obliged  to  sell  his 
property  for  what  he  could  get.  The  family  being  obliged  to  leave  the 
country,  came  to  Iroquois  county  in  1864,  and  purchased  320  acres  in 
section  28,  town  26,  where  they  have  since  remained.  Mr.  Knoche  has  a 
very  fine  farm,  and  has  given  much  attention  to  stock-raising.  He  has 
recently  built  one  of  the  finest  farm-houses  in  the  county.  On  this 
farm  is  a  most  remarkable  artesian  well.  The  flow  of  water  through  a 
four-inch  tube  is  very  powerful.  Mr.  Knoche  has  been  very  successful 
in  his  business.  They  have  five  children  :  John,  Henry,  Lizzie,  Louisa 
and  Anna,  all  of  whom  have  received,  or  are  receiving,  a  liberal  educa- 
tion. 

Stephen  H.  Howe,  farmer,  Thawville,  son  of  Stephen  and  Nancy 
Howe,  was  born  in  Genesee  county,  New  York,  July  23,  1836.  When 
29 


464  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

he  was  two  years  of  age  his  parents  removed  to  Livingston  county, 
New  York,  where  they  remained  four  years.  They  then  came  to  Racine 
and  finally  removed  to  McHenry  county,  Illinois,  where  his  father 
died.  His  father  was  by  trade  a  carpenter,  but  devoted  himself  largely 
to  farming.  In  February,  1862,  Mr.  Howe  married  Miss  Mary  J. 
Lockwood,  daughter  of  Zephaniah  Lockwood.  They  have  three  chil- 
dren :  William  H.,  born  November,  1862;  Mattie  L.,  born  December, 
1864;  and  Oscar,  born  August,  18T6.  In  1865  Mr.  Howe  came  to  Iro- 
quois  county  and  commenced  farming  operations  on  the  northwest 
quarter  of  Sec.  4,  T.  25,  R.  10.  He  engaged  largely  in  stock-raising  and 
general  farming, — manufacturing  his  own  dairy  products.  He  has  a 
fine  farm  of  120  acres. 

Lemuel  Grove,  farmer,  Onarga,  came  to  this  county  in  the  spring 
of  1866,  from  Fairfield  county,  Ohio,  and  settled  in  Ash  Grove,  where 
he  remained  three  years.  He  then  removed  to  this  township  and 
located  on  Sec.  35,  T.  26,  R.  10,  where  he  now  lives.  Mr.  Grove  was 
born  February  3,  1836.  His  father  served  in  the  war  of  1812.  His 
wife's  father  was  a  major  in  the  Ohio  militia  during  the  Mexican  war. 
Mr.  Grove  was  married  in  Ohio,  October  17,  1865,  to  Miss  Mary  E. 
Jackson,  who  was  born  September  8,  1846.  At  the  first  call  of  the 
president  for  75,000  troops,  Mr.  Grove  enlisted,  and  immediately  after 
the  discharge  of  the  three-months  men,  he  reenlisted  in  Co.  F,  46th 
Ohio  Inf.  At  the  organization  of  his  company  he  was  made  orderly- 
sergeant,  and  acted  as  such  for  about  two  years.  He  was  then  appointed 
first  lieutenant  and  soon  after  was  made  captain,  which  rank  he  held 
at  the  time  of  his  discharge  at  the  close  of  the  war.  Mr.  Grove  saw 
his  first  heavy  fighting  at  Pittsburg  Landing.  He  was  in  the  cam- 
paigns of  Corinth  and  Yicksburg,  also  in  the  movements  and  battles  in 
and  around  Atlanta,  and  in  Sherman's  march  to  the  sea;  then  up  the 
route  pursued  by  Sherman,  and  his  military  career  in  the  "  twenty-one 
miles  of  boys  in  blue,"  at  Washington.  Mr.  Grove  served  in  some  of  the 
hardest  fought  battles  of  the  war.  True,  he  had  received  some  slight 
wounds,  but  was  always  "ready  for  duty,"  until  at  Atlanta,  August  3, 
1864,  he  received  a  gunshot  wound  in  the  eye.  Mr.  Grove  was  sent  to 
the  hospital,  and  after  remaining  a  month  was  offered  his  discharge, 
but  refused  it,  and  served  through  the  remainder  of  the  war.  The  ball 
is  still  in  his  head.  That  is  the  kind  of  men  who  assisted  so  efficiently 
in  putting  down  the  greatest  rebellion  the  world  ever  saw.  Mr.  Grove 
has  had  seven  children.  The  eldest  died  in  infancy.  The  names  of 
the  six  living  are  :  Alice  E.,  John  S.,  Etta  P.,  Gracie  J.,  S.  Lillian  and 
Jesse.  Both  the  parents  are  consistent  members  of  the  M.  E.  church. 

Addison  R.  Butler,  farmer  and  dairyman,  Thawville,  son  of  Elias 


R1DGELAND   TOWNSHIP.  465 

and  Mehitable  Butler,  was  born  in  Farmington,  Maine,  September  4, 
1840.  In  1851  the  family  removed  to  La  Salle  county,  Illinois,  and 
settled  on  a  farm.  Mr.  Butler  was  brought  up  on  a  farm,  and  received 
such  an  education  as  the  limited  advantages  of  that  time  afforded.  In 
1866  Mr.  Butler  purchased  the  land  in  section  6,  town  25,  on  which 
he  now  lives.  The  following  year  he  came  to  this  county  to  remain. 
February  19,  1868,  he  married  Miss  Julia  Shear*,  of  Seneca  county, 
New  York,  who  was  at  the  time  visiting  her  brother,  J.  C.  Shear. 
She  was  born  February  13,  1834,  and  is  the  daughter  of  Peter  P.  and 
Sarah  Shear,  who  were  Quakers.  They  have  had  three  children,  two  of 
whom,  Luella  and  Estella,  are  dead.  The  living  child  is  named  Addi- 
son.  September  7,  1861,  Mr.  Butler  enlisted  in  Co.  A,  of  Yates' 
Sharpshooters,  afterward  known  as  the  64th  111.  Inf. ;  was  disabled 
through  sickness  from  active  service  and  discharged.  Mr.  Butler  was 
one  of  the  active  promoters  of  the  "  Thawville  Dairy  Association," 
and  at  present  has  the  business  in  charge.  He  is  also  supervisor  of 
the  town  of  Ridgeland,  and  was  chiefly  instrumental  in  securing  its 
separation  from  Onarga. 

Charles  Cornwell,  farmer,  Onarga,  moved  to  Iroquois  county  twelve 
years  ago,  and  settled  on  the  farm  he  now  occupies,  northwest  of  the 
village  of  Onarga.  He  is  the  son  of  Gilbert  and  Samantha  Cornwell, 
and  was  born  in  Schoharie  county,  New  York,  March  23,  1831.  In 
1846  the  family  moved  to  Tazewell  county,  Illinois,  and  here  his 
father  engaged  in  farming.  Indeed,  Charles  has  passed  his  life  on  a 
farm.  November  9,  1853,  he  married  Miss  Maria  Lovelett,  who  was 
born  February  22,  1834,  in  Westchester  county,  New  York.  They 
have  three  children :  Dora  S.,  Lester  L.  and  Arthur  H.  They  are 
members  of  the  M.  E.  church.  Mr.  Cornwell  and  family  represent  in 
character  and  home  qualities  that  type  or  class  who  have  given  such  a 
pronounced  social  elevation  as  characterized  the  people  in  this  section 
of  Iroquois  county. 

William  E,.  Yeatch,  farmer,  Thawville,  was  born  in  Eoss  county, 
Ohio,  November  6,  1830.  He  is  the  son  of  Thomas  J.  and  Catherine 
Veatch.  His  father  died  when  he  was  very  young.  Mr.  Yeatch  mar- 
ried Miss  Margaret  E.  Fearl,  September  23,  1855,  in  Koss  county,  and 
soon  after,  with  all  his  goods,  mother,  brothers  and  sister,  with  three-- 
horse  teams,  traversed  the  country  to  Livingston  county,  Illinois, 
where  they  located  and  commenced  farming  and  cattle-raising.  Here 
Mr.  Yeatch  remained  until  1869,  when  he  removed  to  this  county,  and 
settled  on  the  N.E.  £  of  Sec.  5,  T.  25,  R.  10,  where  he  has  since  resided. 
He  has  a  fine  farm,  and  has  been  successful  in  his  business,  and  is 
highly  respected  in  the  community.  Mr.  Yeatch  has  given  much 


466  HISTORY    OF   IEOQUOIS   COUNTY. 

attention  to  the  raising  of  "  graded  "  stock.  He  is  a  director  in  the 
Farmers  Pioneer  Fire  and  Lightning  Insurance  Company.  He  has 
five  children  :  Henry  F.,  George  H.,  Lenora  D.,  Margaret  II.,  Thomas 
S.  Henry  is  married  and  living  in  Artesia  on  a  farm. 


FOUNTAIN  CKEEK  TOWNSHIP. 

Fountain  Creek  was  a  portion  of  Ash  Grove,  and  was  early  known 
"as  the  Ash  Grove  country.  The  Grove,  a  corner  only  of  which  skirts 
this  township,  was  the  first  timber,  as  travelers  came  north  from 
Bicknell's  Point  (Rossville),  between  which  point  and  this  was  the 
stretch  of  prairie  which  had  a  dread  to  those  passing  over,  either  in 
the  storms  of  winter  or  the  terrible  dangers  of  summer  fires.  Foun- 
tain Creek  is  the  center  of  the  southern  tier  of  townships,  being 
bounded  on  the  north  by  Ash  Grove,  on  the  east  by  Lovejoy,  on  the 
south  by  Yermilion  county,  and  on  the  west  by  Pigeon  Grove,  and 
is  described  legally  as  town  24,  range  13  west  of  the  2d  principal 
meridian,  being  a  full  congressional  township  of  thirty-six  sections. 
The  creek  runs  directly  across  the  town  from  section  34  to  section  1. 
The  soil  is  rich  and  deep,  having  very  few  untillable  acres  ;  the 
prairie  is  sufficiently  rolling,  and  there  is  little  that  could  be  added 
to  improve  it.  As  before  stated,  there  was  no  timber  in  this  town- 
ship, except  the  scattering  belt  along  Fountain  creek,  on  the  northern 
line  of  the  town.  The  land  gently  slopes  toward  the  north,  and  run- 
ning across  it  are  the  small  branches  of  Mud  creek,  having  a  general 
northeastern  direction,  and  are  fed  by  numerous  springs,  which  make 
its  water  sufficient  for  stock"  purposes  at  almost  all  times  of  the  year. 
For  many  years, — and  indeed  yet  among  the  old  settlers  down  along 
the  Middle  fork, — the  stream  was  known  as  Bussing  creek.  When 
Mr.  Ambrose  Wood  came  here  to  live,  not  liking  the  name,  and 
having  no  one  to  say  him  nay  in  all  this  open  tract,  he  moved  and 
unanimously  carried  an  amendment  which  changed  its  name  to  the 
more  appropriate  one  of  Fountain  creek.  There  were  at  that  time 
no  artesian  fountain  wells  here  to  suggest  the  name,  but  the  later 
development  of  those  remarkable  and  valuable  fountains,  has  given 
both  an  additional  value  to  the  land,  and  a  shade  of  appropriateness 
to  the  name  not  then  dreamed  of.  There  are,  in  regard  to  artesian 
wells,  many  theories  and  facts  which  are  interesting,  for  those  living 
in  a  region  so  bountifully  watered  by  these  wonderful  natural  gifts,  to 
study.  The  surface  of  the  land  in  Iroquois  county  is  well  known  to 
be  very  nearly  level,  and  it  is  believed  (the  writer  not  having  access 


FOUNTAIN   CREEK   TOWNSHIP.  467 

to  any  figures  of  actual  survey)  that  no  portion  of  the  county  is  one 
hundred  feet  higher  than  any  other  portion.  Whatever  of  declivity 
there  is,  is  toward  the  north.  From  the  high  ridge  of  land  lying 
south  of  Rankin,  the  streams  all  make  toward  the  north.  We  should 
expect  therefore,  under  the  generally  received  theory  of  a  subter- 
ranean reservoir  which  is  forced  upward  by  a  great  body  of  water  in 
some  higher  region  of  the  country,  that  the  water  would  be  reached 
nearer  the  surface,  and  that  the  outflow  would  be  stronger  the 
farther  north  we  go.  This  is  not  true.  So  far  as  known,  no  flowing 
wells  have  been  opened  or  artesian  water  found  south  of  the  line  of 
Iroquois  county  until  Bean  creek,  twelve  miles  south,  is  reached. 
All  efforts  to  reach  it  failed  at  Paxton,  though  it  was  sought  to  the 
depth  of  several  hundred  feet.  The  well  at  Dr.  Ludden's,  on  sec- 
tion 33,  is  the  farthest  south.  In  these  southern  townships,  Fountain 
Creek  and  Pigeon  Grove,  flowing  wells  are  reached  at  depths  vary- 
ing from  42  to  65  feet.  In  Artesia,  wells  of  about  the  same  depth 
do  not  flow.  Along  the  line  of  the  Toledo,  Peoria  &  Warsaw  rail- 
road, a  few  miles  farther  north,  the  depth  of  flowing  wells  is  more 
than  one  hundred  feet.  Farther  north,  in  the  vicinity  of  Plato,  140 
feet  seems  to  be  the  customary  depth.  At  Chebanse,  the  well  which 
supplies  the  water-works  is  120  feet  deep,  but  the  water  rises  only  to 
within  twenty  feet  of  the  surface;  while  at  Langham  creek,  where  the 
surface  is  a  few  feet  lower,  the  wells  flow,  as  was  to  have  been  ex- 
pected, but  it  cannot  be  supposed  that  the  surface  at  Chebanse  is 
more  than  twenty  feet  higher  than  the  surface  at  Dr.  Ludden's,  forty 
miles  farther  up  stream. 

Ambrose  Wood  came  here  to  live  and  took  up  land  in  section  27, 
in  1854.  He  came  here  from  Blue  Grass,  in  Vermilion  county,  and 
brought  lumber  for  a  house  with  him  from  Higginsville.  The 
severe  snow-storm  which  visited  all  this  region  of  the  country  in 
January  following,,  caught  him  before  he  had  his  domicile  ready,  and 
he  found  it  necessary  to  fly  to  Blue  Grass  for  shelter.  This  storm, 
which  will  be  found  frequently  alluded  to  in  these  pages,  has  hardly 
been  exceeded  in  severity  or  length  in  the  twenty-five  years  which 
have  followed  since  that  time.  There  was  at  that  time  no  house 
between  here  and  Blue  Grass,  though  Father  Schwartz  settled 
where  he  now  lives,  three  or  four  miles  south  of  East  Lynn,  about 
that  time.  Mr.  Wood  made  his  home  here,  and  for  a  number  of 
years  made  a  business  of  herding  cattle.  He  entered  this  land  on 
27,  and  farmed  part  of  it.  At  that  time  the  lack  of  material  for 
fencing  seemed  to  be  the  great  drawback  to  farming.  Land  was 
cheap,  it  is  true,  but  the  expense  of  fencing  a  farm  at  this  distance 


468  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

from  timber,  especially  where  one  owned  no  timber  lot,  was  suffi- 
cient to  amount  to  a  prohibition.  Timber  land  was  held  at  prices 
that  no  poor  man  could  buy,  being  considered  worth  from  $40  to 
$65  per  acre.  Hedging  had  hardly  been  thought  of,  and  farming 
without  fences  was  practically  out  of  ^the  question.  It  had  not  then 
been  discovered  that  the  law  ought  to  compel  every  man  to  take  care 
of  his  own  animals. 

Jehu  Judy  came  here  about  the  same  time  from  Blue  Grass,  where 
his  family  had  long  been  and  still  is  one  of  the  'leading  families.  He 
took  up  land  in  section  14.  The  Seemly  post-office  is  kept  by  him, 
and  is  served  by  post-rider  from  Wellington.  The  office  was  estab- 
lished about  four  years  ago. 

John  Leemon,  a  native  of  the  north  of  Ireland,  came  into  the 
country  in  185Y,  and  lived  near  the  Hoopes  farm  nine  years,  after 
which  he  bought  520  acres  in  sections  27  and  34,  where  he  now  re- 
sides. He  kept  house  "by  himself  all  alone"  for  some  years,  and 
by  careful  management  and  frugal  industry  has  worked  out  the 
dream  of  his  youth  when  he  left  the  land  of  his  nativity, — a  comfort- 
able farm  and  a  lively  family.  The  wild  desert  waste  which  stretched 
from  Hoopes'  farm  to  Loda  was. unbroken  by  anything  which  could 
be  called  civilization.  The  Manns, 'down  in  Vermilion  county,  with 
the  traits  of  true  Britons,  used  to  come  up  into  John's  neigh- 
borhood (in  fact  he  was  the  neighborhood  then)  to  hunt.  They 
brought  a  pack  of  eighteen  hounds  for  the  purpose,  and  "  wae  worth 
the  deer"  that  they  got  track  of.  After  game  got  scarce  down  on 
the  North  Fork,  John  Mann  never  felt  more  at  'ome  than  when 
coursing  through  this  region  with  some  of  his  English  visitors  on 
track  of  deer.  It  was  rare  sport ;  and  none  seemed  so  well  able  to 
enjoy  it  as  those  whose  traditions  for  generations  are  bound  up  in 
real  or  mythical  legends  of  the  chase. 

Among  the  "game"  which  was  notoriously  numerous  here  at 
times  in  the  early  days  were  the  pesky  green-head  flies.  Mr.  Leeman 
says  that  at  certain  seasons  they  were  so  troublesome  that  ordinary 
farm-work  had  to  be  abandoned  in  the  daytime.  Many  horses  could 
not  endure  the  torment  of  these  troublesome  pests.  He  has  fre- 
quently done  fall  plowing  by  moonlight,  that  his  teams  might  be 
protected  from  the  annoyance.  Good  crops  of  wheat  were  raised 
during  his  earlier  farming  here,  and  the  influx  of  new  comers  made 
the  market  demand  good. 

Mr.  William  Leland,  one  of  the  family  which  has  a  world-wide 
reputation  as  hotel-keepers  in  most  of  the  large  cities  of  the  United 
States,  purchased  800  acres  of  Mr.  George  C.  Tallman  (a  part  of  his 


FOUNTAIN    CREEK   TOWNSHIP.  469 

swamp  land  speculation),  and  proceeded  to  improve  and  stock  it  with 
sheep,  fine  horses  and  cattle.  This  was  probably  about  1858.  Mr. 
Leland  did  not  come  on  here  himself  and  build  a  six-story  marble- 
front  hotel,  but  spent  a  good  deal  of  money  here.  Mr.  Robert  Carey 
came  here  as  his  representative,  and  carried  on  the  enterprise 
awhile.  Mr.  Leland,  tiring  of  it,  leased  it  to  Mr.  Carey,  and  finally 
sold  it. 

Parmenus  Ludden  came  here  about  1857  and  engaged  in  farming. 
His  brother,  Dr.  B.  M.  Ludden,  came  here  about  five  years  later 
from  Indianapolis,  and  has  been  largely  interested  in  farming  and 
other  avocations.  Section  32  is  a  part  of  the  Rankin  property.  The 
Messrs.  Rankin  own  some  six  sections  of  land  around  Rankin  in 
Vermilion  county,  joining  this,  and  carry  on  a  large  cattle  business. 

It  was  not  until  after  the  war  that  the  great  prairie  range  of  which 
this  township  was  a  portion  was  brought  under  the  plow.  Until  then 
a  large  portion  of  it  was  only  used  as  grazing  ground  for  herds  of 
cattle  driven  here  from  La  Salle  county  on  the  north,  and  from 
Texas  on  the  south.  The  adoption  of  the  law  requiring  every  man 
to  fence  his  own  cattle,  instead  of  fencing  his  crops,  which  never 
trespassed,  gave  new  value  to  these  lands,  and  permitted  men  to 
buy  and  farm  them  without  the  great  expense  of  fences. 

William  Goodwin  has  a  farm  of  1,000  acres  in  the  northern  part 
of  the  township.  He  is  extensively  engaged  in  raising  and  feeding 
cattle.  Several  other  of  the  farms  which  were  more  lately  brought 
into  cultivation  only  lack  the  additions  which  time  alone  can  bring 
to  make  them  as  beautiful  and  attractive  as  any  spoken  of. 

As  soon  as  possible  after  Mr.  Ambrose  Wood  came  here  he  used 
every  endeavor  to  encourage  and  build  up  the  institutions  of  religion. 
A  firm  and  devoted  member  of  the  Methodist  church,  he  missed  the 
opportunities  which  he  had  formerly  enjoyed  where  he  had  resided. 
Father  Coleman,  of  Onarga,  occasionally  preached  here,  and  Rev. 
Messrs.  Moody,  Appy  and  Sullivan  had  appointments  here.  The 
first  class  was  formed  at  the  school-house  near  the  Bethel  in  1869. 
The  cliurch  was  built  in  1872,  under  the  ministration  of  Rev.  Mr. 
Bishop.  It  is  a  plain  and  well  proportioned  edifice,  28x40,  and  cost 
about  $1,900.  Mr.  A.  Wood,  John  Reed  and  James  T.  Jones  were 
trustees  and  building  committee.  Mr.  Calhoun  is  the  present 
preacher.  This  charge  remained  a  portion  of  Ash  Grove  circuit 
until  1877,  when  it  became  attached  to  and  a  part  of  Wellington 
circuit.  Preaching  services  are  held  here  each  alternate  Sabbath. 
A  Sabbath  school  has  been  maintained  in  summer. 

The  New  Omisli  church  (German)  has  a  strong  organization  in 


470  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

this  town.  They  hang  with  peculiar  tenacity  to  the  cardinal  doc- 
trines of  their  organization.  Among  their  strong  articles  of  faith 
and  practice  is  opposition  to  debts  and  litigation.  No  member  is 
permitted  to  contract  a  debt  without  the  reasonable  prospect  of 
being  able  to  pay  it ;  no  church  debts  are  ever  permitted  under  any 
circumstances ;  lawsuits  are  forbidden :  even  following  or  prose- 
cuting a  thief  is  forbidden.  When  the  millennium  does  come,  one 
can  readily  imagine  that  the  Oinish  brethren  will  be  found  some- 
where in  the  front  guard  of  those  whose  hearts  will  be  found  re- 
joicing at  its  coming. 

By  the  census  of  1870  Fountain  Creek  had  435  native-born  inhab- 
itants and  68  foreign-born,  making  a  total  of  503.  The  school  cen- 
sus would  indicate  that  its  population  has  nearly  doubled  in  ten 
years.  The  township  was  set  off  from  Ash  Grove  in  1869.  B.  M. 
Ludden  was  first  supervisor ;  Robert  Carey,  clerk ;  Ambrose  Wood, 
assessor ;  J.  W.  Wise,  clerk ;  and  Jehu  Judy  and  John  Leemon, 
justices  of  the  peace.  The  present  officers  are :  Robert  Carey, 
supervisor ;  James  T.  Jones,  clerk  (ninth  year) ;  J.  W.  Wise, 
assessor ;  James  Jordon, '  collector ;  and  Andrew  Wood  and  James 
Jordon,  justices  of  the  peace. 

BIOGRAPHICAL. 

Benjamin  Ludden,  East  Lynn,  was  born  in  Williamsburgh,  Hamp- 
shire county,  Massachusetts,  November  27,  1815.  All  of  the  Luddens 
in  America,  so  far  as  known,  have  descended  from  two  brothers  of  that 
name  who  came  from  England,  one  of  them  being  the  great-grand- 
father of  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  Mr.  Ludden's  parents  were  Ben- 
jamin and  Hope  (Miller)  Ludden,  both  natives  of  this  country.  He 
received  a  fair  education  in  the  town  of  Williamsburgh,  and  was  pre- 
paring to  enter  college,  when  he  was  compelled  to  desist  by  weakness 
of  his  eyes.  He  went  south  and  taught  in  an  academy  in  Virginia  and 
at  various  other  places  in  diiferent  states.  He  was  married  at  Plym- 
outh Hall,  Connecticut,  in  1842,  to  Louisa  S.  Hammond,  who  was 
born  in  Vermont.  She  was  a  lady  of  rare  intelligence,  and  aided  Mr. 
Ludden  in  his  teaching  at  Williamsburgh,  his  native  town  ;  also  at 
Collinsville,  Connecticut,  and  lastly  in  the  Female  Seminary  at  Circle- 
ville,  Ohio,  in  the  years  1847  and  1848.  After  leaving  the  teacher's 
desk  he  entered  the  Ohio  Medical  College  at  Cincinnati  and  grad- 
uated therefrom  with  honor  in  1850.  He  practiced  the  two  years  fol- 
lowing, and  had  a  small  stock  of  drugs  about  eight  miles  north  of  Cin- 
cinnati. He  then  removed  to  Indianapolis  with  his  stock  of  drugs, 
which  business  he  enlarged  ;  also  started  the  first  china  tea  store  in  the 


FOUNTAIN   CEEEK   TOWNSHIP.  471 

city,  and  continued  in  the  practice  of  his  profession  here  until  1861. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ludden  are  members  of  the  Congregational  church,  and 
during  their  stay  in  Indianapolis  Mr.  Ludden  was  one  of  the  projectors 
of  the  beautiful  and  costly  church  edifice  belonging  to  that  denomina- 
tion in  that  city.  From  Indianapolis  Mr.  Ludden  came  to  the  south 
part  of  what  is  now  Fountain  Creek  township,  where  his  brother,  who 
now  lives  in  Savannah,  Georgia,  owned  a  large  tract  of  land.  When 
Mr.  Ludden  came  here  there  was  nothing  but  "  sky  and  grass  and  grass 
and  sky."  The  farm  now  consists  of  1,040  acres,  lying  in  sections  33, 
34  and  28.  He  bought  a  half  interest  in  the  farm  from  his  brother  and 
has,  since  coming  here,  devoted  his  time  and  energies  to  improving  this 
property.  The  farmers  around  had  to  go  long  distances  to  town 
and  post-office.  Dr.  Ludden,  seeing  the  need  of  such  institutions  as  a 
farmers'  store,  blacksmith-shop  and  post-office,  went  to  work  and  estab- 
lished them.  He  also  put  up  a  wind  grist-mill  that  did  good  service  in 
its  day.  To>  use  the  doctor's  expression,  he  began  to  "  centralize " 
here,  but  after  the  advent  of  the  Lafayette,  Muncie  &  Bloomington 
railway  a  few  miles  south,  the  institutions  of  "  Ludden ville "  took  a 
new  lease  of  life  at  East  Lynn,  on  the  railroad  in  Yermilion  county. 
The  doctor  has  a  large  stock  of  general  merchandise  at  this  place, 
where  he  and  his  wife  reside  in  the  winter.  In  the  summer  they  live 
at  their  pleasant  home  on  the  farm.  Dr.  Ludden  has  been  postmaster 
at  Luddenville  and  East  Lynn  for  seventeen  3?ears.  He  is  a  republican 
and  has  been  closely  identified  with  the  interests  of  Fountain  Creek 
township,  having  served  as  supervisor  ever  since  its  organization, 
excepting  three  terms.  He  has  no  children. 

John  Leemon  was  born  in  Neury,  Armagh  county,  Ireland,  about  the 
year  1827.  He  came  to  America  in  company  with  J.  L.  Hamilton,  of 
Watseka,  in  1850.  The  "  boys"  husked  corn  the  first  winter  in  Jersey 
county,  Illinois,  at  two  cents  per  bushel.  John  Leemon  was  early 
attracted  to  the  cheap  and  valuable  lands  in  the  southern  part  of  Iro- 
quois  county.  He  entered  some  lands  in  Lovejoy  township,  and  moved 
on  to  his  farm  in  section  33,  in  1857.  He  built  a  house  and  set  orchard 
and  other  trees,  and  lived  here  until  1865,  when  he  moved  to  his 
present  residence  in  Fountain  Creek  township.  His  farm  here,  contain- 
ing 520  acres,  is  the  one  first  improved  by  Mr.  Wood,  and  is  nicely 
situated,  Fountain  creek  flowing  through  the  western  part.  He  also 
owns  his  old  place  in  Lovejoy,  containing  440  acres,  and  125  acres  adjoin- 
ing in  Vermilion  county,  besides  a  quarter-section  in  Christian  county, 
which  was  his  first  entry  of  public  lands.  Mr.  Leemon  was  married, 
August  29,  1865,  to  Lodema  Brown,  a  native  of  New  York,  and  the 
daughter  of  John  and  Catherine  Brown.  By  this  union  they  have  had 


472  HISTORY    OF   1ROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

live  children;  names  and  dates  of  birth  follow  :  Izele,  born  June  28, 
1866,  and  died  January  9,  1879;  Mary  Eliza,  born  April  12,  1868; 
Robert  A.,  born  November  19,  1871  ;  John,  born  October  27,  1874; 
and  Charles,  born  February  11,  1879.  Mrs.  Leemon  is  a  very  intelli- 
gent lady,  having  taught  several  terms  of  school  before  her  marriage 
to  Mr.  Leemon.  She  was  educated  at  the  Clarence  Academy,  near 
Buifalo,  New  York.  Mr.  Leemon,  besides  successfully  carrying  on  his 
farming  operations,  devotes  considerable  attention  to  raising  and  feed- 
ing stock. 

Alonzo  Carman,  farmer,  Seemly,  was  born  in  Yermilion  county, 
Indiana,  December  2,  1843.  He  grew  up  in  the  town  of  Perrysville, 
Indiana,  attending  the  schools  in  that  place.  In  February,  1862,  his 
father  died.  He  then  went  to  Wea  Prairie,  in  Montgomery  county, 
Indiana,  where  he  followed  farming  and  dealt  in  stock.  Having  good 
success  there  he  came  to  Fountain  Creek  township  in  the  fall  of  1867, 
and  bought  480  acres,  most  of  which  was  raw  sod.  He  improved  this 
farm  which  he  sold  in  1876,  and  bought  a  farm  in  Milford  township, 
which  he  kept  but  a  short  time.  He  came  to  the  place  where  he  now 
lives  February  1,  1877.  At  first  he  bought  235  acres  and  added  80 
acres  more  in  1878.  He  was  married,  October  10,  1865,  to  Mercy  A. 
Lunger,  of  Montgomery  county,  Indiana.  Her  parents  were  first 
settlers  of  Wea  Prairie.  By  this  marriage  they  have  three  children  : 
William  A.,  born  April  9,  1867 ;  Frank  L.,  born  August  3,  1872 ;  and 
Lewis  W.,  born  January  10,  1874.  Mr.  Carman  has  attained  his 
present  comfortable  and  independent  circumstances  through  his  own 
industry,  honesty  and  good  management. 

Lemuel  B.  Russell,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Milford,  was  born  in 
"Williamsport,  Warren  county,  Indiana,  November  30,  1829.  His 
parents,  William  and  Fanny  (Hall)  Russell,  came  from  Ohio  to  Indi- 
ana in  1829.  His  youth,  up  to  the  age  of  sixteen,  was  spent  on  a  farm 
near  Williamsport,  to  which  his  parents  had  moved  shortly  after  his 
birth.  When  sixteen  he  began  to  work  for  himself,  and  in  1859  he 
was  able  to  buy  160  acres  in  Warren  county,  Indiana,  which  he  kept 
and  farmed  three  years.  He  then  sold  out  and  came  to  the  farm  that 
he  now  owns  in  the  northeast  corner  of  Fountain  Creek  township, 
which  also  extends  into  Ash  Grove  and  Lovejoy  towns.  He  first 
settled  in  the  woods  on  his  farm,  in  a  log  house,  where  he  lived  four 
or  five  years.  He  then  built  a  tine  residence  near  by,  and  has  since 
erected  a  large  barn.  He  was  married,  December  29,  1859,  to  Eliza- 
beth Hickmau,  daughter  of  Peter  J.  Hickman,  of  Warren  county, 
Indiana.  They  have  two  children  living:  Charles  A.  and  Lemuel  B. ; 
also  one  dead,  named  Peter  W.  Mrs.  Russell  is  a  Methodist.  Mr. 


FOUNTAIN    CKEEK   TOWNSHIP.  473 

Russell  feeds  a  large  number  of  cattle  and  hogs  each  year.     He  values 
his  farm  of  about  550  acres  at  $35  per  acre. 

Jehu  Judy  is  the  postmaster  at  the  office  in  Fountain  Creek, 
called  Seemly.  He  Was  born  in  Hardy  county,  Virginia,  February  19, 
1825.  His  parents  were  Nicholas  and  Mary  A.,  who  were  born  and 
brought  up  in  Virgin ia.  The  early  life  of  Mr.  Judy  was  spent  on 
his  father's  farm  in  Virginia,  which  he  left  in  October,  1849,  and  came 
to  Blue  Grass  Grove,  in  Vermilion  county,  Illinois.  He  worked  on  a 
farm  in  the  summer  and  split  rails  in  the  winter.  In  the  spring  of 
1851  he  entered  240  acres,  where  he  now  lives,  and  in  1852  erected  a 
small  house  into  which  he  moved  a  year  later.  He  was  married  the 
first  time,  September  7, 1852,  to  Lucinda  Haigler,  a  native  of  Virginia. 
By  this  union  they  had  two  children :  Phebe  M.  and  Lucinda  H., 
both  of  whom  are  dead.  Mrs.  Judy  died  June  13,  1855.  Mr.  Judy 
was  married  the  second  time  to  Elizabeth  M.  Bible,  also  a  native  of 
Virginia.  There  were  two  children  by  this  marriage :  Mary  J.  and 
Susan  V.  The  last  named  died  in  infancy.  The  date  of  this  second 
marriage  was  March  18, 1856.  The  second  Mrs.  Judy  died  October 
13, 1862,  and  Mr.  Judy  was  then  married  for  the  third  time  to  Tabitha 
M.  Slusher,  June  7, 1863.  Her  parents  were  Virginians,  but  she  was 
born  in  this  county.  By  this  union  they  had  seven  children :  Charles 
L.,.  Jacob  M.  (dead),  Sarah  O.  (dead),  Minnie  M.,  Martha  H.  (called 
Hattie),  and  Tabitha  M.  (called  Tease),  also  another  who  died  in 
infancy.  Mr.  Judy's  third  wife  died  November  14,  1875.  He  was 
married  again  December  12,  1876,  to  Cinderella  M.  Green,  a  native  of 
Indiana.  By  this  marriage  they  have  had  two  children :  Clara  V.  and 
Jehu  G.,  both  of  whom  died  in  the  fall  of  1879.  The  post-office  of 
Seemly  was  established  November  23,  1874,  with  Mr.  Judy  as  post- 
master, which  position  he  has  since  held.  Besides  being  a  good  farmer 
and  stock-raiser,  Mr.  Judy  has  also  been  a  carpenter  and  a  blacksmith. 
He  does  his  own  blacksmithing  yet.  He  has  made  the  most  of  his 
money  in  later  years  by  feeding  stock.  He  owns  a  splendid  farm  of 
650  acres  lying  on  both  banks  of  Fountain  creek.  West  of  his  resi- 
dence, on  his  land,  stands  the  United  Brethren  church,  to  which  Mr. 
Judy  contributed  in  labor  and  money  about  $700.  He  and  his  present 
wife  are  members  of  that  church.  His  other  wives  were  also  members 
of  the  same  church.  He  is  a  republican. 

Thomas  A.  Blake,  farmer,  East  Lynn,  was  born  in  South  Molton, 

Devonshire,  England,  March  7,  1852.     His  parents  were  William  and 

Fannie  (Flexman)  Blake.    Up  to  the  age  of  about  fourteen  he  attended 

'school,  and  then  went  to  sea.     He  served  five  years  as  midshipman 

and  two  years  as  officer  on  a  merchant  vessel  engaged  in  the  East 


474  HISTOKY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

India,  China  and  Japan  trade.  He  left  his  ship  at  New  York  in  1872, 
came  to  Springfield,  Illinois,  and  shortly  after  returned  to  England, 
where  he  was  married  to  Frances  Maunder,  a  native  of  England,  March 
25,  1873.  His  bride's  parents  were  Edwin  and  Rebecca  (Flexman) 
Maunder.  After  marriage  the  young  couple  returned  to  America  and 
settled  in  this  township,  where  they  now  live  and  own  a  good  farm 
well  improved.  They  have  two  children :  Florence,  born  April  2, 
1874;  and  George -Redwood,  born  March  29,  1877,  while  the  parents 
were  on  a  visit  to  their  friends  and  relatives  in  England.  Mr.  Blake 
has  not  yet  been  naturalized,  but  expects  to  become  a  citizen  at  an 
early  day. 

H.  G.  Hanson,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  East  Lynn,  was  born  in  the 
northern  part  of  Norway,  June  22,  1844.  He  is  the  son  of  Christian 
and  Kyerstern  (Erickson)  Hanson.  His  father  was  a  hardy  fisherman, 
born  and  brought  up  on  an  island  near  the  famous  whirlpool  or  Mael- 
strom, the  dread  of  the  ancient  mariners.  The  early  life  of  the  subject 
of  this  sketch  was  spent  on  his  father's  farm,  where  the  sun  is  not  seen 
in  midwinter  for  nearly  three  months,  and  where  the  summer  sun 
does  not  set  for  the  same  length  of  time.  He  came  to  Chicago  with 
his  father's  family  in  the  year  1862,  sailing  from  Bergen  to  Chicago  in 
the  same  vessel.  His  father  bought  land  in  Kendall  county,  and  still 
lives  in  Grundy  county,  in  this  state.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  came 
to  his  present  place  in  the  spring  of  1879,  having  bought  his  farm  the 
fall  previous.  He  was  married  to  Lucretia  Ward,  October  2,  1873. 
Her  parents  are  living  in  this  township.  By  this  marriage  they  have 
three  children :  Mary,  born  September  5,  1875 ;  Caroline,  born  Sep- 
tember 10,  1877;  and  Leonard,  born  April  10,  1879.  Mr.  Hanson 
has  educated  himself  in  the  knowledge  of  English,  and  has  so  thor- 
oughly posted  himself  in  the  history  of  this  country  that  he  is  equalled 
by  but  few  men  of  his  age  for  general  intelligence.  The  Chicago 
"  Tribune  "  has  been  his  teacher  for  the  last  eighteen  years,  so  it  is  not 
necessary  to  speak  of  his  political  faith.  He  is  the  champion  tile- 
drainer  in  the  township,  or  perhaps  in  the  county,  having  laid  in  his 
farm  about  five  miles  of  tiling,  and  expects  to  put  in  more.  He  also 
has  the  finest  young  orchard  in  the  township,  thoroughly  underdrained 
with  tile,  containing  500  trees,  which  are  now  coming  into  bearing. 
His  residence,  which  is  the  best  for  miles  around,  stands  on  a  com- 
manding site  near  the  center  of  the  township.  His  farm  of  240  acres, 
which  surrounds  this  beautiful  home,  he  values  at  $12,000. 

John  N.  Hoffman,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Rankin,  owns  400  acres 
of  land  in  sections  8  and  17.  He  was  born  in  Bavaria,  Germany, 
October  3,  1832.  His  father  fought  under  Napoleon  in  his  campaign 


FOUNTAIN    CREEK   TOWNSHIP.  475 

against  Russia.  He  learned  the  rope-maker's  trade  and  worked  at  it 
until  he  was  twenty-one.  He  had  a  common-school  education.  In 
1853  he  went  to  France,  and  in  1854  sailed  for  America.  During  the 
voyage  they  encountered  a  storm,  and  afterward  the  vessel  caught  fire. 
He  landed  safe  in  New  York,  April  2,  1854,  and  began  work  at  his 
trade  at  Williamsburg,  New  York.  He  soon  went  to  Chicago,  and  then 
to  La  Salle  county ;  from  there  to  St.  Louis,  where  he  followed  steam- 
boating  for  two  years,  between  New  Orleans  and  St.  Paul.  At  the 
president's  call  for  75,000  troops  he  enlisted,  but  was  not  accepted. 
Liking  a  wife  better  than  war,  he  married  Otilda  Gleim,  of  German 
descent,  September  1,  1861,  and  began  farming.  They  had  five  chil- 
dren :  Anna,  Katie  and  Jacob  are  living ;  George  and  Freddie  are 
dead.  He  moved  to  this  county  in  1870.  His  wife  died  September  4. 
He  married  again  and  has  one  child,  Lizzie,  by  his  second  wife.  He 
is  a  Catholic,  and  a  greenbacker  in  politics. 

James  M.  Geddes,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  East  Lynn,  was  born  in 
Ohio  in  1837.  His  parents  were  Joseph  and  Catherine  (Moore)  Ged- 
des. His  youth  was  spent  in  Ohio,  where  he  received  a  common-school 
education.  In  1854  he  moved  to  Indiana;  in  1856  to  Illinois,  and 
settled  in  this  county  in  1861.  June  17,  1862,  he  married  Zerrilda  E. 
Young,  of  Indiana.  They  have  had  eleven"  children  :  Elmer  L.,  born 
August  30,  1863 ;  Joseph  F.,  March  22,  1865 ;  Manda  J.,  September 
22,  1873;  Rubie  B.,  August  24,  1875;  Nellie  M.,  March  31,  1878, 
and  Gracie  E.,  July,  1879.  The  remaining  five  are  dead.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Geddes  are  members  of  the  Baptist  church.  He  is  a  Good  Tem- 
plar and  a  Granger.  In  politics  he  is  a  greenbacker.  He  began  life  a 
poor  man ;  but  through  industry  and  economy  he  has  obtained  a  com- 
fortable home  of  80  acres,  in  section  16,  valued  at  $2,500.  He  has  a 
large  orchard  of  apples  and  cherries,  and  a  fine  grove. 

James  Jordan,  Jr.,  farmer,  Rankin,  was  born  near  Ballana,  Mayo 
county,  Ireland,  May  15,  1846.  His  parents  were  James  and  Ann 
(Mullen)  Jordan,  whose  ancestors  were  Irish.  When  he  was  about  six 
years  old  he  came  with  his  parents  from  Ireland  to  Kendall  county, 
Illinois,  where  they  lived  six  or  eight  years,  and  then  removed  to 
DeKalb  county,  in  this  state.  In  August,  1862,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  enlisted  in  the  105th  111.  Yols.,  under  Col.  Dustin.  He  took 
part  in  the  battle  of  Franklin,  Kentucky;  was  also  at  Resaca,  Kene- 
saw  Mountain,  Pine  Mountain,  Peach  Tree  creek,  Averysboro  and 
Bentonville.  He  was  in  the  grand  review  at  "Washington,  and  was 
soon  after  discharged  at  Chicago.  He  was  seriously  wounded  in  the 
head  at  Resaca,  and  lost  a  part  of  one  finger  at  Pine  Mountain, 
Georgia.  After  the  war  he  took  up  farming  in  DeKalb  county,  and 


476  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUXTY. 

came  to  this  township  in  1869,  where  he  has  since  followed  farming 
with  good  success.  His  farm  consists  of  140  acres,  in  section  30,  which 
he  has  improved  with  buildings,  fences  and  trees.  He  has  been  quite 
successful  as  a  teacher,  having  taught  several  terms  in  this  county, 
mostly  during  the  winter.  The  people  of  Fountain  Creek  have  given 
him  the  office  of  commissioner  of  highways  for  six  years;  he  has  also 
served  as  collector  for  three  years,  and  is  now  acting  justice  of  the 
peace.  His  parents  are  yet  living,  and  in  this  township.  He  is  a 
Catholic,  and  is  independent  in  politics.  He  is  unmarried. 

James  Carey,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  East  Lynn,  owns  a  fine  farm  of 
200  acres  in  section  25,  which  he  values  at  $35  per  acre.  He  was  born 
in  Cheshire,  Connecticut,  November  5,  1838,  and  is  the  son  of  Robert 
and  Ellen  (Gordon)  Carey.  His  father  was  of  English  and  Irish,  and 
his  mother  of  Scotch  descent.  His  early  life  was  spent  mostly  in  Con- 
necticut and  New  York,  his  parents  having  moved  to  New  York  when 
he  was  fifteen  years  of  age.  From  1857  to  the  breaking  out  of  the 
war  he  was  employed  as  express  messenger  on  the  steamer  Star  of  the 
South,  plying  between  New  York  city  and  Savannah,  Georgia.  His 
last  trip  was  in  the  spring  of  1861,  when  they  were  chased  out.  of  Sa- 
vannah by  the  rebels.  He  clerked  awhile  in  a  New  York  hotel,  and  in 
1862  followed  farming  near  the  city.  In  the  fall  of  1862  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Adaline  Yan  Wart,  of  New  York  city.  She  was  born  in  Cayuga 
county,  New  York.  They  have  but  one  child  living,  named  Ella  E. ; 
one,  named  James,  died  when  quite  young.  In  1863  Mr.  Carey  came 
with  his  parents  and  other  members  of  the  family  to  Fountain  Creek 
township.  His  father  owned  a  large  tract  of  land  here  which  now 
belongs  to  different  members  of  the  family.  Mr.  Carey  lived  on  Dr. 
Ludden's  farm  for  two  years  and  then  moved  to  his  present  home  on 
section  25.  At  this  time  there  was  plenty  of  wild  pasturage  and  for 
three  years  he  herded  cattle.  He  has  followed  farming  and  stock-raising 
generally  since  he  came  to  this  state.  In  December,  1877,  he  went  to 
Hoopeston  to  keep  hotel,  and  remained  long  enough  to  teach  the 
Hoopeston  people  the  fact  that  he  could  keep  a  first-class  hotel.  He 
built  the  Phosnix  House  there,  but  on  account  of  Mrs.  Carey's  sickness 
he  moved  back  to  the  farm  in  April,  1877.  After  the  Phoanix  House 
was  completed  he  rented  it  for  two  years  and  then  sold  it.  Mr.  Carey 
and  his  wife  are  Methodists.  He  is  a  republican,  frank  and  outspoken 
in  expressing  his  statements.  He  denounces  rings  and  party  tricksters, 
and  is  strong  and  popular  in  his  party  throughout  the  county. 

Robert  Carey,  the  present  supervisor  of  Fountain  Creek  township, 
is  not  only  one  of  the  best  and  most  popular  men  in  his  own  township, 
but  is  well  and  favorably  known  throughout  the  county.  He  is  the 


FOUNTAIN    CREEK   TOWNSHIP.  477 

son  of  Robert  and  Ellen  (Gordon)  Carey,  who  were  natives  of  Ireland, 
of  English  and  Scottish  descent.  He  was  born  in  Connecticut,  Septem- 
ber 9,  1844,  and  removed  with  his  parents  to  a  farm  in  Orange  county, 
New  York,  when  about  ten  years  of  age.  About  the  year  1863  his 
parents  came  with  the  most  of  their  family  to  Iroquois  county,  settling 
on  section  26,  in  what  is  now  Fountain  Creek  township.  Their  fine 
farm  of  800  acres  here  now  belongs  to  members  of  the  family,  the 
parents  having  died  some  years  ago  in  this  township.  The  subject  of 
this  sketch  was  married,  December  9,  1869,  to  Miss  Martha  E.  "Wood, 
daughter  of  Ambrose  "Wood,  Esq.,  of  Fountain  Creek  township. 
Shortly  after  their  marriage  they  settled  down  where  they  now  live  on 
a  part  of  the  old  farm  and  have  since  remained  here.  Mr.  Carey  owns 
120  acres  which  is  well  improved.  He  has  an  intelligent  wife,  and 
has  three  children  living :  Robert  Ambrose,  Sarah  E.  and  Aaron 
Smith ;  one,  named  John  H.,  is  dead.  Mr.  Carey  is  now  serving  his 
third  term  as  supervisor  of  Fountain  Creek  ;  he  has  also  served  two 
years  as  town  clerk,  and  two  terms  as  collector.  Mr.  Carey  is  a  repub- 
lican. 

Ambrose  "Wood,  farmer,  East  Lynn,  came  from  an  old  Yirginia 
family.  He  was  born  in  Randolph  county,  now  in  "West  Yirginia, 
December  24,  1823,  and  is  the  son  of  John  and  Mary .  (Hornbeck) 
"Wood.  His  father  was  captain  of  a  company  that  served  in  quelling 
the  "  whisky  insurrection."  He  had  a  farm  in  Randolph  county,  where 
the  boy  Ambrose  reached  his  majority,  and  then  turned  his  face  to  the 
west  and  started  for  Illinois.  In  the  fall  of  1843  he  "footed"  it  to 
the  Ohio  river,  and  came  on  a  steamboat  to  Cincinnati ;  then  walked 
to  Yermilipn  county,  Illinois,  where  he  arrived  in  the  spring,  having 
staid  during  the  winter  with  relatives  and  friends  in  Ohio  and  Indiana. 
He  worked  on  a  farm  near  Myersville,  that  summer,  for  $8  per  month. 
In  July,  1844,  he  returned  to  Yirginia,  and  came  back  with  his  parents 
in  the  fall.  They  settled  on  the  Truax  farm,  in  Blount  township, 
Yermilion  county.  The  next  fall  he  went  back  to  Yirginia  to  get 
"  the  girl  he  had  left  behind  him,"  in  the  person  of  Miss  Ellen  M. 
Smith,  daughter  of  Henry  and  Mary  (Skidmore)  Smith.  Her  father 
is  still  living  in  Yirginia,  hale  and  active,  aged  ninety-one.  Mr.  Wood 
and  Miss  Smith  were  married  April  2, 1846,  and  came  the  greater  part 
of  the  way  to  Illinois  on  horseback.  Mr.  "Wood  and  his  bride  staid  on 
his  father's  farm  until  October,  and  then  they  returned  to  Yirginia, 
where  they  lived  three  years,  returning  to  Illinois  in  the  fall  of  1849. 
Mr.  Wood  now  entered  land  near  Blue  Grass  Grove,  in  Yermilion 
county,  and  settled  there,  where  he  lived  until  the  spring  of  1854, 
when  he  removed  to  Fountain  Creek  township,  where  he  had  entered 


478  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

section  27.  He  and  his  wife  put  up  a  shanty  here  on  the  bank  of 
Fountain  Creek,  where  John  Leemon's  house  now  stands.  They, 
however,  soon  built  a  better  house,  and  lived  here  until  the  spring  of 
1861.  At  the  same  time  that  he  entered  section  27  in  this  town- 
ship he  also  entered  one-half  of  fractional  section  7  in  Lovejoy  town- 
ship, which  a  year  later  he  sold  to  J.  B.  Wilson  for  $1,000  in  gold. 
He  sold  section  27  about  the  year  1861,  and  for  several  years  leased  or 
rented,  coming  to  his  present  farm  of  one-half  of  section  22  in  March, 
1867.  For  thirteen  years,  from  1856,  Mr.  Wood  herded  cattle  on  the 
rich  natural  pastures  of  this  township.  He  bored  the  first  artesian 
well  in  the  township,  on  section  22,  out  so  far  from  timber  that  people 
said  he  would  not  find  water.  But  he  did  find  plenty  of  it,  and  now 
has  flowing  water  wherever  he  needs  it.  He  has  planted  considerable 
timber  on  his  present  farm,  and  has  one  of  the  finest  artificial  groves 
in  the  county,  on  the  east  bank  of  Fountain  creek.  It  consists  entirely 
of  soft  maple,  covering  about  four  acres.  Although  it  has  been  planted 
only  eleven  years,  it  was  the  scene  of  a  great  Fourth  of  July  celebra- 
tion and  picnic  in  1879.  Mr.  Wood  was  for  many  years  a  large  dealer 
in  real  estate  in  this  and  Vermilion  county.  He  "  contested  "  one  sec- 
tion of  swamp  land,  obtained  the  right  of  entry,  got  a  patent,  and  sold 
the  section  at  a  great  advance.  He  then  obtained  the  right  from  the 
secretary  of  the  interior  to  contest  about  7,000  acres,  but  before  he 
could  get  it  through  the  right  of  contesting  was  denied.  Mr.  Wood  is 
the  father  of  ten  children,  of  whom  seven  are  living,  named  as  follows : 
Mary  Y.,  drowned  in  a  well  at  two  years  of  age ;  Martha  E.,  wife  of 
Robert  Carey;  John  H.,  living  in  California;  Samuel  and  Florence 
E.,  both  of  whom  died  in  infancy  ;  Horace  S.,  Aaron  W.,  Oscar,  Alice 
and  Orrie  C.  In  1876  Mr.  Wood  took  a  trip  to  southern  California, 
where  his  son  John  lives,  and  in  1878  Mrs.  Wood  also  visited  her  son 
in  California.  Mr.  Wood  and  his  wife  are  Methodists.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  A.F.  and  A.M.,  Hoopeston  Lodge,  and  in  politics  is  an  active 
republican.  Mr.  Wood  is  a  notary  public,  and  has  served  two  terms  as 
justice  of  the  peace.  His  long  and  varied  experience  in  selling  real 
estate  he  now  finds  very  useful  in  writing  conveyances  or  clearing  up 
titles  for  his  neighbors. 


STOCKLAND   TOWNSHIP.  479 


STOCKLAND   TOWNSHIP. 

This  township  was  formerly  called  Crab  Apple,  from  a  large 
grove  of  trees  situated  in  the  eastern  part,  and  which  at  that  time 
constituted  the  greatest  continuous  extent  of  timber  in  it,  its 
estimated  area  being  70  acres.  This  grove  was  largely  composed  of 
crab-apple  trees ;  hence  the  name  had  attached  to  the  locality  long 
prior  to  any  township  organization.  Just  when  the  change  of  name 
was  effected,  or  why  it  was  done,  does  not  clearly  appear.  The 
records  of  the  township  give  no  account  of  proceedings  which  led  to 
the  change.  Suffice  it  to  say,  the  first  record  in  which  the  name 
occurs  is  dated  March  28,  1865,  and  as  the  previous  entry  is  dated 
in  the  spring  of  1864,  and  the  name  crab-apple  is  there  used,  it  is 
presumed  that  the  change  was  made  at  some  time  during  the  year 
1864,  or  between  the  dates  above  mentioned.  The  reason  for  the 
change  is  quite  as  difficult  to  determine,  owing  perhaps  to  a  disin- 
clination on  the  part  of  the  originators  of  the  movement  to  expose 
any  of  their  own  little  weaknesses  or  foibles.  However  this  may  be, 
or  whoever  may  have  been  instrumental  in  bringing  about  so  desir- 
able a  change,  it  seems  that  the  name  crab-apple  was  disliked,  as 
conveying  an  erroneous  idea  of  the  character  of  the  people  ;  for 
whoever  else  may  be  crabbed  or  sour  in  disposition,  most  certainly 
the  people  of  this  township  are  not,  as  your  historian  can  abundantly 
testify.  Upon  the  question  of  a  new  name  a  great  difference  of 
opinion  was  manifested,  until  at  length  the  name  "  Stockland  "  was 
suggested,  and  was  at  once  adopted. 

Stockland  is  situated  in  the  southeastern  part  of  Iroquois  county, 
and  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Sheldon,  on  the  east  by  the  Indiana 
state  line,  on  the  south  by  Prairie  Green,  and  on  the  west  by  Milford. 
The  political  township  contains  more  than  a  congressional  township, 
inasmuch  as  a  narrow  strip,  extending  along  the  east  side,  between 
the  congressional  township  and  state  line,  is  attached  for  township 
purposes.  Stockland  may  be  further  described  as  composed  of 
township  25  north,  range  11  west,  and  of  fractional  township  25 
north,  range  10  west  of  the  second  principal  meridian.  The  same 
discrepancies  in  regard  to  irregular  surveys  exist  in  this  as  in  other 
townships  lying  west  of  it,  and  as  this  matter  has  been  fully  ex- 
plained in  the  history  of  Milford,  it  is  here  omitted. 

EARLY    HISTORY. 

The  first  settlement  in  what  is  now  the  township  of  Stockland 
was  made  by  Samuel  Williamson,  who  settled  in  Crab  Apple  Grove 
30 


480  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

in  March,  1832.  Mr.  Williamson  had  previously  removed  from  Ohio 
to  Indiana,  but  not  liking  the  country  he  sought  a  healthier  climate, 
and  finally  located  in  this  township.  At  that  time  there  were  no 
settlements  on  the  west  nearer  than  those  on  Sugar  creek  in  Milford, 
and  the  nearest  neighbors  on  the  east  were  from  six  to  ten  miles 
distant.  Soon  after  coming,  Mr.  Williamson  entered  a  quarter-sec- 
tion of  land,  and  commenced  making  improvements,  partly  upon  his 
own  and  partly  upon  adjoining  government  land,  which  he  intended 
to  enter  as  soon  as  he  could  obtain  the  necessary  means.  His  son, 
B.  P.  Williamson,  also  entered  a  quarter-section,  partially  adjoining 
his  father's,  and  he  too,  in  connection  with  his  father,  worked  on  the 
same  government  tract.  It  may  be  stated  here,  that  this  design  was 
frustrated  by  another  party  afterward  stepping  in  and  entering  the 
land,  thus  securing  the  benefit  of  their  labors.  A  year  or  two  after, 
another  son,  Philip,  came  with  his  family  and  joined  his  father.  Mr. 
Williamson  and  his  sons  continued  to  reside  on  these  lands  until 
1850,  when  the  entire  property  was  sold  to  Mr.  Sumner.  B.  P. 
Williamson  removed  to  and  commenced  operations  on  the  farm  he 
now  occupies,  while  his  father  and  brother  located  themselves  some 
distance  east  of  his  place. 

In  the  fall  of  1835  Thomas  Wallace  moved  into  the  country.  He 
first  settled  in  an  adjoining  township  and  raised  one  crop,  when  he 
entered  and  located  upon  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  17.  Mr. 
Wallace  was  born  in  Virginia,  February  20,  1800,  and  with  his  par- 
ents removed  to  Ohio,  where  he  was  married.  He  afterward  came 
to  this  county  with  his  family,  as  above  stated.  On  this  land  he 
built  a  log  house,  in  which  he  continued  to  reside  until  it  was  destroyed 
by  fire.  He  then  built  a  frame.house,  which  is  still  standing,  although 
the  property  has  passed  into  other  hands.  When  Mr.  Wallace  first 
came  to  this  county,  he  says  that  he  went  to  Bunkum  to  vote,  and 
that  some  ten  or  twelve  votes  were  cast  at  that  election.  He  also 
owned  a  surveyor's  compass  and  chain,  and  was  often  employed  by 
new  settlers  in  running  out  the  lines  of  their  several  tracts  of  land  ; 
and  is  said  to  have  surveyed  in  this  way  more  than  a  township  of 
land.  He  assisted  William  Pickerel  in  laying  out  the  village  of  Mil- 
ford.  He  also  frequently  drove  a  team  to  Chicago  and  to  LaFayette. 
The  burning  of  Wallace's  log  house  was  probably  the  first  fire  that 
ever  occurred  in  this  region,  if  not  in  the  county.  Mr.  Wallace  had 
five  children.  It  was  in  this  house  that  his  wife,  Jemima,  died. 
The  loss  of  his  wife  seemed  to  prey  upon  his  mind  to  such  an 'extent 
as  to  impel  him  to  be  constantly  roving,  as  he  afterward  spent  much 
of  his  time  in  hunting,  and  manifested  no  disposition  to  attend  to 


STOCKLAND   TOWNSHIP.  481 

any  business.  He  sold  out  and  moved  west  in  18Y4-.  He  was  held 
in  great  estimation  by  his  neighbors,  and  was  always  ready  to  lend 
a  helping  hand.  It  was  while  returning  from  a  "raising"  that  he 
met  his  children,  who  imparted  to  him  the  information  that  the  house 
and  entire  contents  were  consumed.  His  daughter,  Mary  E.,  after- 
ward married  Thomas  W.  Crawford. 

In  1834  or  1835  James  Cain  moved  into  this  township  and  built 
a  " double  log"  house  on  land  now  owned  by  Benjamin  Burt,  an- 
other early  settler  who  came  in  as  early  as  1838.  Thus  slowly  the 
population  increased,  as  one  family  after  another  moved  in. 

As  late  as  1850  not  more  than  a  dozen  families  had  settled  in 
Stockland.  Besides  those  already  mentioned  were  Samuel  and  John 
Nolin,  Thomas  W.  Crawford,  Nathan  and  David  Cleaver,  Asa  Will- 
iamson, William  Parker,  and  a  family  named  Somes.  The  entire 
country,  at  this  time,  was  what  is  called  "raw  prairie."  What 
timber  there  was  growing  was  known  as  "  openings,"  and  was  prin- 
cipally along  Sugar  creek.  Game  of  all  kinds  abounded,  and  could 
be  readily  seen  and  followed  on  horseback  in  any  direction.  The 
extensive  annual  fires  effectually  cleared  up  the  underbrush,  thus 
keeping  a  "clear  field."  These  fires  continued  to  sweep  the  face  of 
the  country  as  late  as  1865,  although  each  year  witnessed  a  con- 
stantly decreasing  area  devoted  to  this  destruction. 

In  1851  valuable  accessions  to  the  population Vere  made;  among 
others,  John  H.  Jones,  Elisha  Dawson  and  Jonathan  B.  Stokes,  with 
their  families.  These  were  followed  in  1852  by  still  larger  accessions 
of  enterprising  settlers,  of  whom  may  be  mentioned  John  B.  Herri- 
man,  George  W.  Freeman  and  Samuel  Callahan.  It  must  not  be 
understood  that  others  who  may  have  come  in  during  this  time  are 
not  equally  deserving  of  mention,  but  it  is  impossible  to  enumerate 
all.  Many  of  those  who  are  now  living  in  this  township,  both  men 
and  women,  were  at  this  time  but  children,  and  have  since  risen  to 
take  their  places  on  the  great  field  of  active  life.  Nowhere  can  a 
more  enterprising  and  industrious  class  of  people  be  found,  as  is 
evidenced  by  the  splendid  results  everywhere  now  presented  to  the 
view.  But  at  the  time  we  are  now  considering  everything  was  new, 
all  were  struggling  to  get  ahead ;  and  what  one  now  beholds  is  but 
the  glorious  consummation  of  the  well-directed  and  tireless  efforts  of 
an  intelligent  people.  As  the  years  have  rolled  on,  others  have 
come  in,  who,  inspired  by  the  same  spirit  of  generous  emulation,  have 
but  added  their  efforts  to  those  who  preceded  them,  until,  indeed, 
"The  desert  has  been  made  to  bud  and  blossom  as  the  rose";  the 
land  bursts  forth  with  fatness,  and  peace  and  plenty  crown  the  whole. 


482  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

Stockland  is  peopled  with  a  class  exclusively  engaged  in  agricul- 
tural pursuits.  Corn  and  farm-stock  are  the  principal  productions. 
There  is  not  a  village  in  the  township ;  but  from  every  elevated 
point  may  be  seen,  stretching  out  in  all  directions,  beautiful  farms, 
dotted  with  fine  buildings,  and  covered  with  waving  fields  of  corn  and 
grass,  and  extensive  pastures,  in  which  are  grazing  herds  of  cattle ; 
while  in  the  timbered  tracts  may  be  found  droves  of  hogs  feeding 
upon  the  plentiful  mast,  to  be  finally  prepared  for  market  through 
the  consumption  of  the  vast  quantities  of  corn  that  are  annually 
grown. 

The  Indians  who  were  found  in  this  township  belonged  to  the 
tribe  of  Kickapoos,  and  lived  principally  at  Crab  Apple  Grove. 
They  claimed  to  be  a  religious  tribe,  and  held  regular  camp-meetings 
yearly  in  the  neighborhood  of  Attica,  in  Indiana.  These  Indians 
also  maintained  a  regular  weekly  service,  and  claimed  to  abstain 
entirely  from  the  use  of  alcoholic  drinks.  They  were  entirely  peace- 
able and  inoffensive  in  their  intercourse  with  the  whites.  An  account 
of  some  of  their  peculiar  customs  is  given  in  the  history  of  Milford. 

Early  attention  had  been  given  by  the  settlers  to  the  interests  of 
religion  and  education.  Many  who  had  removed  hither  were  of 
those  who  had  not  enjoyed  the  advantages  of  a  common-school  edu- 
cation, but  they  were  determined  that  their  children  should  not 
experience  the  same  neglect,  and  as  the  country  improved  school 
districts  were  multiplied  and  school-houses  built. 

The  first  school-house  built  in  the  town  of  Stockland  was  a  log 
building,  erected  in  1850  on  land  belonging  to  Benjamin  Burt, 
and  situated  on  the  south  side  of  Sugar  creek,  in  the  edge  of  the 
timber,  and  from  this  circumstance  was  called  "Brush  College." 
Here  some  of  the  present  inhabitants  received  their  education.  The 
first  teacher  who  taught  in  this  building  was  William  Williamson. 

The  first  and  only  post-office  was  named  "Bell wood."  It  was 
established,  in  1854,  at  J.  H.  Jones'  house ;  Mr.  Jones  was  post- 
master. It  flourished  for  a  year  or  two  and  then  was  discontinued. 
James  Craig  was  mail-carrier  between  La  Fayette  and  Middleport  via 
Milford,  and  this  route  took  in  Bellwood  post-office. 

The  first  public  road  located  in  this  township  was  the  Ottawa  and 
La  Fayette  state  road.  It  runs  east  through  the  central  portion  of 
the  town  to  the  Indiana  state  line.  The  present  location  of  this 
road  is  not  identical  with  the  first  survey,  in  consequence  of  many 
changes  that  have  since  been  made.  Robert  Nilson  was  the  sur- 
veyor. 

The  first  birth  was  that  of  a  child  of  Philip  Williamson's ;  the  first 


STOCKLAND   TOWNSHIP.  483 

death,  that  of  a  child  in  the  same  family.  The  first  death  of  an  adult 
person  was,  so  far  as  can  be  ascertained,  Jemima,  wife  of  Thomas 
Wallace,  in  1850.  The  first  marriage  was  that  of  Lemuel  Johns  and 
Catherine  Williamson.  Mr.  Johns  came  to  Milford  in  1831.  His 
sons  now  live  in  Belrnont.  Another  early  marriage  was  that  of  Mon- 
roe Hoskins  and  Amy  Somes. 

~No  store,  smithy  or  mill  was  ever  established  in  Stockland  town- 
ship. Milford  village  was  always  "headquarters"  in  this  region,  and 
the  population  was  of  too  sparse  a  character  to  admit  of  any  exclu- 
sive privileges  in  the  way  of  hotels,  doctors  or  newspapers. 

The  settlers  at  an  early  period  availed  themselves  of  such 
religious  advantages  as  they  could  command.  The  first  class  organ- 
ized was  by  the  United  Brethren,  in  1853.  The  first  church  build- 
ing erected  was  in  1859,  and  called  Sugar  Creek  Chapel.  The  only 
graveyard  in  the  township  is  near  this  chapel.  The  first  burial  in  it 
was  James  Richardson's,  January  14,  1853. 

The  first  Sabbath  school  was  organized  under  a  couple  of  hickory 
trees  near  Asa  Williamson's  house,  on  land  now  owned  by  Mr.  S.  A. 
Jones.  A  Mr.  Doolittle  was  the  first  superintendent.  The  school 
was  continued  during  pleasant  weather  at  this  place,  and  numbered 
about  a  dozen  pupils. 

TOWNSHIP    ORGANIZATION 

Was  effected  April  1,  1856.  Previous  to .  this  time  what  is  now 
known  as  Stockland  formed  a  part  of  Milford  precinct,  with  the 
voting  place  at  Milford.  But  when  township  organization  was  ac- 
complished, this  township  was  named  Crab  Apple,  and  together  with 
Prairie  Green  formed  a  political  township.  This  relation  existed  for 
a  short  time,  when  they  became  separate  townships.  The  first  town- 
ship election  in  Crab  Apple  was  held  at  the  Gothic  school-house  on 
the  date  above  mentioned,  when  the  following  were  elected  the  first 
officers :  for  supervisor,  Winslow  Woods ;  for  town  clerk,  John  H. 
Jones ;  for  assessor,  Benjamin  Burt ;  for  collector,  Lewis  Lord  ;  for 
overseer  of  the  poor,  Nathan  Cleaver ;  for  commissioners  of  high- 
ways, J.  B.  Herriman,  R.  P.  Flagg  and  Zimri  Hobson ;  for  justices 
of  the  peace,  Asa  Williamson  and  J.  H.  Robbins ;  for  constables, 
John  Garlan  and  William  Pierce.  The  moderator  and  clerk  of  this 
meeting  were  both  sworn  in  by  Asa  Williamson,  justice  of  the  peace. 
We  thus  find  the  township  fairly  launched  upon  an  independent 
political  existence,  marking  another  epoch  in  its  progress.  We  also 
find  that  it  was  not  behind  its  sister  townships  in  patriotic  impulses. 
From  the  record  we  ascertain  that  the  quota  of  men  required  from 
Stockland,  under  the  president's  call  of  December,  1864,  for  300,000 


484  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

troops,  to  be  thirteen.  An  amount  of  money  ($800)  was  raised  to 
pay  bounties  to  volunteers,  and  the  men  were  provided.  This  money 
had  been  obtained  upon  the  joint  note  of  J.  H.  Jones,  A.  J.  Stevens, 
Thomas  Wallace,  Robert  Miller,  Philip  White,  James  Williams  and 
Milton  De  Armond,  dated  February  23,  1865.  At  the  town  meeting 
held  April  4,  1865,  an  ordinance  was  passed  voting  the  necessary 
amount  to  pay  the  principal  and  accrued  interest  of  this  note.  A 
very  large  number  had  also  enlisted  at  different  times  during  the 
war ;  some  of  them  fill  soldiers'  graves. 

At  a  meeting  held  May  14,  1867,  a  vote  was  taken  on  the  ques- 
tion of  extending  aid  in  the  construction  of  the  Chicago,  Danville  & 
Vincennes  railway.  The  vote  stood  eighty-one  in  favor  of,  to  three 
against.  The  amount  of  aid  afforded  was  $6,750.  To  the  honor  of 
Stockland  be  it  said  that  this  amount  was  paid  in  full,  and  that,  too, 
while  it  was  understood  or  expected  that  this  road  would  run  through 
Stockland,  it  did  not  in  its  construction  touch  any  part  of  it.  Few 
towns  can  show  so  clear  a  record.  The  town  is  entirely  free  from 
debt. 

The  town  meetings  for  several  years  were  held  at  the  Gothic 
school-house.  Afterward  they  were  changed  to  the  Yienna  school- 
house.  This  school-house  has  been  nicknamed  "Hard  Scrabble," 
probably  from  the  number  of  squabbles  that  have  occurred  within 
its  classic  precincts.  The  township  is  divided  into  nine  road  dis- 
tricts. 

INCIDENTS. 

Perhaps  there  is  no  place  that  is  entirely  free  from  incidents  of  a 
character  tragic  or  otherwise  ;  yet  the  peaceful  advancement  of  the 
people  of  this  township  has  been  seldom  disturbed  by  terrors  or 
mishaps.  What  few  incidents  have  occurred  are  here  given.  The 
first  fire  that  probably  took  place  was  the  burning  of  Thomas 
Wallace's  house  with  all  its  contents,  already  mentioned.  Samuel 
Neiswonger's  house,  in  the  north  part  of  the  township,  was  burned 
in  February,  1878,  with  a  large  portion  of  its  contents  ;  also  in  this 
year,  one  or  two  tenement  houses  on  Ed.  Sumner's  land.  Samuel 
Nolin's  house  was  entirely  consumed,  with  its  contents,  on  the 
morning  of  January  12,  1859. 

In  1866  the  northern  part  of  Stockland  was  swept  by  a  tornado, 
which  came  from  the  southwest  and  pursued  a  northeasterly  course. 
Samuel  linger' s  house  was  the  only  one  injured.  It  was  carried  32 
feet  and  left  in  a  badly  twisted  condition ;  everything  in  the  house 
was  broken.  The  family  were  carried  with  the  house,  but  escaped 
serious  injury.  The  stable  was  demolished  and  all  the  fences  carried 


STOCKLAND   TOWNSHIP.  485 

away.  On  learning  of  his  misfortune  the  neighbors  at  once  as- 
sembled, and  their  united  efforts  soon  replaced  the  house  on  its 
original  foundation.  It  was  repaired  and  reoccupied. 

In  April,  1876,  a  young  man  in  the  employ  of  Mr.  S.  A.  Jones 
took  occasion  to  hang  himself  in  an  old  barn.  No  cause  was  known 
for  the  commission  of  the  rash  act. 

CHURCHES. 

The  first  religious  society  organized  was  a 'class  of  United  Breth- 
ren, in  1853.  Previous  to  this  time  no  regular  religious  services  had 
been  held  in  the  township.  Occasional  preaching  was  had  ;  among 
others,  Rev.  D.  Brown,  of  Warren  county,  Indiana,  had  sometimes 
visited  the  people.  The  first  United  Brethren  preacher  who  offici- 
ated statedly  was  Rev.  Mr.  Kite.  In  1859  this  society  succeeded  in 
erecting  a  house  for  public  worship,  at  an  expense  of  about  $1,000. 
This  building  has  since  been  known  as  Sugar  Creek  Chapel.  It  is 
situated  on  the  left  bank  of  Sugar  creek,  near  where  it  is  crossed  by 
the  state  road,  in  the  south  half  of  section  17.  A  Sabbath  school  is 
maintained  in  connection  with  this  church. 

The  only  other  church  edifice  in  Stockland  is  the  Antioch  Chris- 
tian Chapel,  situated  near  the  township  line  in  the  extreme  north- 
west corner  of  section  31.  This  society  was  organized  in  March, 
1861,  just  four  weeks  before  the  firing  on  Fort  Sumter.  The 
meetings  were  held  in  the  Gothic  school-house  until  the  society 
were  able  to  erect  a  house.  This  was  done  in  the  summer  of  1867, 
at  a  cost  of  nearly  $1,600.  Rev.  C.  B.  Austin  was  the  first  pastor. 

Besides  these  two  societies,  there  was  a  considerable  number  of 
people  who  were  members  of  the  M.  E.  church.  Most  of  them  were 
without  special  church  privileges.  Revs.  Irwin  and  Ackerman,  from 
the  Onarga  district,  had  held  occasional  meetings,  and  at  one  time 
had  organized  a  class.  These  preachers  were,  indeed,  assigned  to 
Ash  Grove,  but  hearing  that  a  number  of  Methodists  were  scattered 
about  this  and  adjoining  townships,  had  come  hither  and  held  meet- 
ings in  a  school-house  in  Prairie  Green,  near  the  town  line,  for  nearly 
two  years.  After  the  Gothic  school-house  was  built,  these  meetings 
were  removed  there,  and  the  class  formed  at  one  time  numbered 
about  60  members.  Of  this  number,  it  is  worthy  of  remark,  five 
were  afterward  licensed  as  local  preachers ;  four  of  them  ar*e  still 
engaged  as  such :  Joseph  McLean,  William  Shawyer,  David  Prutz- 
man  and  Zimri  Hobson.  This  society  was  afterward  scattered, 
through  a  combination  of  circumstances,  and  the  class  discontinued ; 
several  of  them  are  now  connected  with  the  class  at  Milford.  At 


486  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

present  there  is  no  organized  body  of  Methodists  within  the  limits  ot 
Stockland  ;  those  now  residing  in  the  township  are  connected  with 
and  usually  attend  service  at  Round  Top  church  in  Prairie  Green. 
A  Sabbath  school  was  organized  twenty-five  years  ago  at  the  house 
of  Mr.  Hobson, —  Mr.  Hobson  being  the  superintendent.  The 
Sabbath  school  was  afterward  merged  into  the  Sugar  Creek  Sabbath 
school. 

DESCRIPTION. 

Stockland  township'  is  nearly  seven  and  a  half  miles  in  length, 
north  and  south,  and  seven  miles  east  and  west.  The  political  town- 
ship is  not  identical  with  the  congressional.  It  contains  an  area  of 
about  33,914  acres.  The  only  considerable  stream  is  Sugar  creek. 
It  enters  the  township  on  the  east  side,  in  section  7  (T.  25,  R.  10  "W".), 
and  at  first  flows  west-by-north  until  it  has  passed  Crab  Apple  Grove, 
when  it  bends  more  to  the  south  and  continues  in  a  somewhat  south- 
westerly course,  until  it  leaves  the  township  near  the  line  between 
sections  18  and  19.  The  entire  course  of  the  creek  is  extremely 
irregular,  flowing  at  times  toward  nearly  every  point  of  the  compass. 
In  consequence  of  these  sinuosities,  a  large  portion  of  the  township 
is  well  supplied  with  water.  Numerous  springs  are  also  found  on 
either  side  of  the  creek.  As  a  rule  the  banks  of  the  creek  are  no- 
where abrupt  or  broken,  but,  on  the  contrary,  are  gently  sloping 
and  easily  reached  at  almost  every  point  in  its  course. 

At  the  time  of  its  first  settlement  Stockland  was  almost  a  prairie. 
But  little  timber  was  found,  and  that  by  no  means  of  the  dense  char- 
acter of  other  portions  in  adjoining  townships.  This  sparseness  of 
timber  was  owing  to  the  extensive  fires  that  annually  swept  the 
country.  Since  these  fires  have  ceased  their  ravages,  in  other 
words,  as  improvements  have  been  extended,  the  timber  sections 
have  had  opportunity  to  grow,  until  now  dense  groves  are  found 
where  formerly  an  unobstructed  view  could  be  had  in  all  directions. 
In  addition  to  these  natural  groves,  many  of  the  land-owners  have 
wisely  planted  artificial  ones,  until  now  the  most  pleasing  variety  of 
woodland  and  prairie  is  presented  to  the  view  in  whatever  direction 
the  eye  may  turn.  The  soil  is  exceedingly  fertile,  and  there  is  not 
an  acre  of  land  in  the  township  that  is  not  susceptible  of  the  highest 
degree  of  cultivation.  It  consists  generally  of  a  black  loam ;  in 
some  portions  sandy,  and  in  others  of  a  peaty  nature,  somewhat 
loose  in  texture,  and  underlaid  with  either  a  stiff  clay  or  gravelly 
subsoil.  Large  beds  of  gravel,  as  well  as  of  blue  and  yellow  clay, 
are  found.  The  township  is  exceedingly  well  watered.  Nowhere  is 
water  difficult  of  access, — hence  the  facility  with  which  the  great 


STOCKLAND   TOWNSHIP.  487 

numbers  of  cattle  and  hogs  are  maintained.  Formerly  the  business 
of  herding  cattle  was  much  more  extensively  carried  on  than  at 
present.  Still  there  are  many  who  are  able,  in  consequence  of  their 
extensive  possessions,  to  conduct  a  large  stock  business.  Among 
these  we  find  :  J.  H.  Jones,  the  Nolins,  George  Stichnorth,  the  Har- 
mon brothers  and  others. 

The  largest  real-estate  owner  and  cattle-dealer  is  Edward  Sumner, 
who  lives  in  Indiana.  His  land  lies  in  the  northern  portion  of  the 
township,  and  covers  about  twelve  sections.  Most  of  this  land  is 
occupied  by  renters,  who  of  course  have  no  direct  interest  in  the 
development  of  the  country,  hence  the  only  improvements  are  ordi- 
nary fences  and  an  inferior  class  of  houses ;  we  see  none  of  that 
adornment  and  evident  pride  that  seems  to  exist  in  other  portions, 
where  the  occupants  are  themselves  the  owners. 

Immense  quantities  of  corn  and  other  grain  are  raised  on  these  fer- 
tile lands.  It  would  be  hardly  possible  to  make  even  an  approximate 
estimate  of  the  amount  of  corn  raised  during  the  present  season  (1879). 
The  number  of  neat  cattle  returned  by  the  assessor  is  2,467 ;  of  hogs, 
2,840.  The  number  of  bushels  of  corn  returned  for  1878  is  placed  at 
331,690,  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  previous  years  form  no 
criterion  to  judge  of  the  present  or  future,  and  the  product  of  grain 
for  time  to  come  will  be  largely  in  excess  of  the  product  of  past 
years.  The  cholera  has  heretofore  committed  extensive  ravages 
among  the  hogs  in  this  section,  some  farmers  losing  their  entire 
stock  ;  the  number  dying  in  1878  being  placed  at  789.  The  number 
of  fat  hogs  sold  in  1878  is  given  at  2,758  ;  of  fat  cattle  at  1,277. 
No  township  in  the  county  presents  better  facilities  for  carrying  on 
all  departments  of  agricultural  labor  than  Stockland.  Her  farmers 
are  wide-awake  on  all  questions  concerning  improved  methods  of 
husbandry.  Already  considerable  attention  has  been  given  to  tile- 
draining,  and  many  miles  of  tile  have  been  laid.  That  the  land 
will  well  repay  such  an  investment  has  become  an  established  and 
generally  accepted  fact. 

Most  of  the  improvements  in  this  township  have  been  made 
within  a  few  years.  The  passage  of  the  stock  law  has  had  a  great 
influence  in  promoting  farming  pursuits.  No  fences  are  required  for 
the  protection  of  crops,  hence  one  great  item  of  expense  has  been 
cut  off. 

A  dry  fork  called  Coon  creek  crosses  the  northern  end  of  the 
township,  running  from  the  east  side  in  a  northwesterly  direction. 
The  bed  of  this  creek  is  usually  dry  during  the  latter  part  of  sum- 
mer and  fall.  A  remarkable  feature  of  the  section  north  of  this 


488  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

creek  is  the  "nigger  heads"  that  lie  scattered  about;  it  is  said 
that  but  few  are  found  on  the  south  side  of  the  creek.  Where  these 
rocks  came  from,  or  why  found  where  they  are,  are  interesting  ques- 
tions, but  by  no  means  easily  answered ;  the  fact  remains,  however, 
that  there  they  are  ;  they  are  utilized  as  foundations  for  farm  build- 
ings. They  are  found  in  great  abundance  in  the  north  part  of  sec- 
tion 2. 

Not  a  railroad  crosses  any  portion  of  Stockland,  yet  roads  are 
accessible  on  every  side.  Every  facility  for  shipping  stock  and  pro- 
duce is  enjoyed  by  its  people.  Probably  much  the  most  of  its  pro- 
ductions are  shipped  from  Milford,  which  constitutes  the  principal 
market  in  which  to  buy  and  sell. 

SCHOOLS. 

The  township  is  divided  into  ten  school  districts,  with  a  school- 
house  in  every  one.  The  houses  are  of  a  superior  class,  neat  and 
commodious.  The  amount  of  the  school  fund  belonging  to  Stock- 
land  is  $5,300.  The  number  of  school  children  under  twenty-one 
years  of  age  is  450.  The  population  of  Stockland  is  estimated 
at  1,200. 

BIOGRAPHICAL. 

John  H.  Jones,  farmer  and  stock-dealer,  Milford,  was  born  in 
Brown  county,  Ohio,  October  30,  1823.  His  parents  were  John  and 
Mary  Jones.  His  father  served  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  was  at  Hull's 
surrender.  In  1829  the  family  came  to  Warren  county,  Indiana,  and 
engaged  in  farming.  The  father  died  September  19,  1871.  The 
mother  died  in  1851.  In  August,  1841,  Mr.  Jones  was  married  to 
Miss  Nancy  Hooker,  who  died  in  October,  1843.  He  afterward  mar- 
ried Mrs.  Hannah  Mercer  in  November,  1844.  Their  children's  names 
are  :  Stephen  A.,  Charles,  Lewis  E.,  Lina,  Alba  M.  and  Edgar  A.  (who 
are  twins),  Priscilla  and  Luther.  Several  of  these  are  married.  In 
October,  1851,  Mr.  Jones  removed  to  Stockland  and  entered  the  land 
where  he  now  resides.  From  small  beginnings  Mr.  Jones  has  steadily 
advanced,  until  now  he  is  one  of  the  largest  land-owners  and  wealth- 
iest men  in  the  township.  Mr.  Jones  has  often  filled  important  public 
trusts,  and  has  the  unqualified  respect  of  his  fellow  townsmen.  A 
step-son,  Wm.  Mercer,  enlisted  in  Co.  E,  76th  111.  Vol.,  in  1862,  and 
after  serving  until  nearly  the  close  of  the  war,  died  previous  to  his 
discharge.  Mr.  Jones  is  a  stanch  republican. 

Mrs.  Eliza  E.  Stokes,  farmer,  Milford,  daughter  of  Job  and  Sarah 
Inskeep,  was  born  in  Logan  county,  Ohio,  May  14,  1832.  Her  parents 
were  from  Culpepper  county,  Virginia,  and  came  to  Ohio  at  an  early 


STOCKLAND   TOWNSHIP.  489 

date  and  lived  and  died  there.  She  was  married,  May  31,  1851,  to 
Jonathan  B.  Stokes.  In  October  they  came  to  Stockland,  where  Mr. 
Stokes  had  previously  entered  120  acres  of  land.  In  the  fall  of  1852 
Mr.  Stokes  built  a  small  house  on  his  own  land  in  section  9,  and  began 
operations  on  his  own  account.  Here  they  continued  to  reside  until 
Mr.  Stokes'  death,  in  April,  1867.  The  small  house  has  been  suc- 
ceeded by  a  large  two-story  frame,  and  here  Mrs.  Stokes  resides.  The 
farming  operations  are  at  present  conducted  by  her  son-in-law.  Mrs. 
Stokes  has  had  four  children.  The  first,  Sylvia  C.,  was  born  April  21, 
1852,  and  died  Februaff  14,  1870 ;  Alice  A.,  born  April  25, 1854,  and 
married,  in  March,  1871,  to  "Willard  Eltzroth ;  Preston  O.,  born  April 

24,  1861 ;  and  Zillah  C.,  born  January  27,   1867.     The  husband  and 
wife  were  members  of  the  M.  E.  church.     Mrs.  Stokes  has  a  fine  farm 
of  280  acres. 

Stephen  A.  Jones,  farmer,  Milford,  is  the  son  of  John  H.  Jones  and 
Hannah  Mercer  (see  biography  of  John  H.  Jones),  and  was  born  in 
"Warren  county,  Indiana,  August  26,  1846.  He  came  to  Stockland  in 
1851  with  his  father.  He  was  married  September  16,  1872,  to  Miss 
Martha  Gray,  who  was  born  October  14,  1846.  Mrs.  Jones'  parents 
were  John  and  Rebecca  Gray.  They  have  three  children :  John, 
born  September  2,  1873 ;  Edgar,  born  April  4,  1879 ;  and  Guy,  born 
April  4,  1879.  Mr.  Jones  received  his  education  in  the  school  ot 
his  district  and  at  Onarga  Seminary.  In  politics  Mr.  Jones  is  a 
republican. 

John  B.  Herriman,  farmer,  Milford,  son  of  Stephen  Herriman  and 
Abigail  Buckland,  was  born  in  Clark  county,  Ohio,  January  7,  1818. 
His  father  was  born  in  New  Hampshire  and  his  mother  in  Vermont. 
His  parents  moved  immediately  after  their  marriage,  in  1808,  to  Cayuga 
county,  Ohio,  and  their  first  child  was  the  first  white  child  born  in 
that  county.  They  then  removed  to  Clark  county,  where  the  mother 
died.  His  father  married  again  and  moved  to  Indiana.  He  afterward 
died  near  Bunkum,  Iroquois  county.  J.  B.  Herriman  lived  in  Indiana 
from  1836  to  1852,  when  he  removed  to  Illinois  and  entered  land  in 
Stockland,  where  he  has  since  resided.  He  was  married,  September 

25,  1839,  to  Miss  Nancy  A.  Jones,  who  was  born  September  17,  1821. 
They  have  had  twelve  children,  five  of  whom  are  now  living  :  Mary  A., 
John  S.,  Salinda,  Emma  and  Addie.     John  enlisted  in  1863,  and  was 
disabled  after  six-months  service.     Another  son,  James,  was  drowned 
at  the  mouth  of   White  river,  April  3,   1865,  while  on  his  way  to 
join  his  regiment.     Mr.  Herriman  and  wife  are  members  of  the  M.  E. 
church.     Mr.  Herriman  is  a  republican.    Two  grandchildren,  Willettie 
and  Annie  Slatzell,  children   of  a  deceased  daughter  (Sarah)  are  now 


490  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

living  with  them.  The  older,  born  September  9,  1868  ;  the  younger, 
May  29,  1870. 

James  O.  Freeman,  farmer,  Milford,  was  born  in  Warren  county, 
Indiana,  April  21,  1842.  His  parents  were  married  in  that  county. 
His  father  was  originally  from  Chatham  county,  North  Carolina,  his 
mother  from  Ross  county,  Ohio.  In  1852  the  family  came  to  Stock- 
land  township,  and  his  father  entered  the  land  where  he  now  resides. 
Mr.  Freeman  was  married  February  8,  1869,  to  Miss  Clara  Hunter, 
whose  parents,  Samuel  and  Mary  Hunter,  live  in  Prairie  Green  town- 
ship. Mr.  Freeman  enlisted,  August  9,  1862,%n  Co.  E,  76th  111.  Vol. 
and  served  three  years.  He  was  at  Yicksburg,  Jackson,  New  Orleans, 
Fort  Blakeley,  Mobile,  Selma  and  Galveston,  and  served  through  these 
campaigns  unhurt.  He  was  discharged  in  August,  1865.  His  educa- 
tion was  obtained  at  "  Brush  College,"  a  log  school-house  described  in 
the  Stockland  history.  In  politics  Mr.  Freeman  is  a  republican.  His 
grandfather  served  in  the  war  of  1812.  At  the  time  Mr.  Freeman 
came  to  this  township  its  inhabitants  could  be  counted  on  his  fingers. 

Lewis  E.  Jones,  farmer,  Milford,  son  of  John  H.  and  Hannah  Jones, 
was  born  in  Stockland  township,  May  5,  1854.  Mr.  Jones  is  still  a 
young  man,  and  is  located  on  a  portion  of  his  father's  land.  He  has 
received  a  good  education,  and  has  already  secured  a  good  start  in 
life.  He  was  married  April  24,  1879,  to  Miss  Susan  Wise,  daughter  of 
Jacob  J.  and  Elizabeth  Wise.  Mr.  Wise  resides  in  Fountain  Creek 
township,  Iroquois  county.  Mrs.  Jones'  mother  is  not  living.  Mrs. 
Jones  was  born  December  10,  1859.  In  politics  Mr.  Jones  is  a  repub- 
lican. 

Thomas  Jones,  farmer  and  stock-grower,  Milford,  was  born  in 
Cheshire,  England,  November  25,  1818.  In  1831  he  with  his  parents 
embarked  at  Liverpool,  and  after  a  six-weeks  voyage  landed  in  New 
York.  They  thence  proceeded  by  water  to  Ohio  via  New  Orleans. 
Here  Mr.  Jones  remained  until  1854,  when  he  came  to  Iroquois 
county.  At  that  time  the  prairie  was  almost  entirely  unbroken.  He 
purchased  land  of  Amos  White  and  commenced  improvements.  Upon 
this  property  he  has  continued  to  reside,  and  at  the  present  time  has 
a  large  farm  entirely  under  cultivation.  He  was  married  April  17, 
1859,  to  Mary,  daughter  of  Elisha  Dawson,  one  of  the  oldest  settlers 
in  this  township.  They  have  seven  children — four  boys  and  three 
girls.  Mr.  Jones  is  one  of  the  respected  and  substantial  men  of  this 
township. 

William  Y.  Sense,  farmer,  Woodland,  son  of  George  and  Catherine 
Sense,  was  born  in  Botetourt  county,  Virginia,  December  13,  1821. 
His  father  was  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  stationed  at  Norfolk,  Virginia. 


STOCKLAND   TOWNSHIP.  491 

When  William  was  ten  years  of  age  his  parents  removed  to  Preble 
county,  Ohio,  where  they  remained  three  years,  and  then  came  to 
Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana,  where  they  died.  Mr.  Sense  has  been 
married  three  times.  The  first  time,  in  1844,  to  Sarah  Masters.  Then 
in  1855  to  Lydia  Davidson,  and  lastly  in  1869  to  Sarah  J.  Kelly.  Mr. 
Sense  removed  to  Stocklaud  in  1856,  but  had  previously  entered  the 
land  he  now  owns.  He  has  in  his  time  resided  one  year  and  a  half  in 
Hoopeston.  He  now  resides  in  Woodland  when  not  on  his  farm. 
Although  exempt  through  age,  Mr.  Sense  patriotically  enlisted,  August 
9,  1862,  in  the  76th  Ilk  Vol.,  and  participated  in  nearly  all  the  battles 
that  regiment  engaged  in.  He  was  with  the  regiment  constantly,  ex- 
cept when  in  the  hospital.  In  politics,  he  is  a  republican. 

Robert  Miller,  farmer,  Milford,  son  of  William  and  Rebecca  Miller, 
was  born  in  Franklin  county,  Pennsylvania,  May  30, 1824.  His  father 
was  a  farmer  and  served  in  the  war  of  1812.  Early  in  1834  the 
family  emigrated  to  Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana,  and  in  the  fall  his 
father  died,  leaving  a  wife  and  six  children  in  straightened  circum- 
stances. Mrs.  Miller,  however,  succeeded  in  her  difficult  task  of  caring 
for  her  children.  Robert  was  the  third  child  and  lived  with  his  mother 
until  he  was  twenty-one  years  of  age.  After  he  came  of  age  he  worked 
for  some  time  for  $8  per  month,  when  he  went  into  the  stock  business 
with  some  partners.  He  was  the  principal  manager  of  the  business 
and  made  money.  January  17,  1861,  he  was  married  to  Harriet 
Stanley,  who  was  born  September  12,  1836,  and  died  September  25, 
1868.  She  left  three  children :  Eva  L.,  born  December  16,  1861 ; 
Lizzie  F.,  born  August  26,  1865,  and  John  S.,  born  August  26,  1865. 
Immediately  after  his  marriage  Mr.  Miller  removed  to  Pontiac,  where 
he  remained  two  years  and  then  came  to  Stockland,  where  he  has 
since  resided.  He  married  for  his  second  wife  Elizabeth  Paul,  Febru- 
ary 15,  1870.  She  has  one  son  living,  William  V.,  born  March  26, 
1873.  Mr.  Miller  has  had  only  the  advantages  of  a  common-school 
education.  Still  these  were  wisely  improved.  In  politics  Mr.  Miller 
is  a  republican,  and  has  always  been  actively  identified  with  the  local 
affairs  of  the  township.  He  is  also  a  Master  Mason. 

George  Stichnoth,  farmer  and  stock-dealer,  Milford,  is  a  native  of 
Hanover,  Germany,  and  was  born  April  22,  1835.  He  emigrated  to 
the  United  States,  June,  1853,  and  settled  in  Yermilion  county,  Illi- 
nois. December  9,  1858,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  J.  Endsley, 
who  was  born  December  30,  1835,  in  Indiana,  where  her  parents  then 
lived.  They  afterward  removed  to  Vermilion  county.  In  1861  Mr. 
Stichnoth  came  with  his  family  to  Milford  and  remained  three  years, 
when  he  located  in  Stockland  township,  on  the  land  where  he  now 


492  HISTORY   OF   IEOQUOIS   COUNTY. 

lives.  They  have  had  nine  children,  six  of  whom  are  living :  Henry 
0.,  born  March  2,  1861;  Abraham,  February  6,  1863;  George  B., 
April  29, 1864;  Charles  R.,  September  7,  1865 ;  Mary  E.,  October  15, 
1867 ;  James  B.,  May  2,  1869.  Three  of  Mrs.  Stichnoth's  brothers 
served  in  the  civil  war.  One  of  them  (Hugh  Endsley),  was  severely 
wounded  at  the  battle  of  Pea  Ridge.  Mrs.  Stichnoth  is  a  member  of 
Antioch  Christian  chapel.  In  politics  Mr.  Stichnoth  is  a  democrat. 

George  Crooks,  farmer,  Milford,  came  to  Stockland,  with  his  wife, 
in  February,  1866.  At  that  time  but  few  improvements  could  be  seen 
in  this  township.  Mr.  Crooks  was  born  in  Allegheny  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, October  15,  1838.  His  father,  James  Crooks,  is  still  living ; 
his  mother  died  a  few  days  after  his  birth.  He  was  married,  October 
25,  1865,  to  Miss  Hannah  A.  Glass,  who  also  is  a  native  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  was  born  February  22,  1840.  They  have  three  children : 
Mary  B.,  born  January  24,  1867 ;  James  H.,  born  November  28, 1871, 
and  Rachel  I.,  born  December  1,  1873.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Crooks  are 
members  of  the  M.  E.  church.  Mr.  Crooks  enlisted  in  Co.  G,  Inde- 
pendent Battery  Penn.  Art.  Vol.,  August  12,  1862.  He  was  dis- 
charged as  corporal,  June  15,  1865.  During  his  enlistment  he  was  on 
garrison  duty  at  Fort  Delaware.  He  had  few  educational  advantages 
in  early  life,  having  lived  away  from  home  since  early  boyhood.  Mr. 
Crooks  has  a  beautiful  location,  and  has  been  successful  in  his  business 
pursuits. 

Oscar  P.  Harman,  farmer  and  stock-dealer,  Milford,  is  the  son  of 
Anthony  and  Theodosia  Harman.  In  1864  he  left  Missouri  and  came 
to  Indiana,  where  he  lived  with  his  uncle  three  years.  He  was  born 
in  Randolph  county,  Missouri,  June  2,  1849.  He  is  a  half  brother  of 
J.  M.  Harman.  October  29,  1872,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Lina  M. 
Jones,  a  daughter  of  John  H.  Jones.  They  have  one  child,  Leroy, 
born  August  12,  1876.  Until  quite  recently,  J.  M.  and  O.  P.  were  in 
partnership  in  the  cattle  trade.  They  have  been  very  successful  in 
their  business  operations.  Mr.  Harman  is  a  republican.  He  came  to 
Stockland  in  1867. 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  Morgan,  farmer,  Sheldon,  was  born  in  Clinton 
county,  Ohio,  March  23,  1820.  Her  parents  were  Molleston  and 
Susannah  Fisher.  Her  mother  died  when  she  was  nine  months  old. 
Her  father  died  in  Indiana,  in  1861,  nearly  ninety  years  of  age.  In 
1837  the  family  left  Ohio  and  came  to  Huntington  county,  Indiana. 
Elizabeth  was  married,  October  25,  1838,  to  Charles  Morgan,  who  was 
born  in  North  Carolina,  and  came  to  Indiana  with  his  sisters  when 
fifteen  years  of  age.  After  marriage  Mr.  Morgan  and  wife  remained 
for  a  time  on  their  farm  of  60  acres ;  then  sold  and  came  to  Warren 


STOCKLAND   TOWNSHIP.  493 

county,  where  they  lived  two  years ;  again  sold  and  removed  to  Stock- 
land  in  February,  1867.  Mr.  Morgan  died  September  8,  1874.  The 
family  have  since  continued  to  reside  on  the  farm.  They  have  had 
eleven  children  :  Lorena,  born  May  29,  1840 ;  Malinda,  born  October 
12,1841;  Clinton,  born  April  8,  1843;  Julia  A.,  born  January  7, 
1845  ;  Wesley,  born  November  20,  1846 ;  Mary,  born  May  23,  1849 ; 
Isaiah,  born  April  30,  1852  ;  Ascena  A.,  January  26, 1855  ;  Daniel  L., 
born  November  10,  1856  ;  Ezra  L.,  born  November  16,  1860 ;  Maria 
J.,  born  September  9,  1862.  Julia,  Mary  and  Maria  are  dead.  Two 
daughters  and  one  son  are  married.  Wesley  enlisted  in  the  47th  Ind. 
Vol.,  and  served  nearly  three  years.  The  husband  and  sons  were 
republican  in  politics.  Mrs.  Morgan  is  a  member  of  the  United 
Brethren  church.  Her  present  circumstances  are  prosperous. 

Jacob  M.  Harman,  farmer  and  stock-dealer,  Milford,  son  of 
Anthony  and  Sarah  A.  Harman,  was  born  in  Randolph  county,  Mis- 
souri, December  31,  1841.  His  father  was  from  Virginia,  and  his 
mother  from  Kentucky.  They  were  married  in  Missouri,  to  which 
state  the  respective  families  had  removed  at  an  early  date.  Mrs.  Har- 
man died  September  10,  1844.  Mr.  Harman's  father  was  again  mar- 
ried, March  26,  1846,  to  Theodosia  Carver,  by  whom  he  had  two  chil- 
dren :  Oscar  and  Robert.  April  27,  1865,  J.  M.  Harrnan  married  Miss 
Emma  Cox,  who  was  born  in  Monroe  county,  Missouri,  December  28, 
1845.  They  have  three  children :  Jacob  A.,  born  March  7,  1866 ; 
Charlie,  born  July  30,  1871;  and  an  infant,  born  August  6,  1879.  Mr. 
Harman  continued  to  live  with  his  father  until  the  property  in  Mis- 
souri was  exchanged  for  land  in  Benton  county,  Indiana.  He  lived  a 
short  time  in  Indiana,  when  he  removed  to  his  present  location  in 
Stockland  in  1871.  Mr.  Harman  is  extensively  engaged  in  raising 
corn  and  cattle,  and  has  an  excellent  farm.  With  his  two  brothers, 
Oscar  and  Robert,  he  occupies  an  extensive  tract  of  about  4,000  acres 
in  Illinois  and  Indiana.  Mr.  Harman  is  a  stanch  republican,  and  he 
and  wife  are  members  of  the  Christian  church. 

The  parents  of  Alfred  U.  Hamilton,  farmer,  Milford,  Wiley  and 
Lucinda  Hamilton,  were  from  New  England.  The  father  was  born  in 
Hampshire  county,  Massachusetts,  and  served  through  the  war  of  1812 
as  a  lieutenant  and  saw  active  service.  The  mother  was  an  Upson,  and 
was  born  in  Waterbury,  Connecticut.  Alfred  U.  Hamilton  was  born 
in  Summit  county,  Ohio,  May  13,  1812.  His  grandfather,  Hamilton, 
served  through  the  American  revolution.  His  great-grandfather  was 
a  brother  of  Alexander  Hamilton,  with  whom  he  emigrated  from 
Scotland.  Mr.  Hamilton's  parents  moved  to  Ohio  in  1802  with  Judge 
Payne.  In  1833  the  family  removed  to  Toledo,  where  they  remained 


494  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

fourteen  years.  The  parents  died  in  Ohio.  Mr.  Hamilton  was  mar- 
ried, December  25,  1845,  to  Miss  Susan  Hubbell.  They  have  three 
sons  and  one  daughter.  The  daughter  is  married.  In  1847  the  family 
came  to  Attica,  Indiana,  where  they  lived  three  years.  In  1850  Mr. 
Hamilton  removed  to  Iroquois  county  and  settled  in  Loda,  and  in  1878 
came  to  Stockland.  Mr.  Hamilton  is  by  trade  a  ship-carpenter.  He 
worked  in  Toledo  and  Attica.  He  finally  abandoned  his  trade  and 
has  since  devoted  himself  to  farming.  Mr.  Hamilton  is  a  republican. 
Mrs.  Hamilton  is  a  member  of  the  Christian  church. 


MARTINTON  TOWNSHIP. 

Martinton  occupies  a  position  in  the  center  of  the  northeast  quarter 
of  the  county,  having  Papineau  on  its  northern  boundary,  Beaver  on 
its  eastern,  Middleport  and  Iroquois  townships  on  its  southern,  and  the 
Iroquois  river  on  its  western  boundary,  and  contains  all  of  town  28, 
range  12  west  of  the  2d  principal  meridian,  and  all  lying  east  of  the  river, 
(being  about  one-half)  of  town  28,  range  13.  The  Chicago  &  Eastern 
Illinois  railroad  passes  from  north  to  south  nearly  through  its  center, 
having  the  station  of  Martinton  on  it ;  and  the  Cincinnati,  La  Fayette 
&  Chicago  railroad  runs  by  the  northeastern  corner  of  the  town,  giving 
to  its  citizens  the  benefit  of  Chicago,  Cincinnati  and  eastern  markets  by 
two  railroads, which  in  their  very  nature  cannot  combine  and  "pool"  their 
earnings  from- this  vicinity.  The  soil  is  chiefly  the  fertile  sandy  loam 
common  along  the  Iroquois  river.  Originally  nearly  one-third  of  its 
surface  was  covered  with  timber.  Along  its  western  portion  the  timber 
along  the  river,  extending  about  two  miles  back*  from  the  stream  and 
along  Pike  creek,  was  heavy,  and  was  drawn  on  for  fencing,  building 
and  fuel,  as  it  still  is.  For  several  miles  along  its  eastern  side,  Bean's 
Grove  stretched  out,  affording  hospitable  shelter  for  those  pioneers  who 
there  made  their  homes.  Until  the  building  of  the  two  roads  referred 
to  the  farms  here  were  distant  from  market,  and  this  distance  was  a 
serious  drawback  to  the  cultivation  of  the  land,  but  it  was  a  favorite 
grazing-ground  for  those  who  were  looking  to  the  raising  of  cattle. 
With  the  increased  railroad  facilities,  however,  the  land  came  rapidly 
into  more  complete  cultivation,  and  the  free  system  of  drainage 
adopted  is  fast  reclaiming  even  those  portions  which  were  supposed  to 
be  impossible  to  cultivate. 

The  first  settlers  in  the  township  are  believed  to  have  been  those  who 
came  to  Bean's  Grove  and  put  up  their  cabins  along  from  1833  to  1840. 
As  they  are  nearly  all  gone  now  and  their  places  supplied  by  others,  the 


MARTINTON    TOWNSHIP.  495 

dates  of  their  coming  and  going  can  only  be  approximately  deter- 
mined. The  writer  is  under  obligations  for  such  information  to  Mr. 
Bean,  of  Donovan.  Aaron  Rush  is  believed  to  have  been  the  first  of 
these,  and  must  have  arrived  here  about  1833.  He  resided  here  nearly 
forty  years.  He  removed  to  Wisconsin  about  1873,  and  died  there. 
A  son  lives  at  Watseka,  and  a  daughter,  Mrs.  Green,  lives  here  yet.' 
Mr.  Cottrel,  who  came  soon  after,  removed  to  near  Watseka,  twenty- 
five  years  ago,  and  his  family  went  to  Iowa  and  Kansas.  Benjamin 
King,  who  came  here  soon  after,  returned  to  Indiana  and  died  there. 
James  Williams  was  another  early  settler.  He  went  to  Wisconsin  with 
his  family  many  years  ago. 

E.  M.  Hammond,  who  came  about  1836,  died  here  some  fifteen 
years  since.  His  son,  Charles,  resides  on  the  place  yet.  Jones  Green 
died  on  the  place  which  he  early  took  up,  about  1854.  His  widow 
lives  on  the  place.  His  son,  Sidney,  lives  near,  and  daughters,  Mrs. 
Gillaspie  and  Mrs.  Sherill,  in  Watseka.  Mr.  Gillaspie,  who  was  another 
of  the  pioneers,  died  on  the  place  where  his  family  still  lives.  John 
Merrily  still  lives  on  the  farm  which  he  early  reduced  from  its  wild 
condition,  though  his  family,  except  one  son,  have  all  died.  Mr. 
Edwards  moved  many  years  ago  to  Momence,  and  from  there  to  Bour- 
bonnais,  where  he  followed  the  occupation  of  milling.  Further  west 
from  the  Bean's  Grove  settlement,  and  just  on  the  south  line  of  the 
township,  old  man  Floyd,  as  he  is  still  called,  built  a  shanty  near  where 
the  Van  Meeter  house  now  stands,  about  1845,  and  lived  in  it  some  years. 
Thomas  Yates,  known  all  over  this  end  of  the  state  of  Illinois  as 
one  of  the  cattle  kings  of  the  west,  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  in  the 
western  portion  of  Martinton.  He  and  his  father  had  subdued  the 
land  lying  south  of  L'Erable,  over  on  "the  west  side  of  the  Iroquois,  and 
covered  it  over  with  good  graded  cattle  and  sheep,  early  in  the  forties. 
Becoming  crowded  there  (John  Wilson  on  the  south,  Thomes  Stump 
on  the  west,  and  Peter  Spink  on  the  north,  each  two  miles  away)  he 
sold  to  Mr.  Ayres,  and  crossed  over  the  Jordan  (Iroquois),  where  he 
could  have  room  to  spread  and  keep  a  few  hundred  head  of  cattle. 
With  a  constitutional  tendency  to  scatter,  he  ranged  all  over  this  side 
of  the  river,  and  is  now  in  Iroquois  township.  John  Scoon  settled 
where  he  now  lives,  a  few  years  later.  He  had  a  large  family  of 
children. 

For  a  long  time  these  three  pioneers,  Yates,  Bryant  and  Scoon, 
were  the  only  residents  in  this  part  of  Martinton.  They  had  no 
school  except  as  they  sent  their  children  across  the  river  on  the  ice  or 
in  small  boats,  and  so  far  as  roads,  bridges,  and  other  conveniences  of 
civilization  were  concerned,  they  might  as  well  have  been  the  only 
31 


496  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

settlers  in  the  county.  They  held  out  bravely,  however,  and  finally 
saw  this  region,  which,  had  so  long  been  terra  incognita  filled  up  with 
a  teeming  population.  A  neat  school-house  stands  on  the  road  near  by, 
and  every  evidence  of  civilization  appears  where  so  long  the  wilderness 
was  untouched. 

In  the  olden  time,  before  the  railroad  was  known,  the  old  stage- 
route  from  Bourbonnais  to  Middleport  traversed  this  township,  but 
there  was  no  post-office  within  its  present  boundaries.  The  old  Demo- 
crat post-office,  a  relic  of  our  early  congressman,  John  Wentworth,  the 
long-time  editor  and  proprietor  of  the  Chicago  "  Democrat,"  was  down 
on  Beaver  creek.  At  the  time  the  Martins  came  here  to  live,  and 
began  business  at  Old  Martinton,  Mr.  Beckett  was  appointed  post- 
master of  Democrat  and  received  his  commission,  but  all  endeavors  to 
get  a  post-route  to  that  place  failed,  and  it  was. not  until  the  railroad 
was  built  in  1871,  that  a  post-office  was  established  in  the  township. 

Porter  Martin, —  from  whom  the  township  received  its  name, — 
removed  here  about  the  time  the  Central  railroad  was  built  through 
the  county,  and  with  his  family  has  been  largely  identified  with  the 
interests  of  the  township  since  that  time.  They  were  originally  from 
Vermont,  and  were  imbued  with  the  "green  mountain  "  spirit  of  enter- 
prise and  "  push."  He  had  four  sons :  James,  John,  Warren  and  Bar- 
ney ;  and  two  daughters:  Mrs.  Stearns  and  Mrs.  Burnham.  James 
commenced  mercantile  business  with  Mr.  Beckett,  at  Old  Martinton,  in 
1856.  A  town  was  laid  out  and  lots  were  sold,  but  no  record  of  the 
plat  was  ever  made.  Martin  &  Beckett  sold  the  store  to  John  L.,  he 
to  Porter,  who  in  turn  sold  to  S.  J.  Martin,  and  she  to  J.  "W.  Stearns 
&  Co.,  who  moved  the  stock  when  New  Martinton  was  laid  out  on  the 
railroad,  to  that  place.  The  point  was  a  famous  trading  point,  and  it  is 
known  that  as  high  as  $24,000  worth  of  goods  were  sold  some  years. 
Mr.  Carreau  had  a  blacksmith  shop  there,  and  that  prince  of  good  fel- 
lows, A.  O.  Edison,  after  having  helped  build  the  Central  railroad  as 
far  south  as  Spring  creek,  settled  here  and  opened  up  a  wagon-shop, 
and  followed  the  trade  of  carpenter  and  house-builder.  Mr.  Edison  is 
a  cousin  of  the  genius  of  Menlo  Park,  who  has  recently  made  his  name 
famous  by  those  wonderful  inventions,  wherein  he  has  shown  that 
human  ingenuity  can  counterfeit  nature  in  matters  pertaining  to  sound 
and  light. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Martin,  and  their  sons  John  and  James,  are  dead. 
"Warren  lives  on  a  farm  in  this  township,  and  Barney  is  the  station 
agent  and  lightning-dispenser  at  Martinton  station,  and  shows  that  it 
does  not  spoil  a  Vermont  Yankee  boy  for  general  usefulness,  by 
being  brought  up  in  the  Iroquois  timber. 


MARTINTOK  TOWNSHIP.  497 

Considerable  land  in  the  township  is  owned  by  non-residents. 
Mason  Ayers,  who  was  among  the  early  settlers  in  this  county,  and 
now  in  his  old  age  residing  in  West  Virginia,  owns  1,041  acres  in  sec- 
tions 26,  27  and  28,  along  Little  Beaver  creek,  which  is  mostly  in  pas- 
ture, and  is  occupied  by  Mr.  Thomas  Stump,  of  Ashkum  township, 
who  keeps  a  lot  of  cattle  on  it.  Mr.  W.  N.  Coney,  a  merchant  in 
Watseka,  owns  six  improved  farms  in  different  portions  of  the  town, 
and  several  other  tracts,  and  Donovan  &  Vennum  have  half  a  section. 
Peter  Enos,  who  resides  in  Chebanse,  owns  the  south  half  of  26  and 
north  half  of  35,  range  13,  half  of  which  is  in  cultivation  and  half  in 
pasture. 

The  earlier  settlers  were  mostly  from  Indiana  or  Ohio,  and  a  few 
came  in  later  from  the  eastern  states.  There  are  scattered  here  and 
there  representatives  from  most  foreign  countries.  Of  late  years  the 
French  Canadians  from  the  settlements  in  Ashkum  and  Papineau  have 
spread  into  this  town,  and  many  of  the  citizens  of  the  township  are  of 
that  nativity. 

There  is  no  church  in  Martinton.  Most,  if  not  all,  of  the  French 
residents  are  members  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church,  and  attend  wor- 
ship regularly  either  at  L'Erable,  Papineau  or  St.  Mary's.  The  Martin 
family  were  Universalists  in  belief,  and  had  occasional  preaching  by 
clergymen  of  that  denomination  at  Old  Martinton.  Many  of  the  resi- 
dents are  Spiritualists  in  belief.  The  Christian  denomination  had 
some  years  since  an  organization  at  Bean's  Grove,  and  kept  up  services 
with  more  or  less  regularity.  When  Donovan  became  a  town  the 
organization  was  moved  there. 

Politically,  the  town  was  strongly  republican  until  the  "  farmers' 
movement "  which  swept  over  this  and  adjoining  counties  in  1873, 
since  which  it  has  been  usually  in  opposition  to  the  republican  party, 
but  never  democratic.  At  the  September  meeting  of  the  board  of 
supervisors,  in  1857,  the  present  town  of  Martinton  was  set  off  and 
named  Buchanan,  from  the  then  president  of  the  United  States.  The 
first  town  meeting  was  held  at  the  store  of  Martin  &  Beckett,  for 
years  the  place  of  holding  all  public  meetings.  In  1858  Thomas  Mag- 
gee  was  the  first  supervisor,  as  up  to  this  time  the  last.  Two  years 
later  the  election  of  Mr.  Martin,  one  of  the  family  which  during  more 
than  a  quarter  of  a  century  has  been  a  central  figure  in  the  business, 
official  and  social  life  of  the  township,  suggested  a  change  to  the  appro- 
priate name  of  Martinton.  At  the  first  election  which  occurred,  in 
1858,  Thomas  Maggee  was  chosen  supervisor  ;  N".  M.  Bancroft,  clerk ; 
J.  P.  Martin,  assessor ;  J.  Matzenbaugh,  collector ;  J.  P.  Martin  and 
E.  M.  Hammond,  justices  of  the  peace.  With  the  exception  of  two 


498  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

years  (1872-3),  Messrs.  Martin  and  Maggee  have  held  the  office  of 
supervisor  all  the  time  since  the  organization  of  the  township.  Victor 
Pettier  has  acted  as  collector  for  the  last  sixteen  years.  At  the  elec- 
tion in  1858,  66  votes  were  cast.  At  the  present  writing  the  voting 
population  is  nearly  200,  indicating  a  population  of  about  1,000.  The 
present  officers  of  the  township  are :  Thomas  Maggee,  supervisor ;  S. 
Lottinville,  clerk  ;  A.  O.  Edison,  assessor ;  Victor  Peltier,  collector ; 
and  J.  L.  Martin  and  Victor  Peltier,  justices  of  the  peace. 

January  13, 1868,  at  a  special  town  meeting,  the  town  voted  by  fifty- 
five  to  forty-two  in  favor  of  a  tax  of  $10,000  to  the  Chicago,  Danville 
&  Vincennes  Railroad  Company.  At  a  later  day  the  town,  at  a  special 
town  meeting,  voted  by  a  large  majority,  which  .amounted  to  almost 
unanimity,  against  issuing  $12,000  in  bonds  for  the  same  railroad  com- 
pany. Soon  after  this  the  officers  of  the  township  issued  to  the  com- 
pany $11,000  in  bonds  in  lieu  of  the  money  which  was  to  have  been 
raised  by  the  tax  voted  in  January,  1868,  under  the  belief  that  bonds  to 
the  amount  of  $11,000  would  be  equivalent,  to  the  company  and  to  the 
township,  to  the  tax  voted.  There  seems  to  be  no  charge  that  the  offi- 
cers acted  otherwise  than  in  the  utmost  good  faith  toward  the  company 
and  the  township.  Still,  as  the  township  never  voted  to  issue  bonds, — 
indeed,  voted  almost  unanimously  not  to  do  so, — there  is  said  to  be  a 
disposition  shown,  however,  on  the  part  of  the  company  or  its  success- 
ors, to  attempt  to  enforce  by  law  their  claim  against  the  town  under 
the  vote  of  January  13,  1868. 

MAKTINTON   VILLAGE. 

Martinton,  a  hamlet  of  twenty-five  houses  and  the  usual  ware- 
houses, stores  and  shops,  was  laid  out  when  the  railroad  was  built  on 
land  of  Adarn  Wamba ;  but  following  the  custom  in  such  cases  he  had 
to  convey  it  to  the  railroad  company  before  a  depot  could  be  secured. 
The  company  conveyed  it  to  John  L.  Donovan,  who  platted  the  town, 
and  through  whom  title  of  all  lots  was  received.  J.  W.  Stearnes  was 
the  first  to  commence  mercantile  business  here,  by  bringing  his  stock 
of  goods  from  Old  Martinton  in  the  spring  of  1872.  Thomas  Maggee, 
Jr.,  commenced  buying  grain  for  Simon  &  Runyan  during  that  winter. 
Mr.  Comstock  put  up  the  warehouse,  and  still  owns  it.  Dr.  Collins 
was  the  first  physician,  and  was  succeeded  by  Dr.  Tascher,  and  he  by 
Dr.  B.  L.  Ewans,  the  present  one.  Mr.  Stearnes  sold  his  mercantile 
business  to  Bowman,  who  a  few  months  later  moved  the  goods  to 
Watseka.  Savoie  &  Lottinville  engaged  in  mercantile  business,  and, 
after  Mr.  Bowman  retired,  took  in  Mr.  Massy  as  a  partner,  and  carried 
on  two  stores  until  1877,  when  the  firm  dissolved,  Mr.  Lottinville 


MAETINTOST   TOWNSHIP.  499 

retaining  the  hardware  trade,  which  lie  still  carries  on.  The  other 
store  was  sold  to  E.  T.  Frechette  &  Son,  who  continue  it  yet.  Massy, 
Pilotte  &  Co.  bought  grain  here  from  1871  to  1877.  Laveau  & 
Legaree  carry  on  the  grain  trade,  and  sell  lumber,  coal,  etc.  Mr.  Fos- 
bender  also  has  an  agent  buying  grain  here,  and  Mr.  Wamba  deals  in 
hay.  Henry  G.  Stearnes  was  the  first  postmaster;  Victor  Peltier  was 
appointed  in  February,  1875,  and  continues  in  office  yet.  The  village 
was  incorporated  in  1875.  September  24  the  county  court  ordered  an 
election  to  be  held,  on  petition  duly  presented,  and  the  election  was 
held  October  23.  Isaac  Pilotte,  Peter  Gamache,  Barney  Martin,  Sam- 
uel Lottinville,  Levi  Case  and  A.  Belgard  were  elected  trustees; 
Pilotte  was  elected  president ;  V.  Peltier,  clerk ;  and  A.  Belgard 
police  magistrate.  Mr.  Peltier  has  continued  to  act  as  clerk  the  entire 
time,  and  he  and  Mr.  Lottinville  are  now  the  oldest  business  men  in 
town. 

BIOGRAPHICAL. 

William  Lyman,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Pittwood,  was  born  in 
Pennsylvania,  July  21,  1811.  When  six  years  of  age  with  his  parents 
he  moved  to  Stark  county,  Ohio,  where  he  spent  his  youth  with  his 
parents  engaged  in  farming  till  he  came  to  Illinois  in  May,  1837.  He 
at  once  entered  government  land  in  Iroquois  county,  and  engaged  in 
farming  and  stock-raising,  the  country  at  that  time  being  well  fitted 
for  the  latter  business.  At  the  time  he  settled  in  this  county  there 
were  scarcely  any  improvements  of  any  kind,  and  his  nearest  market 
was  Chicago,  where  he  hauled  grain  with  ox  teams,  fording  the  streams, 
a  bridge  then  being  a  thing  unknown.  Many  times  during  his  pioneer 
life,  when  the  rivers  and  creeks  were  unfordable,  he  was  compelled  to 
grind  corn  for  bread  in  a  coffee-mill,  or  pound  it  in  a  mortar  made  in 
the  top  of  an  oak  log  or  stump,  and  so  live  for  weeks  till  the  roads,  or 
rather  prairies,  rivers,  creeks  and  sloughs  became  passable,  and  he  has, 
after  going  to  mill,  had  his  return  delayed  by  bad  weather  for  weeks. 
In  1831  he  married  Mrs.  Shipman,  who  is  a  native  of  New  Jersey, 
and  was  born  November  15,  1796,  and  with  whom  he  is  still  living. 
They  lived  for  many  weeks  after  their  arrival  in  this  county  under  the 
protecting  branches  of  an  oak  tree,  having  no  material  with  which  to 
build.  He  now  has  290  acres  of  land,  and  his  patent  is  signed  by 
President  Martin  Yan  Buren.  He  has  two  children  living:  Hannah, 
wife  of  John  L.  Barley;  and  Andrew  W.,  with  whom  he  now  lives. 
His  home  farm  is  on  section  6,  town  27,  range  13,  in  the  old  Lyman 
settlement. 

Andrew  J.  Lyman,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Pittwood,  came  to  Iro- 
quois county,  Illinois,  in  1839,  from  Stark  county,  Ohio,  where  he 


500  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

was  born  July  7,  1836.  His  father,  he  thinks,  built  the  fourth  house 
in  old  Middleport,  formerly  the  county-seat  of  Iroquois  count}',  but  he 
soon  after  died,  and  Andrew's  mother  married  again  and  removed 
north  about  four  miles,  to  the  place  known  as  the  Lyman  settlement. 
Here  he  lived  with  his  mother  till  the  age  of  fifteen  years.  His 
mother  then  died,  and  he  then  began  for  himself  by  working  out  at 
breaking  prairie.  His  school  advantages  were  very  limited,  only 
going  to  school  about  six  months.  His  teacher  was  Miss  Eliza  Gard- 
ner, who  taught  the  first  school  in  the  Lyman  settlement.  November 
19,  1861,  he  married  Miss  Elmira  Brandenburg,  who  was  born  in 
Fountain  county,  Indiana,  November  29,  1843 ;  and  August  9,  1862, 
he  enlisted  in  Co.  B.  113th  reg.  111.  Yol.  Inf.,  and  was  honorably  dis- 
charged February  17,  1863,  by  reason  of  disability.  He  now  owns 
120  acres  of  land,  all  earned  by  his  own  industry,  hard  labor  and  close 
attention  to  business.  He  has  lived  here  to  see  this  county  pass 
through  a  great  change.  Deer  and  other  wild  animals  occupied  undis- 
turbed all  the  surrounding  country  when  he  first  came,  and  now  it  is 
thickly  settled  and  well  improved  with  railroads  and  villages  in  every 
direction.  His  nearest  market  formerly  was  Chicago,  where  he  has 
hauled  grain  with  ox  teams,  requiring  at  times  eight  yoke  of  oxen  to 
haul  through  the  Calumet  swamps.  He  has  six  children  :  Frank  A., 
Cora  J.,  Alta  S.,  Mary,  Kittie  and  Ida  P. 

Russel  B.  Weygandt,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Martinton,  is  a  native 
of  Ohio,  and  was  born  March  21, 1834.  His  early  youth,  till  about  the  age 
of  fifteen  years,  was  spent  with  his  parents  in  Ohio  attending  school. 
In  October,  1849,  he  came  in  company  with  his  parents  to  Iroquois 
county,  Illinois,  and  settled  with  them  near  where  he  now  lives,  and 
engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising,  the  latter  business  being  engaged 
in  to  great  advantage  at  that  time.  The  townships  of  Papineau  and 
Martinton  derived  their  first  name  from  his  father's  name.  His  near- 
est market  then  was  Chicago  by  team,  a  distance  of  about  seventy 
miles,  via  the  old  Hubbard  trail.  September  15,  1859,  he  married  Miss 
Mary  A.  Murphy,  a  native  of  Indiana.  August  8,  1862,  he  volunteered 
his  services  to  his  country,  and  became  a  member  of  company  I,  113th 
111.  Inf.,  and  was  severely  wounded  June  10, 1864,  and  after  a  month's 
treatment  by  the  regimental  surgeon  was  sent  home.  He  remained  at 
home  five  months,  and  then  returned  to  his  regiment  before  his  wound 
was  healed  and  actively  engaged  until  discharged  June  29,  1865,  hav- 
ing risen  to  the  position  of  orderly-sergeant  of  his  company.  January 
25,  1877,  his  wife  died,  and  October  12,  1879,  he  married  Miss  Adelia 
Phillips,  a  native  of  North  Carolina,  and  born  October  5,  1844.  He 
now  has  four  children  living:  Silas  J.,  Francis  M.,  Annie  May  and 


MARTINTON   TOWNSHIP.  501 

James  A.  He  owns  160  acres  of  land  two  miles  east  of  Martinton 
station,  very  highly  improved.  He  has  filled  the  position  of  school 
treasurer  two  terms,  commissioner  of  highways  three  years,  school 
trustee  three  years,  and  school  director  many  years. 

Samuel  Lottinville,  hardware  merchant,  Martinton,  was  born  May 
19,  1843,  at  Riviere  du  Lonp,  Canada.  At  the  age  of  eight  years,  with 
his  parents,  he  emigrated  to  Illinois,  and  settled  in  Iroquois  county. 
He  was  one  of  the  many  on  board  the  ill-fated  steamer  Atlantic,  that 
was  wrecked  and  sunk  on  Lake  Erie,  August  19, 1851.  He  was  res- 
cued from  the  sinking  vessel  the  last  minute  before  she  went  down.' 
His  parents  and  family  were  all  saved,  but  lost  everything  they  had 
except  their  night  clothing.  He  lived  with  his  parents,  engaged  in 
farming,  till  the  time  of  his  father's  death  in  October,  1865.  He  was 
then  by  the  county  court  appointed  administrator  of  his  father's 
estate.  He  continued  in  the  business  of  farming  and  stock  raising  till 
1874,  when  he  removed  to  Martinton  station  and  engaged  in  the  mer- 
cantile business,  in  which  business  he  is  still  employed.  March  3, 1867, 
he  married  Miss  Lucy  Savoi.  She  is  a  native  of  Canada,  and  was 
born  September  11,  1843.  They  have  four  children  living  as  follows: 
Frederick  E.  A.,  George  H.  L.  C.,  Nelda  Celina  and  Joseph  Ezra. 
In  September,  1862,  he  enlisted  in  company  K,  4th  111.  Cav.  At  the 
battle  of  Coffeeville,  Tennessee,  he  was  wounded,  but  remained  with 
his  regiment  in  all  its  active  movements.  He  has  filled  the  position  of 
township  clerk  four  years,  and  clerk  of  Martinton  village  board  three 
years. 

Winfield  S.  Yates,  dealer  in  general  merchandise,  Pittwood,  was 
born  in  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  April  11,  1852,  and  is  a  son  of 
Thomas  Yates,  one  of  this  county's  early  pioneers.  His  early  youth 
was  spent  with  his  parents  in  this  county,  engaged  in  stock-raising  and 
farming.  His  educational  advantages,  owing  to  the  newness  of  the 
country,  were  very  poor,  but  by  a  determined  will  and  close  applica- 
tion to  his  studies  he  acquired  a  fair  education.  January  30,  1872,  he 
married  Miss  Nellie  C.  Lindsey,  who  was  born  at  South  Bridgewater, 
Massachusetts,  October  2,  1852,  and  in  early  childhood  came  to 
what  is  now  Kankakee,  Illinois.  Her  father  was  one  of  the  first  to 
settle  in  that  place,  but  soon  after  he  removed  to  Iroquois  county,  Illi- 
nois. After  Mr.  Yates'  marriage  he  at  once  engaged  in  farming  and 
stock-raising  for  himself,  which  business  he  followed  till  March  7, 
1879,  when  he  removed  to  the  village  of  Pittwood,  in  this  county,  and 
engaged  in  the  general  mercantile  trade.  Besides  attending  to  his 
store  he  is  acting  agent  for  the  Chicago  &  Eastern  Illinois  Railroad 
Company  and  the  American  Express  Company.  He  has  one  child, 


502  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

Thomas  A.,  born  May  30,  1875.     Mr.  Yates  has  lived  here  to  see  the 
steady  growth  and  prosperity  of  this  county. 

Thomas  Maggee  (deceased),  was  born  near  Columbia,  in  the  state  of 
South  Carolina,  October  7,  1818.  He  lived  with  his  parents  until  sev- 
enteen years  of  age,  and  assisted  them  as  becomes  a  dutiful  son.  His 
father  was  a  cotton-planter,  and  having  acquired  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  this  branch  of  agriculture,  Thomas  went  to  Alabama  and  for  two 
years  superintended  there  a  cotton  plantation.  He  then  spent  a  year 
in  traveling  through  the  south  with  a  view  of  finding  a  suitable  place 
for  settling  permanently,  but  not  being  satisfied  with  the  outlook 
went  north,  and  finally  concluded  to  try  Champaign  county,  Illinois. 
Here  he  became  interested  in  a  stage  line  running  from  Danville  to 
Pekin,  and  for  three  years  devoted  himself  to  staging.  He  next  went 
into  the  stock  business  and  continued  at  this  for  two  years.  This 
brings  us  up  to  the  year  1842,  when  he  married  Miss  Mary  E.  Brewer, 
of  Champaign,  and  removed  to  Ottawa.  -The  Illinois  &  Michigan  canal 
was  in  course  of  construction  at  that  time,  and  he  engaged  in  building 
locks  and  darns,  but  he  only  spent  one  year  at  this,  when  he  moved  to 
Chicago,  where  he  lived  four  years.  He  next  located  at  Georgetown, 
Vermilion  county,  and  in  1854  came  to  Iroquois  and  settled  upon  the 
land  which  he  occupied  at  the  time  of  his  death.  His  first  wife  died 
in  1848.  He  was  married  the  second  time  to  Miss  Mary  A.  Douglass, 
of  Indiana,  December  31,  1851.  He  has  been  treasurer  of  his  town- 
ship for  twenty-five  years,  and  for  ten  years  has  represented  his  town 
upon  the  board  of  supervisors ;  he  has  also  been  assessor  and  held  other 
minor  offices.  He  was  the  agent  of  George  C.  Tallrnan,  of  Brooklyn, 
New  York,  up  to  the  time  that  Mr.  Tallman  sold  his  lands  to  Dr.  R. 
B.  M.  Wilson,  and  has  probably  sold  more  land  to  actual  settlers  than 
any  other  man  that  ever  lived  in  the  county.  Politically  Mr.  Maggee 
was  a  democrat,  and  for  many  years  was  a  member  of  the  county  cen- 
tral committee.  He  was  not  an  aspirant  for  office  or  honors,  but  a 
plain,  straightforward  gentleman,  always  ready  to  do  his  duty  wherever 
placed.  These  peculiar  habits  and  qualities  pointed  him  out  as  a  lead- 
ing citizen,  and  while  he  was  averse  to  putting  himself  forward  for 
official  trust  or  honor,  he  was  frequently  called  upon  to  serve  the  peo- 
ple in  a  public  capacity.  He  was  really  the  organizer  of  Martinton 
township,  and  was  the  first  supervisor  for  four  years  in  succession  from 
1855  to  1860.  He  was  again  elected  supervisor  in  1874,  and  continued 
to  hold  the  office  up  to  the  time  of  his  death.  He  was  put  forward  by 
his  friends  as  democratic  candidate  for  county  treasurer  in  the  fall  of 
1867,  when  the  republican  majority  ran  all  the  way  from  1,500  to 
2,000 ;  and  though  he  did  not  make  any  canvass  of  the  county,  yet  he 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


MABTHSTTON    TOWNSHIP.  505 

came  within  450  votes  of  being  elected,  or,  in  other  words,  ran  ahead 
of  his  ticket  about  1,000  votes.  A  change  of  only  225  ballots  would 
have  placed  him  in  the  responsible  position  of  county  treasurer,  an 
office  that  he  would  have  filled  with  credit  to  himself  and  satisfaction 
to  the  people  of  both  parties.  The  death  of  this  excellent  man,  which 
occurred  at  his  residence,  in  Martinton  township,  Friday  evening,  Feb- 
ruary 6,  1880,  is  most  keenly  felt  by  the  people  of  Martinton,  where  he 
was  best  known  ;  but  not  alone  by  these  is  his  sudden  demise  lamented, 
but  by  everybody  in  the  county  whose  sympathy  is  worth  having, — 
the  intelligent  people  who  have  known  of  his  public  services  to  the 
county.  His  confreres  upon  the  board  of  supervisors  especially  will 
miss  him,  and  deplore  the  decrees  of  nature  which  made  it  necessary 
for  him  to  be  taken  from  their  midst.  He  was  a  model  man  and  citi- 
zen, honest  and  conscientious,  faithful  to  his  trusts,  charitable  to  the 
faults  of  others,  one  that  commanded  the  respect  and  esteem  of  his 
fellow  men.  It  is  indeed  a  sad  task  to  chronicle  the  death  of  such  an 
one,  and  yet  what  a  blessing  the  memory  of  such  a  man  is !  By  his 
death  a  wife  was  deprived  of  an  honored  and  faithful  husband  and  pro- 
tector, and  seven  children  (five  sons  and  two  daughters)  of  a  worthy 
parent.  He  was  buried  on  Sunday,  February  8,  in  the  private  family 
cemetery,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  distant  from  his  late  residence. 
The  funeral  was  a  very  large  one.  The  services  were  conducted  by 
Eev.  J.  M.  Hoober,  of  Waldron.  Mr.  Maggee's  estate  comprises  600 
acres. 

Jacob  Lyman,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Pittwood,  son  of  Samuel 
Lyman,  came  to  this  county  in  1837  from  Stark  county,  Ohio,  where 
he  was  born,  January  24,  1832.  His  father  settled  in  Middleport 
township,  but  afterward  bought  a  farm  in  Sec.  25,  T.  28,  R.  13,  in 
Martinton  township.  Jacob  lived  with  his  parents  as  long  as  they 
both  lived,  taking  care  of  them  as  became  a  dutiful  son.  He  is  now 
living  on  and  owns  the  old  homestead,  a  farm  of  182  acres,  and  is 
engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising.  He  lived  here  and  grew  up 
with  the  country,  witnessing  its  change  from  a  habitation  of  deer  and 
other  wild  animals  to  the  highly  improved  state  we  find  it  in  now, 
with  railroads  and  towns,  pastures  and  fields  of  golden  grain.  Septem- 
ber 26,  1867,  he  married  Miss  Catherine  A.  Gibson,  of  Indiana,  born 
January  1,  1846.  They  had  two  children :  Mary  E.  and  Martha 
May. 

Souverian  P.  Frigon,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Beaverville,  is  a  son 
of  Simon  Frigon,  and  was  born  December  25.  1850,  near  Montreal, 
Canada.  At  about  five  years  of  age,  with  his  parents  he  came  to  Iro- 
quois  county,  Illinois,  and  settled  in  Beaver  township,  where  he  lived 


506  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

with  his  parents,  engaged  in  farming  and  going  to  school  in  early 
youth.  In  his  seventeenth  year  he  began  teaching  school,  which  he 
followed  four  years.  September  19,  1871,  he  married  Miss  Hercelia 
Dionne,  who  was  born  in  Iroquois  county,  January  24,  1855.  He  has 
three  children:  Neld  A.,  Melissa  M.  and  Lucian  J.  April  11,  1872, 
he  bought  the  farm  on  which  he  now  lives,  and  engaged  in  farming 
and  stock-raising,  in  which  business  he  is  still  engaged.  He  now  owns 
235  acres  of  land,  all  earned  by  his  own  industry  and  close  attention 
to  business,  managing  his  farm  in  a  way  that  reflects  credit  on  its  pro- 
prietor. 

Absalom  O.  Edison,  farmer,  Martinton,  is  a  native  of  Ontario,  Can- 
ada, and  was  born  November  25,  1830.  In  1839,  with  his  parents  he 
went  to  Chicago,  where  they  remained  two  years,  he,  in  the  mean- 
time, attending  school.  He  then  went  to  McHenry  county,  where  he 
remained  until  1850  going  to  school,  and  served  an  apprenticeship  in 
a  machine-shop.  He  was  then  two  years  engaged  on  the  Mississippi 
river  as  an  engineer  and  pilot.  Afterward  he  went  to  Sparta,  Wis- 
consin, and  engaged  in  building  and  the  manufacture  of  building 
material  until  1856.  He  then  removed  to  Iroquois  county,  Illinois, 
and  after  a  short  stay  went  to  Nebraska,  where  he  engaged  to  Major  & 
Russell  as  wagon-master,  carrying  supplies  to  western  forts,  making 
one  trip  to  Fort  Laramie.  He  however  soon  returned  to  Iroquois 
county,  Illinois,  and  permanently  located  in  Martinton  (Old  Martin- 
burg)  and  engaged  in  farming.  In  November,  1862,  he  married  Miss 
Emily  J.  Homes,  a  native  of  New  York.  He  has  two  children  :  Cyrus 
H.  and  Libbie  S.  He  has  filled  the  position  of  justice  of  the  peace 
since  1868,  and  township  assessor  since  1873 ;  highway  commissioner 
since  1873 ;  constable  since  1875 ;  school  director  since  1867 ;  and  school 
trustee  since  1874. 

Yictor  Peltier,  postmaster,  collector  and  justice  of  the  peace,  Mar- 
tinton, is  a  native  of  Canada,  and  was  born  January  9,  1832.  He 
lived  with  his  parents  till  1846,  and  in  the  same  parish  till  1850,  en- 
gaged in  farming  in  early  youth.  In  1850  he  came  to  Illinois,  and 
engaged  in  farming  as  a  day  laborer  till  1853,  when  he  went  to  Aus- 
tralia, and  after  an  absence  of  three  years,  returned  to  Illinois,  and 
settled  in  Iroquois  county.  He  bought  an  interest  in  a  farm,  and 
engaged  in  farming  till  1862.  He  then  sold  his  interest  in  the  farm 
and  again  bought  land  in  Martinton,  Iroquois  county,  Illinois.  March 
12,  1862,  he  married  Miss  Flora  Faucher,  a  native  of  Canada.  They 
have  eight  children  living:  Victor  E.,  Peter  S.,  Adonis  E.,  MadozaD., 
Eglantine  F.,  Joseph  H.,  Orton  S.  and  Norris  J.  He  has  filled  the 
position  of  justice  of  the  peace  since  1866;  township  collector  since  1864; 


MARTINTON   TOWNSHIP.  507 

school  treasurer  since  1862 ;  notary  public  since  1874 ;  postmaster  since 
1875  ;  and  village  clerk  since  the  village  has  been  organized.  In  1861 
he  went  to  Pike's  Peak  in  search  of  gold,  and  not  being  successful  in 
that  enterprise,  he  returned  the  same  year.  He  now  lives  at  his  neat 
little 'home  in  Martinton. 

Selden  S.  Peebles,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Martinton,  was  born  in 
Lewis  county,  New  York,  February  18,  1832,  and  lived  there  with  his 
parents  till  twelve  years  of  age.  He  then,  in  company  with  his  parents, 
came  to  Illinois,  and  settled  in  McHenry  county,  where  he  lived  at 
home  engaged  in  farming. and  attending  school  till  eighteen  years  old. 
In  1852,  with  an  ox  team,  he  started  from  McHenry  county  for  Cali- 
fornia via  the  plains,  stopping  one  week  in  Salt  Lake  City  to  visit  the 
Mormons,  and  arrived  in  Hangtown,  California,  September  17,  of  the 
same  year,  and  at  once  engaged  in  mining.  During  his  stay  in  Cali- 
fornia he  engaged  in  mercantile  business,  as  well  as  mining,  making  it 
a  success,  and  at  one  time  sent  money  enough  back  to  his  father  (as  a 
present)  in  Illinois  to  buy  160  acres  of  land,  and  in  the  spring  of  1857 
returned  home  by  the  way  of  the  Isthmus,  crossing  the  same  by  rail- 
road, from  Panama  to  Aspinwall,  and  arrived  in  Iroquois  county, 
Illinois,  April  19,  of  the  same  year,  and  engaged  in  farming  and  stock- 
raising  in  Martinton  township,  where  he  now  lives  following  the  same 
business.  November  14,  1863,  he  married  Miss  Sarah  J.  Arnie,  who 
was  born  in  Winchester  county,  Indiana,  May  24,  1840.  He  has  six 
children  living :  Thomas  W.,  Mabel,  Florence,  Chillus  G.,  Earl  and 
Reuben.  He  has  filled  the  office  of  school  trustee  the  last  twenty 
years,  highway  commissioner  six  years,  and  school  director  many  years. 
He  owns  120  acres  of  land  all  earned  by  his  own  industry  and  close 
attention  to  business. 

Charles  F.  Peirce,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Martinton,  was  born 
March  2,  1857,  and  is  the  son  of  Abial  and  Mary  E.  Peirce.  His 
home  is  now  at  the  old  homestead  farm,  a  place  of  280  acres,  which  is 
now  under  his  management.  His  taste  is,  however,  rather  for  a  mer- 
cantile life,  for  which  his  ability  and  education  well  fit  him.  He  was 
married,  April  12,  1879,  to  Miss  Clara  E.  Goodfellow,  who  was  born 
January  13,  1864,  and  is  a  native  of  Iroquois  county.  In  his  posses- 
sion is  the  genealogical  history  of  his  family,  from  which  the  following 
quotation  is  made.  We  quote  only  from  his  father's  birth,  though  the 
genealogy  is  complete  as  far  back  as  the  year  1623.  Abial  Peirce,  No. 
1,448,  was  born  February  12,  1826 ;  was  married,  April  15,  1856,  to 
Mary  E.  Peirce,  cousin,  No.l,  451.  He  enlisted  in  the  late  war,  August 
21,  1862,  as  a  private  in  Co.  B,  32d  reg.  Iowa  Inf. ;  appointed  corpo- 
ral, April- 8,  1863,  and  sergeant,  July  26,  1864.  He  participated  in 


508  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

ten  battles.  At  Nashville,  Tennessee,  December  15,  1864,  he  was 
wounded,  and  was  honorably  discharged  August  24,  1865.  They  had : 
1,877,  Charles  T.,  born  March  2, 1857;  1,878,  Harriet,  born  March  27, 
1859 ;  1,879,  Mary,  born  July  13, 1860 ;  1,880,  Ella,  born  January  30, 
1863  ;  1,881,  Abial,  born  May  14, 1868.  Two  children  have  been  'born 
to  them  since  the  completion  of  the  record. 

Joseph  Johnson,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Beaverville,  is  a  native  of 
Ohio,  and  was  born  December  5,  1819.  He  lived  with  his  parents, 
farming  and  attending  school,  till  about  the  age  of  twenty-one.  De- 
cember 24,  1840,  he  married  Mi^s  Mary  A.  Cranston,  who  was  born 
August  13,  1824,  and  is  a  native  of  Ohio.  In  the  autumn  of  1849  he 
went  to  Bloornington,  Illinois,  and  in  the  spring  of  1850  removed  to 
Clinton,  DeWitt  county,  Illinois,  where  he  purchased  the  Union  Hotel, 
and  followed  that  business  four  years.  At  the  same  time  he  aided  in 
the  construction  of  the  Illinois  Central  •  railroad.  He  then  returned 
to  his  old  home  in  Ohio,  and  engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising 
till  April,  1858,  when  he  removed  to  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  and 
bought  a  farm  on  section  11,  town  28,  range  12,  in  Martinton  town- 
ship, and  actively  engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising,  in  which  busi- 
ness he  is  now  engaged.  He  owns  480  acres  of  land,  with  the  finest 
residence  in  Martinton  township,  all  earned  by  his  own  industry  and 
close  application  to  business.  He  has  eight  children  living :  John  B., 
Peleg  P.,  Lewis  C.,  Lydia  E.,  Charles  L.,  Adelia  L.,  Mary  A.  and 
Joseph  "W. 

John  Scoon,  farmer,  Watseka,  was  born  at  Roxburghshire,  on 
the  Tweed,  Scotland,  in  1812,  where  his  younger  days  were  spent. 
He  came  to  Allegany  county,  thence  to  Livingston  county,  New 
York,  where  he  was  engaged  in  farming.  He  removed  to  Illinois  in 
1856,  remaining  a  few  years  at  Twelve-mile  Grove,  and  then  came  to 
his  present  residence.  Of  twelve  children  only  four  survive :  James, 
lives  in  Iroquois  township;  William  and  Walter,  reside  in  Kansas; 
and  Lemuel,  resides  at  home  with  his  parents.  John  served  three 
years  in  the  113th  regiment,  after  which  he  returned  home  and  married 
Miss  Lucy  Buchanan,  and  died  soon  after.  Ira,  who  was  also  a  soldier, 
during  the  war  died  from  the  effects  of  a  disease  contracted  while  in  the 
service.  Mary  married  Jonathan  Lyman,  and  is  dead.  Eleanor  (Mrs. 
Jones),  Euphemy  J.  and  Minerva  are  also  dead.  Mr.  Scoon  has  always 
been  a  farmer. 

George  Schroder,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Papineau,  is  a  son  of 
Frederick  Schroder,  and  was  born  December  13,  1829,  in  Prussia.  At 
the  age  of  fourteen  he  began  for  himself,  hiring  out  as  a  farm  hand  by 
the  year,  and  so  continued  till  the  age  of  twenty-five.  At  .that  time 


MARTINTON-   TOWNSHIP.  509 

his  mind  was  turned  toward  the  new  world,  and  in  1854  he  came  to 
America  and  worked  on  a  farm  in  Cook  county,  Illinois,  till  the  spring 
of  1860,  when  he  came  to  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  and  engaged  in 
farming,  renting  land  for  five  years,  after  which  he  bought  a  farm  of 
120  acres  in  section  1,  town  28,  range  13,  and  permanently  located  in 
Martinton  township,  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  and  engaged  in  farming 
and  stock-raising.  October  12, 1858,  he  married  Miss  Dorothy  Schultz, 
who  is  a  native  of  Prussia.  They  have  three  children  :  Minnie,  Mary 
E.  and  George.  His  farm  is  well  improved,  well  stocked  and  a  sure 
evidence  of  his  thrift  and  industry,  and  all  earned  by  himself. 

Warren  Martin,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Martinton,  son  of  Porter 
Martin,  was  born  March  19,  1844,  in  Orange  county,  Vermont,  where 
he  lived  with  his  parents,  engaged  in  farming  and  attending  school  till 
the  spring  of  1861,  when  he  came  with  them  to  Iroquois  county,  Illi- 
nois, and  settled  in  Martinton  township,  and  here  engaged  in  farming 
and  stock-raising.  April  1,  1865,  he  enlisted  in  Co.  H.,  58th  111.  Inf. 
Vol.,  and  remained  with  his  regiment  till  honorably  discharged  March 
31,  1866.  He  was  married  to  Miss  Hattie  L.  Adams  July  21,  1866. 
She  is  a  native  of  New  Hampshire,  and  was  born  July  14,  1850. 
They  have  six  children :  Hattie  M.,  Helen  A.,  Cora  A.,  Lottie  A., 
John  L.  and  Warren  Leroy.  He  is  now  actively  engaged  in  stock- 
raising,  dairying  and  farming.  He  owns  105  acres  of  land,  but  occu- 
pies a  larger  farm. 

Barna  Martin,  station  and  express  agent,  Martinton,  is  a  native  of 
Vermont  and  son  of  Porter  Martin.  He  was  born  June  11,  1842. 
His  early  youth  was  spent  with  his  parents  attending  school.  In  the 
spring  of  1861  he  removed  to  Iroqnois  county,  Illinois,  and  engaged 
in  farming.  September  11,  1864,  he  married  Miss  Alice  A.  Dutcher, 
who  was  born  in  McIIenry  countj',  Illinois,  July  15,  1847.  He  re- 
moved to  Chebanse  in  1869  and  engaged  in  the  harness  and  saddle* 
business,  which  he  followed  four  years.  He  then  removed  to  Martin- 
ton  station  and  continued  in  the  harness  business  for  some  time,  but 
on  account  of  his  health  being  poor  he  gave  that  up  and  took  the 
position  of  station  and  express  agent  on  the  Chicago  &  Eastern  Illinois 
railroad  at  Martinton  station.  The  station  and  township  derived  their 
names  from  his  family  name.  He  has  four  children  living:  Eva  May, 
Abbie  S.,  Guy  M.  and  Frank  E. 

Frederick  Schroder,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Papineati,  was  born  in 
Prussia,  May  8, 1842.  His  early  youth  was  spent  at  school,  three  years 
of  which  was  at  college.  In  April,  1857,  he  left  his  native  country 
and  sailed  for  America,  arriving  in  New  York  in  May  of  the  same 
year.  He  at  once  came  to  Cook  county,  and  engaged  as  a  farm  hand 


510  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

to  his  brother,  near  Chicago,  for  four  years.  He  then  came  to  Martin- 
ton,  where  he  continued  in  the  same  brother's  employ  for  eight  years. 
At  that  time  he  bought  a  farm,  and  fitted  up  a  home  for  himself,  and 
became  engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising.  April  17,  1870,  he 
married  Miss  Catharine  Landsman.  She  is  a  native  of  Germany,  and 
was  born  July  16,  1851.  They  have  five  children  living:  John  W., 
Louise  M.,  Frank  C.,  Emma  F.  and  Hulda  Matilda.  He  has  now  290 
acres  of  land  in  Sec.  1,  T.  28,  R.  13,  all  earned  by  his  own  industry 
and  close  application  to  business.  He  is  now  turning  his  attention 
to  the  raising  of  fine  stock. 

Joachim  F.  Schroder,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Papineau,  is  a  son  of 
Joachim  Schroder,  and  is  a  native  of  Prussia.  He  was  born  October 
10,  1825.  His  early  youth  was  spent  at  home  with  his  parents.  In 
1854,  a  more  than  ordinary  business  and  enterprising  turn  of  mind  led 
him  to  America,  and  after  a  stay  of  about  two  and  a  half  years,  he 
returned  to  his  old  home  in  Prussia,  and  was  married,  on  January  16, 
1857,  to  Miss  Mary  Zeggel,  a  native  of  Prussia,  and  the  following 
April  returned  to  the  United  States,  and  settled  in  Cook  county,  Illi- 
nois, where  he  rented  a  farm  and  engaged  in  fanning,  and  so  continued 
three  years.  He  then  came  to  Martinton,  Iroquois  county,  Illinois, 
and  again  rented  land ;  continued  farming  and  engaged  in  stock-rais- 
ing to  great  advantage,  a  great  part  of  the  country  being  unoccupied 
for  some  years  following.  In  1868  he  bought  the  farm  he  had  rented 
the  last  eight  years,  and  has  made  his  permanent  home  here,  and  is 
still  actively  engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising,  making  graded 
short-horns  a  specialty.  He  is  turning  his  attention  to  stall-feeding 
stock  on  an  improved  plan  that  is  somewhat  after  the  old  country  prin- 
ciple. He  now  owns  260  acres  of  land  in  Sec.  1,  T.  28,  E,.  13,  all 
earned  by  his  own  industry  and  close  attention  to  business.  He  has 
^x  children  :  Joachim  H.,  Frederick  William,  Mary  C.,  Amelia  C.  S., 
Caroline  and  Emma  K. 

Emilia  (Marquis)  Shaw,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Donovan,  was  born 
in  Darke  county,  Ohio,  January  7,  1821,  where  she  lived  with  her 
parents  till  the  age  of  fourteen  years.  She  then  removed  with  her 
parents  to  Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana,  and  there  remained  with  them 
till  January  4,  1838,  when  she  was  married  to  Mr.  Alfred  Shaw,  a 
native  of  Indiana.  She  then  lived  in  "Warren  county,  Indiana,  till  in 
1866,  when  she  removed  to  Martinton  township,  Iroquois  county,  Illi- 
nois, her  husband  having  died  April  22,  1864.  Here  she  bought  a 
farm  and  engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising.  She  was  raised  on 
a  farm,  and  is  thereby  well  posted  in  its  management.  She  now 
owns  140  acres  of  land,  and  has  eight  children  living :  Moses  F., 


MARTINTON   TOWNSHIP.  511 

Melissa  J.,  Edna  A.,  Marietta,  Diantha,  Jesse  A.,  Solomon  P.  and 
Charley  O. 

James  W.  Kennedy,  fanner  and  stock-raiser,  Donovan,  was  born  in 
White  county,  Indiana,  June  5, 1845.  At  the  age  of  twelve  years,  his 
parents  both  having  died,  he  was  obliged  to  take  care  of  himself  by 
working  out  and  attending  school  till  the  spring  of  1863.  He  then 
participated  in  the  movement  against  the  memorable  Morgan  raid,  and 
August  8,  1863,  enlisted  in  the  116th  Ind.  Inf.  He  was  cut  off  from 
supplies  in  the  winter  of  1864,  in  east  Tennessee,  and  suffered  much 
hunger  and  hardship.  He  was  discharged  March  1,  1864,  and  again 
enlisted,  October  18,  1864,  in  the  16th  Ind.  Light  Artillery,  and  was 
stationed  at  Fort  Corcoran,  near  Washington,  and  was  discharged  July 
5,  1865,  at  Indianapolis,  Indiana.  February  28,1867,  he  married  Miss 
Edna  A.  Shaw.  She  was  born  in  Indiana,  October  1,  1845.  In  the 
autumn  of  1867  he  removed  to  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  and  bought  a 
farm  in  Martinton  township,  and  permanently  located  and  engaged  in 
fanning  and  stock-raising,  which  business  he  now  follows.  He  owns 
now  100  acres  of  land,  and  has  three  children  :  Grace  J.,  Theresa  Cora 
and  Bertha  M. 

Andrew  Micholson,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Beaverville,  was  born 
in  Denmark,  January  8,  1830.  His  early  youth  was  spent  with  his 
parents,  engaged  in  farming  and  attending  school  till  the  age  of 
twenty-two  years,  when  he  entered  the  Denmark  Agricultural  College, 
an  institution  under  the  authority  of  the  king  of  that  nation,  lie 
remained  three  years.  He  passed  the  examination  after  being  there 
two  years,  and  received  the  premium  of  $600  for  good  character,  integ- 
rity and  honor,  which  placed  him  in  a  standing  in  his  country  to  be 
trusted  with  any  amount  of  money,  his  premium  certificate  bearing 
the  king's  seal.  January  5,  1855,  he  entered  the  Danish  army,  and 
was  discharged  June  15,  1856.  He  then  engaged  as  superintendent 
on  a  large  farm  two  and  a  half  years,  and  afterward  engaged  in  the 
dairy  and  mercantile  business,  and  finally  bought  a  farm  for  $3,200, 
and  farmed  till  the  war  broke  out  between  Prussia  and  Denmark,  in 
April,  1864,  when  he  was  drafted  in  his  country's  service.  After  being 
discharged  from  service  he  was  appointed  by  the  king  to  fill  a  respon- 
sible office  connected  with  the  army,  but  he  soon  after  sold  his  farm, 
and  March  19, 1867,  sailed  for  America,  and  settled  in  Iroquois  county, 
Illinois.  He  engaged  in  farming  in  Chebanse  township  till  1874, 
when  he  removed  to  Beaver  township,  Iroquois  county,  Illinois.  He 
bought  160  acres  of  land,  and  engaged  there  in  farming  and  stock- 
raising.  His  farm  is  well  improved,  and  reflects  credit  on  its  proprie- 
tor. February  24,  1859,  he  married  Miss  Mary  F.  L.  Koed,  who  is  a 


512  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

native  of  Denmark,  and  was  born  January  30,  1830.     They  have  one 
child :  Hans  Adolph. 

Peter  S.  DeWitt,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Martinton,  came  from 
the  state  of  New  York,  at  about  the  age  of  thirteen  years.  He  was 
born  September  11,  1849.  His  first  business  in  Illinois  was  that  of 
weighmaster  and  book-keeper  for  the  Chicago  &  Wilmington  Coal 
Company,  at  Braidwood,  Illinois,  where  he  continued  till  the  age  of 
nineteen.  He  then  went  to  Iowa  and  there  contracted  to  furnish  ties 
for  a  portion  of  the  Iowa  Central  railroad,  and  after  completing  his 
contract  returned  to  Illinois,  and  in  1870  (having  previously,  in  com- 
pany with  his  brother,  bought  a  farm)  engaged  in  farming  and  stock- 
raising.  February  16,  1875,  he  married  Miss  Sarah  M.  Gray,  who  was 
born  in  Adams  county,  Illinois,  October  9,  1855.  In  March,  1877,  he 
removed  to  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  and  bought  a  farm  in  Martinton 
township,  and  actively  engaged  in  farming  and  breeding,  and  raising 
full-blooded  Hereford  cattle,  having  now  the  finest  herd  of  that  cele- 
brated stock  in  this  county.  He  owns  280  acres  of  land,  well  improved. 
He  has  two  children :  Helen  E.  and  Perry  K. 


BEAYEE  TOWNSHIP. 

Beaver  forms  the  northeastern  corner  of  the  county,  and  em- 
braces all  of  town  28,  range  11  west  of  the  2d  principal  meridian, 
the  fractional  town  range  10  west,  and  all  there  is  in  Iroquois  county 
town  29,  same  ranges,  making  a  parallelogram  six  and  one-half  miles 
wide  along  the  Kankakee  county  line,  and  ten  miles  long  along  the 
Indiana  line.  The  soil  is  fertile  and  deep  along  the  southern  and 
central  portions,  but  that  in  the  northern  portion  is  much  of  it  thin 
and  rather  flat.  Nearly  the  entire  township  was  originally  prairie. 
The  Beaver  creek,  here  an  inconsiderable  stream,  dry  a  greater  por- 
tion of  the  year,  had  a  narrow  belt  of  oak  timber  along  its  northern 
bank  half  way  across  the  town,  and  Bean  Grove,  near  its  southwest- 
ern corner,  extended  over  into  this  town  a  little.  The  "  Hubbard 
trace,"  known  to  all  the  inhabitants  of  eastern  Illinois  and  western 
Indiana  at  an  early  day  as  the  great  highway  of  travel  from  Vin- 
cennes  and  all  the  Wabash  valley  to  Chicago,  ran  nearly  through  the 
center  of  the  township.  It  afterward  became  known  as  the  state 
road,  which  gave  the  name  to  State  street  when  it  got  to  Chicago. 
Along  this  route,  up  to  the  building  of  railroads,  travel  passed  be- 
tween the  southern  settlements  and  Chicago.  Thither  the  early 
pioneer  hauled  his  wheat  and  oats,  returning  loaded  with  salt  and 


BEAVER   TOWNSHIP.  513 

the  few  commodities  which  could  then  be  found  in  the  city  of  the 
lake.  At  first  return  loads  were  not  expected,  as  the  salt  was  pro- 
cured at  the  Danville  salt-works  ;  but  very  soon  that  was  superseded 
by  the  product  of  Syracuse.  ISTot  much  in  the  way  of  goods  came 
from  Chicago  in  those  early  days.  Sugar  was  made  at  home,  or  its 
substitute,  honey,  was  on  nearly  every  pioneer  table ;  ready-made 
clothing  and  boots  and  shoes  were  unknown.  The  farmer  took  his 
slaughtered  hides  to  the  local  tan-yard,  and  made  up  the  leather 
over  home-made  lasts,  and  the  farmer' s  wife  and  daughters  made  up 
the  cloth  from  wool  of  their  own  shearing.  Furniture  and  coffins 
were  made  up  in  eacli  village  ,by  the  local  cabinet-maker,  while  such 
things  as  brooms,  baskets  and  all  wooden-ware  were  made  in  the 
cabin ;  tobacco  was  home  grown.  Thither,  along  this  trace,  the  local 
dealers  drove  their  hogs,  cattle  and  turkeys  to  market.  Along  this 
road  every  few  miles  were  taverns  for  the  entertainment  of  man  and 
beast.  The  tavern  in  this  township,  long  famous  as  the  "Buck- 
horn,"  was  the  first  one  north  of  old  Bunkum,  and  was  built  by 
James  Heanan  and  Fred.  Woods,  probably  in  1834.  Heanan  soon 
after  went  away,  and  Lewis  Gumphrey  came  in  and  kept  it  until 
Joseph  Donovan  bought  it  in  1847.  This  stood  near  the  present 
village  of  Donovan,  and  where  Mr.  James  Donovan  now  resides. 
Just  north  of  this  the  Joliet  road  forked  off,  and  going  in  a  north- 
western direction,  crossed  the  Beaver  at  Rakestraw's.  Yau  Kirk 
kept  the  tavern  where  the  Chicago  road  crossed  the  Beaver,  about 
six  miles  north  of  the  "  Buckhorn,"  arid  Heanan  had  one  in  the  sand 
ridges  beyond.  John  Bean  kept  the  house  at  Bean  Grove,  on  the 
Joliet  road.  His  tavern  was  not  an  extensive  one,  and  was  built 
about  1832.  It  consisted  of  three  log  houses,  each  16x18,  one  story 
high,  standing  in  the  shape  of  an  L.  They  were  roofed  with  rived 
clapboards,  and  the  chimneys,  standing  outside  of  course,  made  of 
sticks  well  overlaid  with  mud  mixed  with  cut  straw.  The  same 
material  served  to  fill  up  the  holes  between  the  logs.  The  business 
of  keeping  public-house  grew  into  monstrous  dimensions  until  rail- 
road building ;  and  even  up  to  1860,  it  was  not  uncommon  to  count 
hundreds  of  teams  a  day  in  the  fall.  ISTot  a  tithe  of  them  sought 
entertainment,  however,  for  most  of  them  went  prepared  to  camp 
out.  The  township  took  its  name  from  Beaver  creek,  and  that  from 
Beaver  lake  near  by. 

John  Bean  was  the  first  settler.    He  came  from  Vermilion  county 
in  1832,  where  he  had  lived  a  few  years,  and  took  up  a  claim  on  or 
near  section  19,  in  the  edge  of  Bean  Grove.     He  was  born  in  Vir- 
ginia, and  was  brought  up  in  Kentucky.     He  worked  a  farm  and 
32 


514  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

kept  tavern.  The  nearest  mill  was  at  Sugar  creek,  over  in  the  edge 
of  Indiana,  and  the  only  store  known  around  here  was  at  Bunkum. 
He  was  before  coming  here  a  member  of  the  United  Brethren  church ; 
and  though  there  was  no  church  of  that  connection  here,  and  in  fact 
for  a  long  time  none  whatever,  he  maintained  his  faith  to  the  last. 
He  died  here  in  1857,  and  his  wife  two  years  later.  They  had  nine 
children. 

There  were  very  few,  if  any,  settlers  in  this  township,  except  those 
mentioned  as  engaged  in  tavern-keeping,  until  about  1850.  Of  course 
no  schools  or  churches  were  known.  When  Mr.  Donovan  came  here 
to  live  in  1847,  he  taught  school  at  Bean's  Grove  one  or  more  terms, 
but  the  rising  generation  in  Bean's  Grove  were  forced  to  get  along 
with  very  scant  educational  advantages. 

Joseph  Donovan  bought  the  Buckhorn  tavern  in  1847.  He  came 
here  from  Rockville,  Kankakee  county,  and  continued  to  keep  it  as  a. 
public-house  until  his  death  in  1860.  He  had  some  boys  who  were 
early  inured  to  work,  and  with  the  farm  and  the  stand,  business  was 
plenty  and  they  were  prospered.  Joseph  Donovan  left  three  sons : 
James,  who  purchased  the  homestead  and  tavern  stand,  and  still 
remains  on  the  place ;  and  Thomas,  who  lives  on  a  farm  near  by. 
John  L.  has  been  largely  engaged  in  business  enterprises  of  various 
kinds,  and  now  resides  in  Watseka.  He  was  engaged  in  mercantile 
business  at  Bunkum  for  some  years,  and  carried  on  a  considerable 
trade  in  cattle  at  the  same  time.  He  was  thus  engaged  when  the 
financial  crash  of  1857  made  so  many  wrecks  in  business.  John  L. 
Donovan  laid  out  the  town  of  Donovan  when  the  railroad  was  built, 
and  the  town  of  Martinton  on  the  Danville  road,  and  is  now  engaged 
in  banking  at  Milford. 

Quite  a  number  of  Swedes  have  settled  in  this  township ;  have 
made  farms ;  built  two  churches,  and  are  now  supplied  [with 
preachers  in  their  own  language.  Most  of  them  are  farmers,  but 
some  have  proved  successful  business  men.  The  Swede  population 
of  Beaver  are  an  educated  and  industrious  class  of  people ;  are  alive 
to  all  that  tends  to  better  their  condition,  and  make  excellent  citi- 
zens. Mr.  John  Nelson  is  a  representative  man  of  that  nativity. 
He  has  lived  here  fifteen  years  ;  is  well  posted  ;  and  has  been  repeat- 
edly elected  to  important  official  positions.  He  is  engaged  in  buy- 
ing grain  at  Donovan.  Before  this  portion  of  the  country  was  set- 
tled up,  John  White  used  to  keep  a  large  herd  of  cattle  on  the  prai- 
ries here.  His  practice  was  to  gather  up  three-  and  four-year-olds ; 
stall-feed  them  all  winter,  and  then  bring  them  out  here  when  the 
grass  was  well  up  in  the  spring,  and  grass-feed  till  "fly  time." 


BEAVER  TOWNSHIP.  515 

While  this  practice  is  entirely  discontinued  now,  he  made  a  suc- 
cess of  it,  and  sent  east  some  of  the  finest  cattle  that  ever  left  the 
Iroquois. 

M.  G.  Potter,  from  Orleans  county,;  New  York,  came  here  in 
1853,  coming  as  far  as  Kankakee  by  rail.  He  had  entered  the  land 
in  section  28  (town  28)  before.  He  now  has  400  acres  in  this  farm 
and  two  other  farms. 

Mr.  Potter  commenced  raising  cattle,  and  for  several  years 
followed  raising  winter  wheat,  which  at  first  did  very  well,  but  soon 
had  to  be  abandoned,  though  late  years  it  has  been  fairly  successful 
again.  Great  flocks  of  cranes  used  to  come  down  on  the  growing 
crops  and  almost  destroy  them  at  times.  Mr.  Potter  kept  and 
grazed  a  considerable  herd  of  cattle,  and  then  commenced  breeding 
and  raising  Norman  horses.  He  met  some  he'avy  losses  in  this  by  a 
singular  disease  which  carried  off  a  number  of  them. 

Mr.  Bbusher,  Mr.  Beiseeker  and  Mr.  Young  came  into  the  eastern 
part  of  the  town  the  same  year,  and  have  all  been  largely  identified 
with  the  interests  of  the  town.  Baldwin  Lyman  came  here  to  live 
two  years  later.  He  was  a  stage  proprietor  in  the  east,  and  from  the 
first  took  great  interest  in  raising  horses.  He  went  to  Onarga  and 
formed  the  Importing  Company,  and  went  to  France  to  secure  the 
very  best  Norman  horses  he  could  find.  He  now  lives  at  Onarga. 

Artemus  Perigo  came  from  Ohio  in  1855,  and  settled  just  north 
of  Mr.  Potter's.  He  is  dead,  and  his  son  lives  on  the  place  yet. 
Matthew  Shanor  came  about  the  same  time  and  settled  east.  He 
and  all  his  family  are  dead. 

Foster  Moore  came  into  this  portion  of  the  country  at  a  very  early 
date.  He  says  he  has  been  assessor  here,  when  his  beat  covered 
all  eastern  Illinois  and  a  part  of  Indiana,  though  just  how  much  of 
Indiana  he  had,  the  books  do  not  show.  His  experience  in  husking 
corn  down  on  the  Wabash  during  the  years  of  high  water  was 
fearful.  "Shucking"  ten  feet  under  the  ice  is  a  "feat"  which  no 
one  but  a  very  old  settler  could  successfully  accomplish,  and  calls  to 
mind  the  experiences  of  Jonah  when  he  first  settled  in  Nineveh. 
This  was  known  as  Union  precinct  before  township  organization. 
A  post-office  was  established  at  the  "Buckhorn"  in  1858,  called 
Donovan.  Joseph  Donovan  was  postmaster  until  he  died,  then 
James  held  the  appointment  two  years ;  then  M.  G.  Potter  held  it 
for  about  six  years.  After  that  a  post-office  was  established  at 
Beaverville,  which  was  afterward  transferred  to  St.  Mary. 


516  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 


CHURCHES,     SOCIETIES,    ETC. 


The  Christian  church  was  organized  about  1859,  at  Bean  Grove, 
by  Silas  Johnson  and  Nathan  Calcanberry.  Services  were  held  there 
with  more  or  less  regularity  from  that  time  until  Donovan  was  laid 
out.  Mr.  Thomas  Askew,  the  Weygandts,  Mr.  Hobbs  and  others 
were  interested  in  maintaining  the  services.  Elder  J.  P.  Holloway, 
of  Morocco,  preached  for  a  long  time,  and  others  occasionally.  In 
1875  the  church  was  built  at  Donovan,  30x50,  at  a  cost  of  about 
$1,800,  with  a  baptistry.  It  is  incomplete  yet.  The  membership 
is  75.  A  Sabbath  school  was  organized  in  1876,  with  Elder  Poole 
as  superintendent ;  E.  F.  Harris  is  the  present  superintendent.  The 
average  attendance  is  about  50. 

The  Methodist  church  was  organized  in  1875.  It  belongs  to  the 
Iroquois  circuit.  "W.  H.  Smith  is  present  pastor.  Meetings  were 
held  first  in  the  hall,  but  latterly  in  school-house.  T.  J.  Donovan 
is  class  leader  ;  preaching  every  alternate  week ;  about  20  members. 
Sabbath  school  is  maintained  ;  average  attendance  about  40. 

The  Beaver  Swedish  M.  E.  church  was  built  in  1860  and  1861, 
on  the  northeast  corner  of  section  12,  at  a  cost  of  $1,600.  It  is 
36  X  50,  a  plain,  neat  structure.  It  was  afterward  removed  to  south- 
east corner  of  section  14,  to  make  it  more  central.  Jonas  Grant  has 
been  trustee  and  class  leader  for  many  years.  There  are  about  100 
members.  A  Sabbath  school  was  organized  in  1865. 

The  Swedish  Lutheran  church  was  built  on  the  northeast  corner 
of  section  23  in  1872.  It  is  30x46,  plain,  and  cost  $800. 

The  St.  Mary  Roman  Catholic  church  was  built  about  1857  or 
1858.  A  deed  had  been  given,  about  1850.  to  the  Bishop  of  Yin- 
cennes,  who  then  held  clerical  jurisdiction  here,  of  10  acres  of  land 
in  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  5,  for  the  purpose  of  building  a 
church  there,  but  it  was  never  used  for  that  purpose,  and  was  deeded 
back.  Services  were  held  for  a  time  in  the  residence  of  E.  W.  Myers, 
who  lived  a  mile  east  of  St.  Mary.  The  building  is  40  x  60,  sur- 
mounted by  an  iron  cross.  Father  Cota  was  the  first  priest.  Until 
the  building  of  the  church  at  Papineau,  all  on  this  side  of  the  Iro- 
quois river  attended  here.  Now  there  are  about  60  families  who  are 
in  the  habit  of  worshiping  here. 

The  Firmus  Lodge,  No.  626, 1.O.O.F.,was  instituted  November  1, 
1876,  by  J.  McClain,  of  Iroquois.  The  charter  members  were  C.  W. 
Poole,  N.G.;  J.  W.  Johnson,  Y.G.;  C.  A.  Searight,  secretary;  R. 
G.  Campbell,  permanent  secretary ;  M.  G.  Potter,  treasurer.  The 
present  officers  are  M.  F.  Campbell,  N.G.;  George  Duesler,  V.G.; 
M.  G.  Potter,  treasurer ;  R.  G.  Campbell,  secretary ;  M.  G.  Potter, 


BEAVER  TOWNSHIP.  517 

lodge  deputy.     There  are  eight  members ;  the  lodge  meets  Friday 
night. 

The  Temperance  League,  a  joint-stock  company  for  the  purpose, 
as  its  title  indicates,  of  operating  against  intemperance  and  illegal 
selling  of  liquor,  was  organized  October,  1879 ;  C.  A.  Searight, 
president;  E.  F.  Harris,  vice-president;  L.  T.  Hutchins,  secretary; 
R.  G.  Campbell,  treasurer,  with  an  executive  committee  of  five, 
through  which  the  league  institutes  all  prosecutions.  Their  mode 
of  action  is  to  enforce  the  law,  and  assessments  are  made  upon 
members  for  the  "sinews  of  war."  It  has  been  largely  successful. 

The  land  in  this  town  sheds  in  all  directions  from  an  elevation 
through  its  center.  A  large  portion  of  land  in  town  28  is  in  the 
hands  of  Swedes,  who  came  here  in  large  numbers  some  years  ago,, 
and  appear  to  be  still  coming,  and  nearly  all  of  it  is  owned  by  resi- 
dents here.  In  town  29  considerable  is  owned  by  non-residents. 
Mr.  Hogue,  of  Morris,  Grundy  county,  has  three  sections,  which  is 
being  used  largely  for  pasture.  The  Messrs.  Barton  &  Peck,  of 
Kankakee,  large  cattle-dealers,  own  1,000  acres  in  sections  25  and 
26,  upon  which  they  keep  cattle. 

The  Cincinnati,  La  Fayette  &  Chicago  railroad  was  built  across 
the  township  in  1872,  by  which  route  good  connections  are  made 
with  the  Ohio  river  country,  and  with  Chicago.  Through  rates  east 
are  secured,  giving  to  the  citizens  of  Beaver  the  best  markets  in 
the  country.  Grain  is  sent  in  either  direction,  and  low  freights  are 
given  on  hay  to  the  Ohio. 

Beaver  has  never  had  a  "ferry  war"  on  hand  to  arouse  its  fight- 
ing propensities,  or  railroad  bonds  to  litigate  so  that  it  is  not  popular 
browsing  grounds  for  the  lawyers;  but  a  little  "special  act"  in 
1865  stirred  up  a  firm  protest.  Under  the  loose  system  of  legisla- 
tion in  vogue  before  the  constitution  of  1870  was  adopted,  nearly  all 
law  making  was  by  special  act,  i.e.  laws  were  passed  to  apply  to  only 
this  or  that  county,  township  or  school  district,  or  some  individual. 
As  by  the  theory  of  our  state  government  a  legislature  may  do  any- 
thing which  is  not  prohibited  in  the  constitution,  our  law-makers 
found  warrant  for  many  fearful  freaks.  In  1865  an  act  was  actually 
passed  requiring  Beaver  and  Papineau  townships  to  lay  a  tax  to 
help  build  a  bridge  in  Kankakee  county.  This  act  was  certified 
to  the  board  of  supervisors.  They  consulted  their  attorney  and 
promptly  enjoined  the  levy  of  the  tax,  and  our  Kankakee  neighbors 
have  never  attempted  to  enforce  it  thus  far.  The  township  was 
organized  in  1857,  by  the  election  of  W.  B.  Lyman,  supervisor;  M. 
G.  Potter,  clerk  ;  Stephen  Jessup,  assessor  ;  J.  Beiseeker,  collector  ; 
L.  Bousher  and  Thomas  Barnes,  justices  of  the  peace.  The  pres- 


518  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

ent  officers  are  E..  G.  Campbell,  supervisor ;  L.  T.  Hutchins,  clerk ; 
John  Nelson,  assessor ;  E.  J.  Barnland,  collector ;  and  E.  Clark 
and  Charles  Lamb,  justices  of  the  peace.  The  voting  population  has 
increased  from  35  in  1857  to  about  250  in  1880. 

The  voting  aid  to  railroads  appears  from  the  record  to  have  been 
as  follows :  Three  special  town  meetings,  held  in  1868,  voted  on  vari- 
ous projects.  May  28 :  The  proposition  voted  for  was  to  give  £20,000 
to  the  Chicago,  Danville  &  Yincennes  Railroad  Company,  and  a 
like  'amount  :to  the  Muscatine,  Kewanee  &  Eastern  railroad.  The 
vote  resulted  in  4  for,  to  111  against  the  scheme.  At  the  meeting 
August  6,  to  vote  on  a  proposed  donation  of  $15,000  to  the  Musca- 
tine, Kewanee  &  Eastern  railroad,  on  condition  that  the  road  be 
built  within  three  years,  and  be  built  through  on  a  line  within  half  a 
mile  of  the  center  of  the  township,  the  vote  was  43  for,  to  24 
against  the  proposed  donation.  September  12 :  The  vote  at  a  special 
meeting  in  regard  to  donating  §6,000  to  the  Chicago,  Danville  & 
Yincennes  railroad,  on  condition  the  road  should  pass  through  the 
township,  and  a  depot  be  built  and  maintained  on  either  sections  27, 

28,  33  or  34,  resulted  affirmatively.     As  neither  one  of  these  three 
separate  propositions  was  ever  consummated,  Beaver  township  was 
neyer  called  on  to  issue  any  bonds,  and  has  no  railroad  debt. 

DONOVAN. 

John  L.  Donovan  laid  out  the  village  in  1872  on  sections  28  and 

29,  about  40  acres  in  all,  and  later  an  addition  on  the  east.     Robb  & 
Morton  began  buying  grain ;    J.  W.  Johnson  and  E.  J.   Barnland 
began  the  mercantile  business ;    John  Nelson  began  the  grain  trade 
and  mercantile  trade  in  1873  with  Johnson  ;    Thomas  Detrick  also 
engaged  in  buying  grain ;   and  J.  M.   Kinney  engaged  in  keeping 
store.     Mr.  Johnson  built  the  first  dwelling.     The  first  fire  was  the 
Barnland  store,  occupied  by  Gillaspie  in  the  spring  of  1875.    A.  Mar- 
shall built  the  elevator  in  1874.     It'  is  now  occupied  by  Capen  &  Co., 
who  are  also  engaged  in  the  grain  trade  in  other  places  in  the  county. 
Kisser  &  Daggett  built  an  elevator  in  1879.     Thomas  Hutchins  was 
the  first  postmaster  ;  then  J.  W.  Johnson  for  several  years  ;  and  L. 
T.  Hutchins  is  now  postmaster  and  express  agent.     The  location  of 
Donovan  is  beautiful  as  well  as  historical.     It  stands  on  the  high 
ground  where  the  great  highway   of  travel  divided  :   one  road  lead- 
ing direct  to  Chicago,  and  the  other  was  traveled  by  that  great  and 
increasing  line  of  "  movers,"  who  were  seeking  homes  in  Wisconsin, 
northern  Illinois  and  Iowa.     The  buildings  of  the  little  village  are 
neat  and  pleasant.     The  business  men,   as  the  writer  is  ready  to 


BEAVER  TOWNSHIP.  519 

acknowledge,  are  affable,  courteous,  and  exceedingly  busy.  An  utter 
stranger,  he  was  accorded  most  generous  attention  and  assistance 
from  all  to  whom  he  applied  for  information. 

ST.  MARY. 

St.  Mary  is  located  on  the  township  line,  between  Beaver  and 
Papineau  townships,  being  a  portion  of  it,  including  its  post-office, 
church  and  depot,  on  section  31  of  the  former  and  a  portion  of  sec- 
tion 36  of  the  latter.  As  has  been  previously  stated,  the  old  Beaver- 
ville  post-office  had  been  in  this  vicinity  for  some  years,  and  the 
locating  of  the  French  church  here  naturally  made  it  a  center ;  and 
Heliadore  Du  Faut  started  a  store  here,  which  induced  the  transfer 
of  the  post-office  in  186T,  and  called  in  some  other  business.  The 
post-office  has  since  been  held  by  Edward  Urch,  W.  PI.  Godfrey, 
Paul  E.  Gros,  Levi  Matthews  and  Godfrey  Caillouette.  Joseph  Cail- 
louette  built  the  house  (now  occupied  by  his  son  Godfrey)  in  1857, 
which  was  the  first  one  built  in  the  village.  Joseph  Gorman  also 
built  a  log  house  on  lot  5,  block  4,  where  the  store  now  stands.  Mr. 
Ducharme  had  erected  the  two  houses  before  alluded  to  on  his  farms  ; 
and  two  or  three  years  later  E.  W.  Myers  commenced  keeping  store. 
Mr.  W.  H.  Godfrey,  for  many  years  a  justice  of  the  peace  of  this 
township,  opened  up  a  grocery  and  notion  store,  where  he  now 
resides.  For  some  years  past  he  has  carried  on  the  undertaker's 
business.  The  railroad  was  built  in  1871,  and  new  business  enter- 
prises begin  to  take  form.  Oscar  Kinney  commenced  the  grain 
trade  and  continued  it  some  years. 

The  town  was  platted  that  year  on  the  land  of  Charles  Arceneau, 
in  section  31.  He  was  required  to  deed  each  alternate  lotto  the  rail- 
road company's  president,  Adams  Earl,  in  order  to  secure  a  depot. 
Since  that  the  railroad  addition  has  been  laid  out  on  the  same  sec- 
tion, and  Du  Faut's  and  Gorman's  addition  in  section  36.  F.  X. 
Frasier's  store  was  burned  in  1872.  As  there  seemed  to  be  no  way  to 
stop  the  illegal  sale  of  spirituous  liquors,  and  no  way  to  license  such 
sale,  it  was  decided  in  1872  to  incorporate  the  village.  The  records 
are  not  very  complete,  but  from  them  it  would  seem  that  the  incor- 
poration was  previous  to  July  1,  1872,  as  there  are  of  record  no  minutes 
to  show  that  the  incorporation- was  under  the  authority  of  the  county 
court.  H.  Du  Faut  was  the  first  president ;  F.  X.  Frasier,  treasurer ; 
and  Godfrey  Caillouette,  J.  M.  Kinney  and  Oscar  Kinney,  with 
them,  the  trustees.  The  present  board  is  :  O.  Gorman,  president ; 
H.  Lambert,  treasurer ;  J.  H.  Gorman,  clerk ;  and  E.  Francoeur, 
B.  Regnier  and  F.  Besse  the  other  trustees. 


520  HISTORY    OF    lUOQl'OLS    COL'XTY. 

BIOGRAPHICAL. 

Vermillion  Bean,  retired  farmer,  Donovan,  is  a  son  of  John 
Bean,  and  was  born  in  Vermilion  county,  Illinois,  in  1829.  At 
about  three  years  of  age,  he  came  with  his  parents  to  what  is  now 
Beaver  township,  Iroquois  county,  Illinois.  At  the  time  he  came 
here  there  were  but  two  houses  in  this  part  of  the  county,  one 
where  Kankakee  city  now  is,  and  the  trading  house  of  Hubbard  & 
LeVasseur  at  Bunkum.  He  has  witnessed  the  county  pass 
through  a  great  change,  as  it  is  now  all  under  cultivation,  a  railroad 
passing  within  three-quarters  of  a  mile  of  his  farm.  Growing  up  in 
this  county  when  there  were  no  schools,  his  education  was  of  a  neces- 
sity entirely  neglected  in  his  youth.  He  was  engaged  in  teaming 
from  Chicago  to  Bunkum.  He  was  in  Chicago  when  there  were  but 
a  few  business  houses  there,  it  being  little  larger  than  Bunkum,  and 
not  so  old.  August  9,  1856,  he  married  Miss  Lutheria  M.  Lee,  a 
native  of  New  York  ;  she  died  January  26,  1876.  He  again  mar- 
ried, this  time  Mrs.  Diantha  (Shaw)  Merley,  who  was  born  in 
Indiana.  He  has  two  children:  Charles  E.,  by  his  first  wife ;  and 
Olla  Arnetta,  by  his  last  wife.  He  owns  300  acres  of  land  in  sec- 
tions 29  and  30,  T.  28,  R.  11,  and  his  home  residence  in  Donovan, 
where  he  now  lives.  His  farm  is  managed  by  his  son. 

George  "W.  Moore,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Beaverville,  is  a  son 
of  Foster  Moore,  one  of  Iroquois  county's  early  pioneers,  and  was 
born  January  7,  1839,  in  Iroquois  county,  Illinois.  His  early  youth 
till  the  age  of  twenty  was  spent  with  his  parents ;  he  then  engaged 
in  working  out  at  farm  labor  till  July  24,  1862.  He  then  volun- 
teered his  service  to  his  country,  and  joined  Co.  A,  76th  111.  Yol. 
Inf.  He  was  at  the  siege  of  Yicksburg,  and  other  hard-fought 
battles,  and  was  severely  wounded  at  the  charge  on  Fort  Blakeley, 
near  Mobile,  Alabama.  He  was  then  sent  to  the  hospital,  where 
he  remained  under  surgical  treatment  until  August  18,  1865,  when 
he  was  discharged  and  returned  home,  where  he  suffered  very 
severely  with  his  wound  for  thirteen  years.  The  government  is 
rewarding  him  for  his  misfortune  with  $18  per  month  pension. 
October  21,-  1866,  he  married  Miss  Hester  A.  Decker,  who  was  a 
native  of  Indiana,  and  died  August  5,  1868.  April  18,  1869,  he 
married  his  second  wife,  Miss  Emily  Denton,  who  is  a  native  of 
Indiana,  and  was  born  August  23,  1849.  He  has  three  children 
living:  Minnie  A.,  by  his  first  wife;  and  Henry  L.  and  George  B. 
by  his  last  wife.  He  now  owns  160  acres  of  land,  three  and  a  half 
miles  east  of  St.  Mary,  and  is  engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising. 

Thomas  J.   Donovan,  farmer,  Donovan,  is  a  son  of  Joseph  A. 


BEAVER   TOWNSHIP.  521 

Donovan.  He  was  born  in  Mason  county,  Kentucky,  February  1, 
1827.  When  eight  years  of  age  he  came  with  his  parents  to  Illinois, 
and  they  settled  in  Vermilion  county.  There  and  in  Clark  and  Will 
counties  he  lived  till  1847,  when  he  came  with  his  parents  to  Iroquois 
county,  and  settled  in  Beaver  township,  being  among  the  very  first 
settlers  in  that  part  of  the  county,  where  he  has  since  lived,  engaged 
in  farming  and  stock-raising.  He  says  that  when  he  came  to  Beaver 
township  immense  herds  of  deer  and  other  wild  animals  roamed  over 
the  vast  unbroken  prairies,  there  being  but  one  other  settler's  cabin 
in  that  part  of  the  country,  about  four  miles  distant  from  where  his 
father  settled.  October  24,  1856,  he  married  Miss  Mary  Lyons,  who 
was  born  in  Vermilion  county,  Illinois,  and  died  February  14,  1866. 
He  has  two  children  living :  John  L.  and  Charles  W.  October  26, 
1868,  he  married  for  his  second  wife  Miss  Emma  Hall,  a  native  of 
North  Carolina.  She  was  born  January  2,  1848.  They  have  one 
child :  Joseph  A.  On  August  11,  1862,  he  volunteered  his  services 
to  his  country,  and  became  a  member  of  Co.  E,  76th  111.  Vol.  Inf., 
where  he  served  three  years,  participating  in  all  the  movements  of 
his  regiment,  except  while  in  hospital  three  months  at  Jackson,  Ten- 
nessee. He  was  honorably  discharged.  He  has  witnessed  a  great 
improvement  in  the  county.  His  farm,  containing  120  acres  of  land, 
is  adjoining  the  village  of  Donovan. 

James  H.  Sweeney,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Donovan,  came  from 
Putnam  county,  Indiana,  where  he  was  born  January  24,  1840.  He 
lived  with  his  parents  till  about  the  age  of  eighteen  years,  engaged  in 
farming.  He  began  for  himself  by  working  out  at  farming  till  June 
4,  1861,  when  he  enlisted  in  Co.  F,  25th  111.  Inf.  He  participated 
in  all  the  movements  of  his  regiment  till  honorably  discharged,  Sep- 
tember 5,  1864.  Having  bought  a  farm  while  in  the  army,  he  now 
engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising,  which  business  he  now  suc- 
cessfully carries  on.  November  16,  1867,  he  married  Harriet  Rich- 
ardson, who  was  born  in  Indiana.  She  died  August  7,  1875  ;  and 
April  19,  1877,  he  married  for  his  second  wife  Mrs.  Rachel  M. 
(Lyman)  Calkins.  She  is  a  native  of  Ohio ;  born  December  11, 
1843.  He  now  owns  154  acres  of  land  three  miles  southwest  of 
Donovan  station,  all  earned  by  his  own  industry  and  close  attention 
to  business.  He  has  three  children :  John  H.  and  Luther  G.  by  his 
first  wife  ;  and  Peter  A.  by  his  present  wife.  At  the  time  he  came 
to  this  township  it  was  a  vast  unsettled  wilderness,  and  deer  and 
other  wild  animals  roamed  undisturbed.  He  now  sees  the  fields  of 
golden  grain,  the  cars  passing  every  day,  and  several  towns  in  sight 
of  his  home. 


522  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

Evlan  Clark,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Beaverville,  is  a  son  ot 
Quartus  Clark,  one  of  the  early  settlers  in  Beaver  township,  and  its 
first  school-teacher,  and  was  born  August  18,  1838,  near  Niles,  Mich- 
igan. In  1850,  with  his  parents,  he  came  to  what  is  now  Beaver  town- 
ship, Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  at  that  time  there  being  but  four 
families  living  in  the  township.  His  early  education  was  of  a  neces- 
sity very  much  neglected,  but  he  has  by  the  aid  of  his  parents 
acquired  a  fair  education.  In  1851  his  [father  died,  and  on  him 
devolved  the  responsibility  of  taking  care  of  the  family,  which  he 
did  till  he  reached  the  age  of  twenty-two.  December  9,  1860,  he 
married  Miss  Clarissa  E.  Watkins,  a  native  of  Indiana,  and  born 
August  9,  1843.  In  1862  he  enlisted  in  Co.  E,  t6th  111.  Inf.,  and  was 
engaged  at  the  siege  of  Vicksburg  and  many  other  battles,  including 
the  charge  on  Fort  Blakeley,  near  Mobile,  Alabama.  During  his 
service  he  was  appointed  first  sergeant,  and  was  honorably  discharged 
August  5,  1865.  He  then  returned  home  and  engaged  in  farming  on. 
section  10,  town  28,  range  11,  and  the  carpenter  business.  In  the 
spring  of  1868  he  moved  to  the  farm  he  had  previously  bought,  and 
actively  engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising,  which  business  he  still 
follows.  He  now  owns  240  acres  of  laud,  all  earned  by  his  own 
careful  management  and  industry.  He  has  three  children  :  Albert, 
Charles  R.  and  Mary.  He  has  filled  the  position  of  collector  of 
taxes  seven  years,  assessor  two  years,  township  school  treasurer  five 
years,  justice  of  the  peace  one  term,  and  school  director  many 
years. 

Ephraim  Pray,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Beaverville,  was  born  in 
St.  Lawrence  county,  New  York,  July  20,  1825,  where  he  lived  till 
the  age  of  twenty-two  years  with  his  parents.  He  came  to  Illinois 
in  1847,  traveled  in  this  state  and  Wisconsin  and  Michigan,  working 
in  the  three  states  till  on  July  14,  1850,  he  married  Miss  Mary  D. 
Franceour,  a  native  of  Canada,  and  in  1852  came  to  Iroquois  county, 
and  permanently  located  in  Beaver  township,  on  section  32,  town  29, 
range  11,  and  engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising^  in  which  busi- 
ness he  is  now  engaged.  At  the  time  he  settled  here  the  country 
was  a  vast  unsettled  wilderness,  his  nearest  market  then  being 
Chicago,  by  team  over  the  old  Hubbard  trace,  which  passed  within 
a  few  rods  of  his  house.  He  has  lived  here  to  see  a  great  change 
The  railroad  passes  over  an  adjoining  section,  and  a  town  lies  about 
two  miles  from  his  place.  He  has  ten  children,  all  living :  WiJliam, 
Charles,  Apollien,  Mary,  Alexander,  Albert,  Thomas,  Emily,  Liddie 
and  Lucy.  He  has  filled  the  position  of  school  trustee  for  many  years, 
and  is  now  highway  commissioner. 


BEAVER   TOWNSHIP.  523 

Jonas  Grant,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Donovan,  was  born  in 
Sweden,  November  29,  1811.  His  early  youth,  till  the  age  of  fifteen, 
was  spent  at  home  with  his  parents,  engaged  in  farming.  He  then 
begun  for  himself,  by  working  out  as  a  farm  hand,  and  so  continued 
till  September  29,  1837,  when  he  married  Miss  Johanna  Johnson, 
who  is  also  a  native  of  Sweden,  and  was  born  April  23,  1812.  He 
then  engaged  in  farming,  renting  a  farm  at  first,  but  finally  bought  a 
farm  on  which  he  lived  till  August  30,  1852,  and  on  that  day  sailed 
from  Sweden  for  Boston,  where  he  arrived  all  safe  after  thirty-days 
sail,  and  the  following  October  he  went  to  La  Fayette,  Indiana,  but 
in  the  spring  of  1853  came  to  his  present  home,  in  what  is  now 
Beaver  township.  He  permanently  located  on  section  12,  town  28, 
range  11,  and  engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising,  in  which  busi- 
ness he  is  now  successfully  employed.  At  the  time  he  came  here  the 
country  was  unsettled  but  by  two  families.  Deer  and  other  wild 
animals  roamed  undisturbed  formerly,  where  now  are  vast  fields  of 
golden  grain,  and  where  the  whistle  of  the  locomotive  can  now  be 
heard  daily.  He  aided  largely  in  building  the  M.  E.  church,  and 
has  done  much  in  the  way  of  education  and  improvement,  being  the 
safe  counselor  and  adviser  of  the  people.  He  has  now  five  children 
living:  John  H.,  Swan  W.,  Charlotte,  Charles  J.  and  Sophia.  His 
two  oldest  sons  served  their  adopted  country  in  the  late  war,  both 
being  members  of  Indiana  regiments.  The  daughters  both  married 
ministers. 

Maltby  G.  Potter,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Donovan,  was  born 
December  11,  1827,  in  Genesee,  New  York.  His  early  youth  was 
spent  with  his  parents,  attending  school  and  farming.  November 
15,  1849,  he  sailed  from  Boston  on  board  the  schooner  Ruby 
around  Cape  Horn  for  California,  arriving  in  San  Francisco  May  6, 
1850.  After  a  stay  of  eight  months  in  California  he  went  to  Central 
America  and  Cuba,  where  he  traveled  for  some  time  and  then  returned 
to  New  York,  after  an  absence  of  two  years.  May  2,  1852,  he 
married  Miss  Mahala  Griswold,  who  was  born  in  Rochester,  New 
York,  April  4,  1831.  In  the^spring  of  1853  he  came  to  Illinois,  Iro- 
quois  county,  and  at  once  entered  the  farm  on  which  he  now  lives,  on 
section  28,  town  28,  range  11,  in  Beaver  township,  and  engaged  in 
farming  and  stock-raising.  At  the  time  he  settled  on  this  wild 
prairie,  there  were  but  three  cabins  in  sight,  and  the  whole  country 
was  inhabited  by  deer  and  other  wild  animals.  He  has  lived  here  to 
see  the  country  all  settled,  a  railroad  passing  over  his  farm,  the 
village  of  Donovan  built  on  part  of  it,  and  several  towns  in  sight  of 
his  residence.  He  owns  520  acres  of  land,  all  earned  by  his  own  in- 


524  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

dustry  and  close  application  to  business.  He  has  ten  children  living: 
Frederick  A.,  George  B.,  Inez  A.,  Effie  L.,  Jessie  A.,  Minnie  G., 
Lodema,  Gertrude,  Samuel  M.  and  Edgar  C.  He  has  filled  the 
offices  of  supervisor,  four  terms ;  township  clerk,  for  many  years ; 
and  school  director  since  the  school  district  was  organized. 

Orren  G.  Smith,  dealer  in  general  merchandise,  Donovan,  was 
born  January  9,  1854,  in  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  and  is  a  son  of 
William  Smith,  one  of  this  county's  first  settlers  and  business  men. 
He  has  lived  in  this  county  since  his  birth,  in  early  youth  attending 
school,  finishing  his  education  by  a  term  of  one  year  at  Cole's  Com- 
mercial College,  at  Peoria.  He  then  entered  the  railroad  company's 
employ  at  Sheldon,  Iroquois  county,  and  remained  in  their  ser- 
vice six  years  and  three  months  as  brakeman.  He  then  engaged 
as  clerk  in  a  store  at  Watseka  for  eight  months,  and  afterward  trav- 
eled in  Michigan  and  Kansas  for  a  short  time,  and  then  bought  out 
R.  G.  Campbell,  and  located  in  the  village  of  Donovan  and  engaged 
in  a  general  mercantile  business.  October  16,  1879,  he  married 
Miss  Inez  A.  Potter,  who  was  born  in  Iroquois  county,  October  1, 
1857.  He  now  owns,  besides  his  store,  a  farm  of  80  acres  of  land 
adjoining  the  incorporation  of  Sheldon. 

Thomas  Askew,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Donovan,  was  born  in 
"Westmoreland,  England,  in  January,  1822.  His  early  youth  was 
spent  with  his  parents,  engaged  in  farming  and  attending  school  till 
May  6,  1846,  when  he  married  Miss  Isabella  Taylor,  who  was  born 
in  Westmoreland,  England,  November  24,  1825.  He  then  farmed 
for  himself  till  the  fall  of  1849,  when  he  left  his  native  country  and 
came  to  America,  and  in  the  spring  of  1850  engaged  at  farm  labor 
in  Kankakee  county  till  about  1856,  when  he  removed  to  what  is 
now  Beaver  township,  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  and  there  rented  a 
farm  and  engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising  till  March  9,  1859. 
He  then  moved  into  the  first  house  he  ever  owned,  having  bought 
the  farm  and  built  the  house  a  short  time  previous.  He  is  now 
actively  engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising.  April  9,  1879,  his 
wife  died  on  the  place  on  which  she  so  long  lived  and  raised  most  of 
her  family.  He  has  eight  children  living:  Richard  G.,  John  T., 
Dion  A.,  Wellington  C.,  Thomas  E.,  Agnes  E.,  Maud  I.  and 
George  C.  He  owns  280  acres  of  land  all  earned  by  his  own 
industry  and  close  application  to  business.  He  has  filled  the  office 
of  justice  of  the  peace  since  1867,  supervisor  three  years,  highway 
commissioner  and  school  trustee  twelve  years.  He  has  lived  here 
to  see  this  part  of  the  county  pass  through  a  great  change.  The 
Cincinnati,  Chicago  &  La  Fayette  railroad  passes  within  one  mile 
of  his  house. 


BEAVER   TOWNSHIP.  525 

Asa  F.  Perrigo,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Donovan,  is  a  native  of 
Seneca  county,  Ohio,  and  was  born  April  16,  1838,  and  lived  there 
engaged  in  farming  and  attending  school  till  the  summer  of  1856. 
He  then  with  his  parents  came  to  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  and  per- 
manently located  in  Beaver  township,  and  engaged  in  farming  and 
stock-raising,  liis  nearest  market  for  many  years  being  Kankakee 
city.  May  6,  1863,  he  married  Miss  Elmira,  daughter  of  Aaron 
Hill,  who  is  a  native  of  Vermont,  and  was  born  December  IT,  1848. 
He  has  two  children :  Eugene  G.  and  Sidney  L.  He  now  owns  200 
acres  of  land  near  Donovan  station,  and  a  house  and  four  lots  in 
the  village  of  Donovan.  His  farm  is  well  improved,  and  reflects 
credit  on  its  proprietor.  He  has  lived  here  and  grown  up  with  the 
country. 

Mathew  Haigh,  farmer,  Beaverville,  is  a  native  of  England, 
and  was  born  December  3,  1836.  His  youth,  till  about  the  age  of 
twenty  years,  was  spent  with  his  parents  attending  school.  His 
father  was  a  weaver  by  occupation,  and  Mathew  learned  the  trade, 
which  he  followed  until  he  came  to  America.  Soon  after  coming  to 
this  country  he  joined  the  army,  and  became  a  member  of  Co.  H, 
113th  111.  Vol.  Inf.,  and  served  his  adopted  country  three  years  in 
the  war  of  the  rebellion.  After  being  discharged  he  returned  to 
Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  bought  a  farm  of  160  acres  in  Sec.  9,  T. 
28,  R.  11,  in  Beaver  township,  and  engaged  in  farming  and  stock- 
raising.  His  farm  is  well  improved,  reflecting  much  credit  011  its 
proprietor,  and  is  the  result  of  his  own  hard  labor,  industry  and 
close  attention  to  business. 

Andrew  Johnson,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Donovan,  was  born  in 
Sweden,  October  22,  1821.  Till  about  the  age  of  eighteen  years  his 
time  was  spent  at  home  with  his  parents,  engaged  in  farming  and 
attending  school.  Being  of  a  mechanical  turn  of  mind,  he  engaged 
at  the  carpenter  and  wheelwright  business,  and  continued  in  that 
till  about  the  age  of  thirty-two.  He  then  came  to  America  and  set- 
tled in  Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana,  where  he  remained  four  years. 
On  June  10,  1857,  he  removed  to  Beaver  township,  Iroquois  county, 
Illinois.  He  bought  a  farm,  and  permanently  located  and  engaged 
in  farming  and  stock-raising,  in  which  business  he  still  remains, 
having  been  very  successful.  He  now  owns  540  acres  of  land,  all 
earned  by  his  own  industry  and  careful  management.  June  23,  1853, 
he  married  Miss  Sophia  Johnson,  who  is  a  native  of  Sweden.  He 
has  three  children:  Emma  M.,  John  W.  and  Ida  C.  His  son  is 
now  attending  college.  "When  Mr.  Johnson  came  to  his  present 
home  the  country  was  very  new  and  unimproved.  He  has  lived 


526  HISTORY    OF   1ROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

here  to  see  the  surrounding  country  all  improved  with  railroads,  and 
towns  built  up  in  all  directions. 

William  McMahon,  fanner  and  stock-raiser,  Beaverville,  was  born 
in  Warren  county,  Ohio,  April  21,  1821.  He  lived  with  his  parents 
till  about  the  age  of  twenty-three  years,  engaged  in  farming  and  at- 
tending school.  He  then  went  into  the  clock  trade  for  himself  in  the 
state  of  Indiana,  and  followed  the  business  about  fifteen  years,  and 
was  very  successful.  On  February  12,  1851,  he  married  Miss  Mary 
J.  Rinker,  a  native  of  Indiana.  He  bought  a  farm  of  320  acres,  and 
farmed  and  raised  stock  about  seven  years.  He  then  rented  his  farm 
and  removed  to  Beaver  township,  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  where 
he  bought  his  present  home-farm,  and  actively  engaged  in  farming 
ands  tock-raising,  making  it  a  success  not  equaled  by  many  in  the 
county.  He  now  owns  1,192  acres  of  land,  all  except  $500  earned 
by  his  own  industry  and  close  attention  to  business.  He  is  now 
raising  and  dealing  largely  in  stock.  He  has  five  children  living : 
Warren  L.,  Lua  Ellen,  Ross,  Franklin  and  Cora.  He  has  never 
taken  any  interest  in  politics,  and  has  been  strictly  temperate  from 
youth. 

William  H.  Godfrey,  Esq.,  justice  and  collection  agent,  Beaverville, 
is  a  native  of  Connecticut,  and  was  born  August  7,  1827.  His  early 
youth  was  spent  with  his  parents,  farming  and  attending  school  till 
the  age  of  sixteen  years.  He  then  began  the  carpenter  business  as 
an  apprentice  in  'New  York,  but  completed  his  apprenticeship  in 
•Reading,  Connecticut,  and  continued  the  business  there  till  the  age 
of  twenty-five  years, — the  last  two  years  being  at  the  head  of  a  gang 
of  carpenters  as  superintendent.  He  then  went  to  South  JSTorwalk, 
Connecticut,  and  engaged  in  carpenter  work  for  about  three  years ; 
and  then  went  west  and  worked  at  Cold  Water,  Michigan,  Joliet  and 
other  places  in  Illinois.  February  6,  1860,  he  married  Miss  Octavia 
Dubuque,  who  is  a  native  of  the  province  of  Quebec,  Canada,  and  was 
born  July  5,  1831.  August  2,  1862,  he  abandoned  the  carpenter 
business,  and  enlisted  as  private  in  Co.  A,  129th  reg.  111.  Yol.  Inf.; 
January  13,  1863,  he  was  appointed  first  sergeant.  He  participated 
in  many  battles  and  skirmishes,  the  most  important  of  which  was  at 
Peach  Tree  creek,  where  he  was  hotly  engaged  about  five  hours.  He 
was  with  Gen.  Sherman  on  his  memorable  march  to  the  sea  in  the 
fall  of  1864,  and  was  honorably  discharged,  June  8,  1865,  at  Wash- 
ington, D.  C.  He  thenreturned  to  Illinois,  and  located  at  St.  Mary, 
Iroquois  county,  and  engaged  again  at  his  trade  of  carpenter.  He 
has  four  children  living:  Ada  Ann,  James  H.,  Edmarica  O.,  and 
May  F.  He  has  filled  the  office  of  school  trustee  six  years ;  school 


PAPINEAU   TOWNSHIP.  527 

treasurer  for  several  years  prior  to  his  being  elected  trustee ;  and 
justice  of  the  peace. 


PAPINEAU  TOWNSHIP. 

Papineau  is  situated  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county,  having 
Kankakee  county  for  its  northern,  Beaver  its  eastern,  Martinton  the 
southern  and  Iroquois  river  for  its  western  boundary.  It  is  four  miles 
wide  by  eight  and  a  half  long,  containing  all  of  town  29,  range  12 
which  lies  in  this  county,  and  that  portion  of  town  29,  range  13,  which 
is  in  this  county  and  east  of  the  Iroquois  river.  Beaver  creek,  here  a 
considerable  stream,  runs  through  its  center  from  east  to  west,  affording 
an  abundance  of  water.  Like  all  the  towns  in  the  northern  portion  of 
the  county  artesian  water  is  reached,  but  the  wells  are  seldom  flowing 
ones.  It  was  originally  either  covered  with  timber  or  had  groves 
scattered  over  it,  so  that  there  was  no  scarcit}' of  timber  for  all  purposes 
which  the  early  settler  stood  in  need  of.  The  soil  is  sandy,  and  is  not 
so  strong  generally  as  that  found  in  the  western  and  southern  portions 
of  the  county.  The  Chicago  &  Eastern  Illinois,  and  the  Cincinnati, 
La  Fayette  &  Chicago  railroads  run  across  its  eastern  half,  having  the 
station  of  Papineau  on  the  former,  and  St.  Mary,  upon  its  eastern 
border,  on  the  latter.  The  peculiar  advantage  in  reference  to  freight 
rates,  with  two  such  routes  which  cannot  combine  against  the  farmer's 
interests,  is  apparent.  The  former  road  gives  direct  communication  to- 
Chicago,  and  the  latter  to  Cincinnati,  Philadelphia  and  the  east. 
Though  grain  purchasers  are  careful  not  to  put  up  the  price  on  one 
another,  there  must  frequently  be  times  when  the  demands  of  trade  at 
the  different  great  centers  will  offer  to  producers  so  situated  advantages 
superior  to  others. 

Points  along  Beaver  creek  early  attracted  the  attention  of  the  pio- 
neer looking  for  a  western  home,  where  the  grateful  shelter  of  timber 
should  protect  him  and  his  herds  from  the  fearful  wintry  wiricls  which 
now  seem  almost  to  have  gone  out  of  date  in  this  region,  or  have 
migrated  with  the  popular  wave  to  Kansas.  George  Roush,  though  not 
the  first  settler  in  the  western  part  of  the  town,  was  the  first  to  establish 
any  business  there.  About  1840  he  began  "  keeping  store  "  on  section 
26,  just  north  of  the  Beaver.  The  store  was  one  of  the  kind  known  to 
the  early  settler,  and  the  only  kind  known  where  "  dry-goods"  and 
"wet  groceries"  were  kept  in  magnificent  confusion,  solely  for  the 
convenience  of  the  neighbors.  The  display  of  "  store  goods"  was  not 
very  grand,  but  such  staple  articles  of  prime  necessity,  as  tobacco, 


528  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

molasses,  codfish,  hickory,  shirting,  powder  and  lead,  Kentucky  jeans, 
knitting  needles,  Godfrey's  cordial,  nails  and  Brandreth's  pills  were 
always  in  stock.  It  was  a  famous  place  for  "'  the  boys'"  to  collect  on 
Saturdays  to  try  the  speed  of  their  horses  and  the  effects  of  the  only 
anti-rattle-snake-bite  specific  then  known  in  this  neck  of  timber. 

A  little  incident  is  remembered,  which  it  is  surmised  that  Frank 
Brady  was  partially  responsible  for.  It  was  before  false  faces  of  papier 
mache  were  so  well  known  in  the  woods  as  to  be  readily  recognized  at 
a  distance,  that  some  one  brought  one  from  Chicago,  and  taking  Mr. 
Goupil  into  training,  turning  his  coat  wrong-side-out,  and  fixing  a  good 
sized  hump  under  it,  with  bells  on  his  feet  instead  of  spurs,  it  only  re- 
quired a  steeple  hat  above  the  false  face  to  convert  the  innocent  Goupil 
into  a  hideous  circus  clown.  When  the  crowd  was  in  good  cheer  at  the 
store  the  "  stranger "  made  his  appearance,  marching  up  the  road  by 
zig-zags,  evidently  uncertain  whether  to  come  to  the  "  meeting."  Tom 
Wilson,  an  African  by  descent,  but  at  that  day  contraband  as  to  citi- 
zenship, rolled  his  eyes  in  wonder,  and  was  sent  out  by  the  boys  as  an 
advance  guard  to  find  out  who  the  stranger  was.  With  true  African 
superstition  running  through  him,  he  failed  to  get  near  enough  to  the 
stranger  to  learn  anything  more  than  that  he  looked  like  a  fellow  he 
had  once  seen  in  a  circus,  and  he  reported  accordingly.  He  was  sent 
back,  and  this  time  learned  that  his  view  of  the  matter  was  correct,  and 
that  it  was  none  other  than  Brown,  whose  wonderful  feats  had  moved 
the  African's  mind  to  wonder,  and  that  his  visit  here  was  to  buy  a  horse. 
The  boys  told  Tom  to  sell  him  his.  Acting  on  the  suggestion  he  led 
out  his  prancer,  and,  bragging  every  minute  of  his  wonderful  proper- 
ties, helped  the  stranger  to  mount,  and  keeping  up  his  continual  boast- 
ing sent  him  on  the  road  to  try  him.  As  soon  as  "the  clown  "  was 
seated  he  took  "  French  leave,"  and  the  idea  soon  penetrated  the  thick 
brain  of  Tom  Wilson  that  a  horse-thief  had  outwitted  him.  It  now 
became  necessary  to  let  the  crowd  around  the  store  into  the  secret  to 
keep  them  from  shooting  Goupil,  and  they  all  united  in  urging  Tom 
to  rescue  his  horse  before  it  was  everlastingly  too  late.  Every  fellow 
had  a  fresh  suggestion  to  make,  and  Wilson,  who  from  that  time  went 
by  the  name  of  Tom  Brown,  found  that  the  divided  counsels  of  his 
neighbors  did  not  help  him  much  about  overtaking  the  "  thief."  After 
the  fun  and  chase  had  gone  far  enough,  and  the  darkey  had  been  led  a 
fearful  chase,  Goupil  returned  and  uncovered,  but  Wilson  never  heard 
the  last  of  Tom  Brown. 

The  sports  of  those  days  were  such  as  were  peculiar  to  the  age  and 
surroundings.  Hunting,  of  course, — which  has  come  to  be  known  as 
sport,  in  name  at  least, — was  as  much  an  occupation  as  a  sport  in  those 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


PAPINEAU   TOWNSHIP.  531 

times;  but  it  was  not  common  even  then  to  class  horse-stealing  among 
the  sports. 

William  Rakestraw,  who  lived  on  section  10,  north  of  the  Beaver, 
was  long  postmaster  of  the  Democrat  office.  For  some  reason,  which 
is  not  easily  explained,  the  office  was  not  kept  at  Roush's  store,  the 
most  natural  place  for  it.  It  is  the  suggestion  of  a  neighbor  that 
Roush  did  not  like  the  name,  which  was  understood  to  have  been  con- 
ferred on  the  office  by  Mr.  Wentworth,  who  at  that  time  was  not  only 
a  democrat  politically,  but  editor  and  proprietor  of  the  Chicago  "  Dem- 
ocrat "  newspaper.  Allen  Rakestraw  (his  brother)  kept  the  tavern 
winch  stood  on  the  Joliet  road  where  it  crossed  the  Beaver  creek. 
When  William  sold  out,  about  1850,  and  removed  to  Aroma,  Peter  Lowe 
was  appointed  postmaster  and  kept  the  office  some  years,  when  he  sold 
to  Mr.  Benjamin  and  moved  away.  About  1857  or  1858  Ezra  David 
kept  the  store  and  the  post-office,  when  the  name  was  changed,  and 
Democrat  as  a  post-office  name  disappeared. 

Henry  Jones  was  the  earliest  permanent  settler  in  this  part  of  the 
township.  He  must  have  settled  here  about  1837.  He  had  quite  a 
large  family.  Four  of  his  sons  live  in  the  town  yet :  William,  Philip, 
Henry  and  H.  0.  W.  H.  Griffin  lived,  at  an  early  date,  on  the  creek  in 
the  northeast  part  of  the  town.  His  father,  who  was  one  of  the  pio- 
neers, died  there  about  1851.  His  family  now  lives  in  Martinton. 
During  the  year  1855  occurred  the  terrible  scourge  of  cholera  which 
swept  over  this  part  of  the  country  with  fearful  fatality.  In  this  town- 
ship nearly  half  of  the  settlers  were  taken  away.  Henry  Jones'  family 
suffered  the  most  severely.  Mr.  Jones  was  obliged  to  make  the 
coffins  and  bury  part  of  his  own  family.  Bradford  Clark  came  to 
Beaver  Creek  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  town,  where  he  still  resides, 
about  1850."  His  brother  (William  P.)  came  at  the  same  time,  and 
Abram  Otis  settled  on  section  22  about  the  same  time. 

There  was  nothing  like  a  general  settlement  of  the  township  until 
the  French  Canadians  began  coming  in,  about  1850.  The  old  settle- 
ment at  Bourbonnais  Grove,  started  under  the  pioneer,  Noel  LeVas- 
senr,  twenty  years  earlier,  began  to  spread  into  this  county  before  the 
Central  railroad  had  given  "  Kankakee  city  "  a  local  habitation.  Peter 
Spink  was  pushing  his  land  and  emigration  enterprises,  which  seemed 
to  him  so  profitable  for  a  time,  and  which  really  resulted  in  success  to 
his  followers,  into  the  rich  country  where  L'Erable  now  is;  and  others, 
attracted  from  their  Canadian  home,  came  in  on  this  side  of  the  river  in 
considerable  numbers.  Immigration  was  stimulated  by  the  building  of 
the  Central,  and  still  more  by  the  building  of  the  roads  which  pass 
through  Papineau.  From  this  fact  came  the  naming  of  the  township. 
33 


532  HISTOKY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

These  French  people  did  not  like  the  name  of  Weygandt.  It  was  too 
decided!}7  Dutchy.  The  pronunciation  of  words  ending  in  ndt  was 
impossible  to  French  lips.  Papinean  was  a  leader  of  the  rebellion  in 
Canada  against  the  English  government  in  1837,  and  asxsuch  is  looked 
upon  by  the  French  citizens  as  a  hero  not  unlike  old  John  Brown. 
That  he  was  not  successful  does  not  deprive  him  of  the  veneration  of 
those  he  attempted  to  lead.  It  is  remembered  of  him  that  he  rode 
through  some  of  the  principal  towns  of  Canada,  carrying  a  flag  and 
calling  on  those  who  would  be  free  from  the  English  yoke  to  follow 
his  flag.  For  this  treason  he  barely  escaped  the  gallows.  Papineau 
was  born  October,  1786,  and  died  September  23,  1871.  The  people 
who  reside  here,  some  of  whom  were  admirers  of  the  leader,  decided  to 
name  this  town  after  him.  This  rebellion  in  1837  and  1838,  through 
being  aided  by  certain  citizens  of  the  United  States,  became  the  source 
of  belligerent  talk  between  the  governments  of  Great  Britain  and  this 
country.  The  destruction  of  the  Caroline,  by  the  murder  of  her 
passengers  and  firing, and  sending  over  Niagara  Falls,  followed  by  the 
arrest  of  McLeod  for  the  crime,  his  defense  by  the  attorney-general  of 
the  United  States,  and  his  acquittal,  make  one  of  the  most  exciting 
chapters  in  our  country's  history.  (See  Benton's  "  Thirty-Years 
View.") 

One  of  the  first,  as  well  as  one  of  the  most  influential,  of  these  Can- 
adian immigrants  was  Anthony  Lottinvillc.  With  his  family,  consist- 
ing of  wife  and  seven  small  children,  he  took  passage  on  the  ill-fated 
steamer  Atlantic,  for  Detroit,  in  the  summer  of  1851.  He  had  sold 
his  farm  there,  and  had  with  him  his  all,  except  some  that  was  coming 
from  deferred  payments  on  his  land,  which  fortunately  he  was  not  able 
to  realize  on.  The  steamer  had  some  600  passengers  on  board,  and  in 
the  night,  while  all  were  in  bed  and  nearly  all  asleep,  a  terrible  col- 
lision occurred,  and  in  twenty  minutes  the  steamer  went  down,  carry- 
ing all  but  120  of  her  passengers.  The  scene  during  that  twenty 
minutes  of  agony  can  never  be  described.  The  shrieks,  the  prayers, 
the  moanings,  and  the  hurrying  to  and  fro  of  those  hoping  to  escape 
impending  death,  can  be  faintly  imagined.  Women  and  children  were 
partially  saved  by  the  ropes  in  the  hands  of  strong  men  who  stood 
upon  the  propeller  which  at  once  came  to  the  rescue,  only  to  drop  into 
the  water  before  they  could  reach  the  deck.  In  the  panic  and  fright, 
unaccountably  to  himself,  Mr.  Lottinville  succeeded  in  rescuing  all  his 
family,  and  in  the  thankfulness  of  his  heart  hardly  mourned  the  loss  of 
all  his  earthly  possessions.  He  came  forward  to  Bourbonnais,  where 
the  open  aid  of  Noel  LeVasseur,  and  his  ever-ready  purse,  aided  the 
rescued  family  in  a  strange  land  to  get  a  comfortable  start.  It  is  said 


PAPINEAU  TOWNSHIP.  533 

to  have  been  only  characteristic  of  the  old  pioneer,  whose  recent  death 
has  called  forth  many  expressions  of  remembrance  of  kindly  acts  on 
the  part  of  the  old  man  toward  those  in  need.  Mr.  Lottinville  came 
soon  after  to  section  22,  range  12,  on  the  creek,  where  he  took  np  half 
a  section  of  land  and  built  a  frame  house,  the  lumber  for  which  he  hauled 
from  Chicago,  fording  streams  swollen  by  the  continual  rains  of  that 
season.  He  hired  forty  acres  broken,  then  with  all  his  family  "  took 
the  ague," — a  regular  standby  with  new  settlers  in  those  days, — which 
shook  them  up  for  a  year.  This  was  one  of  the  rainy  seasons,  which  all 
pioneers  recollect  as  occurring  regularly  each  seventh  year.  For  sev- 
eral years  after  Mr.  Lottinville  came  here  wheat  was  a  good  crop,  and 
the  demand  for  it  was  good  from  those  then  coming  into  the  country. 
The  acorns  in  the  woods  served  the  hogs  well,  and  hogs  always  brought 
cash  once  a  year,  so  that  farming  prospects  were  good,  but  there  was 
no  school  for  ten  years.  His  children  had  had  but  slight  opportuni- 
ties, the  older  ones  in  schools  in  Canada,  and  that  only  in  French- 
speaking  ones.  Here  they  never  got  a  day's  schooling  except  in  the 
rough  school  of  pioneer  drudgery.  That  the  five  sons,  who  are  known 
throughout  the  county  as  the  Lottinville  boys,  are  everywhere  recog- 
nized as  among  the  best  educated  and  most  correct  business  men  in 
this  portion  of  the  county  is  due  alone  to  their  own  native  strength  of 
character  and  versatile  tact.  They  have  for  years  been  entrusted  with 
the  official  business  of  the  township,  and,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  record, 
of  the  village,  and  have  been  continually  the  business  men  of  the 
place;  and  in  conversation  show  a  breadth  of  acquaintance  with  general 
history  and  affairs  of  the  country  which  marks  them  as  educated  men. 
The  aged  parents  died  about  1866.  They  had  been  the  parents  of  six- 
teen children,  several  of  whom,  however,  died  during  their  childhood. 
Three  of  the  brothers  married  sisters,  two  of  whom  have  already  pre- 
sented twins  to  doting  fathers.  The  value  to  a  new  country  of  such 
a  family,  as  settlers,  is  difficult  to  estimate  with  the  data  at  hand. 

Joseph  Delude  came  here  about  1850,  and  built  a  log  cabin  on  the 
bank  of  the  creek.  He  was  deluded  with  the  notion  that  the  Beaver 
would  make  a  very  valuable  water  privilege.  He  dammed  the  creek 
and  built  a  saw-mill  on  it.  It  was  one  of  those  old-fashioned  gate 
saws,  that  go  up  in  the  spring  and  come  down  with  the  fall  freshets. 
He  soon  damned  the  stream  and  mill  both,  with  a  slight  variation  in 
the  spelling  and  accent,  and  sold  out  to  Moses  Langellier,  who  still 
resides  there,  and  returned  to  Bourbonnais. 

In  1857  Mr.  Ducharme  came  from  Bourbonnais  and  bought  two 

D 

farms  in  the  southeastern  quarter  of  section  36,  range  12.    He  built 
log  houses  on  the  farms,  and  his  sons  came  here  to  live. 


534  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

The  Methodist  church,  known  as  the  Boucher  or  Switzer  church, 
was  commenced  in  1867  and  dedicated  in  1871.  It  is  about  30  x  50, 
and  cost  about  $3,300.  In  1873  it  was  removed  from  its  foundation 
by  a  hurricane,  but  otherwise  was  but  little  damaged.  It  was  replaced 
at  a  cost  of  $350.  John  Switzer  was  class-leader,  and  after  him  M.  E. 
Posson.  The  present  membership  is  eighteen.  At  the  time  of  the 
organization  of  this  township  the  name  of  Weygandt  was  given  to  it, 
receiving  its  name  from  a  numerous  family  of  that  name  living  here. 
Martinton  was  cut  off  in  1858,  and  the  name  was  changed  to  Papineau 
in  1863.  The  first  supervisor  of  Papineau  was  Thomas  Maggee; 
clerk,  E.  M.  Hammond;  assessor,  A.  Bender;  collector,  William 
Thompson  ;  magistrates,  S.  S.  Green  and  S.  S.  White.  The  present 
officers  are :  William  Jones,  supervisor ;  C.  F.  Lottinville,  clerk  and 
collector;  George  Ducharme,  assessor;  and  W.  F.  Risley  and  Joseph 
Langellier,  magistrates. 

In  1856  thirty-three  votes  were  cast  in  favor  of  calling  the  town 
Pike  Creek.  In  1858,  by  reason  of  a  division  of  the  township,  and 
the  principal  officers  residing  in  the  southern  portion  of  the  township, 
there  was  no  election  held,  and  the  board  of  supervisors  appointed  at  its 
next  meeting  the  township  officers.  August  25,  1868,  a  special  town 
meeting  voted,  by  47  to  none,  in  favor  of  a  tax  for  the  Chicago,  Dan- 
ville &  Yincennes  Railroad.  August  8,  1870,  a  special  town  meeting 
voted  67  to  34  in  favor  of  donating  $6,350  in  bonds  to  the  same  rail- 
road, on  condition  that  a  depot  should  be  located  and  permanently 
maintained  in  the  town.  The  bonds  were  issued,  and  have  since  been 
litigated,  and  the  payment  of  the  interest  on  them  enjoined  in  conse- 
quence of  a  decision  of  the  supreme  court  on  a  case  which  was  so 
similar  as  to  warrant  the  belief  that  the  same  rule  would  apply  to  this 
case. 

PAPINEAU  VILLAGE. 

When  the  railroad  was  built,  there  was  some  question  about  what 
the  town  would  donate,  and  the  company  did  not  locate  the  depot,  and 
the  town  plat  was  not  laid  out,  until  the  following  spring,  1871,  when 
Dr.  D.  K.  Cornell  and  Mr.  Hay,  who  owned  about  half  a  section  in 
T.  28,  laid  out  60  acres  of  the  north  half  of  the  southeast  quarter 
into  blocks  and  lots.  Dr.  Cornell  was  a  physician  here,  and  now 
resides  at  Taylorville.  Mr.  Hay  resided  at  ISTashville,  Illinois,  and  died 
there.  In  the  fall  of  1870,  however,  Rice,  Lottinville  &  Co.  built  a 
depot  for  the  company  north  of  Beaver  creek,  and  erected  a  set  of 
scales  there  and  commenced  buying  corn  and  live  stock.  They  pur- 
chased 190,000  bushels  of  grain  that  winter.  The  next  spring  the 
depot  and  business  was  moved  here.  Savoie  &  Barney  put  up  the 


PAP1NEAU   TOWNSHIP.  535 

first  building  to  keep  store  in.  It  stands  on  the  corner  north  of  the 
post-office.  They  carried  a  general  stock  of  goods,  and  were  assisted 
by  Mr.  Charles  F.  Lottinville,  a  young  man  of  excellent  natural  abili- 
ties, aided  by  considerable  experience  at  Cairo  and  other  places.  This 
firm  continued  in  business  a  year.  The  next  store  was  built  by  Hubert 
Lepage  on  lot  6,  block  6.  He  put  in  a  stock  of  goods,  but  soon 
sold  to  Barney  &  Co.  Dr.  Wagner  commenced  business  and  carried  it 
on  a  while,  and  is  now  engaged  in  keeping  hotel  and  in  insurance. 
Oliver  Barney  engaged  in  mercantile  business  in  1876.  Thomas  Lot- 
tinville bought  Savoie's  interest  in  the  store  in  1874,  and  in  1876  Charles 
F.  and  Henry,  his  brothers,  entered  into  a  partnership  with  him,  which 
has  proved  successful  and  has  continued.  Charles  is  postmaster  and 
carries  on  the  drug  trade.  Philip  Kaufman  opened  a  store  in  1874, 
which  he  sold  the  following  year. 

William  E.  Stone  bought  grain  here  during  the  first  year,  and  was 
succeeded  the  next  year  by  Massy,  Letourneau  &  Co.,  who  continued 
the  grain  and  lumber  trade  for  two  years,  when  Mr.  Comstock  put  up 
the  warehouse  and  extensive  cribs.  W.  F.  Risley,  from  Joliet,  com- 
menced the  same  year  to  buy  grain  for  Simon  &  Co.,  and  continued 
until  1875.  Rosenberger  &  Co.  bought  grain  for  a  time,  and  Mr. 
Pape  became  a  partner  for  one  year.  C.  F.  Lottinville  was  appointed 
postmaster  first  in  1871,  and  served  three  years.  Mr.  Risley  succeeded 
him  two  years,  then  Josaph  Langellier  two  years,  when  Mr.  Lottinville 
was  again  appointed.  This  was  made  a  money-order  office  July,  1879. 
D.  K.  Cornell  was  first  physician.  Dr.  Critzer,  the  present  physician, 
is  county  coroner. 

Papineau  was  incorporated  under  the  general  act  in  1874.  Under 
the  first  election  F.  Langdoc  was  president ;  John  Massy,  Ezra  Savoie, 
Octave  La  Plante,  A.  P.  Shipley  and  Thomas  Lottinville,  trustees;  C. 
F.  Lottinville,  clerk;  and  Joseph  Laveaux,  treasurer.  The  present 
officers  are :  Thomas  Lottinville,  president ;  Ezra  Savoie,  Theodore 
Englebert,  Frederick  Tegg,  Anthony  Goyette  and  Milton  Froge,  trus- 
tees;  C.  F.  Lottinville,  clerk;  Henry  Lottinville,  treasurer;  E.  P. 
Shipley,  police  magistrate;  and  A.  W.  Froge,  constable.  The  school  is 
in  charge  of  Mr.  S.  H.  Byrns,  a  very  successful  teacher. 

The  Roman  Catholic  Church,  a  neat  and  substantial  structure, 
30  X  55,  was  built  in  1872,  at  a  cost  of  about  $1,200.  It  is  yet  unfinished 
internally.  It  suffered  a  partial  removal  once,  having  been  blown  from 
its  foundation  in  a  severe  gale.  Rev.  Father  Rouquier,  of  St.  Mary's, 
and  Rev.  Father  Lettellier,  of  St.  Anne,  have  in  turn  ministered  to 
the  people  here,  but  they  have  no  resident  priest. 


536  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOTS    COUNTY. 

BIOGRAPHICAL. 

David  N.  Lowe,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Kankakee,  was  born  at 
Covington,  Indiana,  November  23,  1827.  He  is  a  son  of  Peter  and 
Julia  A.  Lowe,  and  came  with  them  to  this  county  in  1834.  They 
settled  near  Mount  Langham,  in  what  is  now  Kankakee  county.  His 
early  youth  was  spent  with  his  parents,  engaged  in  farming  and  stock- 
raising,  the  country  at  that  time  being  very  new  and  sparsely  settled. 
His  advantages  for  education  were  very  limited,  yet  he  has  become  suffi- 
ciently educated  to  do  an  immense  business  in  his  line.  He  is  truly 
one  of  our  self-made  men,  beginning  with  nothing  and  now  owning  800 
acres  of  very  valuable  land  in  this  county  and  some  in  Nebraska.  He 
raises  and  deals  in  large  numbers  of  cattle  yearly,  and  has  made  the 
breeding  and  raising  of  graded  short-horns  a  specialty  the  last  few 
years.  February  24,  1859,  he  married  Miss  Martha  J.  Pruett,  daugh- 
ter of  Meredith  Pruett,  late  of  Iroquois  county,  and  immediately 
located  on  his  present  home  farm,  on  Sec.  14,  T.  29,  R.  13,  which  is 
now  one  of  the  finest  in  this  part  of  the  county.  His  success  has  been 
equaled  but  by  few  in  this  part  of  the  state.  He  has  seven  chil- 
dren, all  living:  Flora  M.,  Lloyd  W.,  Bell  A.,  Perry  B.,  Melvin  M., 
David  N.  and  Mary  Leonora.  His  political  principles  are  republican, 
but  he  takes  no  active  part  in  politics.  He  has  been  strictly  temperate 
from  youth. 

Philip  Jones,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Papineau,  was  born  in  what 
is  now  Papineau  township,  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  March  28,  1839. 
He  is  the  first  person  born  in  the  township  that  is  now  living  in  the 
same,  and  is  a  son  of  Mr.  Henry  Jones,  the  first  settler  and  pioneer  of 
the  township.  His  early  youth  was  spent  with  his  parents,  engaged 
in  farming  and  stock-raising  and  attending  school,  though  his  advan- 
tages for  education  were  very  limited ;  yet  by  the  care  of  his  parents, 
the  aid  of  a  teacher  hired  by  subscription,  and  a  determined  will,  he 
acquired  a  good  common-school  education.  He  was  one  of  the  first 
to  attend  the  first  school  taught  in  the  township  of  Papineau, —  Miss 
Dilly  being  the  teacher.  June  4,  1861,  he  volunteered  his  services  to 
his  country,  and  became  a  member  of  Co.  F,  25th  111.  Vol.  Inf.  His 
first  engagement  with  the  enemy  was  at  the  battle  of  Pea  Ridge. 
From  that  time  on  he  participated  in  much  hard  fighting.  He  was 
wounded  at  the  battle  of  Stone  River  by  a  ball  entering  the  corner  of 
his  mouth,  coming  out  of  the  back  part  of  his  cheek,  and  was  honora- 
bly discharged  September  5,  1864.  On  May  2,  1867,  he  married  Miss 
Margaret,  daughter  of  Mr.  Thomas  Satnmons.  one  of  the  early  pio- 
neers, and  fourth  sheriff  of  this  county.  She  was  born  November  1, 
1844,  in  what  is  now  Kankakee  county,  Illinois.  He  has  one  child, 


PAPINEAU   TOWNSHIP.  537 

William  Henry,  and  owns  100  acres  of  land  (apart  of  the  old  farm  on 
which  he  was  born),  and  is  engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising.  He 
is  one  of  the  true  men  of  which  his  neighbors  should  be  proud. 

Fabien  Langdoc,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Papineau,  whose  portrait 
appears  in  this  work,  was  born  March  24,  1830,  in  Papineauville,  Can- 
ada. He.  is  a  son  of  Joseph  Langdoc,  formerly  a  member  of  the  house 
of  representatives  of  Canada.  He  lived  with  his  parents,  engaged  in 
farming,  till  1850.  He  then  came  to  Illinois  and  settled  in  Papineau 
township,  Iroquois  county,  and  engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising. 
January  7,  1851,  he  married  Miss  Margaret  Miner,  a  native  of  Canada, 
who  was  born  July  8,  1831.  He  had  sixteen  children,  ten  living : 
Joseph,  Victoria,  Victor,  Josephine,  Salem,  Arcade,  Albert,  Fabien  T., 
Samuel  and  Saul.  He  has  filled  the  office  of  supervisor  one  term, 
county  coroner  two  terms,  and  school  treasurer  eleven  years.  He 
owns  240  acres  of  land,  and  commenced  in  Illinois  with  $2.50.  He 
is  a  gentleman  of  ability,  integrity  and  honor,  and  was  never  known 
to  waste  time  or  money  in  anything. 

Henry  Lottinville,  dealer  in  general  merchandise,  Papineau,  came 
to  Illinois  in  1851,  being  then  about  two  years  old.  With  his  parents 
and  their  family  he  was  almost  lost  by  shipwreck  on  Lake  Erie,  August 
19,  1851,  while  on  board  the  steamer  Atlantic,  which  sunk  on  that 
date.  He  was  rescued  the  last  minute  before  she  went  down.  His 
early  youth  was  spent  in  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  with  his  parents. 
He  was  deprived  of  the  advantages  of  education,  as  the  country  was 
new  when  he  came  to  this  county ;  but  a  determined  will  secured  him 
a  fair  education.  February  6,  1865,  he  enlisted  in  Co.  K,  147th  111. 
Inf.,  and  served  one  year.  He  then  engaged  in  farming  for  others, 
but  in  1868  bought  a  farm,  and  in  1870  engaged  in  farming  and  stock- 
raising,  and  followed  that  business  about  six  years.  He  then  sold  his 
farm  and  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  in  the  village  of  Papin- 
eau,  as  one  of  the  firm  of  Lottinville  Brothers,  in  which  business  he  is 
now  engaged.  January  6,  1872,  he  married  Miss  Georgiana  Boulle, 
who  is  a  native  of  Canada.  He  has  two  children  :  Eugene  and  Jose- 

O 

phine. 

Thomas  F.  Switzer,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Waldron,  Kankakee 
county,  was  born  in  Ross  county,  Ohio,  June  25,  1823.  At  the  age 
of  six  years  he  came  to  Warren  county,  Indiana,  where  he  lived  with 
his  parents,  engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising,  that  part  of  the 
country  then  being  very  new  and  very  few  white  settlers.  He  was 
deprived  of  the  advantage  of  education,  but  by  the  aid  of  his  parents 
and  his  own  determined  will  he  obtained  a  fair  education.  April  20, 
1851,  he  married  Miss  Margaret  Connor,  a  native  of  Indiana,  and  on 


538  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

the  next  day  started  tor  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  with  an  ox-team  and 
wagon,  with  all  his  worldly  effects,  and  after  three-days  travel  arrived 
in  what  is  now  Aroma  township,  Kankakee  county,  Illinois,  at  that 
time  it  being  Iroquois  eount}^.  His  farm  now  joins  the  Iroquois 
county  line,  where  he  preempted  government  land  and  engaged  in 
farming  and  stock-raising,  which  business  he  now  follows,  making  it  a 
success  not  equaled  by  many  in  this  part  of  the  state.  At  the  time  he 
settled  here  his  nearest  market  vras  Chicago,  where  he  has  hauled  corn 
a  distance  of  seventy-five  miles  and  sold  it  for  twenty-five  cents  per 
bushel.  He  has  hauled  wheat  from  Warren  county,  Indiana,  to  Chi- 
cago, a  distance  of  150  miles.  December  12,  1862,  his  wife  died,  and 
on  July  2,  1865,  he  married  his  second  wife,  Mrs.  Susan  Hall,  who 
is  a  native  of  New  York,  and  was  born  June  15,  1830.  He  had  five 
children  :  Casandra  J.,  Martha  E.,  Americus,  Thomas  B.  and  Bertha 
A.  He  owns  740  acres  of  very  valuable  land,  all  earned  by  industry 
and  close  attention  to  business.  Since  1867  he  has  turned  his  atten- 
tion to  the  breeding  and  raising  of  full-blooded  short-horn  cattle.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  M.  E.  church,  and  aided  largely  in  building  the 
Boucher  Chapel.  He  has  been  strictly  temperate  from  his  youth. 

Thomas  Lottinville,  merchant,  Papineau,  son  of  Antoine  Lottin- 
ville,  was  born  at  Riviere  du  Loup,  Canada,  March  20,  1840.  He  lived 
there  till  1851,  when  with  his  parents  he  removed  to  Papineau,  Iro- 
quois county,  Illinois.  His  first  year  in  Illinois  MTas  spent  clerking 
in  Bourbonnais  and  St.  Anne.  After  that  he  engaged  in  farming  with 
his  father,  and  so  continued  till  1862.  He  then  married  Miss  Dilema 
Savoie,  who  was  born  July  31,  1842,  and  was  a  native  of  Canada. 
February  10,  1865,  he  volunteered  his  services  to  his  country,  and 
became  a  member  of  Co.  K,  147th  111.  Inf.  He  served  one  year, 
returning  home  February  10,  1866,  and  again  engaged  in  farming  till 
1868,  when  he  sold  out  and  moved  to  Kankakee  city,  and  returned 
again  in  1869  to  Papineau.  The  village  at  that  time  was  located,  and 
he  engaged  in  the  grain  business,  putting  up  the  first  scales  and  buy- 
ing the  first  load  of  corn  bought  in  the  town.  In  1873  he  engaged  in 
the  mercantile  business,  in  which  he  still  remains.  He  has  filled  the 
office  of  assessor  six  years,  constable  seven  years,  and  president  of  the 
village  four  years.  On  his  way  from  Canada  he  was  shipwrecked  on 
Lake  Erie  while  on  board  the  steamer  Atlantic,  August  19,  1851,  and 
was  rescued  from  the  sinking  vessel  the  last  minute  before  she  went 
down,  losing  all  he  had  but  his  night-clothes.  He  has  four  children  ; 
Flora,  Adeline,  Mary  and  Nellie. 

Arthur  ~W.  Frogge,  dealer  in  lumber  and  coal,  Papineau,  was  born 
in  Iroquois  county,  Illinois.  April  2,  1852,  where  he  still  lives.  During 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


PA  PINE  AU   TOWNSHIP.  541 

his  youth  he  remained  on  the  farm  with  his  parents,  engaged  in  farm- 
ing and  going  to  school.  October  30,  1873,  he  married  Miss  Sallie  C. 
Clark,  of  Iroquois  county.  They  have  one  child,  Inez.  In  Novem- 
ber, 1877,  he  located  in  Papineau,  and  engaged  in  the  lumber  and  coal 
business.  His  father,  Mr.  Arthur  R.  Frogge,  was  born  January  14, 
1811,  in  Kentucky.  During  his  early  youth  he  lived  a  short  time  in 
Tennessee.  In  1851  he  came  to  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  bought  a 
farm  and  engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising.  He  has  six  children  : 
Ellen,  Milton,  Sarah,  Arthur  W.,  Benton  and  Frank.  He  now  lives  in 
the  village  of  Papineau,  and  is  quite  smart  for  a  man  of  his  years. 

George  Ducharme,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  St.  Anne,  was  born  in 
Montreal,  Canada,  July  24,  1832.  After  living  near  where  he  was  born 
thirteen  years,  with  his  parents  he  came  to  Chicago,  and  there  remained 
about  eight  years  attending  school.  April  9,  1852,  in  company  with 
his  brother  he  started  for  California  with  a  team  via  the  plains,  arriv- 
ing in  Hangtown,  California,  August  9  of  the  same  year.  After  a 
stay  of  about  two  years  he  returned  home  by  the  way  of  the  Isthmus, 
crossing  at  Nicaragua,  arriving  in  Chicago  October  13,  1854,  bringing 
back  $1.200  in  gold.  In  the  autumn  of  the  same  year  he  removed  to 
St.  Anne,  Kankakee  county,  Illinois,  and  about  a  year  later  removed  to 
Iroquois  county,  and  settled  and  built  the  first  house  where  St.  Mary 
now  stands.  Having  bought  a  farm  he  engaged  in  farming  and  stock- 
raising,  and  so  continued  eight  years.  He  sold  his  farm  there  and  again 
bought  land,  this  time  in  the  northeast  part  of  Papineau  township,  in 
section  15,  town  29,  range  13,  where  he  now  lives  engaged  in  the  busi- 
ness of  farming  and  stock-raising.  He  now  owns  240  acres  of  land  all 
earned  by  his  own  careful  management  and  industry.  February  5, 
1855,  he  married  Miss  Delphine  Faucher,  who  is  a  native  of  Canada, 
and  was  born  October  15,  1841.  They  have  nine  children  :  Delia, 
David,  Levi,  Sophia,  Flora,  Ida,  Ellen,  Philip  Louis  and  Egla.  He 
has  filled  the  office  of  school  trustee  since  1864,  collector  seven  years, 
assessor  five  years,  and  commissioner  of  highways  two  years.  His  health 
has  been  so  broken  down  the  last  fourteen  years  as  to  render  farm  labor 
to  him  impossible. 

Philip  LaPlante,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Papineau,  was  born  near 
Montreal,  Canada,  August  18,  1838,  where  he  lived  till  about  the  age 
of  thirteen  years.  With  his  parents  he  then  removed  to  Clinton 
county,  New  York,  where  he  engaged  in  a  nail  factory  and  attended 
school  till  about  the  age  of  sixteen  years,  when  he  removed  with  his 
parents  to  Illinois,  and  two  years  later  he  settled  in  Papineau  township, 
Iroquois  county,  <md  engaged  in  farming  till  August  5, 1862.  He  enlisted 
as  private  in  Co.  D,  76th  III.  Inf.;  November  28,  1862,  he  was  appointed 


542  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

first  sergeant ;  May  27, 1864,  sergeant ;  and  July  22, 1865,  was  commis- 
sioned by  his  excellency  Richard  J.  Oglesby,  governor  of  Illinois,  to  the 
position  of  second  lieutenant,  and  was  finally  discharged  with  his  regi- 
ment after  participating  in  the  battles  of  Talahatchee,  Yicksburg,  Jack- 
son, Tennessee,  Jackson  cross-roads  and  the  siege  and  charge  on  the 
Blakeley  batteries  near  Mobile,  Alabama.  He  then  returned  home  and 
engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising  in  Papineau  township,  Iroquois 
county,  Illinois,  in  which  business  he  is  now  engaged.  In  the  spring  of 
1860  he  married  Miss  Flavie  Gaudreau,  a  native  of  Canada,  who  died  in 
November,  1862.  December  16,  1865,  he  married  Miss  Josephine, 
daughter  of  Mr.  Moses  Langellier.  She  is  a  native  of  Canada,  and  was 
born  August  5,  1839.  He  has  three  children  :  Florence  E.,  Irena  A. 
arid  Lionel  C.  He  owns  160  acres  of  land  two  miles  northeast  of 
Papineau  village. 

Charles  Ezra  Savoie,  farmer,  Papineau,  a  native  of  Riviere  du  Loup, 
Quebec,  Canada,  and  son  of  Mr.  John  Savoie,  was  born  November  17, 
1837.  He  lived  there  till  1847,  when  with  his  parents  he  removed  to 
Illinois  and  settled  in  Bourbonnais  Grove,  Kankakee  county,  where  he 
lived  with  his  parents,  engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising  and 
attending  school  till  1855,  when  he  came  to  Papineau,  Iroquois  county, 
and  again  engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising.  December  8,  1860, 
he  married  Miss  Melena  Mercier,  a  native  of  Canada.  July  27,  1862, 
like  other  patriotic  men,  lie  volunteered  his  services  to  his  country, 
and  became  a  member  of  Co.  D,  76th  111.  Inf.  After  eigh teen-months 
service  he  became  disabled  by  sickness  and  was  transferred  to  the 
Invalid  Corps,  and  July  3,  1865,  was  honorably  discharged.  After  his 
return  home  he  again  engaged  in  farming,  in  which  business  he  is  still 
employed.  He  has  filled  the  position  of  commissioner  of  highways  the 
last  fifteen  years,  and  village  trustee  since  the  organization  of  the  vil- 
lage of  Papineau.  He  has  five  children  living:  Delia,  Hattie,  Ezra, 
Lucy  and  Adalore.  He  owns  eighty  acres  of  land  in  and  adjoining  the 
village  of  Papineau,  all  earned  by  his  own  industry. 

William  S.  Jones,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Papineau,  is  a  native  of 
Meigs  county,  Ohio,  where  he  was  born  January  2. 1834.  He  came  to 
Illinois  in  1837  with  his  parents,  his  father  being  the  first  settler  in 
Papineau  township,  their  nearest  market  for  many  years  being  Chi- 
cago by  team  via  the  old  Hubhard  trace.  January  17,  1856,  he  mar- 
ried Miss  Hester  A.  Canady,  who  was  a  native  of  Ohio,  born  January 
19,  1834.  and  died  June  18,  1864.  Mr.  Jones  again  married,  Decem- 
ber 15,  1864,  Miss  Mary  Canady,  who  is  a  native  of  Illinois.  He  has 
six  children  :  Eugene  and  Philip,  by  his  first  wife  ;  and  Calvin,  Addie 
Bell,  Leon  and  Albert  by  his  last  wife.  He  is  now  acting  supervisor  of 


PAPINEAU    TOWNSHIP.  543 

Papineau  township,  and  is  engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising.  He 
owns  170  acres  of  land.  He  has  sound  business  principles,  and  has 
won  for  himself  many  friends.  He  is  also  engaged  in  buying  and  ship- 
ping fat  stock. 

Hugh  McSweeney,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Papineau,  was  born  in 
Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana,  March  13, 1843,  where  he  lived  till  eleven 
years  old.  With  his  parents  he  then  removed  to  La  Salle,  Illinois 
there  going  to  school  till  the  excitement  of  the  gold  discoveries  at 
Pike's  Peak.  He  fell  in  with  the  tidal  wave  and  went  west,  but 
returned  in  1858  and  settled  with  his  father  in  Iroquois  county,  Illi- 
nois, and  engaged  in  farming.  In  the  spring  of  1861  he  enlisted  in 
Co.  I,  20th  111.  Inf.,  but  after  eight-months  service,  on  account  of  sick- 
ness, he  became  disabled  and  was  sent  to  the  hospital  at  Chicago,  where 
he  remained  unable  for  duty  till  the  winter  of  1863,  when  he  was  dis- 
charged. He  then  again  engaged  in  farming  as  a  hired  hand  till 
August,  14, 1864.  He  married  Miss  Harriet  Jones,  of  Iroquois  county, 
who  was  born  October  24,  1844.  He  has  eight  children  :  Charles  H., 
Sarah  E.,  William  E.,  Hugh,  Olla,  Peter  E.,  Eugene  and  Wilbur.  He 
now  owns  a  home  of  160  acres  of  land,  the  reward  of  strict  econ- 
omy and  industry,  in  Sec.  35,  T.  29,  R.  13. 

Christopher  S.  Guthrie,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Papineau,  is  a  son 
of  Henry  P.  Guthrie,  of  Ohio,  and  was  born  December  22,  1838,  at 
Mount  Pleasant,  Jefferson  county,  Ohio.  At  the  age  of  eight  years  he 
moved  with  his  parents  to  Wheeling,  West  Virginia,  but  soon  after 
returned  to  Ohio  and  lived  with  his  parents  till  1857,  when  he  came 
to  Kankakee,  Illinois,  in  company  with  a  Mr.  Hoyle,  bringing  with 
them  the  first  steam  threshing-machine  ever  introduced  in  this  part  of 
the  state.  January  1,  18ti2,  his  patriotic  impulses  induced  him  to 
offer  his  services  to  his  country,  and  he  joined  Co.  *E,  53d  111.  Inf. 
He  was  stationed  at  Chicago  guarding  rebel  prisoners,  under  Col. 
Mulligan,  for  some  time.  From  there  he  went  direct  to  Shiloh,  and 
participated  in  that  memorable  battle  and  the  advance  on  Corinth. 
He  was  actively  engaged  from  there  on  in  many  battles  and  skirmishes, 
till  July  12,  1863;  in  the  charge  on  Jackson  he  was  captured  by  the 
rebels,  and  endured  the  horrors  of  prison  life  in  all  the  principal  prisons 
of  the  south,  at  one  time  paying  twenty-five  cents  for  one  ear  of  corn, 
and  was  finally  paroled  at  City  Point,  Virginia,  in  October,  1863.  He 
was  after  that  ordered  with  Gen.  Sherman,  and  participated  in  his 
great  march  to  the  sea,  and  was  finally  mustered  out  of  service  at 
Goldsboro,  North  Carolina,  in  March,  1865,  and  returned  to  Illinois 
and  engaged  in  fanning  and  stock-raising.  December  25,  1865,  he 
married  Miss  Mary  J.  Warden,  who  was  born  in  Grcencastle,  Indi- 


544  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

ana,  in  1844.  They  have  five  children  :  Frances  I.,  Henry  W.,  James 
B.,  George  C.  and  Mai  hid  a  C.  He  owns  160  acres  of  land,  all  earned 
by  his  industry. 

August  Lottinville,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Papineau,  was  born  at 
Riviere  du  Loup,  Canada,  where  he  lived  till  about  the  age  of  ten 
years.  His  parents  at  that  time  came  to  Illinois.  An  incident  oc- 
curred on  their  way  from  Canada  which  must  here  be  mentioned. 
August  19,  1851,  the  steamer  Atlantic  collided  with  a  schooner  on 
lake  Erie,  and  the  former  sank  soon  after.  The  family,  however,  were 
all  rescued  the  last  minute  before  she  went  down,  losing  all  they  had 
but  their  night-clothes.  Coming  to  a  new  country  in  his  youth,  he 
was  deprived  of  the  advantages  of  education,  but  a  determined  will 
overcomes  obstacles  of  every  kind,  and  he  acquired  a  fair  education. 
September  21,  1861,  he  volunteered  his  services  to  his  country,  and 
became  a  member  of  Co.  K,  4th  111.  Cav.  He  was  engaged  in  the 
battles  of  Fort  Henry,  Fort  Donelson,  Shiloh,  Corinth  and  many 
others.  August  1,  1862,  he  was  appointed  fifth  sergeant,  and  honora- 
bly discharged  .November  3,  1864.  April  22,  1866,  he  married  Miss 
Josephine  Paradis,  a  native  of  Canada,  born  March  1,  1847.  In  1865 
he  bought  the  farm  on  which  he  now  lives,  and  engaged  in  farming 
and  stock-raising,  which  business  he  now  follows,  about  half  a  mile 
north  of  the  village  of  Papineau.  The  farm  comprises  160  acres  of  land, 
all  earned  by  his  own  industry  and  hard  labor.  He  has  five  children, 
as  follows :  Ida,  Anna,  Cora,  Georgiana  and  Adalore. 

Andreas  Streigel,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Papineau,  son  of  Sebas- 
tian Streigel,  was  born  in  Baden,  Germany,  October  20.  1828,  remain- 
ing at  home  with  his  parents  and  learning  the  trade  of  cabinet-maker 
till  twenty  years  of  age.  He  was  then  drafted  to  serve  three  years  in 
the  army,  which  he  did  with  credit.  June  20,  1853,  he  married  Miss 
Kathrena  Billharz,  who  is  a  native  of  Baden,  Germany.  In  the  winter 
of  1854  he  left  his  native  country  and  sailed  for  America,  and  landed 
in  New  York  April  24,  1854.  He  worked  one  year  at  his  trade  in 
Boston  and  Carnbridgeport.  In  April,  1855,  he  came  to  Illinois, 
bought  a  farm  in  Kankakee  county  and  engaged  in  fanning,  in  which 
business  he  continued  till  August  5,  1862,  when  his  adopted  country 
needed  his  services,  and  he  volunteered  and  became  a  member  of  Co. 
F,  76th  111.  Inf.  He  served  his  adopted  country  faithfully,  as  he  did 
that  of  his  nativity,  three  years,  and  was  honorably  discharged,  July 
22,  1865.  He  lived  in  Kankakee  city  till  April,  1867,  when  he  came 
to  Papineau,  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  and  bought  the  farm  on  which 
he  made  his  present  home.  He  immediately  engaged  in  farming  and 
stock-raising,  in  which  business  he  is  still  successfully  employed.  He 


PAPINEAU   TOWNSHIP.  545 

has  six  children  living :  Frances,  Kate,  Albert,  George  A.,  Edward, 
and  one  infant. 

L.  W.  Critser,  M.D.,  physician,  Papineau,  was  born  January  13, 
1827,  in  Bartholomew  county,  Indiana.  With  his  parents  he  soon 
after  removed  to  Warren  county,  Indiana,  and  there  attended  school 
till  the  age  of  twenty,  when  he  went  to  Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana, 
and  engaged  in  school-teaching  three  years.  He  then  attended  the 
High  School  at  Greencastle  one  term,  and  again  engaged  in  teaching 
till  February  3,  1853.  He  married  Miss  Rebecca  Parker,  who  was  born 
January  13,  1835.  He  then  went  into  mercantile  business  till  1862. 
He  then  began  the  study  and  practice  of  medicine  under  Dr.  Ogborn, 
till  1868,  when  he  removed  to  Iroquois,  Illinois,  where  he  is  still 
engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession.  He  graduated  in  1878  at 
the  Eclectic  Medical  Institute,  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  in  the  same 
year  was  elected  coroner  of  Iroquois  county,  which  position  he  now 
fills.  He  has  three  children  living :  Hattie  A.,  Katie  I.  and  William  L. 

William  T.  Hiser,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Papineau,  was  born  in 
Warren  county,  Indiana,  January  13,  1844.  He  lived  with  his  mother 
till  the  age  of  fourteen,  when  he  came  to  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  and 
lived  with  his  uncle,  engaged  in  farming  and  going  to  school.  In  July, 
1869,  he  bought  a  farm  in  Papineau  township,  on  which  he  now  lives 
actively  engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising.  January  9,  1870,  he 
married  Miss  Sarah  E.,  daughter  of  Mr.  John  Dugan,  who  was  born 
in  Ohio  in  1847.  They  have  four  children  :  Nellie,  Frank,  Eva  Maud 
and  Eva  May.  He  owns  358  acres  of  land  all  in  one  farm,  and  has  it 
well  stocked  and  improved.  His  careful  and  close  attention  to  busi- 
ness secures  him  remarkable  success.  He  takes  no  interest  in  politics, 
neither  has  he  ever  been  known  to  waste  time  or  money  in  anything 
intemperate. 

Alexander  P.  Shipley,  farmer  and  gardener,  Papineau,  was  born 
January  28,  1826,  in  White  county,  Illinois.  He  lived  there  till 
seventeen  years  old,  when  he  removed  to  Washington  county,  Illinois, 
and  there  engaged  in  mercantile  business,  and  so  continued  till  1860. 
He  then  engaged  in  milling  in  a  steam  flourlng-mill,  in  Richview,  in 
the  same  county,  till  1865.  He  then  went  to  Cairo,  Illinois,  where  he 
remained  till  1870,  when  he  came  to  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  and 
settled  in  Papineau  township,  and  engaged  in  farming  arid  gardening, 
which  business  he  still  follows.  He  is  justice  of  the  peace  and  com- 
missioner of  highways.  In  1849  he  married  Miss  Mary  A.  Bingham, 
who  died  March  12,  1864.  He  was  again  married  October  28,  1866, 
to  Mrs.  Martha  Phillips.  His  children  are:  Georgiana  H.,  Eliza  and 
Bell,  by  his  first  wife;  and  Adelbert  and  Abba  by  his  present  wife. 


546  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

Narcisse  Gaudreau,  farmer,  St.  Anne,  Kankakee  county,  is  a  native 
of  St.  George,  Canada,  and  a  son  of  Fabien  Gaudreau.  He  was  born 
May  22,  1841.  At  the  age  of  six  years  he  with  his  parents  came  to 
Illinois,  and  settled  at  Aurora,  Illinois,  but  four  years  later  came  to 
Iroquois  county,  and  permanently  located  in  Papineau  township  and 
engaged  in  farming.  November  17, 1863,  he  married  Miss  Mary  Tatro, 
a  native  of  Canada.  In  July,  1872,  he  bought  the  farm  of  160  acres 
on  which  he  now  lives,  and  is  engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising. 
He  has  made  all  his  property  by  industry  and  close  attention  to  busi- 
ness. He  has  six  children  :  Ismeal  N.,  Henry  W.,  Samuel,  Henry, 
John  and  Frank.  He  is  a  quiet,  unassuming  citizen  and  neighbor. 
He  has  filled  the  office  of  township  clerk  for  three  years,  and  school 
director  many  years. 

Samuel  H.  Byrns.  lawyer,  Papineau,  a  son  of  James  Byrns,  one 
of  the  early  pioneers  of  this  county,  was  born  October  4, 1846,  in  Kan- 
kakee county,  Illinois.  His  youth  was  spent  at  home  farming  and 
stock-raising  and  attending  school.  At  the  age  of  twenty  he  went  to 
study  law  at  the  law  school  of  Ann  Arbor  University  one  term,  and 
then  went  to  Chicago  Law  School,  where  he  finished  his  course,  and 
engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  that  city.  In  1875  he 
returned  to  his  old  home,  and  for  awhile  engaged  in  farming.  In  the 
autumn  of  1877  he  located  in  the  village  of  Papinean,  and  engaged  in 
school-teaching,  in  which  profession  he  is  still  employed.  In  April, 
1872,  he  married  Miss  Lena  Wadley,  daughter  of  Mr.  Case  Wadley, 
the  oldest  settler  in  this  part  of  the  state,  coming  here  in  1826.  He 
has  one  child,  Walter  Herbert. 

Henry  Jones,  the  first  settler  in  Papineau  township,  was  born -in 
Meigs  county,  Ohio,  January  17,  1811,  and  died  May  24,  1859.  On 
March  23,  1835,  with  his  wife  (Sarah  Hester),  and  their  infant  son, 
(William  S.),  Seth  and  Hepsabah  (his  parents),  two  brothers,  three 
unmarried  sisters,  Jephtha  Hayrnan  (a  son-in-law  of  Seth  Jones), 
Ophania  (his  wife),  and  two  children,  Hamilton  Jefferson,  his  wife  and 
ten  children,  twenty-six  in  all,  he  embarked  at  Graham's  station,  near 
his  home.  They  floated1  down  the  Ohio,  and  forced  their  boat  up  the 
Wabash  to  Tillotson's  ferry,  where  they  arrived  May  8.  On  the  10th 
they  reached  Georgetown,  Vermilion  county,  Illinois.  The  next  sea- 
son Henry  Jones  and  his  father,  with  Jefferson,  made  a  trip  to  Spring 
creek  and  the  Iroquois  river.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  located  on 
fractional  N.E.  £  of  Sec.  34,  T.  29,  R.  13  W.,  and  his  father  a  short 
distance  from  him.  In  1837  they  moved  their  families  to  the  cabins  pre- 
pared for  them.  His  first  wife,  Sarah,  to  whom  he  was  married  Feb- 
ruary 7,  1833,  was  born  June  10,  1811,  and  died  February  6,  1853. 


ONARGA    TOWNSHIP.  547 

Their  children  were:  William  S.,  Philip,  Harriet  and  Sarah  E.  On 
January  6,  1854,  Mr.  Jones  married  Maria  Sammons,  who  was  born  in 
Montgomery  county,  New  York,  February  10,  1833,  arid  emigrated 
with  her  parents,  Thomas  and  Sarah,  who  settled  at  Sammon's  point, 
near  the  Joneses.  Henry  C.  was  his  youngest  son.  By  his  industry 
and  good  management  Henry  Jones  accumulated  a  large  property,  con- 
sisting of  over  500  acres  of  valuable  land,  and  left  a  good  farm  for  each 
of  his  sons.  Being  a  man  of  uncommon  energy  and  thrift,  his  neigh- 
bors consulted  him  on  all  occasions  of  importance.  At  an  early  date 
he  commenced  keeping  medicines,  and  for  years  the  sick  of  the  neigh- 
borhood thanked  him  for  relief.  He  made  boots  and  shoes  for  his 
family  and  many  others,  working  on  the  bench  at  night.  In  fact,  he 
was  a  kind  of  universal  genius.  He  never  learned  a  trade,  but  like 
his  father  could  make  anything,  from  a  spinning-wheel  to  a  house. 
His  own  buildings  were  evidences  of  his  skill.  In  1847  he  hauled 
lumber  from  Chicago  and  built  a  large  barn,  doing  all  the  framing 
himself.  He  was  a  man  greatly  respected  and  honored  by  all  who 
knew  him. 

Henry  C.  Jones,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Papineau,  is  a  son  of 
Henry  Jones  (one  of  the  pioneers  of  this  county),  and  was  born  Decem- 
ber 25,  1856,  in  Papineau  township,  in  this  county.  When  he  Mras 
about  three  years  old  his  father  died,  and  he  was  left  to  the  care  of 
his  affectionate  mother,  who  also  died  when  he  was  about  eighteen 
years  of  age.  She  was  a  daughter  of  Thomas  Sammons  (deceased), 
who  came  to  this  county  in  1836  or  1837,  when  she  was  three  or  four 
years  old.  His  early  youth  was  spent  with  his  mother  in  the  old  home, 
engaged  in  farming  and  attending  school  until  the  death  of  his  mother. 
He  then  went  to  Kenosha,  Wisconsin,  and  attended  high  school  about 
two  years,  when  he  returned  to  his  old  home  and  engaged  in  farming 
and  stock-raising,  in  which  business  he  is  now  actively  employed.  He 
now  owns,  besides  his  stock,  150  acres  of  valuable  land,  and  is  a  sharp, 
energetic  young  man. 

ONARGA  TOWNSHIP. 

BY   M.    H.    MESSER,    ESQ. 

In  the  original  division  of  the  county  into  political  townships  Onarga 
embraced  all  of  town  26  north,  of  ranges  10  and  11  east  and  14  west  of 
the  2d  principal  meridian,  and  four  tiers  of  sections  in  town  27  through 
the  same  ranges,  making  a  territory  twelve  and  three-quarter  miles  east 
and  west,  by  ten  miles  north  and  south.  In  1861  two  tiers  of  sections 
of  T.  25,  R.  10  E.,  Sees.  1  and  12  ;  R.  11  E.,  and  Sees.  3  to  10  inclusive 


548       .  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

in  same  town.  Ranges  14  west  were  taken  from  Loda  and  added  to 
Onarga,  and  the  north  boundary  was  changed  to  the  line  five  and  a 
half  miles  further  south,  commencing  at  the  quarter  corner  on  the  west 
boundary  of  Sec.  12,  T.  26,  R.  10  E.,  and  running  east  to  the  corre- 
sponding corner  on  the  east  boundary  of  Sec.  12,  T.  26  W.,  R.  14  W. 
In  1864  the  south  boundary  was  changed  to  the  half  section  line, 
through  the  first  tier  of  sections  in  T.  25  N.,  ranges  10  and  11  E.  and 
14  W.  Another  change  was  made  January,  18T9,  when  the  town  of 
Ridgeland  was  organized  from  territory  in  the  west  part  of  it,  leaving 
the  boundary  as  follows :  Commencing  at  the  quarter  section  corner 
between  Sees.  11  and  12,  T.  26  K,  of  R.  10  E.,  thence  east  on  the  half 
section  line  to  the  quarter  corner  on  the  east  boundary  of  Sec.  12,  T. 
26  K,  of  R.  14  W.,  thence  south  to  the  southeast  corner  of  T.  26,  R. 
14  W.,  thence  west  two  miles,  thence  south  to  the  quarter  corner  be- 
tween Sees.  2  and  3,  T  25  N.,  of  R.  14  W.,  thence  west  on  the  half 
section  line  to  the  center  of  Sec.  2,  T.  25  N.,  of  R.  10  E.,  thence  north 
on  the  half  section  line  to  the  center  of  Sec.  35,  T.  26  N.,  of  R.  10  E., 
thence  east  to  the  section  line,  thence  north  to  the  place  of  beginning. 
The  records  of  the  September  meeting  of  the  board  of  supervisors, 
1879,  show  the  west  line  was  straightened  so  as  to  run  on  the  half  sec- 
tion line  from  the  center  of  Sec.  11,  T.  26  N.,  of  R.  10  E.,  south  to  the 
center  of  Sec.  2,  T.  25  N.,  of  R.  10  E.  The  legality  of  this  last  change 
is  questioned. 

Spring  creek  enters  the  town  by  three  branches  in  the  southwest 
part,  and  leaves  it  near  the  northeast  corner.  Shave  Tail  from  the 
south  unites  with  it  in  the  east  part  of  the  town.  When  the  first 
settlers  came  there  was  a  fine  body  of  timber  along  the  stream.  The 
land  is  of  good  quality ;  that  portion  east  of  the  creek  is  not  surpassed 
in  the  county,  while  that  on  the  west  side  is  a  little  lighter,  a  sand 
ridge  extending  through  its  entire  north  part. 

Long  before  the  white  man  traversed  the  wilds  of  Grand  Prairie, 
the  Indians  hunted  the  deer,  the  elk  and  buffalo  on  its  grassy  plains, 
fished  in  the  streams  flowing  through  it,  and  had  their  camps  and  vil- 
lages on  their  banks.  Their  trails  leading  from  point  to  point  on  the 
streams,  and  from  grove  to  grove,  were  common  and  well  defined. 
The  one  from  the  mouth  of  Sugar  creek  to  Kickapoo  (Oliver's) "Grove, 
crossed  the  creek  in  section  12,  then  along  the  north  side  of  the  timber 
over  the  site  of  D.  K.  Thomas'  dwelling  to  the  round  grove,  thence 
near  the  northwest  corner  of  S.  H.  Harper's  farm,  then  south  of  the 
beaver  swamp  to  the  highest  ridge  in  the  village  of  Onarga,  thence  west 
on  the  highest  land  to  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  19,  where  it 
left  the  county  and  continued  to  the  grove.  G.  S.  Hubbard  was  over 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


ONAKGA    TOWNSHIP.  549 

this  route  as  early  as  1822,  and  he  says  at  that  time  it  was  nearly 
abandoned  by  the  Indians.  Save  the  United  States  surveyors,  who  were 
here  May  15  of  that  year,  Hubbard  is  the  first  white  man  known  to  have 
been  in  this  town.  The  Indian  camping  grounds  were  designated  by 
the  remains  of  their  wigwams  and  the  bluegrass  growing  at  the  places. 
There  were  several  of  them.  The  lone  tree  in  Sec.  28,  T.  26,  E.  10  E. 
was  a  great  resort  in  certain  seasons;  the  numerous  springs  near  by 
made  that  neighborhood  a  place  for  deer  and  elk  to  come  for  water. 
Here  at  an  early  day  there  were  several  acres  well  set  in  bluegrass,  and 
July  4,  1839,  Samuel  Harper  and  T.  M.  Pangborn,  with  their  sickles, 
cut  several  bundles  of  it  for  the  seed.  At  Del  Hey  was  a  sugar  camp 
used  by  them  in  1834,  and  several  wigwams  were  there  in  good  condi- 
tion when  the  first  settlers  came  on  the  creek ;  west  of  the  Pierce  farm 
were  camp-poles  and  wigwam  bark.  The  Pangborn  grave-yard  is  on 
the  other  of  them.  About  a  quarter  of  a  mile  east  of  this  was  one  of 
similar  character,  camp-poles  and  holes  in  the  ground  being  at  the 
latter  place,  a  few  rods  northeast  of  the  east  end  of  Pangborn  bridge  ; 
at  round  grove,  and  on  the  creek  bluff,  southeast  of  the  latter,  all  three 
on  section  16,  and  another,  the  last,  on  the  east  bank  at  the  crossing  on 
section  12.  On  the  sand  ridge  where  the  trail  passed  over  blocks  19 
and  20,  of  the  village  of  Onarga,  was  the  only  camping  ground  out  of 
the  timber.  At  this  place  numerous  poles  for  wigwams,  quantities  of 
bones,  both  of  animals  and  fish,  and  parts  of  brass  kettles  were  found  ;  and 
three  years  since  a  stone  spear  head,  seven  inches  long,  was  found  two 
feet  below  the  surface,  in  front  of  M.  H.  Messer's  dwelling.  A  silver 
bracelet  was  found  by  Daniel  Wiswell  near  the  basin,  and  M.  H.  Messer 
found  a  part  of  a  pistol  on  his  lot.  In  June,  1834,  the  last  band  of 
Indians,  thirty  or  forty  in  number,  were  on  Spring  creek ;  they  were 
seen  by  Amos  and  Miller  to  cross  near  W.  A.  Boswell's  and  go  toward 
Kickapoo  Grove. 

The  Butterfield  trail,  the  second  great  thoroughfare  through  the 
county,  over  which  all  the  early  settlers  on  Upper  Spring  creek  caine, 
crossed  at  the  gap  on  Sec.  13,  T.  25,  N.  of  R.  10  E.,  turned  abruptly 
north,  toward  Philip  Reed's  dwelling,  then  straight  to  the  west  side  of 
the  big  bog  at  John  Lehigh's,  along  its  west  border,  where  the  road 
now  is,  crossed  one  branch  of  the  creek  at  H.  Lyons',  the  other  near 
Boswell's  house,  then  to  the  point  of  timber  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
further  north,  then  northeast  on  the  north  part  of  B.  F.  Lindsey's 
farm  to  E.  Doolittle's  south  dwelling,  to  S.  H.  Harper's,  (the  road  past 
his  house  is  the  old  trail)  then  through  C.  S.  Pangborn's  farm,  and  to 
the  big  slough  about  a  mile  west  of  the  creek,  on  the  Toledo,  Peoria  & 
Warsaw  railroad,  then  to  a  point  a  half  mile  east  of  the  Barden  Farm, 
34 


550  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

in  Sec.  24,  T.  27,  R.  14  W.,  where  it  turned  north.  Ben  Butterfield 
looked  out  this  route  from  Lockport  to  Danville  in  April,  1831,  on  his 
way  from  the  former  to  the  latter  place.  (See  description  of  this  trail  in 
county  history.)  Prior  to  Butterfield  making  this  trail,  and  as  early 
as  1829,  Enoch  Yan  Vickie,  of  Vermilion  county,  came  to  this  neigh- 
borhood hunting  bees;  the  early  settlers  of  that  county  often  came  for 
that  purpose.  Samuel  Copeland,  of  Blount  township,  same  county, 
informed  E.  S.  Ricker,  in  1879,  that  Solomon  Kooder  was  on  Spring 
creek  in  the  fall  of  1832,  hunting  bees,  and  discovered  a  vast  quantity 
of  them,  most  all  through  the  timber;  the  ground  was  covered  with 
acorns,  and  wild  artichokes  grew  in  great  abundance  along  the  skirt  of 
the  prairie.  Kooder  reported  the  fact  to  his  neighbors.  Samuel  Cope- 
land,  Evart  Van  Vickie,  his  two  sons,  Enoch  and  Benjamin,  David 
Reeiz,  William  Rees,  William  Wright  and  Lewis  Swisher,  immedi- 
ately drove  300  hogs  to  this  creek  to  fatten.  Copeland,  Van  Vickie 
and  his  son  Benjamin  rode  the  whole  length  of  the  creek,  crossed  at  its 
mouth,  and  back  to  their  camp  on  the  other  side,  and  saw  no  hogs  or 
any  signs  of  them.  Some  of  the  owners  came  frequently  to  look  after 
their  property,  and  when  fattened,  they  drove  them  away.  There 
were  a  few  left,  and  for  the  three  succeeding  years  the  same  men 
hunted  their  winter  pork  in  this  timber.  At  this  time,  the  fall  of 
1835,  they  sold  their  interest  in  the  hogs  on  Spring  creek  to  Lindsey 
and  Lehigh,  and  after  this  they  were  common  property  for  all  the  set- 
tlers. In  1826  Hubbard  brought  hogs  to  his  farm  at  Bunkum ;  some  of 
them  soon  became  wild  and  stocked  the  timber  along  the  streams,  and 
doubtless  they  strayed  to  Spring  creek.  As  early  as  1829  wild  hogs 
were  found  near  Pigeon  Grove. 

The  first  settler  in  the  present  limits  of  the  town,  or  anywhere 
along  the  creek,  was  Jesse  Amos.  He  had  been  living  on  Sugar  creek 
for  a  year  or  two,  and  in  1833  was  with  the  Indians  a  part  of  the  sum- 
mer and  fall,  near  the  present  town  of  Del  Rey.  Early  in  the  spring 
of  1834  he  moved  his  family,  consisting  of  his  wife  and  three  children, 
and  made  a  claim  on  the  S.W.  J  of  Sec.  36,  T.  26  N.  of  R.  10  E.  Their 
first  habitation  was  made  by  the  Indians.  It  consisted  of  poles  and 
bark ;  was  about  ten  feet  long  and  eight  wide,  closed  at  the  sides  and 
west  end  ;  the  east  end  was  open,  and  faced  a  large  burr-oak  log,  against 
which  Mrs.  Amos  built  the  fire  and  did  the  cooking.  Tom  Lindsey 
and  John  Miller  pointed  out  to  the  writer  this  log,  on  the  24th  of  March,. 
1880.  The  limits  of  the  wigwam  can  now  be  traced  ;  there  is  a  small 
ditch  at  the  western  end,  leading  south,  to  carry  water  away.  About 
eight  rods  west  of  this  log  was  their  well — it  can  be  readily  recognized. 
That  fall  he  sowed  about  one  acre  of  rye  in  this  natural  clearing,  and 


ONARGA   TOWNSHIP.  551 

for  many  years  it  was  known  as  the  rye-field,  or  patch.  In  the  latter 
part  of  the  season  he  erected  a  cabin  farther  west,  and  near  the  edge  of 
the  timber  where  the  old  frame  house,  built  by  James  M.  Smith,  now 
stands.  It  was  built  of  small  logs,  such  as  could  be  readily  handled 
without  calling  on  his  neighbors,  who  were  twenty  miles  away.  This 
claim  he  sold  to  James  Smith,  in  the  fall  of  1834,  for  $300,  and  built 
a  cabin  on  the  south  bank  of  Amos  creek,  at  its  junction  with  the  south 
branch  of  Spring  creek,  where  he  made  a  second  claim.  In  a  year  or 
two  he  made  another  dwelling  southwest  of  the  second,  where  "William 
Hollingsworth's  young  orchard  is.  At  his  new  home  he  had  a  hand- 
mill  for  grinding  corn  ;  the  burrs  were  procured  of  William  Pickerel].. 
This  mill  he  had  as  early  as  1836,  and  probably  in  1835.  A  few  years- 
later  he  procured  a  pair  of  burrs  much  larger  than  the  first.  These 
were  arranged  to  be  run  by  horse-power,  and  are  now  in  the  possession 
of  John  Miller ;  they  are  twenty-three  and  a  half  inches  across.  Set- 
tlers came  to  this  mill  to  grind  corn,  when  prevented  going  to  water- 
mills  from  thirty  to  sixty  miles  distant.  Mr.  Amos'  family  consisted 
of  Rachel,  his  wife;  Betsey,  who  married  Moses  Lacy  (this  was  the 
second  wedding  on  Spring  creek),  and  lived  on  the  bank  of  the  creek 
where  plastering  sand  is  now  obtained.  It  was  east  of  Amos'  last 
dwelling.  Rebekah,  the  second  daughter,  married  Blanchard  Free- 
man. She  died  at  John  Miller's,  at  twenty-two  years  of  age.  Wilson, 
the  only  son,  died  June  12,  1847,  aged  twenty  years.  Spico  was  born 
at  their  last  home  and  went  with  her  parents  when  they  moved  to 
Cedar  Rapids,  Iowa,  in  the  fall  of  1848.  Lacy  had  moved  to  that  place 
before  1840. 

The  second  settler,  John  Miller,  was  born  in  West  Virginia,  Feb- 
ruary 12,  1801.  He  married  Peggy  Stewart,  November  2,  1826,  in 
Bath  county,  same  state,  and  on  April  7,  1831,  arrived  with  his  family 
in  Covington,  Indiana,  where  they  stopped  till  the  spring  of  1834.  In 
May  of  that  year  they  started  for  Fox  river,  and  arrived  at  Amos'  on 
the  17th.  Amos  had  preceded  him  about  a  month.  Liking  the  loca- 
tion, Miller  made  a  claim  of  his  present  farm,  and  at  once  built  a  shelter 
about  fourteen  feet  square,  of  thin  puncheons  split  from  lynn  and 
walnut,  fastened  to  poles.  This  shelter  was  open  on  one  side,  but  in 
it  they  lived  two  seasons,  returning,  however,  to  Covington  the  first 
winter  on  account  of  sickness  in  the  fall.  The  first  spring  he  broke 
about  five  and  the  second  about  twenty  acres,  and  the  latter  year  raised 
a  good  crop.  Miller  came  with  four  good  horses,  and  the  second  time 
he  brought  from  Covington  three  cows.  George  Kirkpatrick  helped 
drive  them  through.  In  the  fall  of  1835  he  moved  into  a  comfortable 
log  cabin  (destroyed  by  fire  February  13,  1868),  converting  the  first 


552  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

shelter  into  a  stable.  Kirkpatrick  left  with  Philip  Procus  for  Milwau- 
kee early  in  the  fall,  and  returned  to  the  Wabash  next  winter.  George 
Procus  worked  for  Miller  and  Lehigh  the  same  season.  On  Miller's 
land  there  was  a  wigwam  in  good  condition  ;  his  horses  fled  to  it  for 
shelter  from  the  green-head  flies.  Near  it  was  an  oak  log  under  the 
side  of  which  the  Indians  had  hid  their  brass  kettles.  Amos  bought 
and  took  them  away.  Miller  paid  him  $1.50  for  one.  By  trade  he 
was  a  wagon-maker,  and  did  repairing  for  himself  and  neighbors.  His 
family  at  that  time  consisted  of  his  wife,  who  died  February  5,  1840, 
and  four  children.  Miller  is  hale  and  hearty,  and  lives  with  his  third 
wife.  Frontier  life  suits  him. 

Ira  Lindsey,  Jonas  Smith  (James,  his  son),  and  J.  B.  Grice,  left 
West  Virginia,  September  10,  1834,  and  by  wagons  arrived  at  Perrys- 
ville,  Indiana,  in  fifteen  days,  where  Lindsey's  family  stopped  with 
Abram  Lehigh,  an  old  acquaintance,  and  Smith's  went  to  Grand  View 
to  Jonathan  "Wright's.  The  men  made  an  extensive  trip  into  Illinois 
to  select  land.  Lehigh  had  left  the  same  place  in  Virginia  a  few  years 
before,  and  concluding  to  emigrate  with  his  friends,  he  accompanied 
them  in  search  of  a  new  home.  They  traveled  over  much  of  the 
north  part  of  the  state,  and  not  finding  places  to  suit  them  turned 
toward  their  families,  and  following  the  Butterfield  trail  in  that  direc- 
tion, brought  the"m  to  Amos' ;  liking  the  place  as  it  then  appeared  in 
its  natural  state,  and  finding  the  timber  better  than  elsewhere,  they 
concluded  to  stop.  Lindsey  made  his  claim  on  the  S.E.  ^  of  Sec.  36, 
T.  26,  R.  10  E.,  where  B.  Frank  Lindsey  and  his  mother  now  live. 
James  Smith  bought  the  claim  made  by  Amos,  and  Lehigh  made  a 
claim  to  lots  5  and  6.  N.E.  £  Sec.  1,  T.  25,  R.  10.  Jonas  Smith,  an 
old  man  .sixty-six  years  of  age,  lived  with  his  son  ;  J.  B.  Grice  was  a 
single  man,  and  neither  of  them  took  land.  Lindsey  and  Lehigh  at 
once  built  cabins  for  their  families,  and  the  Smiths  went  on  to  Grand 
View.  Lindsey  by  mistake  built  his  cabin  on  Smith's  claim  ;  it  stood 
a  few  rods  southwest  of  the  brick  house  which  he  built  in  1843. 
Lehigh  located  his  on  the  bluff  south  of  the  passenger  house  at  Del 
Rey.  Grice  helped  build  both  cabins.  These  preparations  being  made 
they  returned  for  their  families,  and  November  4, 1834,  Lindsey  moved 
into  his  new  home.  Smith  reached  his  a  few  days  sooner,  and  in 
March,  1835,  Lehigh,  with  his  son  William  G.,  Mary  and  Alvira,  and 
a  hired  man  (Merideth  Print),  with  an  ox-team  moved  from  Perrysville 
to  the  new  home.  As  soon  as  the  children  were  well  settled  Mr. 
Lehigh  returned  for  his  wife  and  the  other  children.  Mrs.  Mary  Har- 
per says  it  was  a  long  and  anxious  seven  weeks  before  father,  mother, 
and  the  smaller  children  arrived.  In  the  meantime  the  young  folks 


ONARGA   TOWNSHIP.  553 

had  made  about  a  half-barrel  of  maple  sugar.  Lehigh  had  secured  his 
timber  land  and  at  once  made  another  claim  on  lots  4  and  5,  N.E.  ^  of 
Sec.  2,  and  moved  into  a  new  cabin,  where  H.  Lyons  now  lives.  The 
next  winter  Mr.  Lehigh  went  to  Indiana  to  work  at  teaming,  and  in 
April,  1836,  word  came  to  his  wife  that  he  was  dangerously  sick.  She, 
on  horseback,  with  Frederick  A.,  about  six  months  old,  (the  first 
white  child  born  on  Spring  creek,  August  14,  1835,)  in  her  arms,  and 
her  son  William,  made  the  trip  (sixty-three  miles)  in  a  day  and  a 
half.  Her  husband  was  speechless  and  died  in  an  hour  after  her 
arrival.  Mrs.  Lehigh  always  thought  he  recognized  her.  Thus  early 
in  the  efforts  to  secure  a  home  was  she  left  a  widow,  with  a  family  of 
eight  children.  A  neighbor  woman  said  of  her:  "She  did  nobly; 
her  judgment  and  management  are  seldom  surpassed."  The  farm  was 
paid  for  and  the  family  kept  together,  and  received  all  the  advantages 
a  new  country  affords.  She  died  March  28,  1860,  at  fifty-eight  years 
of  age. 

Jonas  Smith  was  a  well  educated  man  and  a  most  excellent  surveyor; 
he  had  been  employed  on  some  of  the  United  States  land  surveys  in 
Arkansas,  and  was  the  first  county  surveyor,  and  held  the  office  till 
1839.  He  died  March  22,  1843,  at  seventy-five  years  of  age. 

James  Smith  was  a  genial,  whole-souled  gentleman,  full  of  energy, 
and  did  all  he  could  to  develop  the  country ;  he  had  a  clearer  and  a 
more  comprehensive  view  of  its  future  than  any  other  man  in  the 
county.  He  died  September  24,  1839,  thirty-two  years  old.  At  his 
house  was  held  the  first  election  in  Spring  creek  precinct  in  the  fall  of 
1835.  The  judges  appointed  by  the  county  court  were  Levi  Thompson, 
Ira  Lindsey  and  John  Johnson.  The  precinct  was  bounded  as  follows: 
Commencing  at  the  mouth  of  Beaver  creek,  then  west  to  tbe  county 
line,  south  to  southwest  corner  of  the  county,  then  east  to  the  west 
boundary  of  Sugar  creek  precinct  (about  on  the  line  between  ranges  13 
and  14),  then  north  to  the  northwest  corner  of  Sugar  creek  precinct, 
east  to  line  between  ranges  12  and  13  west,  north  to  Beaver  creek  and 
down  it  to  its  mouth.  Smith  was  road  supervisor  for  this  whole 
territory,  and  one  of  the  petit  jurors  for  that  year.  The  last  of  this 
family  has  passed  away  and  not  one  of  their  descendants  remains. 

Ira  Lindsey  had  considerable  means,  and  entered  a  number  of  choice 
tracts  of  timber  which  he  sold  to  those  who  came  in  after  years.  In 
1843  he  built  a  brick  house,  now  the  residence  of  Mrs.  Boyd ;  also  a 
large  frame  barn.  The  pine  lumber  in  both  was  purchased  in  Chicago 
and  delivered  at  his  farm  at  a  cost  of  $10  per  thousand.  The  bricks 
were  made  close  at  hand  by  Lorenzo  Dow  Northrup,  at  a  cost  of  $4 
per  thousand,  and  were  laid  by  Joseph  B.  Dean  ;  Seneca  Amsbary  and 


554  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

his  father  (Hamlet)  did  the  carpenter  work  on  both  buildings.  This  was 
the  first  house,  other  than  log  cabins  on  the  creek,  and  the  bricks  were 
from  the  second  kiln  made  here.  He  was  justice  of  the  peace,  and 
officiated  at  the  wedding  of  R.  B.  Pangborn  and  Margaret  Harper. 
This  was  his  first  effort  in  that  direction,  and  he  was  more  frightened 
than  they.  After  this  he  was  often  called  upon  for  similar  official  acts. 
He  was  the  first  grand  juror  from  this  precinct;  in  May,  1836,  he  paid 
$9  into  the  county  treasury,  fines  he  had  collected.  He  was  one  of 
the  jury  that  tried  Joseph  Thornason  for  murder,  and  hung  the  jury 
three  days,  the  evidence  being  circumstantial.  He  was  one  of  the 
leading  men  in  the  settlement. 

James  Martin,  an  Irishman,  was  a  character  that  must  not  be  over- 
looked. Martin  drove  a  team  from  Virginia  for  Lindsey,  worked  for 
him  for  two  years,  then  for  Ayers  till  about  1846,  when  he  married 
Hannah  Gillitte,  a  widow.  This  man  was  one  of  "  the  four  or  five 
men  "  who  rowed  the  boat  that  took  Commodore  Perry  from  his  sinking 
flag-ship  Lawrence  to  the  Niagara,  at  the  battle  of  Lake  Erie.  He  died 
about  1848,  and  was  buried  in  the  Lehigh  grave-yard.  No  monument 
marks  this  hero's  grave. 

Jonathan  Wright  came  in  the  fall  of  1835.  His  family,  Rachel  his 
wife,  and  Charlotte,  who  married  John  Paul,  of  Sugar  Creek,  Louisa, 
Nancy,  Noah,  Joseph  and  Benjamin  stopped  with  his  son-in-law.  Smith, 
that  winter,  and  the  next  year  opened  the  farm  where  Philip  Reed 
lives.  The  first  wedding  on  Spring  creek  was  that  of  Louisa  Wright 
with  Jacob  A.  Whiternan,  of  Bunkum,  in  the  summer  of  1836.  After 
her  death  he  married  Nancy. 

In  the  spring  of  1835  Col.  James  Frame,  his  wife  (Mary),  three  sons 
and  three  daughters;  George  Whitfield  Rounsaville,  his  wife  (Mary),  a 
daughter  of  Frame,  came  from  Indiana,  and  built  their  cabin  near  the 
center  of  the  east  half  of  N.  W.  £,  S.  16,  T.  26,  R.  14  W.  They  brought 
a  hand-mill,  which  was  much  used  by  the  neighbors  for  grinding  corn  ;  it 
was  the  second  mill  on  the  creek.  In  1836  Rounsaville  moved  to  Plato 
and  kept  a  boarding  house  when  the  steam  mill  was  being  built ;  they 
soon  returned  and  commenced  a  farm,  near  Frame's,  on  the  same  section. 
Rounsaville  died  in  1857 ;  one  son  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  and 
the  widow  soon  after  the  war  moved  to  Kansas.  Thomas  Frame,  one 
of  the  three  sons,  was  in  Danville  on  December  19,  1836,  and  entered 
the  northwest  quarter  of  the  S.  W.  of  Sec.  15,  T.  26,  R.  14;  on  his  way 
home  the  next  day  was  frozen  to  death ;  he  was  buried  on  his  late  pur- 
chased land.  This  was  the  fourth  death.  James  Frame,  Jr.,  erected 
his  first  cabin  on  the  same  land  in  about  1842.  To  obtain  fire  when 
they  first  came,  Rounsaville  carried  a  tea-kettle  of  coals  from  Lindsey's, 


ONARGA   TOWNSHIP.  555 

five  miles.  Jacob  Knoyer  and  Jane  Frame  were  married  about  April 
5,  1840  ;  the  snow  was  about  a  foot  deep,  and  the  visitors  went  in  sleds. 
The  second  election  was  held  at  Col.  Frame's,  the  first  Monday  of 
August,  1836.  Levi  Thompson,  Jacob  O.  Feather  and  the  Colonel 
were  appointed  judges  by  the  court ;  two  of  them  being  absent,  Ira 
Lindsey  and  Hamilton  Jefferson  filled  their  places.  James  Smith  and 
Jonathan  Wright  were  the  clerks ;  there  were  present  and  voted  besides 
these  :  John  Miller,  Jesse  Amos,  Joseph  Wright  and  Jedediah  Darby. 
Jonas  Smith,  Thompson  and  Feather  were  the  other  three  voters  in  the 
precinct. 

James  McKuhn,  a  native  of  Kentucky,  came  to  Miller's  in  the  fall 
of  1836,  and  died  in  about  two  months;  this  was  the  third  death. 
William  Whiteman  settled  on  the  Hull  Farm  in  1836,  remained  there 
about  two  years,  when  he  sold  to  George  L.  Conn.  Whiteman  went 
back  to  the  Wabash,  and  in  a  few  years  to  California. 

In  the  early  part  of  May,  1836,  Thomas  M.  Pangborn,  Caleb  Jew- 
ett  and  Oliver  Miller  came  from  Ohio  by  way  of  Parish's  Grove,  to 
Milford,  then  to  Levi  Thompson's,  on  their  way  to  the  Rock  river 
country  to  find  a  place  to  settle.  Before  going  further  they  concluded 
to  examine  the  land  on  Spring  creek.  They  went  up  on  the  east  side, 
crossed  over  to  Frame's  and  stopped  over  night ;  the  next  day  on  the 
north  side  to  Smith's,  where  they  stopped  three  days,  during  which 
time  they  selected  land  and  went  by  the  way  of  the  Butterfield  trail 
to  Danville,  where  they  entered  their  several  lots.  T.  M.  Pangborn 
entered  220  acres,  the  present  Doolittle  Farm,  and  for  his  brother 
(Ransom)  80  acres,  his  present  farm,  and  80  acres  of  timber.  Jewett 
entered  the  Horace  Barnes  Farm,  80  acres  of  timber  and  other  lands, 
where  J.  W.  Grubbs  and  David  Risser  live,  and  a  lot  near  John 
Miller's.  Oliver  Miller  entered  the  W.  A.  Davis  Farm.  Jewett  at 
once  returned  and  built  a  cabin  on  the  north  end  of  his  timber  lot,  a 
few  rods  east  of  the  Pangborn  burying-ground.  On  October  2,  1837, 
the  Pangborns  and  Harpers  moved  into  the  Jewett  cabin  :  the  Har- 
pers had  bought  that  lot  of  Jewett. 

Ten  grown  persons,  Samuel  and  Mary  Harper,  Thomas  M.  and 
Jane  Pangborn,  Alexander  and  Diana  Harper,  Ransom  Pangborn  and 
Samuel  H.,  Margaret  and  Mary  Ann  Harper,  wintered  in  this  sixteen- 
feet-square  building.  In  December,  Johnson  T.,  infant  son  of  Thomas 
M.  and  Jane,  died  ;  he  was  one  year  old,  and  was  the  first  person  buried 
in  that  burying-ground.  The  next  spring  Thomas  built  his  cabin  a  few 
rods  from  his  child's  grave,  and  lived  there  until  1845,  when  he  erected 
a  new  house  of  hewed  logs,  on  the  Butterfield  trail.  April  10,  1856, 
it  was  destroyed  by  fire,  and  the  south  house,  on  the  same  farm,  was  at 


556 


HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 


once  erected  on  the  same  piace.  Mr.  Pangborn  was  elected  associate 
judge  in  1853,  and  served  four  years.  Ransom  B.  Pangborn  married 
Margaret  Harper,  June  24,  1838;  this  was  the  third  marriage  in  the 
settlement.  They  lived  with  Thomas  till  the  fall  of  1840,  when  he 
moved  on  his  own  land,  which  he  now  owns.  Alexander  Harper 
entered  the  E.  -|  of  the  S.E.  \  of  Sec.  19,  and  commenced  living  there 
in  1838.  His  widow,  Diana  Harper,  lives  on  the  same  farm.  He  died 
February  14,  1845.  Mary  Ann  died  March  25,  1839.  Samuel  H. 
Harper  and  his  parents  continued  to  live  in  the  Jewett  cabin  till  1839, 
when  they  moved  it  to  the  prairie,  where  he  now  resides.  Samuel  H. 
Harper  married  Mary  Lehigh,  April  16,  1839.  Father  Harper  died 


PIONEER  LOG    CABIN. 

February  23,  1846,  and  his  widow  July  9,  1852;  they  were  natives  of 
Pennsylvania.  The  two  Pangborns  and  the  latter  Harper  have  raised 
large  families  who,  with  their  parents,  occupy  respectable  positions  in  the 
community.  One  of  the  first  things  this  little  colony  did  in  the  spring 
of  1838  was  to  carefully  plant  a  parcel  of  apple  seed  they  had  brought 
from  Ohio :  from  these  seeds  came  the  first  of  their  orchards. 

On  the  return  of  Lindsey,  Lehigh  and  Grice,  from  their  prospecting 
tour  in  the  fall  of  1834,  the}'- found  Samuel  Mason  Ayers  at  Covington, 
and  when  Lindsey  returned  to  build  his  cabin  Grice  and  Ayers  accom- 
panied him.  Ayers  remained  about  a  month,  made  a  claim,  and  returned 
to  Virginia.  In  the  fall  of  1835  or  1836  he  moved  his  family,  and 
spent  the  winter  at  Lindsey's,  whose  wife  was  his  sister,  and  the  next 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


ONAKGA    TOWNSHIP.  557 

spring  moved  to  his  claim,  lot  2,  N.E.  £  of  Sec.  1,  T.  25,  E.  10.  Eliz- 
abeth, his  first  wife,  died  April  25,  1854,  and  was  buried  in  the  Lehigh 
burying-ground,  where  four  of  her  infant  children  were  also  buried. 

In  the  spring  of  1837  or  1838  a  fruit-tree  peddler  appeared  on  Upper 
Spring  creek.  Lindsey,  Wright,  the  Smiths  and  the  widow  Lehigh 
bought  out  his  entire  load  and  set  their  orchards.  Miller  not  getting 
any  of  these  trees,  went  to  the  Wabash  with  an  ox-team,  and  purchased 
enough  for  a  small  orchard.  These  were  the  first  fruit  trees  planted, 
and  some  of  them  bear  fine  apples  to  this  day,  as  the  writer  can  bear 
witness. 

Reuben  Skeels,  with  his  wife  (Sally),  four  sons  (Henry,  Orvis,  Nel- 
son and  Reed),  two  daughters  (Cyntha,  and  Almira  Root  with  her  two 
children,  Clinton  D.  and  Mary  Ann),  came  with  the  Pangburns  and 
Harpers.  Mr.  Skeels  was  through  this  county  in  June,  1836,  with 
Stephen  Tripp,  and  bought  land  of  James  Smith,  and  als<>  made  a 
claim.  Tripp  made  his  selections  and  settled  on  the  Iroquois  river, 
near  Plato.  Skeels  built  his  cabin  on  the  N.W.  I  of  Sec.  31,  T.  26, 
R.  14.  South  of  the  ditch,  near  the  northwest  corner  of  that  lot  of  land. 
This  was  his  home  for  many  years.  His  wife  died  July  16,  1838.  In 
April,  1843,  he  married  Plannah  Kyrk,  by  whom  there  were  two  sons 
(Irvin  and  Orvis),  now  living  near  the  old  home.  His  second  wife 
died  April  6,  1855,  aged  forty-eight  years,  and  he  April  22, 1864,  aged 
seventy-six  years.  Henry  Skeels  married  Sally  Roberts,  of  Ash  Grove, 
April  18,  1839;  Ira  Lindsey,  Esq.,  went. to  that  settlement  to  tie  the 
matrimonial  knot.  In  1841  Skeels  commenced  the  Pierce  farm  in  N. 
i  of  S.E.  £,  Sec.  31,  T.  26,  R.  14,  and  died  February  4,  1849.  Robert 
Skeels  and  Mrs.  David  Bullington  are  two  of  his  children.  The  same 
year  his  brother  Orvis  improved  the  Metzger  place.  He  married 
Rachel  Brock,  of  Ash  Grove,  March  26,  1840,  and  died  September  19, 
1841.  John  Kyrk  bought  the  Oliver  and  Nelson-Miller  land,  and 
moved  on  it  in  the  spring  of  1837.  His  cabin  stood  a  few  rods  from 
.  the  present  residence  of  W.  S.  Davis ;  the  artesian  spring  close  by 
determined  the  location  of  his  dwelling.  There  were  two  sons  (Isaac 
A.  and  William)  and  three  daughters  (Hannah,  Mary  and  Mahala); 
the  latter  married  Loved  Evans.  Kyrk  brought  a  hand-mill  with  him. 
It  was  the  third  of  that  class  in  the  precinct.  Kyrk  died  May  5,  and 
his  wife  August  13,  1847. 

Benjamin  W.  Rackbold,  with  his  wife  (Sarah),  and  several  children, 
came  in  the  spring  of  1837.  Their  cabin  was  being  raised  on  the  day 
the  Pangborns  and  Harpers  drove  past  on  their  \vay  to  the  Jewett 
cabin.  It  was  about  a  half  mile  south  of  Wright's.  Mr.  Rackhold 
died  July  29,  1854,  and  his  wife  September  23,  1856.  Melissa  Jane, 


558  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

their  eldest  daughter,  married  John  Oldridge.     Tobiatha  is  the  wife  of 
John  Judy,  of  Fountain  Creek. 

Hamilton  Jefferson,  a  native  of  Alexandria,  Virginia,  with  Sarah 
(his  wife),  and  her  son  (Spencer  Sayers),  their  four  sons  (Henry,  Ham- 
ilton, George  and  Thomas);  their  five  daughters  (Ann  Maria,  Cerene, 
Ophana,  Hannah  and  Martha),  with  the  families  of  Seth  Jones,  Henry 
Jones  and  Jephtha  Hayman,  twenty-six  persons  in  all,  embarked 
March  23,  1835,  with  their  household  goods,  at  Graham's  landing, 
Meigs  county,  Ohio,  in  a  boat  seventy-five  feet  in  length  and  about 
twelve  in  width.  They  floated  down  the  Ohio  nearly  1,000  miles  to 
the  "Wabash  ;  up  the  latter  river  they  towed  and  poled  their  bark  400 
miles  to  Tilsou's  Ferry,  where  they  landed  on  the  8th  of  May.  For 
thirty  days  the  men  labored  at  the  oars,  poles  and  tow-ropes,  forcing 
the  boat  up  the  stream.  At  night  on  the  10th  they  were  in  George- 
town, Vermilion  county,  Illinois.  In  the  summer  of  1836  Jefferson 
and  the  two  Joneses  came  to  Iroquois  county  to  select  land  for  their 
homes.  They  made  claims  on  the  Iroquois ;  the  Joneses  remained 
there,  but  Jefferson  abandoned  his  claim  when  informed  by  the  Indians 
that  colts  and  pappooses  could  not  be  raised  there  on  account  of  the  cold 
fever  (milk  sickness);  they  assured  him  these  desirable  accompani- 
ments of  farm  and  home  life  were  in  no  danger  of  that  disease  on 
Spring  creek.  This  brought  him  to  the  point  of  timber  ever  afterward 
known  as  Jefferson's  Point.  He  entered  the  W.  %  of  S.W.  \  of  Sec. 
12,  T.  26,  K.  14  W.,  and  in  February,  1837,  built  a  cabin.  In  October 
he  moved  his  family  to  their  new  home.  At  this  time  he  hauled 
fifteen  bushels  of  corn  meal  and  a  half-barrel  of  flour  from  Danville. 
After  getting  well  settled  his  first  work  was  to  construct,  with  a  seven 
pound  wedge,  a  spring  pole  and  a  log  made  concave  on  top,  a  machine 
for  pounding  hominy.  The  machine  occupied  one  end  of  the  dwelling  ; 
it  was  a  grand  success  in  preparing  that  kind  of  food  for  a  family  of 
twelve  persons.  Jefferson  and  his  step-son  Sayers  had  raised  a  crop  in 
the  neighborhood  that  season.  Two  daughters  were  added  to  this 
already  large  family  after  arriving  in  Illinois,  one  while  living  in  Ver- 
milion county,  the  other  in  their  new  home.  Thomas,  and  Hannah 
Oppy  are  the  only  representatives  left.  Hamilton  went  to  California 
about  1854,  and  has  not  been  heard  from  for  over  twenty-three  years. 
Mrs.  Jefferson,  while  on  a  visit  to  her  relatives  in  Ohio,  died,  October, 
1858,  and  was  buried  there.  January  10,  1859,  he  married  Mrs.  Nancy 
Eoff,  with  whom  he  lived  till  his  death,  September  28,  1878,  leaving 
one  daughter  by  her,  who  lives  with  her  mother  in  Onarga.  The  sec- 
ond year  Jefferson  resided  on  the  creek  he  dug  a  well  forty-eight  feet 
deep;  finding  no  water  he  bored  twelve  feet,  when' the  water  suddenly 


ONAHGA   TOWNSHIP.  559 

carne  np,  tilling  the  excavation  several  feet.  The  water  was  so  impreg- 
nated with  sulphur  that  it  was  never  used.  The  boring  was  accom- 
plished by  a  pod  auger  made  from  a  dry  hickory  rail ;  the  cutting  part  was 
cased  with  tin  from  milk  pans.  This  is  the  first  boring  for  water  in 
the  county  of  which  we  have  any  knowledge. 

John  Churchman,  his  wife  Caroline,  and  three  or  four  children, 
came  in  1837,  probably  in  the  spring.  His  dwelling  stood  on  the 
N.  W.  \  of  Sec.  15,  T.  26,  R.  14,  on  the  east  side  of  a  small  ravine.  A 
large  cottonwood  tree  now  marks  the  place.  He  entered  several  tracts 
of  land,  and  made  some  improvements.  In  1848  he  sold  out  and  went 
to  California,  where  he  died.  The  family  then  moved  to  South  Amer- 
ica, where  the  widow  died,  leaving  several  of  the  children  in  the  latter 
country. 

William  D.  Robinson  commenced  a  farm  adjoining  and  north  of 
Jonathan  Wright's  in  1838.  With  much  energy  and  good  calculation 
he  accumulated  a  fine  property.  Mr.  Robinson  died  January  3,  1856, 
at  forty-seven  years  of  age.  His  wife,  Lovina,  died  March  26,  1854, 
aged  thirty-eight  years. 

Henry  Root  drove  a  horse-team  from  Ohio  in  the  fall  of  1838,  and 
late  in  December  arrived  at  Reuben  Skeel's,  where  his  family  had  been 
for  more  than  a  year.  Root  made  a  cabin  on  the  S.  W.  fractional  \  of 
Sec.  30,  T.  26,  R.  11  E.,  where  he  now  lives.  This  has  been  super- 
seded by  a  frame  house.  The  back  pension  of  $1,700  which  Mrs. 
Root  has  lately  secured,  on  account  of  the  death  of  her  son,  Clinton  D. 
Root,  in  the  late  war,  has  enabled  them  to  build  a  nice  residence  for 
their  old  age. 

•  From  this  date,  while  the  advent  of  new  settlers  is  of  equal  import- 
ance, as  regards  the  individuals  our  time  and  space  will  allow  only  the 
brief  mention  of  their  names,  without  adverting  in  detail  to  their  sub- 
sequent movements.  Among  the  last  named  are  remembered  Loved 
Evans,  Dr.  Andrew  E.  Manderville,  a  skillful  physician,  Thomas  A. 
Norvell,  keeper  of  the  first  hotel  in  Onarga,  Moses  Oppy,  a  notorious 
hunter,  John  Freeman,  Daniel  Gavin,  who  taught  the  first  school  in 
the  Pangborn  cabin,  and  Seneca  and  Carlos  Amsbary.  The  Dean 
brothers  were  also  among  the  early  settlers.  They  were  all  school 
teachers,  and  have  left  their  impress  upon  many  who  were  then  among 
the  youth  but  have  now  grown  to  manhood  and  womanhood  in  these 
and  other  parts. 

John  Shipley  was  the  first  blacksmith.  He  came  in  1848.  Before 
this  Milford  afforded  the  nearest  facilities  of  this  kind. 

For  the  first  fifteen  years  the  settlers  found  abundance  of  game  in 
the  timber  and  on  the  prairie.  Deer  had  to  be  herded  from  the  corn- 


560  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

field,  and  they  were  often  found  feeding  among  the  cattle.  Venison 
was  always  on  their  tables.  Wild  fowl,  ducks,  geese,  brants  and  prairie 
chickens  were  too  plenty  to  be  profitable.  Wild  hogs  for  some  years 
furnished  pork,  and  for  a  few  years  a  stray  flock  of  turkeys  could  be 
found.  At  the  same  time  the  land  was  almost  overrun  with  snakes. 
Often,  in  closing  a  land  of  a  few  acres  plowing,  the  last  day's  work  was 
fraught  with  danger  to  man  and  beast  from  the  numerous  rattlesnakes, 
driven,  day  by  day,  to  the  center.  They  were  so  plenty  that  the  sturdy 
oxen  would  become  almost  unmanageable.  It  was  not  uncommon  for 
a  man,  in  a  month's  breaking  sod,  to  kill  a  hundred  or  more  of  these 
poisonous  reptiles.  In  early  spring  the  more  harmless  snakes  would 
come  from  their  winter  quarters  in  great  numbers,  and  in  a  sudden 
chill  they  would  gather  in  masses  as  large  as  a  bushel  basket  and  re- 
main for  the  warm  rays  of  the  sun  to  give  them  more  life.  T.  Lindsey 
attat-ked  such  a  mass  with  an  ax,  and  demolished  a  large  number  of 
them. 

Corn  bread  was  the  staple  in  that  line.  For  weeks  at  a  time  wheat 
bread  would  not  appear.  The  children  were  glad  to  see  a  visitor  at  the 
cabin,  especially  a  neighbor  woman  or  the  preacher,  for  their  presence 
told  of  warm  biscuit.  In  most  of  the  families  flour  bread  was  furnished 
on  Sundays.  This  made  Sunday  a  welcome  day  to  the  little  folks,  and 
the  parents  felt  thankful  that  they  were  so  well  provided  for.  The 
reader  may  think  such  a  life  would  be  unendurable,  but,  in  the  lan- 
guage of  an  old  settler,  "You  could  stand  it  if  you  had  to." 

SCHOOLS. 

Besides  being  a  religious  and  law-abiding  people,  the  first  set- 
tlers of  Onarga  knew  the  importance  and  value  of  education,  and  at 
an  early  day  put  forth  an  honorable  effort  in  that  direction.  In  the 
fall  of  1836  a  school  was  organized,  and  taught  by  Marilla  Ayers. 
In  the  Lehigh  cabin,  Louisa  Wright  taught  in  the  same  room  in 
1837.  In  1838  Mrs.  Diana  Harper  taught  about  twenty  scholars  in 
the  same  place.  For  her  services  she  received  $1.50  per  week,  which 
was  regarded  at  that  time  as  high  wages.  William  Prentiss  taught 
the  following  winter  in  one  of  the  Amos  cabins.  Caroline  Grice 
and  Nelson  Skeels  were  teachers  in  an  early  day  in  the  Lindsey 
neighborhood.  Caroline  Webster,  daughter  of  Chauncey  Webster, 
of  Sugar  Creek,  was  employed  in  the  summer  of  1839.  John  Wil- 
son was  employed  in  the  winter  of  1840-41,  and  kept  a  school  of 
about  thirty  scholars.  The  house  was  about  thirty  rods  southeast  of 
H.  Lyon's  residence.  It  soon  became  necessary  to  have  a  school  in 
the  Pangborn  neighborhood,  and  in  the  winter  of  1842-3  Thomas 


ONARGA   TOWNSHIP.  561 

M.  Pangborn  taught  in  one  of  the  Kyrk  cabins,  where  Ruth  Hib- 
bard's  dwelling  now  stands.  The  next  fall,  late  in  November,  a  log 
school-house  was  built  on  the  west  bluff  of  the  basin,  northeast  of 
E.  Doolittle's  dwelling ;  the  ditch  at  that  place  occupies  the  site. 
Daniel  Gavin  was  the  teacher  that  winter,  and  Alvira,  Lehigh  the 
next  summer.  At  this  time  there  were  two  schools  on  Upper  Spring 
creek.  In  the  summer  of  1843,  after  Lindsey's  family  moved  into 
their  brick  house,  Mrs.  Lindsey  taught  a  school  in  their  cabin.  In 
1845  there  were  two  schools  ;  in  1850,  four ;  in  1858,  seven  ;  in  1860, 
nine  ;  and  1880,  thirteen.  Among  the  teachers  from  1840  to  1850, 
we  find  Rev.  T.  B.  Hall,  Mary  Darling,  Julia  Leggett,  Mahlon  Boyd, 
Mary  Vroman.  From.  1850  to  1860  :  Maranda  Miller,  Addison 
Lockwood,  Mary  Evans,  Yioletta  Boswell,  James  Lindsey,  Alfred 
Fletcher,  Miss  V.  Bennett,  Dr.  E.  P.  Squires,  T.  M.  Snow,  J.  Edwin 
Smith,  Miss  M.  E.  Needham,  Hezekiah  Storms,  Lizzie  Hastings, 
M.  Wilson,  Molly  Denton,  C.  R.  Eager.  The  number  of  schools, 
from  the  first  one,  in  1836,  has  kept  pace  with  the  increase  of  pop- 
ulation, and  their  efficiency  is  well  attested  by  the  general  intelligence 
of  the  people.  It  has  been  said  for  many  years,  by  the  postal  clerks, 
that  more  reading  matter  came  to  Onarga,  in  proportion  to  its  popu- 
lation, than  to  any  other  town  on  the  Illinois  Central  railroad.  The 
village  has  for  many  years  been  the  educational  center  of  the 
county. 

In  the  fall  of  1856  H.  H.  and  F.  L.  Stone  built  a  school-house  on 
their  addition  to  the  town,  and  that  winter  D.  P.  Norton  taught  the 
first  school  in  the  village.  The  following  May  a  building  on  the 
east  side  of  the  railroad,  where  A.  K.  Doe  now  resides,  was  rented, 
and  Harriet  M.  Messer  (now  Culver)  was  employed  three  months. 
In  August,  1857,  Union  school  district  No.  1  was  organized,  and 
at  the  election  on  October  6,  Dr.  J.  L.  Parmalee,  Enoch  C.  Hall  and 
William  C.  Moore  were  elected  directors.  The  same  teacher,  with 
Helen  Skeels  (now  Eager)  as  her  assistant,  was  employed  for  the 
winter  of  1857-8.  The  school  was  in  the  stone  school-house.  The 
difference  in  compensation  for  the  same  kind  of  work,  in  1838  and 
1858,  is  shown  by  $6  per  month  in  the  former  year,  and  $28  in  the 
latter. 

The  rapid  growth  of  the  village  made  it  necessary  to  furnish  more 
and  better  rooms  for  schools ;  and,  in  the  spring  of  1858,  a  house 
30x48,  12  feet  high,  was  built.  For  putting  up  this  structure  Horace 
Pinney  was  paid  $1,025.  At  that  time  it  was  the  largest  and  best 
school  building  in  the  county.  Fannie  E.  Murdock  and  Jennie  Shef- 
field opened  the  school  in  this  house  about  the  middle  of  July. 


562  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

A.  C.  Burnham  (now  a  resident  of  Champaign)  in  1860,  opened  a 
private  school  in  the  upper  room  of  C.  A.  Newton's  store  building. 
At  one  time  a  private  school  was  taught  in  the  house  now  occupied 
for  a  dwelling  by  J.  C.  Culver,  Mrs.  Culver  being  the  teacher. 

July  19,  1867,  the  directors  contracted  with  Ralph  McKenney, 
Cyrus  Austin  and  R.  B.  Cultra  for  the  erection  of  a  two-story  brick 
school-house,  32  X  50.  It  was  completed  that  year,  dedicated  Janu- 
ary 6,  1868,  and  cost,  when  furnished,  $5,749.57.  The  year  following 
an  English  cast-steel  bell,  costing  $140,  was  put  in  the  tower. 

As  early  as  1865  schools  were  organized  for  the  colored  children, 
who  at  that  time  had  no  school  rights  under  the  laws  of  the  great 
state  of  Illinois.  The  expense  of  such  schools  was  paid  by  contri- 
bution till,  on  December  28,  1868,  the  board  of  directors  "voted  to 
admit  the  children  of  the  colored  population  of  suitable  age  to  all 
the  rights  and  privileges  in  the  public  school  which  other  children 
have";  A.  E.  Donaldson  and  M.  H.  Messer  for,  and  J.  C. 
Culver  against,  the  proposition.  This  action  of  the  board  drew 
forth  a  shower  of  opposition,  and  January  1,  1869,  the  citizens 
held  a  meeting,  and  by  resolution  requested  the  school  officers  to 
open  a  separate  school  for  the  colored  people  in  their  church  at  least 
six  months  each  year,  and  pay  the  expense  out  of  the  common 
school  fund.  Consequently,  in  November,  1869,  Miss  Annie 
Allen  was  employed  at  $33  per  month  to  take  charge  of  such 
school.  It  soon  became  apparent  that  it  would  not  be  a  judicious 
expenditure  of  money  to  continue  this  school  in  the  spring  for 
the  few  who  would  attend  in  the  warm  weather,  and  there  being 
plenty  of  vacant  seats  in  the  brick  house,  to  it  they  finally  found  their 
way,  and  in  a  year  or  two  the  separate  school  for  their  benefit  was 
discontinued.  In  1872  F.  P.  Beach  took  the  contract  to  build  an 
addition  to  the  school  building,  25x40,  two  stories,  with  a  mansard 
roof.  When  completed  and  furnished  it  cost  $4,189.92.  It  is  a  beau- 
tiful structure,  an  ornament  and  a  credit  to  the  town.  The  seating 
capacity  of  the  house  is  275.  The  present  directors  are  :  George  B. 
Winter,  James  B.  Baldwin  and  Joseph  D.  Long ;  the  teachers  are : 
A.  K.  Carmichael,  principal ;  Mrs.  Kate  Hanby,  Mrs.  Eva  L.  Evans, 
Lizzie  Soule,  Hattie  Harper  and  Mary  Slattery.  It  is  worthy  of  note 
that  Miss  Soule  has  been  a  teacher  in  this  school  since  1865,  except 
in  1872.  Mrs.  A.  E.  Rumley  was  a  teacher  for  five  years,  Hattie 
Davis  for  six  years,  and  Hattie  Harper  for  five  years ;  Mrs.  Kate 
Hanby  eight  years  out  of  eleven. 

Besides  the  public  and  private  schools  above  mentioned,  the  Rev. 
John  Thomas,  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  opened  a  select 


ONAKGA    TOWXSTTIF.  563 

school  in  about  1862.  The  rooms  over  Pierson's  store. were  used  for 
that  purpose.  This  school  continued  about  two  years,  and  was  suc- 
cessful. In  the  spring  of  1865  W.  P.  Pierson,  at  his  own  expense, 
erected  a  substantial  building,  and  May  1,  1865,  Emily  and  Mary 
Wilson  opened  a  school  in  it.  It  was  known  as  the  Onarga  Institute. 
Under  the  management  of  these  ladies  the  school  became  well  and 
favorably  known.  In  the  winter  of  1868  it  numbered  over  100  pupils, 
and  four  teachers  were  constantly  employed.  The  Rev.  A.  G.  Wilson 
attended  to  some  of  the  advanced  classes.  Mr.  Wilson  was  president 
of  the  official  board.  This  school  continued  till  June,  1872,  when  it 
suspended. 

GRAND    PRAIRIE    SEMINARY    AND    COMMERCIAL    COLLEGE. 

In  the  spring  of  1863  the  following  questions  were  submitted  by 
the  Rev.  P.  T.  Rhodes,  presiding  elder  of  the  Middleport  district, 
to  each  of  the  quarterly  conferences  in  his  charge  :  First,  ' '  Does  the 
country  which  the  said  district  embraces,  and  the  country  contiguous 
to  the  same,  demand  a  high-grade  seminary?"  Second,  "If  so, 
should  the  M.  E.  church  establish  an  institution  of  learning  of  a 
character  adapted  to  meet  the  wants  of  a  rapidly  growing  section  of 
our  state  ?  "  Upon  mature  deliberation  each  quarterly  conference 
elected  a  delegate,  whose  duty  was,  with  the  preacher  in  charge,  to 
attend  a  convention  to  be  held  at  Onarga  in  an  early  part  of  the 
summer.  June  10,  1863,  the  educational  convention  of  Middleport 
district  met  at  Onarga.  At  9  o'clock  A.M.  P.  T.  Rhodes  was  called  to 
the  chair.  G.W.  Gray,  J.  H.  Rheaand  O.W.  Pollard  were  committee 
on  credentials,  and  they  reported  that  Dr.  Steward,  of  Chebanse  ;  A. 
O.  Whiteman,  of  Sheldon  ;  C.  D.  Chapman,  of  Chebanse  ;  Lorenzo 
Beech,  of  Fairbury  ;  Alonzo  Taylor,  of  Ash  Grove,  and  M.  H.  Messer, 
of  Onarga,  were  proper  delegates.  P.  T.  Rhodes  was  declared  a 
member  of  the  convention,  he  being  the  presiding  elder  of  the  dis- 
trict. The  friends  of  the  movement,  from  Buckley  and  Kankakee 
city,  and  other  places,  were  invited  to  participate  in  the  discussion. 
The  places  competing  for  the  location  of  the  institution  were  Kan- 
kakee city,  Onarga,  Buckley  and  Middleport ;  Onarga  on  the  final 
vote  receiving  13  out  of  the  22  votes  cast.  The  following  persons 
were  appointed  to  call  a  meeting,  according  to  the  statutes,  to  elect 
trustees,  and  to  decide  upon  a  name  for  the  institution  :  W.  P.  Pierson, 
W.  G.  Riggs,  P.  T.  Rhodes,  Charles  H.  Wood  and  G.  W.  Gray. 
Pursuant  to  a  call  made  by  the  committee  appointed,  a  meeting  was 
held  June  26,  1863,  and  P.  T.  Rhodes,  Ransom  B.  Pangborn,  Samuel 
II.  Harper,  Winslow  Woods,  of  Onarga ;  William  G.  Riggs,  of 


564  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

Buckley  ;  C.  D.  Chapman,  of  Chebanse  ;  and  I.  J.  Krack,  of  Forest- 
ville,  were  elected  trustees.  C.  H.  "Wood  was  elected  treasurer. 
July  9,  P.  T.  Rhodes  was  appointed  financial  agent  for  Grand 
Prairie  Seminary,  to  solicit  funds  and  appoint  local  agents.  It  was 
determined  to  open  the  school  by  October  1,  and  the  M.  E.  church 
was  used  for  a  school-room.  Shortly  afterward  a  building,  14x40,  9 
feet  high,  was  erected  on  the  church  lot,  and  used  for  school  purposes 
till  the  seminary  was  completed.  Rev.  George  W.  Gray  was  elected 
principal,  and  his  wife  professor  of  languages  and  natural  sciences. 
It  was  thought  best  to  organize  a  primary  department,  and  J.  E. 
Smith  was  appointed  to  take  charge  of  it  and  teach  vocal  music.  In 
April,  1864,  G.  W.  Gray  and  wife  were  continued  in  their  respective 
positions.  Rev.  O.  W.  Pollard  was  elected  professor  of  commercial 
science  ;  Mrs.  Sarah  Marston,  preceptress ;  Mrs.  Louis  A.  Crawford, 
teacher  of  instrumental  music ;  Hattie  Packer,  teacher  of  German; 
Charles  H.  Wood,  commercial  law.  J.  E.  Smith  retained  control  of 
the  primary  department.  Before  it  was  decided  to  locate  the  insti- 
tution at  Onarga,  the  citizens,  with  their  usual  liberality,  had  sub- 
scribed toward  the  erection  of  the  necessary  buildings  about  $7,000: 
Elder  Rhodes,  with  his  untiring  energy,  commenced  the  work  early 
in  the  spring  of  1864,  .and  in  the  latter  part  of  the  summer  a  build- 
ing, 40  X  60,  three  stories  high,  was  completed,  and  in  the  fall  occu- 
pied by  the  institute.  The  structure  cost  $10,000,  and  to  fence  the 
grounds  and  improve  the  same  left  a  debt  of  $1,100  to  be  provided 
for.  At  this  time,  the  fall  of  1864,  the  institute  was  well  organized  ; 
with  a  full  official  board,  a  complete  corps  of  efficient  teachers,  a  sharp 
and  energetic  financial  agent,  and  a  fine  building  located  in  the 
central  part  of  a  rich  farming  district,  rapidly  increasing  in  popula- 
tion, and  under  patronage  of  a  most  powerful  church  organization 
in  the  northwest,  this  school  commenced  its  work.  Rev.  G.  W. 
Gray  resigned  February  27,  1865,  and  O.  W.  Pollard  was  elected  the 
second  president  of  Grand  Prairie  Seminary.  In  the  fall  of  1867,  a 
colored  man  applied  for  admission  to  the  school.  The  faculty  held 
a  meeting  for  consultation  and  decided  to  admit  him  ;  this  created 
much  opposition  among  some  of  the  patrons  of  the  school,  and  the 
official  board  was  asked  to  disapprove  the  faculty's  decision ;  the 
result  was,  the  faculty  was  sustained.  In  April,  1868,  the  stock- 
holders decided  to  admit  persons  of  color  to  the  seminary.  In  No- 
vember, 1868,  D.  K.  Pierson,  of  Chicago,  donated  $500  for  the 
seminary  library,  provided  a  similar  sum  be  added  to  it.  The  records 
of  the  next  April  state  that  $1,000  has  been  added  to  the  library. 
This  includes  the  D.  K.  Pierson  contribution,  which  was  made  in 


c. 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOlf 


ONARGA    TOWNSHIP. 


567 


books.  To  place  the  institution  on  a  sure  foundation  it  was  necessary 
to  endow  it ;  to  accomplish  this  object  its  friends  in  this  part  of  the 
state,  in  1872  (the  M.  E.  centennial  year),  made  an  effort  to  that  end, 
and  raised  by  subscription  $22,026.50.  By  reason  of  the  hard  times, 
and  the  conditions  under  which  the  donation  was  received,  that  fund 
has  shrunk  to  about  $16,500,  which  is  now  placed  beyond  the 
probability  of  loss.  Rev.  J.  T.  Dickinson  was  president  for  six 
years,  ending  July,  1877",  at  which  time  Rev.  John  B.  Robinson  took 
his  place,  and  is  the  present  incumbent.  Besides  the  regular  academic 
courses  usually  taught  in  such  institutions,  a  complete  course  is  given 


REV.   JOHN   B.   ROBINSON. 

in  commercial  science  ;  this  department  is  now,  and  has  been  for  the 
last  ten  years,  in  charge  of  Prof.  John  H.  Atwood.  Ellen  J.  Benharn, 
lady  principal,  and  Phcebe  Yan  Benshoten,  teacher  of  French,  Latin 
and  English,  have  been  teachers  in  their  several  branches  for  the  last 
seven  years. 

From  the  beginning  music  has  received  its  share  of  attention,  and 
in  June,  1878,  G.  Frank  Page  was  engaged  to  take  the  entire  charge 
of  the  department.  The  professor  is  a  finely  educated  musician,  in 
the  theory  as  well  as  the  art.  His  study  of  music  was  completed  by 
a  two-years  course  in  the  world-renowned  school  in  Leipsic,  Ger- 
many, under  the  tuition  of  the  German  masters ;  this  preparatory 
35 


568  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

training  has  made  him  a  superior  teacher.  From  the  crude  organi- 
zation existing  when  he  came,  he  has  now  one  of  the  most  complete 
conservatories  for  musical  culture  in  the  state.  A  separate  building 
was  prepared  for  his  use,  and  in  the  beginning  of  1880  the  Congre- 
gational church  was  leased  for  a  term  of  years,  and  a  number  of 
rooms  arranged  for  instruments  and  classes.  There  are  six  pianos 
and  one  large  pipe  organ,  furnished  by  him  for  his  pupils.  Vocal 
culture,  theory  and  composition  are  made  prominent  features  of  this 
school.  Thus  far  it  has  proved  a  complete  success,  and  bids  fair  to 
hold  its  present  high  reputation. 

For  the  last  two  winters  President  Robinson  has  furnished  a 
course  of  popular  lectures.  Ex-Vice-President  Colfax,  Gov.  Cum- 
bach,  of  Indiana;  Dr.  Gregory,  of  the  State  University  of  Cham- 
paign, and  other  eminent  men,  were  among  the  speakers.  The  pro- 
ceeds were  for  the  benefit  of  the  school,  resulting  in  the  purchase  of 
astronomical  apparatus,  and  lastly  a  fine  five-foot  telescope.  The 
whole  number  of  pupils  attending  the  seminary  proper  the  last  year 
was  227  ;  in  the  commercial  department,  47 ;  conservatory  of  music, 
instrumental,  theory  and  composition,  59  ;  vocal  classes,  exclusive 
of  the  juvenile  and  citizens'  classes,  200.  Of  the  number,  206  are 
enumerated  twice,  leaving  the  total  number  of  different  pupils  in  this 
institution,  327.  Rev.  George  W.  Gray  was  elected  first  principal ; 
Rev.  O.  W.  Pollard,  February  27,  1865 ;  Rev.  N.  C.  Lewis,  Septem- 
ber 20,  1865 ;  Rev.  O.  W.  Pollard,  June  5,  1866 ;  Prof.  C.  Loza 
Smith,  January  21,  1868 ;  Rev.  W.  C.  Knopp,  January  8,  1868 ; 
Prof.  W.  J.  Beams,  August  6,  1869  ;  Prof.  H.  C.  Burch,  August  18, 
1870 ;  Rev.  J.  T.  Dickinson,  president,  July  12,  1871 ;  Rev.  John 
B.  Robinson,  May  28,  1877. 

CHURCHES. 

The  first  preacher  on  Spring  creek  was  the  Rev.  Mr.  Springer; 
he  was  the  first  Methodist  minister  located  in  the  county,  and  lived 
at  John  Nelson's,  on  Sugar  creek,  in  1854.  He  held  meetings  at 
Abraham  Lehigh's  and  Jesse  Amos'  in  1835.  Rev.  A.  Wiley  and 
Rev.  Leander  Walker  preached  at  the  same  places  and  at  Jonathan 
Wright's  the  succeeding  two  years.  Louisa  Wright  taught  a  Sunday 
school  in  the  summer  of  1837  :  some  of  the  children  had  testaments, 
and  some  had  spelling-books. 

In  the  winter  of  1838  a  church  was  organized.  Reuben  Skeels 
and  his  wife  Sally.  Henry  Skeels,  Mrs.  Diana  Harper,  Margaret  and 
Mary  Ann  Harper,  Mrs.  Jane  Pangborn  and  Orvis  Skeels  were  its 
founders.  The  sermon  on  that  occasion — the  evening  of  Febru- 


ONARGA    TOWNSHIP.  569 

ary  1 — was  preached  by  Justus  Ryman  from  Luke  xii,  32,  "Fear 
not,  little  flock,  for  it  is  your  father's  good  pleasure  to  give  you  the 
kingdom."  In  a  short  time  Mrs.  Almira  Root  became  a  member. 
The  next  summer  Thomas  M.  Pangborn  joined,  and  not  long  after- 
ward Samuel  H.  Harper  and  his  wife  united  with  the  little  church, 
as  did  some  of  the  Frame  family.  The  first  meetings  were  held  at 
the  house  of  Reuben  Skeels,  afterward  at  Alexander  Harper's,  his 
house  being  more  central.  A  Sabbath  school  was  organized,  but  on 
account  of  prevailing  sickness  it  was  discontinued  till  the  summer  of 
1839.  Mr.  Skeels  brought  a  collection  of  Sunday  school  books  from 
Ohio  ;  these  were  used  for  a  library.  The  county  at  that  early  day 
was  a  missionary  field,  and  was  known  as  Iroquois  mission  as  late  as 
1844.  At  the  organization  of  the  church  Mr.  Skeels  was  appointed 
class  leader,  and  in  1840  T.  M.  Pangborn  took  his  place.  The  latter 
has  held  that  position  ever  since.  Hooper  Crews  was  the  presiding 
elder,  and  lived  at  Danville.  G.  "W.  Robins,  also  of  Danville,  suc- 
ceeded him.  His  successor  was  John  W.  Phelps,  who  lived  at  Wash- 
ington, Tazewell  county.  Then  came  John  Morey,  of  Abingdon, 
who  was  followed  by  Orlando  Walker,  from  near  Joliet,  and  John 
Chandler,  of  Peoria.  Z.  Hall  was  here  in  1855.  John  W.  Flowers, 
P.  T.  Rhodes,  J.  S.  Cummings,  G.  R.  Palmer  and  H.  I.  Brow  were 
the  elders  since  Z.  Hall.  The  preachers  from  1838  to  1856  were : 
Justus  Ryman,  John  W.  Parsons,  L.  Oliver,  Samuel  T.  Burr,  Will- 
iam Gage,  Lewis  Roberts,  S.  Stover,  Reuben  Moffatt,  George  W. 
Homes,  Uriah  Giddings,  Alonzo  D.  Feidler,  with  Mrs.  Royal  as 
assistant,  Joseph  Wilson,  William  R.  Irving,  James  Watson. 

After  the  log  school-house  was  built,  in  1843,  at  the  basin,  meet- 
ings were  regularly  held  in  it.  This  was  the  place  of  worship  until 
1853,  when  the  new  school-house  was  erected.  Middleport  circuit 
was  made  about  1844.  It  included  Spring  creek  settlement,  and  in 
about  1850  the  circuit  of  Ash  Grove  was  organized,  including  this 
settlement.  In  1856  Onarga  circuit  was  created,  and  November  22 
of  that  year  the  first  quarterly  conference  in  it  was  held  at  Body's 
school  in  Belmont.  Z.  Hall  was  the  elder,  and  William  A.  Presson 
preacher  in  charge.  He  was  "allowed  $225  table  expenses  and  $216 
quarterage."  There  were  four  classes:  Onarga,  Lower  Spring 
Creek,  Williams  at  Samuel  Williams',  and  Oxfords,  near  Hamilton 
Jefferson's.  The  church  had  increased  till  it  was  able  to  build  a 
place  for  worship,  and  in  the  summer  of  1856  erected  a  structure, 
30x40  feet  and  18  feet  high,  with  tower.  This  building  was  located 
on  lot  2,  block  17,  of  Onarga,  donated  by  David  A.  Neal,  of  Salem, 
Massachusetts.  The  dedication  sermon  was  preached  by  the  Rev. 


570  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

Mr.  Slanter.  On  that  occasion  the  people  donated  $354  to  liquidate 
the  debt.  The  building  cost  about  $1,500.  At  that  time  it  was  the 
best  meeting-house  in  the  county.  In  1865  this  building  was  sold, 
and  the  church  has  held  its  services  since  in  the  chapel  of  Grand 
Prairie  Seminary.  From  the  little  band  of  eight  organized  into  a 
church  in  1838,  in  a  log  cabin,  it  has  grown  into  a  church  of  150 
members;  Sabbath  school  numbers  100.  Dr.  H.  M.  Laney  is  the 
preacher  in  charge. 

As  early  as  1843  the  United  Brethren  had  a  representative  on 
Spring  creek ;  the  Rev.  Kenoyer,  of  Beaver  lake,  held  meetings  at 
Frame's  and'  Mrs.  Lehigh's.  An  organization  was  perfected,  but 
the  members  being  few,  regular  preaching  was  not  secured  for  many 
years.  In  1856  a  church  was  formed,  and  held  regular  meetings 
each  two  weeks  at  the  River  school-house  until  about  four  years 
since,  when  the  place  was  changed  to  the  west  school-house.  A 
Sabbath  school  is  well  attended  in  warm  weather,  and  is  suspended 
in  the  winter.  Samuel  Zook  is  presiding  elder,  Henry  Merideth, 
preacher,  and  Richard  Barrett,  class-leader.  The  membership  is 
twenty-five. 

James  H.  Major  and  others  held  a  meeting  October  4,  1856,  at 
the  Harper  school-house,  to  consider  the  subject  of  organizing  a  Bap- 
tist church.  On  the  1st  of  November  a  second  meeting  was  held 
and  Elder  M.  C.  Blankenship  presented  the  usual  articles  of  faith, 
and  they  were  signed  by  William  A.  Hall,  Yiletty  Hall,  James  H. 
Major,  Mary  Major,  William  M.  Devore,  Samuel  Major,  Susan 
Major  and  Mary  Major,  and  they  were  organized  into  a  church.  M. 

C.  Blankenship   and  A.  C.  Blankenship   supplied   the   pulpit   till 
David  Lewis  was  settled  as  their  pastor,  November,  1857.     Early  in 
1858  steps  were  taken  to  build  a  house  of  worship,  which  resulted  in 
the  erection  of  a  building  38  X  56,  25  feet  high,  with  a  tower ;  it  was 
located  in  the  village  of  Onarga,  and  was  dedicated  January  25, 
1859.     S.  M.  Brown,  now  of  Loda,  was  settled  about  this  time,  and 
continued  pastor  till  August  25,  1860.     There  was  a  debt  of  a  few 
hundred  dollars  on  the  church,  which  claim  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  Rev.  L.  Foster,  and  the  Congregational  church  became  owner  of 
the  property  in  the  summer  of  1860.     January  30,  1864,  the  church 
was  dissolved  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  a  new  one  of  the  same 
faith.     At  this  time  the  membership  was  seventy-five.     February  12 
a  new  organization  was  perfected,  with  thirty  members.     April  10 

D.  W.  Morgan  was  settled  as  pastor.     In  the  spring  of  1866  a  new 
church  building,  29x42,  18  feet  high,  was  erected  on  lot  1,  block  20. 
Dr.  Colver  preached  the  dedicatory  sermon  June  3.    Morgan  resigned 


ONAKGA    TOWNSHIP.  571 

March  20,  1867,  and  Peter  Conrad  became  the  pastor  in  September, 
and  continued  two  years.  For  the  last  four  years  there  has  been  no 
preaching,  but  the  organization  is  still  held. 

In  1856  the  Rev.  Mr.  Tayler  came,  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Presbyterian  church,  and  meetings  were  held  at  the  school-houses  in 
the  neighborhood,  and  in  the  depot  buildings.  March  3, 1857,  a  church 
was  formally  organized  by  a  committee  of  the  Presbytery  of  Peoria. 
It  was  composed  of  fourteen  members :  C.  C.  Wells,  Martha  B.  Wells, 
Robert  S.  Johnson,  Mary  Johnson,  Darius  Matthews,  William  P. 
Pierson,  Mary  C.  Pierson,  John  S.  Storms,  Hezekiah  Storms,  Cath- 
arine Allen,  Lewis  Avery,  John  R.  Loudon  and  Elizabeth  Loudon. 
C.  C.  Wells,  W.  P.  Pierson  and  Darius  Matthews  were  the  elders. 
In  1858  steps  were  taken  to  secure  means  sufficient  to  erect  a  church. 
This  was  done  on  strict  business  principles,  by  taking  the  donors' 
notes,  etc.  The  house — a  neat  Gothic  structure,  28x40,  12  feet  high, 
with  high,  sharp  roof,  an  ell  16x24  for  a  Sunday  school  room  open- 
ing into  the  main  building — was  completed  in  1859,  and  on  the  llth, 
12th  and  13th  days  of  November  of  that  year  it  was  dedicated,  the 
Rev.  Henry  Bacon,  of  Covington,  Indiana,  now  of  Toledo,  Ohio, 
officiating.  This  building  cost  $1,850,  and  when  dedicated  was  paid 
for.  and  twenty-five  cents  of  the  building  fund  remained  in  the  treas- 
ury. The  Rev.  W.  C.  Magner  is  the  present  pastor.  W.  P.  Pier- 
son,  J.  R.  Loudon,  Leonard  Mclntyre,  W.  D.  Matier  and  Peter 
Risser  are  the  elders.  The  membership  is  about  125,  and  Sunday 
school  members  about  100.  In  May,  1858,  the  General  Assembly 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  the  United  States  of  America  met  in 
Chicago ;  the  members  of  that  body  were  invited  to  an  excursion, 
and  on  the  28th  six  passenger  coaches  were  switched  at  Onarga. 
At  once  the  cloth  began  to  pour  out,  till  400  clergymen  were  in  and 
about  the  depot.  The  little  church  here  had  made  ample  prepara- 
tion to  receive  them.  All  the  citizens  were  enlisted  in  their  enter- 
tainment. Tables  were  improvised  from  the  lumber  yard,  extending 
along  the  platform  at  the  depot,  and  while  the  address  of  welcome 
by  William  P.  Pierson,  and  the  response  by  Rev.  D.  Little,  of  Ohio, 
were  being  made,  the  good  ladies  of  the  village  spread  a  most  sub- 
stantial collation.  After  partaking  of  this  unexpected  repast  they 
returned  to  Chicago.  It  was  a  most  enjoyable  occasion,  long  to  be 
remembered  by  the  participants. 

As  early  as  August  29,  1858,  the  Episcopalians  of  Onarga  had 
service  in  town.  From  the  fact  that  they  held  a  festival  at  the  pas- 
senger house  on  the  llth  of  that  month  it  would  appear  this  sect 
was  represented  before  the  first  date.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Broadenax 


572    •  HISTOKY    OF   IKOQUOIS    COUNTY. 

preached  October  31,  and  Bishop  Whitehouse  held  service  in  the 
M.  E.  church  December  16,  1858,  and  again  November  15,  1859. 
The  church  was  organized  by  the  Rev.  M.  Phillips,  of  Peoria,  with 
about  twenty-five  members.  George  M.  Lovell,  Horace  Pinney, 
James  P.  Peckham,  Elkanah  Doolittle  and  Mrs.  Mary  Doolittle  were 
among  its  founders  and  earnest  supporters.  In  the  fall  of  1867  the 
church,  25x60  and  12  feet  high,  Gothic  style,  with  tower  at  one 
corner,  was  built  at  a  cost  of  about  $5,400.  It  is  now  the  property 
of  the  Doolittle  heirs.  The  church  has  not  sustained  a  preacher  for 
some  years. 

November  22  and  December  2,  1858,  the  friends  of  the  denom- 
ination of  Congregationalists  held  meetings  preparatory  to  organ- 
izing a  church.  December  9  a  council  was  assembled  and  the  society 
organized.  Harvey  Frisbie,  Betsey  Frisbie,  Samuel  O.  Fowler, 
Joseph  S.  Fowler,  Gordon  Baldwin,  Harriet  S.  Baldwin,  Henry 
Hewms,  Simeon  P.  Avery,  Samantha  A  very,  Celestia  A  very  and 
Henry  Plumb  were  the  members.  January  5,  1859,  H.  Frisbie  and 
S.  P.  Avery  were  appointed  deacons.  For  two  months  meetings 
were  held  in  the  Methodist  church,  when  an  arrangement  was  made 
with  the  Baptists  for  the  use  of  their  church,  without  charge,  a  part 
of  each  Sabbath.  At  this  time  Lemuel  Foster  was  settled  as  pastor. 
He  was  followed  by  Alpheus  Winter,  May  7,  1863,  G.  E,.  Hewling  in 
July,  1866,  and  E.  M.  Dwight,  February  25,  1869,  the  last  named 
remaining  ten  years.  Since  then  the  pulpit  has  been  supplied  from 
Chicago.  This  church  has  struggled  along  with  a  small  member- 
ship. The  Sunday  school,  organized  when  the  church  was,  has 
always  been  well  attended.  The  church  is  denominated  the  First 
Congregational. 

The  Second  Congregational  church  was  organized  February  16, 
1879,  with  seventy-nine  members ;  Rev.  James  "W.  West,  pastor ; 
John  C.  Ramsey  and  David  Peters,  deacons.  A  Sunday  school  of 
about  sixty-five  meets  during  the  milder  seasons.  Meetings  are 
usually  held  once  each  Sabbath  at  the  Ramsey  school-house. 

The  Rev.  M.  Bowen,  of  Chicago,  a  Universalist  minister,  preached 
the  funeral  sermon  of  Ira  Lindsey  in  April,  1844.  He  remained  in 
the  neighborhood  a  year  or  two.  He  was  the  pioneer  of  this  sect 
on  Spring  creek.  March  13  and  May  15,  1859,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Liver- 
more  preached  in  the  school-house  to  the  friends  of  this  faith.  April 
24  the  society  was  organized  by  electing  Lewis  J.  Bennett,  Daniel 
W.  Parker,  Julius  L.  Dewey,  G.  B.  Fickle,  trustees;  Richard  A. 
Hungerford,  secretary,  and  Dr.  Samuel  Hueston,  treasurer.  For  a 
number  of  years  this  society  employed  ministers  to  preach,  but  never 


ONARGA   TOWNSHIP.  57:3 

settled  one.  Meetings  were  held  in  the  school-house  and  at  the 
depot.  A  Sunday  school  was  organized  and  sustained  for  some 
years.  The  Rev.  Josiah  Davis  often  preached  for  this  society. 
There  is  now  in  its  treasury  over  $100. 

In  1865  and  1866  a  number  of  families  of  the  Society  of  Friends  set- 
tled in  Onarga.  Most  of  them  were  from  Indiana,  one  from  Maine. 
The  heads  of  the  families  met  at  the  house  of  B.  F.  Jenkins,  and 
united  in  asking  the  "Wabash  Meeting"  for  the  privilege  of  holding 
a  meeting  for  worship,  preparatory  to  a  monthly  meeting.  The  re- 
quest was  granted,  and  on  the  4th  day  of  the  5th  month,  1867,  by 
direction  of  "Wabash  Quarterly  Meeting"  of  Friends,  the  meeting 
in  Onarga  was  opened  and  organized  by  a  committee  from  that 
meeting.  They  built  a  place  of  worship,  30x46,  15  feet  high,  a 
plain  wooden  structure.  Miss  Jane  E.  Weeden,  sister  of  Samuel  E. 
Weeden,  by  her  individual  effort  collected  about  $900  in  cash  to 
build  the  house.  During  the  last  few  years  many  of  the  families 
moved  away,  till  there  are  not  enough  remaining  to  sustain  a  meet- 
ing. Jonathan  Owen,  in  January,  1880,  sold  the  property  to  the 
colored  Baptist  denomination. 

The  Seventh-day  Adventists  organized  a  band,  consisting  of 
J.  W.  Tait,  Nancy  J.  Tait,  Sarah  F.  Owen,  John  Haven  and  Eva 
Haven.  This  was  the  result  of  a  course  of  lectures  and  sermons 
delivered  in  a  large  tent,  in  the  summer  of  1877,  by  R.  F.  Andrews 
and  G.  W.  Colcord.  The  mission  connected  with  this  band  was 
organized  December,  1877.  Its  object  is  to  distribute  documents  of 
their  belief.  Regular  meetings  are  held  each  week,  and  preaching 
as  often  as  a  minister  can  come.  The  Sunday  school  of  this  band 
numbers  about  twenty  persons. 

The  Christian  Church  was  organized  by  Rev.  D.  R.  Cotton,  in 
February,  1877 ;  John  Cunningham  and  Thomas  B.  Weekley  were 
appointed  elders  ;  James  Cunningham  and  Francis  Duncan,  deacons. . 
At  that  time  there  were  about  twenty  members.  A  Sunday  school  is 
connected  with  this  church.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Pointer  has  been  the 
minister  since  the  second  meeting  in  1877 ;  meetings  were  held  at 
the  River  school-house  for  about  a  year,  and  since  then  at  the  Ram- 
sey school-house. 

The  colored  people  ever  since  they  have  been  here,  have  had 
their  church  organizations ;  they  now  have  three,  and  hold  services 
in  two  places  nearly  every  Sabbath  ;  they  are  designated  as  follows : 
First  (colored)  Baptist,  Methodist  Episcopal  (colored),  and  African 
Methodist.  The  Baptists  now  have  the  Friends'  church.  The 
M.  E.  church  have  a  house  14x40,  and  the  African  Methodists 
have  a  house  about  14x20. 


574  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

The  Methodist  church  at  Del  Key  was  organized  in  1875  by 
James  Coleman,  who  preached  once  each  week  for  the  next  two 
years ;  J.  P.  Forsyth  took  his  place  for  a  year.  In  1877  the  Del 
Rey  circuit  was  made,  including  this,  a  church  at  Yeaches  school- 
house,  and  the  one  at  the  Ricketts  school-house ;  the  latter  was 
organized  by  J.  Millsap.  The  Rev.  H.  Hart  was  in  charge  two 
years,  and  now  J.  M.  Deatch  is  the  pastor ;  membership  about  fifty. 
The  Sunday  school  has  always  been  successful,  numbering  over 
sixty.  F.  P.  Beach  is  class-leader,  Stewart  Lindsey  and  Elisha 
Danforth,  stewards  ;  meetings  are  held  in  the  school-house.  The 
parsonage  was  built  in  1877  at  a  cost  of  $600.  Ricketts  church, 
four  miles  east,  has  a  membership  of  about  fifty,  and  a  Sunday 
school  in  the  summer  season.  Hiram  Salisbury  is  the  class-leader, 
and  Burr  Smith  steward.  This  church  was  organized  by  the  Rev. 
J.  S.  Millsap,  about  1875. 

The  prison  department  of  the  Western  Seaman's  Friend's  Society 
is  located  in  Onarga  ;  it  has  been  in  successful  operation  for  five 
years.  The  object  is  to  distribute  reading  matter  of  a  religious, 
literary,  scientific  and  agricultural  character  among  the  prisons, 
penitentiaries  and  jails  of  our  land.  Small  libraries  are  often  fur- 
nished to  county  jails  and  city  prisons.  Every  two  weeks  from  9,000 
to  12,000  pages  are  sent  to  those  institutions.  In  1877  there  were 
received,  assorted,  packed  and  sent  forward  1,000,000  pages; 
in  1878,  2,000,000,  and  in  eleven  months  of  1879,  2,000,000. 
Large  boxes  of  such  literature  have  been  sent  to  California, 
Texas,  Arkansas,  North  Carolina,  Georgia,  Tennessee,  Lou- 
isiana, Kansas,  Missouri,  Minnesota  and  Kentucky,  and  their 
contents  distributed  among  the  prisoners  of  those  states.  Rail- 
roads and  express  companies  carry  all  the  packages  without  charge. 
In  transporting  6,000,000  pages  to  Onarga,  and  sending  out 
•5,800,000  in  thirty-eight  months,  inadvertently  there  has  been 
charged  $1.15.  The  Rev.  W.  D.  A.  Matthews  is  the  originator  of 
this  particular  work,  and  to  him  is  all  honor  due. 

On  March  17,  1856,  a  lodge  of  Good  Templars  was  organized 
with  about  twenty  members.  Its  numbers  increased  in  a  few  months 
to  about  seventy-five.  July  25,  1856,  it  suspended  and  surrendered 
the  charter.  December  24,  1864,  Onarga  Lodge  Independent  Order 
of  Good  Templars,  No.  528,  was  instituted,  with  J.  N.  Bates,  Rev. 
D.  W.  Morgan,  Rev.  O.  W.  Pollard,  A.  Owen,  Elizabeth  Owen,  Rev. 
W.  F.  Lowe,  Kate  Morgan,  M.  H.  Messer,  Cyrus  Austin,  Jane  Aus- 
tin, D.  S.  Gray,  William  Tharp,  William  S.  Spurgeon,  Hiram  Lowe, 
Annie  Van  Duzor  and  Kate  Lowe,  charter  members.  Rev.  D.  W. 


ONARGA    TOWNSHIP.  575 

Morgan  was  W.C.T. ;  Jane  Austin,  W.  Y.T.  ;  John  D.  Thomas, 
W.S.;  H.  Y.  Needham,  W.F.S.;  C.  Austin,  W.T.,  and  were  among 
the  officers  installed  February  10,  1865.  This  lodge  has  held  regular 
meetings  each  week,  and  its  efforts  and  influence  in  the  community 
have  been  successful.  At  one  time  there  were  185  members  in  good 
standing.  It  now  numbers  48  sisters  and  35  brothers.  The  present 
officers  are:  M.  H.  Messer,  P.W.C.T.;  Thomas  Davies,  W.C.T.; 
Eliza  J.  Graves,  W.Y.T.;  J.  H.  Atwood,  W.S.  &L.D.;  Miss  Scofield, 
W.A.S.;  John  Lash,  W.F.S.;  G.  B.  Winter,  Sr.,  W.T.;  C.  A.  Whit- 
more,  W.M.;  Louisa  Fuedly,  W.D.M.;  Mary  Fickle,  W.I.G.,  Elmer 
Young,  W.  Sentinel;  Mrs. 'Thomas  Davies,  R.H.S.;  Mrs.  Mary 
Riner,  L.H.  S.  This  lodge  meets  on  Friday  evenings. 

Onarga  Lodge,  I.O.O.F.,  No.  208,  was  instituted  July  23,  1856, 
by  A.  C.  Lewis,  acting  grand  master.  The  first  officers  were  :  Will- 
iam C.  Moore,  KG.;  R.  W.  Andrews,  Y.G.;  A.  N.  Crawford,  R.S.; 
T.  M.  Pangborn,  Treas.;  David  Weaver,  L.S.;  M.  F.  Cheeney,  O.G.; 
Horace  Finn ey,  I.S.G.;  TomLindsey,  W.;  J.  C.  Culver,  C.;  Robert 
S.  Johnson,  L.S.Y.G.;  O.  H.  P.  Sheffer,  L.S.S.  This  lodge  sus- 
pended November  5,  1862,  and  until  after  the  war.  September  12, 
1867,  it  was  reorganized  by  Burges  and  White,  who  were  deputized 
for  that  purpose.  Rebekah  Degree  Lodge,  No.  4,  and  Grand  Prairie 
Encampment,  No.  138,  are  connected  with  it.  The  present  officers 
are:  James  E.  Owen,  N.G.;  Robert  Malcomb,  Y.G.;  H.  J.  Free- 
man, R.  S.  &  T.  S. ;  Horace  Babcock,  Treas. ;  William  A.  Davis,  W. ; 
G.  B.  Munson,  C.;  H.  Pinney,  O.S.G.;  M.  McKenney,  I.S.G.;  W. 
B.  Lyman,  R.S.N.G.;  G.  B.  Winter,  Jr.,  L.S.N.G.;  C.  E.  Yan 
Neste,  R.S.  Y.G.;  George  Nichols,  L.S.  Y.G.;  H.  E.  Bibbins,  R.S.S.; 
W.  Mace,  L.S.S.  This  lodge  had  public  addresses  delivered  before 
it.  Ex.  Yice-President  Colfax  and  Hon.  John  H.  Oberly  were  em- 
ployed for  that  purpose.  Its  meetings  are  held  regularly,  Thursday 
evening  of  each  week  ;  number  of  members,  59. 

A  lodge  of  A.F.  and  A.M.  was' organized  under  a  dispensation  of 
the  grand  master,  October  9,  1857.  It  was  never  chartered.  It  was 
reorganized  and  chartered  October  5, 1859,  as  Onarga  Lodge  A.F.  and 
A.M.,  No.  305.  The  charter  members  were:  Curtis  L.  Knight, 
George  B.  Fickle,  Charles  Rumley,  R.  W.  Andrews,  Dr.  Samuel 
Heuston,  Thomas  A.  Norwell,  Hamilton  Jefferson  and  Japhet  Hull. 
The  first  officers  were  :  Curtis  L.  Knight,  W.M.,  G.  B.  Fickle,  S.  W.; 
Dr.  Samuel  Heuston,  J.W.  The  present  officers  are:  Henry  M. 
Lovell,  W.M.:  A.  K.  Doe,  S.W.;  John  C.  Culver,  J.W.  It  is  in  a 
prosperous  condition. 


576  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

MILLS. 

The  hand-mill  was  a  pair  of  smooth  granite  burrs,  about  sixteen 
inches  in  diameter,  so  arranged  that  the  grinder,  while  turning  with 
one  hand  poured  in  the  grain  with  the  other.  A  peck  of  meal  per 
hour  was  a  fair  result.  As  early  as  1837  there  were  three  such  mills 
in  the  settlement,  owned  by  Amos,  Kyrk  and  Frame.  About  this 
time  Amos  bought  a  pair  of  the  same  kind  of  burrs,  twenty-three  and 
one-half  inches  across,  and  run  them  by  horse-power.  About  1846 
Reuben  Skeels  bought  a  stump-mill  of  Northrup,  and  set  it  up  on 
his  farm.  It  was  operated  by  horse-power.  In  1849  Tom  Lindsey 
and  Seneca  Amsbary  put  up  a  portable*  saw-mill  on  the  south  side  of 
Sec.  31,  T.  26,  R.  14  W,  where  they  sawed  lumber  for  some  time, 
when  they  moved  it  to  a  point  on  Spring  creek  about  twenty  rods 
southwest  of  J.  H.  Magor's  residence.  Here  they  ran  a  combined 
saw  and  grist  mill,  using  the  burrs  purchased  of  Reuben  Skeels.  In 
1850  this  set  of  burrs  was  sold  to  Dr.  L.  Boyd,  who  set  them  up  on 
the  farm  now  owned  by  B.  F.  Lindsey.  In  the  spring  of  1850 
James  B.  Mattock  sold  his  farm  near  Jefferson's,  and  built  a  steam 
saw  and  grist  mill  at  Del  Rey.  In  a  year  or  two  he  sold  it  to  Culver 
and  Greer,  who  ran  it  until  the  Illinois  Central  railroad  was  con- 
structed to  that  point,  when  they  sold  to  Henry  Bacon,  one  of  the 
civil  engineers  of  the  road.  Bacon  ran  this  mill  for  several  years, 
when  at  last  it  was  dismantled,  and  the  building  fell  into  the  hands 
of  Mr.  Sarles,  who  moved  it  on  his  farm.  About  1856  Job  Den- 
ning and  David  Reeder  built  a  saw-mill  two  miles  east  of  town ;  in 
a  year  or  two  a  pair  of  French  burrs  were  put  in,  also  a  bolt  for 
flour.  This  mill  in  its  doubled  capacity  was  operated  as  late  as  1868, 
when  the  engines,  stones  and  all  the  machinery  were  sold,  and  the 
building  converted  into  a  hay  barn.  Mr.  Merrel  commenced  the 
erection  of  a  flour-mill  in  the  village  in  1859  ;  the  building  was  raised 
in  August.  The  owner,  running  short  of  funds,  sold  out  to  Snodgrass 
and  Campbell,  who  completed  the  building  and  put  in  three  run 
of  stone  in  August,  1860.  The  citizens  contributed  $1,000  for  this 
enterprise.  Wood,  Long  and  Hungerford  bought  out  Snodgrass  and 
Campbell  in  September,  1864,  and  sold  to  Conrad  Ludwick  and 
Jacob  B.  Ludwick  about  1866,  who  owned  and  ran  it  most  of  the 
time  till  May  24,  1873,  when  it  was  destroyed  by  fire.  P.  Risser  & 
Sons,  by  the  influence  of  G.  R.  Risser,  one  of  the  firm,  erected  their 
mill  in  1872.  August  28,  1873,  it  blew  up,  making  a  wreck  of  the 
engine  and  cool  rooms,  boilers  and  engine.  A  section  of  one  boiler, 
about  twelve  feet  long,  weighing  over  a  ton,  was  landed  about  1,100 
feet  from  the  mill.  ~No  lives  were  lost ;  but  Joseph  Chenoweth,  the 


ONARGA    TOWNSHIP.  577 

engineer,  and  John  C.  Gable  were  badly  hurt.  The  next  year  the 
Rissers  bought  George  H.  Yan  Neste,  who  had  been  a  partner,  and 
put  the  mill  in  complete  running  order.  It  has  remained  in  their 
hands  ever  since,  and  has  been  run  most  of  the  time. 

CITY    OF    ONARGA. 

After  1850  the  settlement  was  quite  rapid,  and  when  it  was  known 
that  a  railroad  was  to  be  constructed  in  the  western  part  of  the  county 
an  impetus  was  given  to  immigration.  The  first  survey  of  the  Illi- 
nois Central  railroad  was  about  a  mile  west  of  Crescent,  and  after- 
ward on  its  present  location.  On  December  2,  1853,  trains  from 
Chicago  ran  as  far  as  Del  Rey,  and  the  first  business  house  was 
opened  early  that  year  by  Frank  Walker,  to  accommodate  the  rail- 
road men,  and  he  moved  farther  south  on  the  line  as  the  work  ad- 
vanced. Walker's  store  was  a  few  rods  from  B.  F.  Lindsey's  barn. 
James  M.  Smith  put  a  small  stock  of  goods  on  sale  at  Del  Rey,  as 
also  did  T.  B.  Gardner  and  D.  B.  Peck.  The  latter,  Gardner  & 
Peck's,  was  the  first  general  store. 

Onarga  was  laid  out  in  the  fall  of  1854,  by  David  A.  Keal,  vice- 
president  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company.  He  was  a  resi- 
dent of  Salem,  Massachusetts.  Since  then  there  have  been  ten  addi- 
tions laid  out,  and  the  plat  on  Sec.  19,  T.  26,  R.  11  E.,  and  the  east 
part  of  Sec.  24,  T.  26,  R.  10  E.,  comprises  about  300  acres.  The 
village  is  on  a  comparatively  high  ridge,  nearly  one  hundred  feet 
above  the  lake  at  Chicago,  twenty-three  feet  above  Gilman,  three  and 
a  half  miles  north,  and  over  forty  feet  above  the  creek  bed  the  same 
distance  south. 

Loved  Evans  in  1841  improved  land  and  made  a  claim,  within  the 
limits  of  the  village,  and  in  1851  sold  40  acres  of  his  claim  to  Addi- 
son  Lockwood,  who  purchased  the  log  school-house  near  the  basin, 
and  in  the  fall  of  1853  moved  it  to  his  claim.  This  was  the  first 
building  in  the  village,  and  stood  in  the  street  west  of  M.  H.Messer's 
house.  It  was  occupied  by  W.  P.  Pierson  a  part  of  the  winter  of 
1854-5.  About  this  time  James  M.  Watts  built  a  shanty  to  live  in, 
which,  with  about  four  acres  of  land,  he  sold  to  Nelson  Skeels,  in 
December,  1854.  Skeels  built  a  frame  house  on  this  lot  in  1855.  It 
is  now  a  part  of  T.  W.  Ludwick's  residence.  Watts  was  the  first 
blacksmith  here,  and  his  shop  was  a  few  rods  south  of  W.  H.  Spur- 
geon's  house.  In  December,  1853,  the  railroad  company  built  its 
boarding-house  in  the  street  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  north 
of  the  hotel.  Henry  W.  Clark  moved  into  it  in  January,  1854,  and 
kept  boarders,  principally  railroad  men,  who  were  building  the  depot 


578  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

buildings  and  loading  sand  on  the  cars  to  take  to  other  points.  At 
times  there  were  as  many  as  sixty  lodgers  of  a  night.  About  July 
12,  at  supper,  there  were  fifty-seven;  the  next  morning  Clark  and  his 
wife  were  alone  at  breakfast.  That  night  Patrick  Murry  and  Thomas 
Quirk  were  taken  with  the  cholera.  Murry  died  before  morning,  but 
Quirk  recovered.  All  the  boarders  were  frightened  and  left. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1854  W.  P.  Pierson  commenced  the  first 
business  in  the  place.  His  stock  was  less  than  a  car-load  of  lumber. 
He  and  his  wife  boarded  at  Judge  Pangborn's,  over  a  mile  from  the 
depot,  till  they  moved  into  Lockwood's  cabin.  The  next  spring  he 
had  completed  his  dwelling,  office  and  business  house  combined,  a 
structure  12x16  feet.  Right  here  and  in  this  room  was  commenced 
one  of  the  early  institutions  of  the  town.  Mrs.  Mary  Pierson  com- 
menced a  Sabbath-school,  with  four  or  five  scholars,  as  soon  as  they 
moved  into  their  home.  As  families  were  constantly  moving  in,  this 
school  increased  rapidly  in  numbers  and  efficiency  until,  in  the  period 
of  about  two  years,  it  numbered  some  eighty  scholars.  It  overflowed 
from  the  residence  of  Mr.  Pierson  to  his  warerooms,  and  from  thence 
to  the  new  school-house  on  the  hill.  All  this  time  it  was  eminently 
a  union  school,  and  embraced  all  the  children  of  the  village.  As  the 
different  churches  were  organized  from  time  to  time  each  drew  from 
this  school  its  scholars,  until  it  was  superseded  by  the  different  de- 
nominational Sabbath-schools  of  the  place.  It  continued  in  its  orig- 
inal form  some  six  years,  and  in  its  day  did  a  good  work  in  forming 
a  nucleus  of  good  influences  among  the  children.  It  is  common  to 
hear  persons  who  are  now  men  and  women  refer  to  this  school  with 
a  smile  of  pleasure  on  their  faces.  They  are  proud  to  say,  "I  was 
one  of  Mrs.  Pierson's  Sabbath-school  scholars."  Early  in  the  same 
spring  that  Pierson  commenced  business  William  C.  Moore  and 
James  Miles  erected  the  very  first  business  house  in  the  place,  a 
structure  18  X  28  feet,  now  standing  opposite  the  hotel.  They  opened  a 
general  line  of  goods,  and  did  a  good  business.  Miles  sold  to  Dr.  A. 
N.  Crawford  early  in  1856.  In  185T  Crawford  sold  to  Moore,  and 
started  a  drug  store.  Moore  continued  the  business  for  some  years 
at  the  old  stand,  when  it  finally  fell  into  the  hands  of  Richard  A. 
Hungerford.  Onarga  never  had  a  more  precise,  accurate  and  thor- 
ough business  man  than  William  C.  Moore.  A  little  while  after 
Moore  &  Miles  built  their  store  D.  B.  Peck  built  the  second  store 
building,  a  few  rods  farther  south  and  nearly  opposite  the  depot.  His 
small  stock  of  goods  was  brought  from  Del  Rey,  and  business  began 
in  a  small  shanty  before  his  store  was  completed,  and  before  Moore 
&  Miles  opened  out.  On  July  4  of  the  same  year  Oliver  L.  Clark 


ONARGA    TOWNSHIP.  579 

plastered  his  house,  built  where  A.  K.  Doe  lives.  Soon  after  this 
James  D.  Kelly  built  a  house  near  the  residence  of  Mrs.  C.  Ven- 
mens,  and  sold  it  to  T.  A.  JSTorvell,  and  built  a  second  on  the  north- 
west corner  of  the  seminary  lot,  and  sold  that  in  the  early  part  of 
1855  to  Townsend  B.  Gardner.  Norvell  kept  a  hotel  in  1855.  About 
the  time  D.  B.  Peck  opened  his  store,  Henry  Peck  opened  a  saloon 
just  south  of  it.  Dr.  A.  N".  Crawford  settled  here  in  1854,  boarded  at 
Judge  Pangborn's,  and  in  1855  built  an  office  where  Durham's  bank 
now  is.  This  office  of  the  doctor  is  the  east  room  of  Isaac  Amer- 
maii's  residence.  Crawford  was  a  well  read  man,  and  one  of  the  best 
physicians  ever  in  the  county.  He  sold  out  to  Dr.  John  L.  Parmalee, 
who  came  from  Ohio  with  his  family  in  January,  1856.  The  same 
month  John  C.  Culver  built  his  dwelling  and  moved  here  from  Del 
Rey.  The  fall  before,  he,  in  partnership  with  Dr.  Lemuel  Boyd, 
opened  a  lumber  yard.  In  about  a  year  Boyd  sold  his  interest  to 
William  H.  Skeels.  M.  H.  Messer  opened  a  surveyor's  office  and 
general  land  agency  in  their  lumber  office.  In  October,  1855,  John 
W.,  James  and  Abram  Owen  came  from  Jacksonville,  this  state,  and 
while  building  the  house  now  occupied  by  J.  "W.  Owen  lived  in  a 
cabin  of  Joshua  Evans',  over  a  mile  from  town.  A  blacksmith  shop 
was  opened,  and  the  next  year  David  Weaver,  who  for  them,  and 
afterward  for  himself,  carried  on  the  business  several  years,  was  em- 
ployed. He  built  the  house  where  Winslow  Woods  resides.  At  this 
time  whisky  was  sold  in  at  least  two  places.  March,  1856,  Culver 
erected  the  building  now  his  residence,  and  Chancellor  L.  Richardson 
and  Isaac  McCourtie  opened  a  dry-goods  store  below,  and  the  three 
secret  societies  had  the  upper  room  for  their  hall.  In  about  a  year 
McCourtie  sold  his  interest  to  Richardson  and  soon  built  a  warehouse, 
and  in  1859  Lewis  Russ  was  his  partner  in  the  grain,  lumber  and 
agricultural  implement  business,  and  finally  they  opened  a  hardware 
and  furniture  store,  which  they  prosecuted  to  a  success,  both  parties 
making  a  fortune.  Russ  bought  McCourtie  out,  January,  1872,  took 
his  son,  Lewis  D.  Russ,  as  a  partner,  built  the  north  warehouse  the 
same  year,  and  held  the  grain  business  till  January  1,  1880,  when  B. 
H.  Durham  bought  them  out.  Russ  &  Son  sold  their  hardware  and 
furniture  store  to  Elkanah  Doolittle  in  1875,  who  ran  the  business 
about  two  years,  when  it  fell  into  the  hands  of  his  son,  Milton  Doo- 
little. 

P.  T.  Rhodes  and  Isaac  Amerman  commenced  a  banking  business 
in  June,  1867.  It  was  the  first  house  of  the  kind  in  town  and  was 
much  needed,  and  was  a  great  accommodation  to  the  business  men. 
It  suspended  operations  in  January,  1870.  They  were  succeeded  by 


580  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

Warren  H.  Doolittle,  who  sold  out  to  Benjaman  H.  Durham,  April, 
1871,  and  who  still  continues  thejbusiness.  Thomas  Ward  came  in 
1857,  and  worked  at  tailoring  for  Knight  &  Thomas.  He  soon  com- 
menced business  for  himself,  and  his  success  has  grown  into  a  large 
dry-goods  and  grocery  trade,  employing  three  clerks.  Eliphalet  R. 
Knight  and  Joseph  Thomas  rented  the  store  built  by  D.  B.  Peck, 
in  1856,  and  opened  the  largest  and  best  stock  of  goods  in  the  county 
at  that  time.  Their  trade  was  very  large,  and  extended  into  every 
kind  of  merchandise  the  new  settlers  called  for.  Thomas  died 
March  24,  1858.  This  event  threw  the  whole  responsibility  on 
Knight,  who  made  a  strong  effort  to  carry  the  business  alone.  In 
settling  the  estate  of  Mr.  Thomas  his  capital  was  withdrawn,  greatly 
crippling  the  business.  For  relief  a  partner  was  found  in  Seely  Het- 
field,  a  man  of  energy  and  considerable  means.  For  a  time  the 
business  was  prosperous,  and  a  large  room  was  rented  of  W.  P. 
Pierson.  The  excessive  hard  times  immediately  following,  with  a 
large  amount  of  outstanding  debts,  and  bills  becoming  due,  deter- 
mined Hetfield  to  withdraw,  leaving  Knight  in  possession  of  the 
business.  In  a  short  time  the  firm  took  the  form  of  Knight  &  Rice, 
and  finally  closed  up  in  about  1860  or  1861,  with  Rice  as  receiver. 
Knight  raised  a  company  and  entered  the  army,  and  at  the  close  of 
the  war  remained  in  the  south,  till  his  death  in  1879.  He  was  a  man 
of  untiring  energy,  extravagant  in  his  habit  and  plans,  rich  to-day 
and  poor  to-morrow,  but  never  giving  up.  For  a  short  time  after  the 
war  he  was  a  member  of  the  educational  board  of  the  state  of  Arkansas. 
Joseph  Thomas,  his  first  partner  in  business  in  Onarga,  had  lived  in 
the  county  for  many  years.  He  was  a  member  of  the  legislature  in 
1854.  He  was  a  part  owner  of  tlie  town  of  Gilman,  and  had  much 
influence  in  procuring  individual  contribution  for  the  east  and  west 
railroad  through  the  county.  His  energy  made  him  a  desirable 
partner  for  Mr.  Knight ;  had  he  lived,  misfortune  would  not  have 
come  to  the  business  he  had  helped  to  organize  so  soon. 

After  Dr.  A.  N.  Crawford  died,  in  December,  1862,  his  widow 
continued  the  drug  business,  and  in  1864  her  brother,  James  B. 
Baldromed,  became  a  partner,  and  finally,  sole  owner,  when  in  1868 
M.  D.  Firman  bought  a  half  interest  in  the  business,  and  held  it  till 
1876,  when  he  sold  to  Baldwin,  who  with  his  son,!Louis,  now  keeps  the 
store.  Dr.  Samuel  Hueston  put  in  a  small  stock  of  drugs  before  the 
war,  which  business  he  continued  for  several  years.  He  sold  out  to 
William  M.  Barrett  in  1872. 

In  the  fall  of  1856  T.  B.  Johnson  opened  a  harness  shop.  Simeon 
P.  Avey  soon  after  that  commenced  the  boot,  shoe  and  harness  busi- 


ONARGA    TOWNSHIP.  581 

ness,  and  followed  it  for  many  years.  II.  J.  Freeman  commenced 
with  F.  Watts  and  W.  A.  Thayer,  in  harness  and  boot  and  shoe 
business  in  1864,  and  for  the  last  twelve  years,  at  least,  has  been  in 
business  alone.  George  B.  Winter  commenced  the  manufacture  ot 
boots,  shoes  and  harness  in  the  spring  of  1866,  with  W.  A.  Thayer 
as  partner.  They  continued  the  business  seven  years,  when  Winter 
bought  Thayer's  interest  in  the  concern  and  formed  a  partnership 
with  his  son.  They  have  carried  one  of  the  largest  stocks  of  their 
line  of  merchandise  in  the  county.  R.  A.  Hungerford,  successor  to 
W.  C.  Moore,  left  the  old  stand  and  built  a  store  out  of  the  business 
center,  but  found  it  was  a  partial  failure  and  bought  of  A.  D.  Gard- 
ner the  building  he  had  erected  and  occupied  for  a  store  and  dwelling 
for  a  few  years,  now  occupied  by  T.  Ward,  and  opened  a  large  stock 
of  goods.  Here  he  did  business  for  several  years.  J.  C.  Culver, 
after  abandoning  the  lumber  trade  in  about  1858,  was  out  of  business 
till  about  1864,  when  he  went  into  a  grocery  house  with  Addison  Lock- 
wood.  Culver  has  continued  in  the  same  kind  of  business  to  this 
time,  and  has  of  late  years  carried  the  largest  stock  of  groceries  in 
town. 

Among  the  early  business  men  were  also  Charles  Rumley,  Ed. 
Rumley,  Charles  A.  Newton,  Henry  T.  Skeels,  Curtis  L.  Knight, 
Horace  Wright,  D.  S.  Gray  and  George  Flogg ;  later  were  Y.  W. 
Doshill,  James  Nelson,  Mrs.  E.  J.  Graves,  successors  to  each  other 
in  the  notion  and  book  trade. 

William  P.  Pierson  soon  added  to  his  lumber  a  general  line  ot 
hardware,  farming  tools,  coal  and  flour;  he  also  purchased  grain, 
and  as  his  business  increased  erected  buildings  for  himself  and  to 
rent  to  others.  At  one  time  there  was  scarcely  an  enterprise  but 
that  he  was  in  some  way  connected  with  it.  In  March,  1867,  Pierson 
and  James  A.  Cultro  were  partners  in  the  hardware  trade ;  Pierson 
and  Henry  Frisbie  in  the  lumber  and  coal  and  farm  implement  busi- 
ness. S.  K.  Marston,  after  four  years,  bought  Frisbie' s  interest, 
and  was  Pierson's  partner  a  year  or  two.  T.  W.  Ludwick  bought 
Pierson' s  interest  in  the  store  in  1874,  and  was  a  partner  of  J.  A. 
Cultro  till  January  1,  1880,  when  Cultro  sold  to  W.  D.  Motter. 
Pierson  covered  his  buildings  with  signs,  and  for  years  had  two 
columns  in  each  of  the  papers.  In  the  fall  of  1862  Peter  Risser 
came  to  Onarga  from  Ohio.  Pierson  at  once  took  him  in  as  a  part- 
ner in  the  dry-goods,  clothing  and  grocery  business.  In  February, 
1868,  Risser  bought  Pierson's  interest  and  formed  a  partnership  with 
his  son,  Gilman  R.  Risser,  and  later  with  Lewis  and  Charles  Risser. 
In  the  summer  of  1870  they  put  up  a  brick  store  building  40x90, 


582  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

two  stories  high,  with  basement.  It  is  the  largest  store-room  in  the 
county.  Their  sales  have  reached  as  high  as  $60,000  in  a  year, 
exclusive  of  the  sale  of  flour,  etc.,  at  the  mill,  and  of  the  grain 
trade. 

Sandford  K.  Marston  has  been  in  the  grain  trade  for  the  past 
eleven  years,  and  now  has  the  south  warehouse,  built  by  McCourtie 
in  1873.  Besides  the  brick  store  of  Kisser  &  Sons  there  is  one  sin- 
gle brick  business  house  and  a  block  of  six  stores,  two  stories,  with 
basement.  The  four  to  the  north  were  built  in  1868,  and  the  other 
in  1869.  Each  room  is  20x80  feet. 

THE  DECATUR  BAGGING  COMPANY. 

Moses  Jerome  and  John  Dement  commenced  buying  flax-straw 
in  September,  1870,  and  immediately  purchased  land  and  erected  a 
tow-mill.  They  worked  up  about  800  tons  of  straw  each  year  till 
1875,  when  they  sold  out  to  the  present  company,  Jerome  being  one 
of  that  firm.  Since  the  establishment  changed  hands  about  1,700 
tons  of  straw  have  been  used  yearly.  In  1878  they  purchased  of  the 
farmers  in  the  neighborhood  2,800  tons.  The  yield  of  tow  is  about 
one  ton  to  four  of  straw.  Some  years  this  company  at  this  mill  has 
raised  over  300  acres  of  hemp  ;  always  raising  from  one  to  two 
hundred  acres  of  flax,  and  occupying  over  that  number  of  acres  all 
the  time.  The  buildings,  machinery,  teams  and  implements  neces- 
sary to  the  business  cost  nearly  $10,000.  There  are  about  twenty-five 
men  employed  most  of  the  year,  receiving  good  wages  for  their  labor. 
Mr.  Ralp  McKenney  has  always  superintended  the  business  of  the 
company  at  this  place. 

Mr.  Pond,  the  first  photographer,  came  in  1856.  Mr.  Hawly  fol- 
lowed him,  then  George  Phillips  and  Dr.  Phinney.  Finally,  Will- 
iam Lawhead  commenced  in  1865,  and  holds  the  field  by  doing  first- 
class  work. 

Thomas  R.  Barnes  opened  a  saloon  as  early  as  1856,  and  in  a  short 
time  erected  a  large  building,  in  which  he  had  a  stock  of  liquors  and 
a  billiard  table,  which  he  continued  to  run  for  several  years.  On 
August  26,  J1862,  twenty-five  ladies,  led  by  Mrs.  Sarah  Clark,  en- 
tered his  place  of  business  and  totally  destroyed  all  his  liquors,  both 
in  bottles  and  barrels.  In  defending  his  castle  he  used  a  hay  fork, 
striking  Mrs.  Clark  on  the  arm  and  wounding  it  slightly  with  the 
tines'.  The  other  two  saloons  agreed  to  close  business,  and  were 
not  molested.  This  action  of  the  ladies  was  the  basis  of  a  suit  with 
Thomas  R.  Barnes,  plaintiff,  and  forty-eight  of  the  best  citizens  of 
Onarga,  defendants.  A  change  of  venue  was  taken  to  Kankakee 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIF 


ONARGA    TOWNSHIP.  585 

county,  and  011  April  24,  1863,  the  court  rendered  a  judgment  for 
Barnes  of  $300.  It  was  finally  settled  by  a  compromise.  In  the 
summer  of  1857  George  Saddlers,  a  notoriously  disorderly  man, 
undertook  to  open  a  saloon,  and  on  the  night  of  July  11,  his  build- 
ing, a  small  structure,  was  razed  to  the  ground.  The  saloon  was 
never  opened.  The  last  institution  of  this  kind,  a  saloon  and  billiard 
table,  was  kept  by  Willard  S.  Fuller,  and  by  the  action  of  the  town 
board  was  closed  May  19,  1866. 

February  9,  1863,  the  citizens  voted  to  become  incorporated 
under  the  statutes.  On  the  16th,  Charles  H.  Wood,  G.  G.  Webb, 
Winslow  Woods,  Cyrus  Austin  and  Richard  A.  Hungerford  were 
elected  trustees.  Hungerford  was  president  of  the  board,  and  Wood, 
clerk.  March  11,  1867,  it  was  organized  under  a  special  charter. 
March  30,  1876,  it  was  organized  by  a  vote  of  80  for,  to  3  against, 
under  the  general  village  charter.  The  present  village  officers  are : 
George  B.  Winter,  Jr.,  Ezra  D.  Durham,  Milton  Doolittle,  Elmore 
Munson,  Edward  B.  Jones  and  Frank  Kilpatrick,  trustees ;  Frank 
Hungerford,  clerk ;  Lewis  J.  Risser  and  Clarence  C.  Sedgwick, 
library  directors ;  W.  M.  Barrett,  treasurer ;  and  William  C.  Mor- 
ris, magistrate. 

April  20,  1861,  the  citizens  held  a  war  meeting,  and  raised  a  fine 
liberty  pole.  There  were  speeches  and  great  exhibitions  of  patriot- 
ism. July  30,  James  Fletcher,  of  Watseka,  Paddock,  of  Kankakee, 
and  other  speakers,  attended  a  similar  meeting.  It  was  a  large 
gathering,  and  a  company  of  sixty-five  volunteers  started  for  St. 
Louis.  Late  in  the  fall  of  1861,  E.  R.  Knight  raised  a  company  of 
cavalry,  and  in  August,  1862,  Capt.  Robert  B.  Lucas,  with  others, 
raised  a  company  of  infantry  and  entered  the  army. 

Many  of  the  citizens  of  the  village  feeling  the  need  of  better  facil- 
ities for  procuring  reading  matter,  organized  themselves  into  a  library 
association,  and  December  4,  1858,  elected  Horace  Pinney,  presi- 
dent ;  Dr.  J.  L.  Parmlee,  vice-president ;  and  Fordice  Sylvester, 
Moses  H.  Messer,  Charles  Rumley,  Henry  M.  Lovel  and  Arthur 
Carney,  directors.  There  were  then  150  volumes  donated  by1  the 
members.  Shares  were  fixed  at  $5  each,  and  persons  could  become 
members  by  paying  that  amount  in  money  or  books.  In  1861  there 
were  500  volumes,  and  the  value  was  seventy  shares  at  $10  each. 
In  the  fall  of  October,  1862,  an  excursion  was  arranged  to  Chicago. 
Four  coaches  were  chartered,  and  after  paying  all  expenses,  there 
was  in  the  treasury  $255.  A  lot  was  purchased,  and  a  building, 
14x20  and  twelve  feet  high,  was  erected,  at  a  cost  of  $164.44.  The 
library  was  well  sustained  and  kept  in  good  condition  by  a  tax  on 


586  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

the  shares  till  1870,  when  it  was  closed  for  two  years.  In  1873  the 
shareholders  voted  to  donate  all  their  library  property  to  the  vil- 
lage, on  condition  the  village  should  assume  the  debt  of  $171,  and 
annually  levy  a  two-mill  tax  for  library  purposes,  and  keep  it  a  pub- 
lic library,  as  provided  by  the  state  law.  March  24,  1873,  the 
village  trustees  accepted  the  donation  and  the  conditions  above 
stated.  At  that  time  there  were  1,000  volumes,  which,  with  the 
real  estate,  was  worth  at  least  $1,000.  March  2,  1874,  the  first 
board  of  library  directors  were  elected  by  the  citizens  :  Henry  M. 
Lovel,  William  T.  Duke,  for  one  year ;  Isaac  Amerman,  Sandford  K. 
Marston,  for  two  years ;  Joseph  D.  Long,  M.  Everett  Dwight,  for 
three  years.  From  the  time  the  donation  was  made  to  the  present 
the  corporation  authorities  have  appropriated,  each  year,  for  library 
purposes,  $250.  In  1878  a  complete  catalogue  was  published,  prepared 
by  A.  C.  Cowen.  This  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  institutions  of  the 
town.  The  present  directors  are  :  Henry  M.  Lovel,  S.  K.  Marston, 
J.  D.  Long,  M.  H.  Messer,  C.  C.  Sedgwick  and  Lewis  Kisser. 

At  an  election  held  at  the  house  of  T.  A.  Norvell,  June  4,  1855, 
50  votes  were  polled :  John  D.  Caton  received  28  for  supreme  judge  ; 
S.  W.  Randall  received  24  for  circuit  judge,  the  others  not  voting  for 
any  one  for  those  offices.  The  question  of  prohibition  was  before  the 
people,  and  25  were  for  it,  and  24  against.  All  but  six  of  the  Caton 
ballots  are  against  prohibition.  The  writer  has  the  poll-book  and 
ballots  in  his  possession.  William  P.  Pierson,  Samuel  H.  Harper 
and  Cyrus  S.  Pangborn  were  the  judges  of  election. 

At  the  election  in  Onarga  precinct,  held  at  the  house  of  T.  A. 
Norvell,  November  6,  1855,  there  were  63  persons  voted.  The 
question  of  township  organization  was  before  the  people  for  the  first 
time.  There  were  19  for,  and  41  against  it.  There  were  49  votes 
against,  and  1  for,  swine  and  sheep  running  at  large.  Samuel  H.  Har- 
per, William  P.  Pierson  and  Nelson  Skeels  were  judges  of  election  ; 
R.  W.  Andrews  and  Silas  Lockwood,  clerks. 

April  I,  1856,  was  held  the  first  township  election ;  Dr.  Samuel 
Hueston,  moderator,  and  E.  F.  Rose,  clerk.  The  Doctor  was  keeping 
the  hotel  at  the  time,  and  his  office  was  used  to  hold  the  election  in. 
There  were  88  votes  polled ;  Ray  W.  Andrews  was  elected  super- 
visor ;  Dr.  A.  1ST.  Crawford,  town  clerk ;  Dr.  Lemuel  Boyd,  assessor ; 
Nelson  Skeels,  collector,  and  Thomas  A.  Norvell,  Jacob  Riner  and 
Daniel  Wright,  commissioners  of  highways.  Dr.  Samuel  Hueston 
and  William  Buckles  were  elected  justices  of  the  peace ;  Buckles 
did  not  qualify.  George  W.  Hoel  and  L.  Harris  were  elected  con- 
stables. 


ONARGA    TOWNSHIP. 


587 


In  the  next  four  years  the  settlement  was  very  rapid  ;  the  gov- 
ernment land  was  all  taken  up,  and  the  railroad  company  had 
sold  large  quantities  of  their  land.  Most  of  the  new-comers  were 
from  the  eastern  states ;  men  with  small  means,  who  came  west  to 
make  new  homes  as  farmers,  and  others  to  become  farmers.  They 
nearly  all  commenced  on  the  prairie,  distant  from  the  timber,  and 
soon  learned  it  was  cheaper  to  fence  their  stock  than  to  fence  their 
crops,  and  as  early  as  1861  an  eifort  was  made  to  restrain  it  from 
running  at  large.  The  conflict  was  between  those  who  had  their 
farms  already  fenced  and  those  who  had  not  yet  fenced,  and  were- 
not  able  to.  The  latter  thought  a  township  well  settled,  with  a  fam- 
ily on  each  quarter  section,  would  do  more  to  build  up  society,, 
schools  and  churches,  make  roads  and  wholesome  laws,  than  a  dozen 
or  twenty  farmers  with  vast  herds  running  at  large.  The  result 
culminated,  finally,  in  a  state  law  restraining  all  stock  from  being 
free  commoners.  It  was  a  severe  contest,  and  ran  through  more 
than  ten  years.  The  following  is  a  list  of  the  township  officers  of 
Onarga  since  the  county  adopted  township  organization : 


w 

H 
< 
P 

1856 
1857 
1858 
1859 
1860 
1861 
1862 
1863 
1864 
1865 
1866 
1867 
1868 
1869 
1870 
1871 
1872 
1873 
1874 
1875 
1876 
1877 
1878 
1879 
1880 

H 
H 
O 

88 
83 

220 
264 
288 
280 
245 
148 
202 
257 
339 
340 
431 
498 
496 
341 
336 
338 
405 
491 
593 
428 
377 

SUPERVISOR. 

TOWN   CLERK. 

ASSESSOR. 

COLLECTOR. 

Ray  W.  Andrews 
Same  

Dr.  A.  N.  Crawford 
ElkanahDoolittle.. 
Moses  H.  Messer.  .  . 
Charles  Rumley  .  .  . 
John  S.  Storms  

Dr.  Lemuel  Boyd. 
Nelson  Skeels  
Same  

Nelson  Skeels. 
John  C.  Culver. 
Horace  Pinney. 
Same. 
Same. 
John  S.  Storms. 
John  Lash. 
Hiram  J.  Skeels. 
A.  E.  Donaldson. 
Enoch  C.  Hall. 
Horace  Pinney. 
Dr.  J.  L.  Parmalee. 
Same. 
Curtis  L.  Knight. 
Thos.  G.  Robinson. 
Isaac  Amerman. 
T.  B.  Hall. 
Isaac  Amerman. 
Charles  R.  Eager. 
Isaac  Amerman. 
Same. 
A.  E.  Donaldson. 
Isaac  Amerman. 
Same. 
John  Coyner. 

Same  

David  H.  Metzger. 
William  H.  Skeels 
Winslow  Woods.  . 
Same  

Same  .       

Chas.  H.  Wood.. 
Same  

Charles  A.  Newton. 
George  W.Binford. 
Ed    Rumley  

Same      

Same  .   . 

Same  

Same  .... 

Enoch  H.  Hall.. 
David  H.  Metzger 
Same  

Same  

Julius  L.  Dewey.  . 
Luther  T.Clark... 
Same  .... 

Same  

Same  

Same  .... 

Almon  S.  Palmer 
Same  

Enoch  C.  Hall  

Horace  Pinney.  .  . 
Same  .... 

Anson  Lisk  .... 

Same       .       ... 

Same  

Same 

Ipnac  W.  Wilson 
Almon  S.  Palmer 
S'ime     

Same  

D.  B.Moffatt  
Horace  Pinney.  .  .  . 
Silas  C.  Lockwood 
Same  

Same  

Same   

Dr.  I.  F.  Palmer  . 
Same   

Charles  E.  Branner. 

Same  •  .  . 

Same     

Same  

Same  
Samp  

Same  

In  giving  a  history  of  the  mills  and  the  arrival  of  the  railroad  at 
Del  Rey  a  few  items  relative  to  the  business  of  that  place  were  men- 
tioned. We  are  credibly  informed,  could  the  railroad  company  have 
made  proper  arrangement  for  land  at  the  creek,  machine  shops  would 


588  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

have  been  erected  there  instead  of  at  Champaign.  There  would  have 
been  the  town,  and  Onarga  would  never  have  existed.  But  it  was 
otherwise,  and  the  little  hamlet  struggled  along  for  years.  Henry 
Bacon,  one  of  the  civil  engineers  of  the  road,  bought  the  mill  in 

1854,  and  in  May,  1856,  he  had  twenty  town  lots  laid  out.     The 
company  did  nothing  favoring  the  place,  but  were  forced  to  build  a 
tank  and  put  in  pumping  machinery  for  its  own  use.     An  addition 
was  laid  out  about  1870.     In  1879  the  passenger  house  was  built. 
F.  P.  Beach  has  a  store,  a  brickyard  and  drain-tile  factory.     Stewart 
Lindsey  has  the  other  store,  which  he  has  kept  for  many  years.    Mr. 
Lindsey  was  one  of  the  engineering  party  in  the  first  survey  of  the 
road  as  early  as  1852.    Since  this  place  has  been  relieved  of  its  rough 
element,  which  always  clusters  around  where  liquor  is  sold,  it  has 
put  on  new  energy,  and  is  now  doing  a  good  business.     The  cholera 
broke  out  in  this  place  in  July,  1854.     James  M.  Smith  died  with 
that  disease  at  French  Lick  Springs,  Orange  county,  Indiana,  on  the 
15th  inst.     Before  burial  in  the  Lehigh  graveyard  the   coffin  was 
opened  by  Joseph  Morris  and  R.  H.  Webber.     From  this  exposure 
both  were  taken  with  cholera ;  Webber  died  on  the  18th,  Morris  re- 
covered.   In  a  few  days  Benjamin  Rockhold  and  his  sons,  Noah  and 
Charles,  were  in  their  graves.     There  were  eight  cases,  four  proving 
fatal. 

The  post-office  at  Del  Hey  was  established  August  23,  1854.  The 
postmasters  were  Dr.  Lemuel  Boyd,  Tom  Lindsey  and  Stewart 
Lindsey.  The  income  to  the  government  the  first  year  was  $1.57. 
Nebraska  post-office,  at  Jefferson's  point,  with  Hamilton  Jefferson  as 
postmaster,  was  established  in  1855,  and  continued  six  months ;  the 
income  was  forty-two  cents.  Onarga  post-office  was  established  in 

1855,  with  Townsend  B.  Gardner  as  postmaster.     The  income  the 
first  year  was  $16.99.    Charles  Burnley  was  postmaster  in  April  and 
May,  1858,  when  Dr.  Peyton  D.  Beecher  was  appointed.     Kumley 
was  again  appointed  in  the  summer  of  1860.    Dr.  John  L.  Parmalee 
succeeded  him,  and  held  it  till  October  18,   1866,   when  Franklin 
Graves  was  appointed.     His  widow,  Eliza  J.  Graves,  was  appointed 
October  6,  1867,  and  held  the  office  till  July  10,  1875,  when  Erne- 
line  Amerman  was  commissioned,  and  held  the  office  till  January  7, 
1880,  when  John  B.  Lowe  took  possession  of  it.     April  20,  1880, 
James  Owen  was  appointed  postmaster  at  Onarga.     The  history  of 
this  office,  and  all  the  various  changes  and  causes  for  such  changes, 
cannot  be  given  here.     To  do  so  would  take  more  space  than  can  be 
devoted  to  the  subject  in  this  work.     It  is,  however,  one  of  much 
interest,  and  ought  to  be  written  up. 


ONAKGA    TOWNSHIP.  589 

The  Onarga  "Mercury,"  the  first  newspaper  in  town,  was  com- 
menced August  13,  1859,  by  R.  McKee  Davis  and  Bockus.  It  was 
sustained  about  a  year  and  a  half.  Ed.  Rumley  issued  the  first 
number  of  the  Onarga  "Advertiser"  in  August,  1865.  It  was 
merged  into  the  Onarga  "Review"  in  February,  1866.  The 
"Review"  office  was  moved  to  Moline  December,  1869,  and  in  the 
winter  of  1870  L.  M.  Babcock  started  the  Onarga  "Times."  This 
office  was  moved  to  Watseka  in  April,  1871,  and  became  the  Wat- 
seka  "Times."  In  the  spring  of  1870  Jacob  Keizer  issued  the 
first  number  of  the  Onarga  "Courier,"  which  continued  till  that 
fall,  when  Keizer  moved  it  to  Winamac,  Indiana.  While  both  the 
above  papers  were  in  existence,  John  B.  Low  opened  a  small  job 
office,  and  on  their  retiring  from  town  he,  in  the  winter  of  1872, 
commenced  the  issuing  of  the  Onarga  "Review,"  the  present  paper. 

In  the  fall  of  1862  the  war  department,  after  some  conference  with 
some  of  the  leading  citizens,  sent  fifty-eight  colored  persons  to  Onarga 
from  Cairo.  They  were  transported  in  stock  cars,  and  were  in  very 
destitute  condition.  They  were  well  cared  for  by  the  people, 
among  whom  they  found  homes.  At  a  school  election,  April  4, 
1870,  they  appeared  at  the  polls,  to  vote  and  were  challenged.  The 
fifteenth  amendment  to  the  constitution  had  become  a  part  of  the 
organic  law  of  the  land,  making  them  citizens  with  equal  rights  of 
white  citizens.  After  some  discussion  fourteen  of  them  were  allowed 
to  vote,  the  same  members  of  the  school  board  voting  in  their  favor 
who  voted  to  allow  their  children  in  the  public  schools  a  couple  of 
years  before. 

October  14,  15  and  16,  1857,  the  first  agricultural  fair  of  Onarga 
was  held  in  a  large  tent  located  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  south  of  T. 
M.  Pangborn's  present  residence.  William  C.  Moore,  Dr.  A.  N". 
Crawford  and  Ray  W.  Andrews  were  the  movers  in  this  enterprise. 
A  second  similar  fair  was  held  in  town  the  next  fall.  Eight  years 
elapsed  before  another  was  held,  and  October  11,  12  and  13,  1866, 
a  similar  tent  was  pitched  on  the  present  grounds  and  the  fair  held 
in  it.  H.  P.  H.  Bromwell  and  Gen.  Charles  Black  held  a  joint  politi- 
cal discussion  in  the  same  place  a  day  or  two  before  the  fair.  They 
were  candidates  for  congress.  The  success  at  this  time  led  to  the 
perfecting  of  a  joint  stock  company  in  the  interest  of  agriculture, 
known  as  the  Iroquois  County  xlgricultural  Society.  It  was  char- 
tered by  the  state,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $25,000.  At  the  annual 
meeting,  December  9,  1868,  there  were  $175.40  in  the  treasury. 
May  29,  1869,  the  society  procured  a  deed  for  23  acres  of  land  for 
$75"  per  acre,  from  Allen  Pinkerton.  It  is  the  N.  |  of  S.  i  of  S.  W. 


590  HISTORY    OF   IKOQUOIS    COUNTY. 

fractional  J  of  Sec.  18,  T.  26,  R.  11  E.  This  land  is  admirably 
adapted  for  the  purpose  f*r  which  it  was  selected ;  is  inclosed  by  a 
tight  board  fence  eight  feet  high ;  the  floral  hall  is  24  x  100  feet. 
There  is  a  large  number  of  complete  stables  for  all  kinds  of  stock, 
a  never  failing  supply  of  artesian  water,  and  a  fine  amphitheater 
which  will  comfortably  seat  500  persons.  The  track  is  a  half  mile  in 
length,  and  is  the  best  in  this  part  of  the  state.  The  present  officers 
are  D.  C.  Brown,  president ;  H.  Pinney,  vice-president ;  James  E. 
Owen,  secretary ;  D.  Ward,  treasurer. 

The  settlers  who  came  to  this  neighborhood  after  the  railroad  was 
completed  felt  the  need  of  the  organization  of  a  small  fruit  and  hor- 
ticultural society,  in  which  could  be  discussed  the  various  kinds  of 
pursuits  in  which  they  were  engaged.  About  the  time  of  the  war  a 
farmers'  club  was  organized,  composed  of  the  leading  farmers  in  the 
township,  and  meetings  were  held  as  often  as  circumstances  would 
permit.  During  the  war  these  meetings  were  abandoned ;  other 
things  took  the  attention  of  the  people  who  had  a  country  to  save 
and  had  sent  sons  to  save  it.  After  the  war  the  meetings  were  re- 
sumed by  such  men  as  E.  G.  Babcock,  F.  P.  Beach,  H.  Pinney,  R. 
'  B.  Pangborn,  S.  H.  Harper,  J.  B.  Clark,  I.  W.  Wilson  and  many 
others.  In  February,  1866,  the  name  was  changed  to  Farmers'  Club 
and  Fruit  Growers'  Association,  and  in  May,  1867,  again  changed  to 
Onarga  Horticultural  Society.  In  December  John  B.  Clark  was 
elected  president ;  H.  Pinney,  vice-president ;  E.  C.  Hall,  secretary 
and  librarian ;  and  Dr.  L.  Pike,  treasurer.  In  the  spring  of  1868  the 
State  Horticultural  Convention  held  a  session  here.  M.  L.  Dunlap, 
of  Champaign,  Dr.  Warder,  of  Ohio,  and  other  celebrated  horticul- 
turists lectured  from  time  to  time  before  this  society.  It  was  for 
many  years  considered  one  of  the  leading  organizations  of  the  kind 
in  the  state.  Regular  meetings  were  held  till  1878,  and  occasionally 
since  then.  The  soil  in  the  neighborhood  is  well  adapted  to  small 
fruit,  and  this  industry  has  been  one  of  considerable  magnitude.  It 
was  commenced  by  E.  Gould,  who  first  made  a  success  in  strawberries, 
soon  followed  by  many  others,  till  for  several  years  there  were  nearly 
100  acres  in  strawberries,  and  a  number  of  acres  set  to  raspberries 
and  other  small  fruits.  Some  years  more  than  a  hundred  tons  of 
grapes  are  raised  in  the  corporation.  One  year  the  sales  of  small 
fruit  amounted  to  over  $30,000,  and  the  culture  employed  a  large 
number  of  laborers.  In  the  last  few  years,  on  account  of  the  low 
price  of  fruit,  many  have  abandoned  the  business. 

December  3,  1864,  there  was  organized  a  company  to  prospect  for 
coal.     Sech  Turner  was  the  superintendent ;  E.  C.  Hall,  treasurer ; 


ONA11GA   TOWNSHIP.  591 

J.  D.  Bennett,  C.  H.  Wood  and  M.  H.  Messer,  a  committee  to  cooperate 
with  the  superintendent  in  the  work.  December  19,  21  and  23,  D.  C. 
Wilber  was  employed  to  lecture  on  the  coal  formation  in  the  state. 
May  1,  1865,  the  work  was  commenced  by  boring  at  a  point  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  south  of  the  depot.  John  Farias,  in  May  and  June,  sunk 
a  shaft  8x12,  75  feet  deep,  but  was  compelled  to  abandon  it  on  ac- 
count of  artesian  water.  It  was  located  one  mile  and  a  quarter  north 
of  town.  In  the  fall  of  1866  boring  was  again  commenced,  and  on 
April  11,  1867",  a  depth  of  222  feet  had  been  reached.  The  citizens 
raised  for  Mr.  McCulloch,  who  was  prosecuting  the  work,  $350, 
and  he  went  on  till  the  depth  of  527  feet  was  reached,  but  October 
29  the  project  was  abandoned. 

About  1860  Lewis  Russ  and  Isaac  McCourtie  bought  of  Erastus 
Martin,  of  Woodstock,  Champaign  county,  Ohio,  "Rollin,"  a  fine 
mahogany  bay  stallion,  which  Martin  had  imported  from  France. 
It  was  the  first  of  that  celebrated  stock,  "  Percheron  Norman,"  in 
this  part  of  the  state.  In  the  spring  of  1870  the  same  men,  with 
Timothy  Slattery,  formed  a  company,  and  Slattery  went  to  France 
and  personally  selected  five  horses,  and  safely  landed  them  in  Onarga 
in  the  following  June.  In  1872  the  same  parties  imported  eight 
more,  selected  by  the  same  party,  and  delivered  in  June.  The  same 
year  Horace  Babcock  and  Lee  C.  Brown  imported  five,  Brown  going 
to  Europe  to  select  them.  They  were  landed  in  Onarga  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1872.  Russ  and  McCourtre  purchased  "Old  Tom"  from 
parties  in  Ohio  who  imported  him.  In  1874  about  thirty  farmers 
associated  themselves  together,  denominating  themselves  the  Onarga 
Live  Stock  Importing  Company,  and  sent  William  B.  Lyman  to  the 
old  country  to  select  their  stock ;  the  result  of  this  effort  was  the 
delivery  of  ten  stallions,  on  the  fair  ground  in  Onarga,  May  25, 
1874.  In  September,  1874,  Russ  &  Slattery  brought  over  two  black 
stallions,  Slattery  accompanying  them  across  the  ocean.  The  Onarga 
Live  Stock  Importing  Company,  being  successful  in  profitably  dis- 
posing of  their  first  venture,  sent  Luther  T.  Clark  and  Lee  C.  Brown 
for  a  second  lot.  Nine  were  purchased,  and  delivered  in  Onarga  in 
May,  1875.  Mr.  T.  Slattery  is  now  in  France  selecting  a  lot  of  three 
or  four,  which  he  expects  to  deliver  in  Onarga  early  in  June,  1880. 
Of  all  the  above  lot  of  horses  only  four  are  now  owned  in  town ; 
the  others  were  sold  from  time  to  time  and  taken  into  nearly  all  the 
western  states  beyond  the  Mississippi  river.  No  stock  has  ever 
brought  the  farmers  so  much  money  as  this ;  there  has  always  been 
a  ready  sale  of  all  half  and  quarter  breeds  of  this  valuable  stock. 

In  the  limits  of  the  town  there  are  five  places  where  the  dead  are 


592  HISTORY    OF    IIIOQUOIS   COUNTY. 

buried.  The  first  is  called  the  Lehigh  graveyard.  It  is  on  a  high 
point,  putting  out  from  the  south  into  the  big  bog  southwest  of  Del 
Key ;  it  is  in  the  S.E.  cor.  of  the  W.  i  of  lot  4=  of  KW.  J  of  Sec.  1, 
T.  25,  R.  10  E.  There  are,  as  near  as  can  be  determined,  190  graves 
in  the  inclosure.  ISTo  better  place  could  have  been  selected  in  the 
neighborhood  for  that  purpose,  and  it  is  in  a  reasonably  good  condi- 
tion. The  second,  as  to  age,  is  known  as  the  Frame  graveyard.  It 
is  on  the  east  bank  of  Spring  Creek,  near  the  N.W.  cor.  of  S.W. 
i  of  Sec.  15,  T.  26,  R.  14  W ;  the  bluff  is  near  twenty  feet  high  at 
this  place,  rendering  the  locality  always  dry.  There  are  thirty- 
three  graves  in  all.  In  one  inclosure  twelve  of  the  Frame  and 
Rounsavell  families  are  buried.  There  are  two  or  three  other  inclo- 
sures,  but  the  fences  are  all  going  to  decay  rapidly ;  no  fence  incloses 
this  spot.  The  third  is  known  as  the  Pangborn  burying-ground.  It 
is  in  the  edge  of  the  timber  on  a  high  bluff  east  of  the  creek,  near 
the  KE.  cor.  of  S.E.  ±  of  Sec.  19,  T.  26,  R.  14  W.  At  this  place 
have  been  buried  about  sixty-four  persons ;  about  twelve  have  been 
removed  to  the  cemetery  at  Onarga.  This  place  is  inclosed  by  a 
good  fence.  The  fourth  is  known  as  the  Jefferson  burial-place, 
located  near  the  creek,  on  the  S.W.  J  of  S.W.  J  of  Sec.  12,  T.  26, 
R.  14.  The  first  grave  was  that  of  Henry  Jefferson,  and  it  marks 
one  corner  of  the  spot  where  Hamilton  Jefferson,  his  father,  located 
his  first  cabin  in  1837.  There  are  twenty-three  graves  at  this  place. 
It  is  in  a  pasture,  and  but  few  of  the  graves  are  inclosed.  Onarga 
Cemetery  Association  was  organized  under  the  laws  of  the  state 
in  March,  1858.  Thirty-six  persons  were  present  out  of  the  forty- 
six,  who  had  at  a  previous  meeting  subscribed  $5  each  toward  a 
cemetery  fund.  Enoch  C.  Hall  was  elected  president ;  William  II. 
Skeels,  secretary ;  Elisha  G.  Babcock,  John  C.  Culver  and  Lewis 
Russ,  directors.  At  this  meeting  the  officers  were  directed  to  pur- 
chase ten  acres  of  land,  the  present  cemetery  lot.  In  the  summer 
of  1858  a  tract  of  land  was  purchased  and  laid  into  blocks,  lots,  walks 
and  driveways,  and  on  the  7th  of  August  the  stockholders  met  and 
bid  for  choice.  R.  B.  McCready  bid  the  highest,  and  secured  the  lot 
where  he  was  afterward  buried.  The  net  proceeds  of  the  choice  bids 
amounted  to  $48.  In  the  spring  of  1867  the  grounds  were  orna- 
mented by  shade  trees  ;  a  reception  vault  was  constructed  at  an 
expense  of  $350,  and  a  fine  substantial  gateway  with  iron  gates  was 
put  up,  at  a  cost  of  near  $175.  In  October,  1877,  five  acres  were  pur- 
chased on  the  south  at  an  expense  of  $550.  It  is  a  most  desirable 
addition  for  future  use.  This  resting  place  for  the  dead  is  a  beautiful 
knoll,  rising  gently  from  all  sides  to  the  summit  near  the  center. 


M.  JEFFERSON 

(DE  CEASE  D.) 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF 'ILLINOIS 


ONAKGA    TOWNSHIP.  595 

The  soil  is  sand,  and  naturally  well  drained.  There  is  now  a  fine 
growth  of  elms  along  the  main  driveways  and  a  variety  of  ever- 
greens along  the  walks.  Such  grounds  are  a  credit  and  an  ornament 
to  Onarga.  The  respect  paid  to  the  dead  is  a  just  measure  of  our 
appreciation  of  the  living. 

THE  MURDER  OF  MARTIN  MEARA,  JR. 

Martin  Meara,  Jr.,  a  boy  eleven  years  old,  was  burned  and 
whipped  by  his  father  till  he  was  dead.  June  13,  1871,  the  lad  was 
knocked  down  twice,  and  most  unmercifully  flogged  until  he  could 
not  stand.  Two  or  three  times  the  father  said  he  would  whip  the 
life  out  of  him,  the  boy  pleading,  "Father,  don't  whip  me  any 
more."  The  next  morning  his  swollen  face  gave  evidence  of  the 
ordeal  through  which  he  had  passed ;  and  feeling  bad  he  returned 
to  his  bed,  saying  to  his  sister  he  did  not  know  why  his  father 
whipped  him  so.  After  he  had  been  in  bed  a  short  time  Meara 
made  him  get  up  and  feed  the  stock,  and  on  his  return  to  the  house 
whipped  him  again,  and  sent  him  to  the  field,  ^N"ot  long  after  this 
he  brought  him  in,  and  commenced  whipping  him  with  the  stock  of 
a  large  black-snake  whip  about  a  yard  long ;  then  laid  him  on  the 
hot  stove  (the  daughter  was  baking  biscuit  at  the  time),  the  boy 
pleading  all  the  while,  "Father,  don't  burn  me,  don't  burn  me." 
He  screamed  very  loud.  The  skin  from  his  feet  and  back  stuck  to 
the  stove,  making  the  room  very  offensive.  Meara  would  not 
allow  a  door  or  window  to  be  opened.  He  knocked  the  boy  down 
with  the  butt  end  of  the  whip  stock  several  times.  He  then  took 
him  to  his  mother's  room,  and  the  children  never  saw  him  again. 
This  is  the  testimony  of  Sarah  Meara,  fourteen  years  of  age. 
Maggie  Meara,  a  bright  little  girl,  seven  years  old,  said  to  the  coro- 
ner's jury  :  "  Father  whipped  brother  with  a  whip  ;  he  put  brother 
on  the  hot  stove ;  he  laid  him  down  ;  he  cried  when  he  was  put  on 
the  stove;  there  was  afire  in  the  stove;  he  laid  him  on  his  back 
on  the  hot  stove  ;  brother  tried  to  get  away  ;  his  clothes  were  all  off; 
father  made  him  take  them  off  himself;  father  hit  brother  on  the 
head ;  he  hit  him  lots  of  times ;  he  then  threw  him  in  the  shed ;  he 
then  walked  back  and  stood  up  by  the  side  of  the  wall ;  he  whipped 
him,  and  then  took  him  into  mother's  room  ;  I  never  saw  him  more  ; 
father  told  me  not  to  say  anything  about  it,  or  he  would  whip  me  ;  I 
loved  my  brother;  father  whipped  me  sometimes  with  a  whip." 
Afterward  the  boy  was  taken  to  his  mother's  room,  where  she  lay  sick 
with  an  infant  one  day  old.  Meara  in  her  presence  used  the  whip 
on  him  for  a  number  of  minutes,  the  child  (lodging  around  the  room 


596  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

to  avoid  the  blows,  pleading,  "Don't  whip  me,  father,  please  don't ; 
I  will  work. ' '  At  last  he  stopped  and  told  him  to  put  on  his  shirt. 
The  boy  made  an  effort  and  failed,  saying,  "I  cannot  see  it,  I  can- 
not see  it ;  no,  father,  I  cannot  see  you,"  and  fell  to  the  floor  dying. 
Meara  said,  "Have  I  killed  him?  "  The  sick  wife,  the  only  human 
witness  to  the  awful  scene,  replied,  "Yes,  you  have;  you  have  fin- 
ished him."  Meara  then  bathed  him  with  whisky,  tried  to  have 
him  drink  some,  threw  some  over  him,  and  labored  to  revive  him. 
Failing  in  this,  he  cried,  "  Have  I  killed  him  ?  "  After  rubbing  him 
for  a  half  hour  the  boy  lifted  his  hand,  moved  his  lips  and  was  dead. 
He  then  pushed  the  body  under  the  mother's  bed,  whe*re  it  remained 
till  near  midnight,  when  Meara  laid  him  on  a  sheet,  with  his  clothes 
on,  drew  his  cap  over  his  face,  pinned  the  sheet  closely  around  him, 
and  taking  him  in  his  arms,  carried  the  remains  of  his  murdered  son  to 
the  previously  prepared  grave,  about  four  rods  south  of  the  house, 
and  buried  him  five  and  a  half  feet  deep.  So  complete  had  this 
work  been  done  that  the  soil  was  replaced  in  its  natural  position. 
This  severity  of  the  father  to  the  sonvwas  because  he  said  the  boy 
would  tell  lies,  and  would  not  work.  The  other  members  of  the 
family  said  he  was  a  good  boy,  and  only  told  falsehoods  when  his 
father  made  him  own  to  things  he  had  not  done,  to  avoid  greater 
punishment.  After  Mrs.  Meara  was  able  to  go  out  she  made  an 
effort  to  find  the  grave  of  her  son,  but  failed.  She  told  him  so,  and 
he  replied,  "I  don't  think  you  could."  The  day  after  the  murder 
Meara  posted  notices  in  Gilman,  written  by  himself,  stating  his  son 
had  run  away,  and  offered  a  reward  for  his  return.  The  neighbors 
suspecting  something  wrong  at  Meara' s,  June  29  so  stated  to  George 
B.  Winter  and  Isaac  McCourtie,  of  Onarga,  who  the  next  day  un- 
earthed this  atrocious  affair.  A  sufficient  statement  was  by  them 
obtained  from  the  eldest  daughter,  who  was  interviewed  at  school, 
to  satisfy  them  of  the  truth  of  the  rumor.  The  girl  was  brought  to 
town,  the  father  at  once  arrested,  and  search  made  for  the  body. 
Meara  was  allowed  to  go  home  that  night,  being  secretly  watched 
by  a  number  of  men  all  night.  The  -next  day  a  large  number  of 
citizens  from  Gilman  and  Onarga  searched  the  premises.  Many 
gave  up  and  went  home  before  noon,  and  others  came,  and  the 
search  went  on.  Meara  was  taken  back  to  Onarga  during  the  fore- 
noon. At  no  time  did  he  make  any  effort  to  escape ;  he  feared  be- 
ing lynched,  and  asked  the  officers  to  protect  him.  He  went  un- 
manacled  about  the  village  with  the  officer.  Mrs.  Meara  denied  all 
knowledge  of  the  affair  till  she  knew  he  was  in  the  custody  of  the 
law.  She  said,  "I  knew  Martin  was  a  passionate  man,  and  our  lives 


ONARGA    TOWNSHIP.  597 

were  in  danger."  A  partial  examination  was  had  before  Justice 
Amerman,  hoping  the  daughter  would  tell  the  court  the  same  she 
had  Winter  and  McCourtie ;  but  the  moment  she  entered  the  court- 
room and  the  eyes  of  her  father  were  upon  her  she  was  dumb ;  not 
a  word  could  be  got  from  her.  Late  in  the  afternoon  the  men  began 
to  go  home  ;  nothing  had  been  accomplished,  either  in  the  court- 
room or  on  the  farm.  At  last  a  small  piece  of  clay,  smoothly  cut  on 
one  side,  was  picked  up.  This  belonged  several  feet  below  the  sur- 
face, and  led  to  a  thorough  investigation  at  that  place.  By  forcing 
sharp  sticks  into  the  ground  till  the  grave  was  found  the  body  was 
soon  exhumed.  When  this  news  reached  town  the  perpetrator  of 
this  foul  deed  was  talking  to  some  men  about  the  suspicions  that 
he  had  made  way  with  his  boy.  While  thus  engaged  McCourtre 
told  him  the  body  was  found.  He  appealed  to  McCourtre  to  have 
mercy  upon  him.  The  reply  came,  "  Why  do  you  ask  me  for  mercy, 
when  you  had  none  for  your  boy  when  you  killed  him  ?  "  Meara 
said,  "I  whipped  him  to  death."  Irons  were  then  put  on  him,  and 
lie  was  put  under  close  guard.  While  in  charge  of  the  officer  he 
said,  if  he  had  it  to  do  again,  he  would  fix  it  so  no  one  would  find 
the  grave.  There  were  strong  indications  that  he  would  be  lynched 
that  night,  but  better  counsel  prevailed  and  the  people  dispersed, 
and  under  the  cover  of  an  approaching  thunderstorm  he  was  removed, 
by  special  constable  Thomas  Robinson  and  his  assistants,  to  a  wagon 
a  half  a  mile  away,  and  delivered  to  the  sheriff  at  Watseka  early 
the  next  day.  The  excitement  increased  day  by  day  until,  on  the 
fifth  day,  the  death  of  Martin  Meara  occurred  as  has  already  been 
related  on  page  40  of  this  work. 

In  1878  Goodrich  Marshall,  in  making  a  ditch  about  fifty  rods 
northeast  of  the  Lehigh  graveyard,  discovered  the  skeletons  of 
two  human  beings.  The  ditch  was  along  the  margin  of  a  "bot- 
tomless bog."  The  bones  were  about  one  and  a  half  feet- below 
the  surface,  and  extending  as  much  farther  down.  The  smaller 
of  the  two,  supposed  to  be  that  of  a  woman,  was  farther  in  the  bog, 
and  in  a  partly  sitting  position.  The  other  was  about  six  feet  from 
it,  and  on  its  side.  Nearly  all  the  smaller  bones  were  decayed,  and 
readily  crumbled  on  exposure  to  the  air.  The  large  bones  and 
skulls  of  each  were  in  a  good  state  of  preservation.  Immediately 
beneath  where  the  stomach  of  each  must  have  lain  was  a  quantity  of 
watermelon  seeds  (recognized  as  such  by  visitors).  The  larger  must 
have  been  a  man  above  medium  size,  and  the  smaller  a  boy,  or  if 
of  the  opposite  sex,  a  medium-sized  woman.  There  is  no  tradition 
of  any  event  of  the  kind  ever  occurring  in  the  neighborhood,  and  no 


598  HISTORY    OF    IBOQUOIS    COUNTY. 

clue  has  been  found  to  the  mystery.  No  marks  of  violence  were 
discoverable  ;  no  fragments  of  clothing,  not  a  button  or  a  knife  was 
found.  It  is  possible  they  were  travelers  through  the  country  at  a 
very  early  time ;  were  murdered  and  thrust  beneath  the  surface  of 
this  quagmire.  It  is  possible  they  were  made  away  with  during  the 
building  of  the  railroad  in  1853-4,  when  there  was  a  rough  set  of 
men  employed,  some  of  whom  would  dare  to  commit  any  kind  of 
crime.  The  mystery  will  probably  never  be  solved.  The  skull  of 
the  smaller  person  and  some  bones  are  in  possession  of  the  writer. 

BIOGRAPHICAL. 

Mrs.  Lydia  Maria  Boyd,  Del  Rey.  is  one  of  the  oldest  settlers  in  this 
part  of  the  county.  She  was  born  in  Chautauqua  county,  New  York, 
March  18,  1810.  Her  parents  were  Samuel  and  Lydia  Ayers.  Her 
twin-brother,  John  Carey,  graduated  in  the  same  class  with  Daniel 
Webster.  Mrs.  Boyd  herself  is  an  old  lady  of  remarkable  presence, 
and  has  possessed  strong  mental  qualities.  When  she  was  twelve  years 
old  her  parents  removed  to  Mason  county,  West  Virginia.  Here  her 
father  died.  Mrs.  Boyd  was  married  to  her  first  husband  (Ira  Lindsey) 
January  13,  1832.  They  lived  in  Mason  county  about  .two  years,  when 
they  removed  to  Iroquois  county  in  1834,  and  took  up  and  settled  upon 
the  land  now  occupied  by  the  family.  This  land  Mr.  Lindsey  entered 
as  soon  as  it  came  into  market.  Their  children  were:  Virginia  T., 
James  S.,  Benjamin  F.  and  Adaline  A.  James  died  soon  after  gradu- 
ating with  honor  from  Lombard  University.  The  eldest  daughter 
married  Francis  Walker,  of  Champaign.  Benjamin  F.  now  lives  on 
the  same  farm  with  his  mother.  Mr.  Lindsey  died  April  3,  1844.  His 
widow  married  Dr.  Boyd  in  October,  1845.  He  died  in  March,  1865. 
B.  F.  Lindsey  married  Miss  Frances  Wiswell  in  March,  1865.  They 
have  five  children.  Ira  Lindsey  was  the  first  justice  of  the  peace  west 
of  Spring  creek. 

Hamilton  Jefferson  (deceased),  was  born  in  Alexandria,  Virginia, 
May  1,  1798.  His  father,  George  Jeiferson,  was  born  in  Scotland,  and 
emigrated  to  America  when  he  was  fifteen  years  old.  His  mother 
(Anna)  was  a  daughter  of  Sir  Harry  Glenlyn  ;  she  was  married  in 
England,  and  arrived  in  this  country  in  1796.  Two  sons  were  born  to 
this  couple.  Thomas,  the  younger,  died  early.  When  Hamilton  was 
eleven  years  old  his  father  and  mother  both  died,  leaving  him  alone  in 
the  world.  Though  the  relationship  between  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
and  Thomas  Jefferson  was  remote,  nevertheless  both  descended  from 
the  same  stock.  Hamilton  lived  with  an  uncle  in  Alexandria  until  the 
commencement  of  the  war  with  Great  Britain,  when  he  ran  away  and 


ONARGA   TOWNSHIP.  599 

enlisted.  He  served  throughout  the  war,  was  in  several  actions,  and 
at  its  close  went  to  Philadelphia.  There  he  worked  for  two  years  in  a 
cigar  manufactory.  He  next  went  to  Cincinnati,  and  in  1820  was  mar- 
ried to  Mrs.  Sarah  Sayres,  whose  maiden  name  was  Jones.  They  lived 
in  Virginia  till  1836,  when  they  moved  to  Illinois,  and  settled  first 
near  Georgetown,  in  Vermilion  county.  In  1837  they  came  to  this 
county,  and  fixed  their  home  on  the  banks  of  Spring  creek,  in  Onarga 
township,  on  Sec.  24,  T.  26,  R.  14.  They  brought  eight  children — 
four  sons  and  four  daughters.  Of  these  only  two  are  living :  Thomas, 
residing  in  Deadwood,  Dakota  ;  and  Hannah,  who  married  Moses  Oppy, 
and  now  lives  in  Kansas.  His  wife  died  in  Virginia  in  1858,  while 
there  on  a  visit.  He  celebrated  his  second  marriage  with  Nancy  (Darby) 
Eoff,  relict  of  Garrett  Eoff,  January  9,  1859.  They  had  one  daughter 
(Cincinnati  M.),  who  was  born  March  8, 1860.  In  1873  he  moved  from 
his  farm  to  Onarga,  where  he  had  previously  resided  between  1865  and 
1868.  In  an  early  day  he  held  the  office  of  postmaster,  and  served  one 
term  as  county  commissioner.  He  was  reared  "after  the  straitest 
sect "  of  Scotch  Presbyterians,  whose  rigid  discipline  caused  him  to 
conceive  a  strong  dislike  of  that  denomination,  and  when  he  was 
twenty-three  years  old  he  united  with  the  M.  E.  church.  Toward  the 
close  of  his  life  his  sentiments  were  largely  tinged  with  Universalism. 
He  was  a  Royal  Arch  Mason  for  many  years.  He  died,  much  esteemed, 
September  29,  1876. 

Aunt  Diana  Harper,  Onarga,  was  born  in  Franklin  county,  Ohio, 
October  11,  1816,  and  is  a  daughter  of  Reuben  and  Sallie  (Reed) 
Skeels.  September  29,  1836,  she  was  married  to  Mr.  Alexander 
Harper,  a  native  of  Cumberland  county,  Pennsylvania,  born  October 
16,  1808.  In  the  fall  of  1837,  with  her  husband,  she  came  tolroquois 
county,  Illinois,  and  settled  in  what  is  now  Onarga.  He  immediately 
entered  land  and  permanently  located  where  he  lived  engaged  in  farm- 
ing and  stock-raising  up  to  the  time  of  his  death.  She  is  still  living 
on  the  old  homestead.  Her  husband  died  February  15,  1845.  She  is 
one  of  the  pioneers  of  this  county,  and  is  in  possession  of  a  remarkable 
memory,  and  from  her  much  of  the  early  history  of  this  county  has 
been  obtained.  She  is  one  of  the  pioneer  log  cabin  school  teachers  of 
this  county.  She  became  disabled  in  one  of  her  limbs,  supposed  by 
physicians  to  have  been  caused  by  spinal  affection,  and  from  which  for 
many  years  she  suffered  greatly,  not  knowing  what  it  was  to  have  one 
night's  sleep  for  thirteen  years,  and  not  being  able  to  walk  for  twenty- 
nine  years;  she  is  now  just  able  to  walk.  She  has  been  a  member  of 
the  M.  E.  church  for  nearly  fifty-two  years,  and  her  faith  in  Christ  has 
supported  and  been  her  shield  through  all  her  suffering  and  trials,  and 


600  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

has  brought  her  out  more  than  conqueror.  Her  account  of  pioneer  life 
in  fighting  wolves  from  poultry  and  young  pigs,  is  certainly  interesting, 
as  these  ravenous  animals  and  deer  were  the  principal  inhabitants  of 
the  prairie. 

Tom  Lindsey,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Del  Rey,  is  a  son  of  Roland 
Lindsey,  and  was  born  November  28,  1823,  in  West  Virginia.  At 
about  the  age  of  fifteen  years,  with  his  parents,  he  came  to  Illinois,  and 
settled  in  Knox  county ;  he,  however,  soon  after  came  to  Iroquois 
county,  Illinois,  where  he  made  his  home  with  his  uncle,  Mr.  Ira 
Lindsey,  which  brings  him  here  in  the  fall  of  1839,  though  his 
uncle  had  been  here  a  few  years  previous.  The  county  was,  at  the 
time  Tom  came  here,  very  new,  occupied  mostly  by  deer  and  wolves, 
which  he  hunted  with  great  success;  the  latter  paid,  especially  as 
their  scalps  were  valuable  for  paying  taxes,  the  sheriff  carrying  them 
to  Springfield  on  horseback,  where  he  went  yearly  to  pay  the  state  tax. 
In  1845  he  went  to  Washington,  Tazewell  county,  Illinois,  and  engaged 
in  the  business  of  blacksmithing.  From  there  he  went  to  Wisconsin, 
but  in  1848  returned  to  this  county,  and  in  company  with  Mr.  Seneca 
Amsbary,  bought  and  put  up  the  first  saw-mill  on  Spring  creek,  and 
began  the  manufacture  of  timber,  with  which  the  pioneers  could  build 
houses  to  take  the  place  of  their  first  cabins.  He  also  engaged  in  farm- 
ing and  stock-raising.  In  1849  he  married  Miss  Caroline  Grice,  who 
died  about  sixteen  months  after,  leaving  an  infant  child,  which  has  since 
died.  June  28,  1860,  he  married  his  second  wife,  Miss  Bettie  Hall, 
who  was  born  in  Mason  county,  West  Virginia,  September  18,  1844, 
and  came  to  this  county  in  1853.  Mr.  Lindsey  now  owns  145  acres  of 
excellent  land,  on  which  is  a  powerful  flowing  artesian  well.  He  is 
now  living  in  a  fine  residence  on  Sec.  2,  T.  25,  R.  10  E.  He  has  three 
children  living  :  William  A.,  Lizzie  P.  and  Tom.  He  is  now,  and  has 
been  for  about  two  years,  suffering  with  a  disease  of  the  eyes  which 
almost  blinds  him. 

Robert  R.  Skeels,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Onarga,  is  a  son  of  Mr. 
Henry  Skeels,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  this  county,  and  was  born  Janu- 
ary 30,  1842,  in  what  is  now  Onarga  township.  He  was  born  and 
raised  a  pioneer  child.  His  school  was  the  pioneer  log  cabin,  with 
seats  made  from  split  logs  with  the  flat  sides  turned  up.  He  was 
brought  up  to  farming  and  stock-raising,  as  well  as  deer  and  wolf 
hunting,  as  these  were  the  principal  occupations  engaged  in  by  the 
early  settlers  of  those  days.  November  17,  1861,  he  married  Miss 
Susannah  Riner,  who  was  born  in  Warren  county,  Indiana,  September 
15,  1842.  At  the  age  of  seven  years,  with  her  father,  Mr.  Daniel 
Riner,  she  came  to  Iroquois  county,  and  hence  is  entitled  to  the  name 


ONARGA   TOWNSHIP.  601 

of  "  old  settler."  After  his  marriage  Mr.  Skeels  engaged  in  farming  for 
himself,  and  lias  followed  the  business  since  that  time,  about  two  years 
of  the  time  being  spent  in  Kansas,  where  he  bought  and  improved  a 
farm.  Not  liking  Kansas,  he  returned  and  settled  near  the  old  home 
in  Onarga.  He  now  owns  127  acres  of  land  in  Sees.  29  and  30,  T.  26, 
R.  14,  and  has  built  for  himself  and  family  a  very  comfortable  and 
pleasant  residence.  He  is  one  of  the  men  who  have  witnessed  this 
county  grow  to  its  present  greatness.  He  has  for  the  last  few  years 
been  engaged  in  buying  and  shipping  fat  stock  to  market,  in  addition 
to  his  permanent  business  of  farming  and  stock-raising.  He  has  two 
children :  Mary  A.  and  Daniel  H.  He  is  a  member  of  the  M.  E. 
church  ;  a  republican  in  politics  and  a  man  of  strictly  temperate  habits. 

Irvin  Reuben  Skeels,  farmer,  fruit-raiser  and  dairyman,  Onarga,  is  a 
son  of  Reuben  arid  Hannah  (Kirk)  Skeels,  and  was  born  in  Onarga 
township,  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  October  12, 1846.  His  early  youth 
was  spent  engaged  in  farming,  stock-raising  and  going  to  school.  He 
attended  one  term  at  Grand  Prairie  Seminary  in  Onarga,  in  1865,  but 
left  in  March,  1865,  and  enlisted  in  Co.  H,  58th  111.  Yol.  Inf.,  and 
served  one  year.  After  returning  home  he  engaged  in  farming.  March 
23,  1868,  he  married  Miss  Laura  A.,  daughter  of  Dr.  Samuel  Turner, 
one  of  the  first  physicians  of  this  county.  She  was  born  in  this  county, 
August  16,  184*9.  In  January,  1875,  he  moved  on  his  present  farm, 
about  one  mile  south  of  Onarga  village,  where  he  now  lives.  He  has 
two  children  :  Leroy  C.,  born  December  24,  1868,  and  Louis  G.,  born 
March  16,  1874. 

John  R.  London,  farmer,  Onarga,  was  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  on 
Spring  creek.  He  is  the  son  of  George  and  Mary  London,  and  was 
born  August  22,  1814,  in  South  Carolina.  The  family  name  is  an  old 
and  distinguished  one,  being  prominent  in  the  annals  of  the  American 
Revolution.  One  of  the  larger  counties  in  Virginia  is  named  "  Loudon." 
When  Mr.  Loudon  was  very  young  his  parents  removed  to  Washing- 
ton county,  Indiana,  where  they  lived  and  died.  The  father  was  killed 
at  a  house-raising  by  falling  timber.  After  his  father's  death  he  was 
bound  out  until  sixteen  years  of  age  to  a  farmer.  Having  served  out 
his  apprenticeship,  he  worked  by  the  month  until  he  became  twenty- 
two  years  of  age.  Mr.  Loudon  was  married,  August  18,  1836,  to  Miss 
Elizabeth  Henry,  by  whom  he  had  ten  children,  five  of  whom  are 
living:  Mary  A.,  Nancy  J.,  Margaret  E.,  William  W.  and  De  Witt  C. 
Mrs.  Loudon  died  March  14,  1869.  December  31,  1872,  Mr.  Loudon 
married  Mrs.  Julia  A.  Beebe,  whose  maiden  name  was  Bostwick.  She 
was  born  in  Kent,  Litchh'eld  county,  Connecticut,  and  is  the  daughter 
of  Charles  Whittlesey  Bostwick.  Mrs.  Loudon  has  two  daughters  by 


602  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

her  first  husband  :  Amelia  J.  and  Lucy  J.  Mr.  London's  father,  and 
Mrs.  Loudon's  grandfather,  Lee,  served  through  the  war  of  1812.  Mr. 
Loudon  came  to  Iroquois  county  in  the  spring  of  1842,  and  settled  on 
the  N.W.  J  of  Sec.  6,  T.  25,  R.  14  "W.,  where  he  has  since  remained, 
engaged  in  farming.  The  house  in  which  they  now  reside  was  built 
in  the  summer  of  1854.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  London  are  members  of  the 
Presbyterian  church,  in  Onarga,  of  which  he  is  an  elder. 

Cyrus  S.  Pangborn,  farmer,  Onarga,  was  the  youngest  child  of  John 
and  Miranda  (Miller)  Pangborn,  and  was  born  near  Columbus,  Ohio, 
February  5,  1822.  He  was  reared  a  cultivator  of  the  soil,  and  has 
always  followed  that  calling.  May  22,  1845,  he  was  married  to  Mary 
Jane  Gilmore.  She  died  on  the  9th  of  August  following.  In  the 
same  year  he  emigrated  to  Iroquois  county  and  settled  in  Onarga 
township,  where  he  now  lives,  on  Sec.  17,  T.  26,  R.  14.  July  5,  1849, 
he  was  married  to  Mary  Taylor,  daughter  of  Alonzo  Taylor.  She 
died  May  7,  1850.  His  third  marriage  occurred  August  19,  1852, 
with  Rosanna  Ryner.  Seven  children  have  been  the  issue  of  this 
marriage,  six  of  whom  are  living:  Frank  E.,  Josephine  H.,  Licetta  V., 
Jesse  (dead),  Melvin,  Mary  M.  and  Quincy  J.  Mr.  Pangborn  was 
converted  when  fourteen  years  of  age,  and  has  been  a  member  of  the 
M.  E.  church  since  that  time.  In  politics  he  is  a  supporter  of  repub- 
lican principles.  He  owns  205  acres  of  well-improved  land,  valued  at 
$7,000. 

Jesse  Drake,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Onarga,  was  born  in  Pike 
county,  Ohio,  January  29,  1824,  and  when  about  fourteen  years  old, 
with  his  parents,  he  removed  to  Yermilion  county,  Indiana,  and  en- 
gaged in  farming.  His  educational  advantages  were  very  poor,  the 
country  at  that  time  being  thinly  settled,  and  school  kept  only  on  the 
old  subscription  principle.  January  24,  1 847,  he  married  Miss  Hannah 
Riner,  who  is  a  native  of  Yirginia,  and  was  born  December  16,  1828. 
Her  father,  Mr.  Daniel  Riner,  was  born  also  in  old  Yirginia,  October 
19,  1796.  He  came  to  this  county  in  1850,  and  is  still  living  on  the 
farm  he  then  entered.  Mr.  Drake  came  to  this  county  in  April,  1850. 
The  county  at  that  time  was  new  and  sparsely  settled.  His  nearest 
market  then  was  Chicago,  from  where  he  hauled  the  lumber  to  finish 
building  his  first  house  in  Onarga  township.  The  land  that  was  then 
inhabited  only  by  deer  and  other  wild  animals  is  now  covered  with  fields 
of  golden  grain  ;  railroads  pass  through  the  county  in  every  direction, 
and  towns  have  grown  up  along  their  lines.  He  then  worked  out  by 
the  day  to  pay  for  his  first  40  acres  of  land.  He  now  owns  210  acres 
of  well  improved  land  in  Sees.  33  and  34,  T.  26,  R.  14.  He  has  six 
children  living:  Martha  E.,  Daniel  J.,  Mary  L.,  Sarah  E.,  Frank  M. 
and  Emma  E.  He  is  strictly  temperate  and  a  strong  republican. 


ONARGA    TOWNSHIP.  605 

John,  son  of  John  Ricketts,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Onarga,  was 
born  in  Dearborn  county,  Indiana,  April  11,  1824.  Soon  after  his 
birth  his  parents  removed  to  Vermilion  count}',  in  that  state,  where  his 
early  youth  was  spent  with  them,  engaged  in  farming,  stock-raising 
and  attending,  to  a  limited  extent,  the  old  subscription  schools  of  those 
days.  March  5,  1848,  he  married  Miss  Anna  Drake,  who  was  born  in 
Pike  county,  Ohio,  May  15,  1828.  He  there  engaged  in  farming  as  a 
day  laborer,  till  1850,  when  he  came  to  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  where 
he  rented  land  till  1854,  and  then  moved  into  his  first  house  which  he 
built  on  land  he  had  previously  bought.  He  permanently  located  on 
Sec.  4,  T.  25,  R.  14,  and  engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising. 
Although  he  is  not  one  of  the  pioneers  of  this  county  he  is  one  of 
those  who  went  on  the  wild  prairie  and  made  a  home.  He  judiciously 
selected  for  his  farm,  on  which  to  make  his  future  home,  the  highest 
point  of  observation  in  all  that  part  of  the  county,  and  there  drove  the 
wolves  from  his  door  and  swayed  the  scepter  of  his  authority  over  his 
prairie  home,  and,  after  patient  waiting  for  thirty  years,  now  has  the 
satisfaction  of  seeing  this  county  one  of  the  finest  in  the  state.  He 
has  eight  children,  all  living:  Mahala,  Mary,  Melvina,  Francis  A., 
Malina,  Icabina,  Alvin  J.  and  Jesse.  He  now  owns  215  acres  of  land 
as  the  result  of  his  own  industry,  hard  labor  and  close  application  to 
business.  He  is  one  of  that  class  of  honorable  men  whose  word  is  as 
good  as  his  bond. 

James  E.  Owen,  grocer  and  brick  and  tile  manufacturer,  Onarga, 
was  born  in  Birmingham,  England,  December  25,  1843.  His  mother's 
maiden  name  was  Ann  Elliman.  He  emigrated  to  America  with  his 
father,  James  Owen,  in  1849.  September  24,  1861,  he  enlisted  in  Co. 
C,  57th  111.  Vol.  He  participated  in  the  capture  of  Fort  Donelson, 
and  in  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  at  which  latter  place  he  was  seriously 
wounded  in  the  left  leg.  He  fought  at  Corinth,  Mississippi,  October 
4  and  5,  1862,  and  served  throughout  the  Atlanta  campaign,  being  in 
action  at  Resaca.  His  military  service  was  terminated  by  the  march 
to  the  sea,  and  he  was  mustered  out  at  Savannah,  Georgia,  December 
30,  1864.  He  came  home  and  engaged  in  farming  till  1868.  He 
celebrated  his  nuptials  December  20,  1867,  with  Miss  Nancy  H.  Cob- 
lantz.  One  daughter  was  the  fruit  of  this  marriage.  His  wife  died 
October  5, 1868,  and  he  was  married  again,  August  27,  1873,  to  Martha 
Harper.  He  has  held  the  office  of  village  trustee  of  Onarga  the  past 
three  years.  He  is  at  present  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  brick 
and  drain  tile  at  Del  Rey,  in  company  with  F.  P.  Beach  ;  name  of  firm, 
Beach  &  Owen.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Owen  Brothers, 
doing  a  grocer}7  and  provision  business  in  Onarga. 
37 


606  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

Samuel  Brown,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Onarga,  came  to  Onarga 
township,  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  in  1851,  with  his  parents,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Elias  Brown,  from  Indiana,  where  lie  was  born  April  28,  1840. 
In  his  early  youth  his  education  was  much  neglected,  but  by  an  indus- 
trious application  to  study  he  has  acquired  a  fair  education.  August 
7,  1862,  he  volunteered  his  services  to  his  country,  and  enlisted  in  Co. 
D,  113th  111.  Vol.  Inf.,  and  immediately  went  south  to  participate  in 
the  great  struggle  then  going  on  between  freedom  and  slavery,  and  at 
the  battle  of  Guntown,  Mississippi,  was  shot  through  the  leg  by  the 
rebels,  and  by  them  taken  prisoner  and  put  in  hospital  one  month  for 
treatment.  From- there  he  was  taken  to  Cahawba,  Alabama,  and  there 
remained  one  year,  and  in  his  lame  and  crippled  condition  suffered  the 
hardships  of  rebel  prison  life.  Though  sixteen  years  have  nearly  passed 
away  since  he  was  wounded  he  still  feels  its  effects.  In  the  summer  of 
1865  he  was  honorably  discharged,  and  returned  home  and  engaged  in 
farming.  October  25,  1866,  he  married  Miss  Clara,  daughter  of 
William  Coyner,  an  early  settler  of  this  county.  They  have  three 
children :  Frederick  L.,  Frank  G.  and  Nellie  E.  He  is  now  actively 
engaged  in  stock-raising  and  farming,  and  owns  177  acres  of  land,  the 
most  of  it  earned  by  his  own  industry  and  close  attention  to  business. 
His  residence  and  its  surroundings  are  evidences  of  his  thrift. 

Two  English  brothers,  Abraham  and  John  Doolittle  (the  latter 
dying  childless)  settled  in  Massachusetts  in  1634.  The  first  shortly 
after  moved  to  the  New  Haven  colony,  where  he  became  a  prominent 
man,  being  chosen  sheriff  of  the  county,  one  of  the  committee  to  super- 
intend the  affairs  of  the  settlement  of  Wallingford,  and  a  member  of 
the  vigilance  committee  in  the  time  of  king  Philip's  war,  besides 
holding  other  honorable  positions.  The  fifth  in  the  line  of  descent, 
named  Elkanah,  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  a  grad- 
uate of  Yale  College,  and  tutor  of  Greek,  and  in  company  with  a  class- 
mate, Hitchcock,  started  an  academy  at  Sunbury,  Georgia,  prior  to 
1790.  Elkanah,  son  of  Milton  and  Mary  J.  (Jones)  Doolittle,  was 
born  in  New  York  city,  July  16,  1829.  He  attended  a  grammar 
school  at  Newark,  New  Jersey,  till  seventeen  years  of  age.  He  com- 
pleted his  studies  in  surveying  and  engineering  in  a  private  school  in 
New  York  city.  Immediately  he  was  employed  in  railroad  surveying, 
and  also  in  constructing  the  sewerage  of  the  city  of  Newark,  New  Jer- 
sey. In  the  spring  of  1851  he  came  west  and  assisted  in  surveys  of 
the  Illinois  Central  railroad,  and  finally  located  near  Onarga.  In  1854 
he  celebrated  his  marriage  with  Triphenia  Pangborn,  daughter  of 
Judge  Thomas  M.  Pangborn.  Four  sons  were  the  issue  of  this  union. 
The  eldest  died  when  a  little  more  than  a  year  old.  The  survivors 


ONARGA    TOWNSHIP.  607 

are:  Milton,  Thomas  E.,  and  Warren  E.  His  wife  dying  in  1872,  he 
married  in  the  following  year,  Miranda,  another  daughter  of  Judge 
Pangborn.  In  1858  he  was  elected  county  surveyor  of  Iroquois 
county,  and  held  the  office  one  term.  Residing  temporarily  in  Con- 
necticut, his  former  home,  in  1862  he  recruited  company  A,  20th  Conn. 
Vol.,  under  authority  dated  July  11,  and  was  enrolled  on  August  15, 
as  second  lieutenant,  and  mustered  in  September  8,  at  New  Haven, 
Shortly  after  the  battle  of  Chancellorsville,  where  he  fought,  he  was 
promoted  to  first  lieutenant  of  company  D,  and  commissioned  June  26r 
1863.  He  fought  at  Gettysburg,  and  in  January,  1864,  owing  to  his- 
wife's  "rapidly  failing  health,  resigned  his  commission.  After  the  war 
he  began  farming  at  his  old  home  near  Onarga,  and  has  since  con- 
tinued it.  From  1873  to  1877  he  was  merchandising  in  that  town. 
Captain  Doolittle  is  genial,  but  retiring,  and  a  stranger  to  display.  In 
his  keeping  are  many  curious  and  pleasing  heirlooms  of  his  Puritan 
ancestry. 

John  C.  Culver,  grocer,  Onarga,  was  the  youngest  son  of  Asa  and 
Lydia  (Conger)  Culver,  and  was  born  in  Cayuga  county,  New  York, 
December  10,  1820.  When  four  years  old  he  was  taken  and  reared  by 
Silas  Conger.  He  worked  at  farming  and  clearing  land  until  the  age 
of  thirty.  In  1832  he  went  with  Conger  to  Huron  (now  Erie)  county, 
Ohio,  and  thence  to  Richland  county ;  in  1846  he  settled  in  Calhoun 
county,  Michigan,  and  two  years  later  in  the  lumber  region,  establish- 
ing himself  in  Huron  county,  where  he  operated  a  saw-mill.  In  1849 
he  removed  to  Porter  county,  Indiana,  and  in  1851  to  Iroqnois  county, 
Illinois,  and  engaged  in  milling  at  Del  Key.  In  the  fall  of  1855  he 
came  to  Onarga  and  opened  a  lumber  yard,  but  at  the  end  of  three 
years  quit  this  for  the  grocery  business,  taking  Addison  Lockwood  in 
company.  A  few  years  afterward  he  sold  his  interest  to  his  partner. 
In  1869  he  associated  C.  L.  Knight  with  himself  in  the  same  trade. 
This  firm  was  dissolved  after  two  or  three  years,  and  Mr.  Culver  car- 
ried on  a  similar  business  with  James  Hawk  about  the  same  length  of 
time,  when  he  bought  out  his  partner,  and  has  since  continued  mer- 
chandising alone.  He  was  married  November  4,  1846,  to  Clarissa 
Shaker,  who  died  March  19,  1860.  His  second  marriage  he  celebrated 
with  Harriet  M.  Messer,  January  1,  1861.  The  offspring  of  this  union 
are  two  sons  and  two  daughters.  He  has  been  assessor  of  Onarga 
township  once,  and  in  1866  he  was  assistant  assessor  of  internal  revenue. 
He  is  an  Odd-Fellow  and  a  Knight  Templar.  From  an  old  line  demo- 
crat he  has  become  independent  in  politics. 

Hiram  W.  Lawhead,  photographer,  Onarga,  was  the  oldest  son  of 
James  and  Jane  (Boyd)  Lawhead,  and  was  born  in  Holmes  county* 


608  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

Ohio,  June  4,  1844.  When  very  young  his  parents  removed  to  Illi- 
nois, and  settled  at  Middleport,  in  this  county.  His  father  was  a  phy- 
sician, and  practiced  there  a  few  years,  but  his  health  failing,  he  settled 
on  a  farm  near  Plato,  in  the  hope  of  relinquishing  his  profession.  In  a 
little  while  he  died,  when  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  but  four  years 
old.  Young  Lawhead  received  such  an  education  as  was  furnished  by 
the  district  schools  of  the  day ;  he  added  to  this  two  terms  at  the  high 
school  in  Kankakee,  besides  a  full  commercial  course,  which  he  com- 
pleted in  the  spring  of  1862.  He  immediately  devoted  himself  to 
learning  photography,  and  at  length  became  an  accomplished  artist. 
This  business  has  since  engrossed  his  whole  attention.  He  has  been 
in  communion  with  the  M.  E.  church  the  past  ten  years.  In  polit- 
ical sentiment  and  practice  he  is  an  independent. 

Adison  Harper,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Onarga,  was  born  May  16, 
1807.  The  early  part  of  his  life,  up  to  the  age  of  twenty-eight  years, 
was  spent  in  the  hill  country  of  old  Virginia,  farming  and  attending 
school.  He  then  came  to  Clinton  county,  Indiana,  and  there  remained 
about  twenty  years,  engaged  in  farming.  While  there,  December  6, 
1838,  he  married  Miss  Mary  Sherrard,  a  native  of  Butler  county,  Ohio, 
born  March  19,  1817.  In  1852  he  came  to  Iroquois  county,  Illinois; 
entered  land  in  Sec.  13,  T.  26,  R.  14,  in  what  is  now  Onarga 
township,  and  permanently  located  and  actively  engaged  in  farming 
and  stock-raising.  At  the  time  he  settled  where  he  now  lives  he  was 
far  separated  from  markets  and  mills,  no  railroads  being  then  built  in 
this  part  of  the  state ;  neither  were  there  then  any  'wagon  roads,  but 
winding  trails  over  the  highest  ridges,  fording  rivers  at  the  safest  places. 
He  has  lived  here  to  see  this  county  grow  up  to  its  present  greatness. 
He  owns  255  acres  of  good  land,  watered  by  flowing  artesian  wells,  all 
earned  by  his  own  industry  and  close  attention  to  business.  He  has 
seven  children  :  Martha  J.,  Amanda,  Ginevra  A.,  William  A.  and 
Mary  C.,  living ;  Andrew,  who  died  in  the  service  of  his  country  at 
Holly  Springs ;  and  Samuel,  who  died  at  St.  Louis,  Missouri.  Samuel's 
remains  were  brought  home  and  interred  in  Onarga  cemetery.  They 
were  both  members  of  Co.  D,  113th  111.  Vol.  Inf. 

William  P.  Pierson,  retired,  Onarga,  whose  portrait  appears  in  this 
work,  and  the  first  man  to  commence  business  in  Onarga,  was  born  in 
Leroy,  Genesee  county,  New  York,  in  1811.  The  roots  of  his  ances- 
tral tree  strike  down  deep  and  near  the  primitive  rock  of  the  republic. 
His  two  ancestors,  Daniel  Buell  and  Rev.  Abraham  Pierson,  emigrated 
to  this  country  from  England,  the  former  in  1630,  and  the  latter  in 
1640.  Rev.  Abraham  Pierson  was  a  graduate  from  Cambridge  Uni- 
versity, England,  at  South  Compton,  Long  Island,  and  at  Brandford, 


ONARGA   TOWNSHIP.  609 

Connecticut.  Having  labored  successfully  in  these  fields  for  twenty- 
five  years,  he  organized  a  large  company  with  the  view  of  founding  a 
colony  in  the  then  wilds  of  New  Jersey.  This  colony,  in  its  form, 
was  an  organized  church,  of  which  Rev.  Pierson  was  pastor.  They 
purchased  the  land  now  occupied  by  Newark,  and  in  1667  laid  the 
foundations  of  that  now  beautiful  city.  Rev.  Abraham  Pierson,  Jr., 
acted  as  co-pastor  with  and  successor  to  his  father  for  twenty  years, 
when  he  resigned  and  went  to  Connecticut,  where  he  became  pastor  of 
the  church  at  Killingworth.  In  1701  he  was  elected  first  president  of 
Yale  College.  He  died  in  1707,  and  a  statue  has  recently  been  erected 
to  his  memory  in  New  Haven.  Mr.  Pierson,  of  Onarga,  is  one  of  the 
numerous  descendants  of  the  seventh  generation  from  the  original  emi- 
grants, Buell  and  Pierson.  Mr.  Pierson's  ancestors  shared  largely  in 
the  dangers  and  trials  incident  to  the  early  Indian  wars  in  New  Eng- 
land, to  the  revolutionary  war,  and  to  the  war  of  1812.  Mr.  Pierson 
left  his  native  town  in  1831  ;  graduated  at  the  University  of  Vermont 
in  1839;  studied  and  practiced  law  several  years  in  Kentucky,  and 
then,  in  consequence  of  failing  health,  in  1849  purchased  and  located  on  a 
considerable  tract  of  land  in  Jefferson  county,  Iowa.  Finding  that 
waiting  for  land  to  rise  in  value,  with  corn  at  six  cents  per  bushel  and 
pork  at  $1.50  per  100  pounds  constituted  a  rather  slow  business  for  a 
native  New  Yorker,  he  closed  out  his  interests  in  Iowa  in  1853.  In 
the  same  year  he  married  Miss  Mary  T.  Condit,  daughter  of  Rev.  R. 
W.  Condit,  D.D.,  of  Oswego,  New  York,  and  went  to  Chicago  to 
engage  in  business.  The  Illinois  Central  railroad  was  then  in  process 
of  construction,  and  high  expectations  were  justly  entertained  of  its 
ultimate  effects  upon  the  destiny  of  Chicago,  and  indeed  of  the  whole 
state  of  Illinois.  Among  the  numerous  stations  soon  to  spring  up 
along  the  line  of  this  great  road,  Champaign  was  regarded  as  the  most 
promising.  In  the  spring  of  1854  the  terminus  of  the  Chicago  branch 
was  at  Spring  creek,  and  freight  could  not  reach  Champaign  by  rail 
until  fall.  Hearing  favorable  reports  from  the  employes  of  the  road 
in  regard  to  Onarga,  and  the  high  character  of  the  old  settlers  in  that 
region,  Mr.  Pierson  concluded  to  locate  there  until  fall,  and  then  move 
on  to  Champaign.  One  short  train  a  day,  made  up  of  freight  and  passen- 
ger cars,  was  sufficient  to  do  all  the  business  of  the  road  at  that  time. 
Mr.  Pierson  chartered  three  cars,  and  loading  them  with  such  goods  as 
he  deemed  suitable  for  a  new  station,  he,  with  his  good  wife,  June  22, 
1854,  started  for  what  was  to  him  and  his  a  new  world.  He  found  the 
town  of  Onarga  to  consist  of  three  or  four  shanties.  Mechanics  were 
just  putting  the  finishing  touches  to  the  depot  buildings.  The  post- 
office  had  just  been  opened  in  a  little  cigar  and  candy  shop  on  the  east 


610  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

side  of  the  railroad,  by  D.  B.  Peck.  Moore  and  Miles  were  then  erect- 
ing the  building  on  the  corner  on  the  east  side,  and  now  occupied  as  a 
meat  market,  for  a  dry-goods  store.  The  first  sale  made  by  Mr.  Pier- 
son  in  the  town  was  for  material  to  complete  this  building.  When  the 
railroad  finally  reached  Champaign,  Mr.  Pierson  found  that  many  busi- 
ness men  had  their  eyes  already  on  that  point,  and  he  moreover  thought 
he  saw  clear  indications  that  Onarga  would  prove  one  of  the  most 
inviting  fields  for  business  enterprise  on  the  line  of  the  road.  He 
therefore,  though  doing  but  little  at  that  time,  concluded  to  remain. 
By  way  of  showing  how  well  founded  these  expectations  were,  Mr. 
Pierson  states  that  while  his  sales  during  his  first  year  at  Onarga  were 
less  than  $3,000,  they  exceeded  $40,000  the  third  year.  At  this  time 
all  the  business  was  done  on  the  east  side  of  the  railroad.  In  the  fall 
of  1854  Mr.  Pierson  built  an  office  in  the  tall  prairie  grass  on  the  west 
side,  on  the  corner  now  occupied  by  the  Pierson  Block  ;  hence  the 
point  in  the  following  story  that  he  tells  of  his  wife :  He  one  day  observed 
her  scattering  ashes  in  the  prairie  grass  around  the  office,  and  on  his 
inquiring  what  was  up,  she  replied — "  I  am  trying  to  kill  the  grass  to 
make  the  surroundings  look  more  like  business."  In  the  summer  of 
1857  Mr.  Pierson  built  and  occupied  the  house  on  the  corner  north  of 
the  Pierson  Block,  and  now  occupied  by  Isaac  Amermand.  In  the 
fall  of  1858  he  erected  the  store  building  now  constituting  "No.  1"  in 
the  aforesaid  block.  In  the  meantime,  the  great  financial  crash  of  1857 
came  and  laid  the  whole  country  prostrate.  During  the  three  follow- 
ing years  the  value  of  property  constantly  declined,  so  that  no  trade 
could  be  carried  on  with  profit  or  even  with  safety.  Every  dealer  in 
building  material  on  the  Chicago  branch  of  the  Illinois  Central  railroad, 
with  one  or  two  exceptions,  and  nearly  all  dealers  in  this  department 
of  trade  in  Chicago,  failed.  The  main  source  of  weakness  in  Mr.  Pier- 
son's  case  at  this  critical  time  was  in  the  fact  of  his  having  an  unusually 
large  stock  on  hand  when  the  panic  came.  All  that  he  needed  was 
time  to  reduce  stock,  and  to  collect  outstanding  claims,  which  were  not 
large.  These  objects  were  successfully  accomplished  by  three  years  of 
hard  work  without  profit.  He  could  not,  however,  have  done  this  had 
he  not  had  first-class  credit  at  a  few  solid  houses  in  Chicago,  who  told 
him  to  go  ahead.  This  credit  arose  from  the  reputation  Mr.  Pierson 
had  of  keeping  his  business  well  in  hand,  and  of  living  within  his 
means.  On  this  subject  Mr.  Pierson  says  :  "  I  have  had  creditors,  who 
were  themselves  daily  expecting  to  be  pushed  to  the  wall,  come  on 
with  the  intention  of  securing  what  they  could.  As  they  looked  at  my 
little  house,  noting  how  I  lived,  they  said  :  '  Well,  Pierson,  you  can 
make  more  out  of  this  stock  than  we  can  ;  we  shall  have  to  let  vou 


ONARGA    TOWNSHIP.  611 

alone ;  you  will  come  out  all  right.'  That  little  house  and  the  careful 
management  of  my  good  wife  were  what  saved  me  from  bankruptcy. 
Without  the  confidence  inspired  by  these  means  I  should  certainly 
have  failed,  although  I  was  at  the  time  worth  very  much  more  than  I 
owed.  A  blessing  on  the  shanties  that  are  paid  for,  and  on  the  good 
wives  who  know  how  to  make  in  them  cheerful  and  happy  homes, 
until  something  better  can  be  honestly  provided  for."  When  business 
finally  revived,  in  1860,  Mr.  Pierson  found  himself  in  good  shape,  both 
as  regards  credit  and  capital,  to  largely  extend  his  trade.  His  business, 
almost  unsought,  branched  out  in  so  many  directions  that  it  was 
impossible  for  one  person  to  look  after  it  all,  especially  during  the 
war.  He  consequently  divided  his  business,  and  became  a  silent  part- 
ner in  two  or  three  firms  in  his  own  town.  He  also,  at  different  times, 
had  branch  houses  at  Watseka,  Ludlow  and  Chatsworth.  These  differ- 
ent branches  were  in  the  main  successful  in  the  accomplishment  of 
their  object,  i.e.  in  working  oft'  surplus  and  unavailable  stock,  and  were 
generally  paying  institutions,  contrary  to  ordinary  experience  in  such 
cases.  In  1868  and  1869  Mr.  Pierson  shared  his  business  lots  on  the 
west  side  with  other  parties,  and  the  building  known  as  the  Pierson 
Block  was  erected.  His  health  rapidly  failing,  Mr.  Pierson,  during 
the  fall  and  winter  of  1870-71,  traveled  in  Europe,  visiting  England, 
Scotland,  Gibraltar,  Italy,  the  beautiful  cities  of  Sicily,  encountered 
without  serious  detriment  the  terrors  of  old  Scylla  and  Charybdis,  and 
returned  to  Onarga  the  following  spring.  Soon  after  his  return  he 
retired  from  all  business  connections.  Considering  that  the  most  suit- 
able place  to  pass  a  contented  old  age  is  among  the  people  where  the 
active  and  vigorous  years  of  his  life  have  been  spent,  Mr.  Pierson  pro- 
ceeded to  erect  for  himself  and  wife  a  home  in  a  forest  of  evergreens 
that  he  had  planted  many  years  before,  and  christened  it  "  Evergreen 
Home."  Here  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pierson  are  passing  the  later  years  of 
their  active  and  useful  lives.  It  is  to  be  presumed  that  Mr.  Pierson 
had  an  eye  to  the  interior  as  well  as  the  exterior  home  when  he  chris- 
tened it  "  Evergreen  Home."  Regarded  in  either  light,  the  name  is 
exceedingly  appropriate. 

John  C.  Ramsey,  farmer  and  breeder  of  thoroughbred  short-horns, 
Onarga,  is  a  native  of  Preble  county,  Ohio,  and  was  born  September 
23,  1824.  At  the  early  age  of  twelve  years  he  was  left  an  orphan,  and 
at  the  age  of  seventeen  began  to  learn  the  blacksmith  trade,  and  fol- 
lowed that  business  till  1853,  at  which  date  he  came  to  Iroquois  county, 
Illinois,  and  bought  a  farm  in  Sec.  15,  T.  26,  R.  14,  in  Onarga  town- 
ship. August  7,  1862,  he  enlisted  as  first  sergeant  in  Co.  D,  113th  111. 
Vol.  Inf.  He  was  captured  by  the  rebels  on  board  the  Blue  Wing,  on 


612  HISTOKY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

the  Mississippi  river,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Arkansas,  but  was  soon 
after  paroled  and  exchanged.  He  immediately  rejoined  his  regiment, 
but  was  again  taken  prisoner  near  Ripley,  Mississippi,  in  May,  1864, 
and  suffered  for  three  months  the  horrors  of  prison  life  in  Anderson- 
ville,  from  which  he  made  his  escape ;  but  was  recaptured  by  rebel 
hounds,  placed  in  jail  for  some  time,  and  finally  taken  to  Lawton 
Prison,  Georgia,  where  he  remained  till  paroled  and  mustered  out  of 
the  United  States  service  as  a  prisoner  of  war.  He  then  returned  to 
his  home,  which,  during  his  three  years'  absence,  had  been  managed 
and  carried  on  by  his  wife  and  hired  hand, — the  latter  receiving  more 
money  per  month  on  his  farm  than  he  received  from  Uncle  Sam  for 
soldiering.  In  1866  he  turned  his  attention  to  breeding  graded  short- 
horns, but  in  1869  he  engaged  in  breeding  thoroughbred  short-horns, 
and  is  now  the  owner  of  a  very  fine  herd,  comprising  forty-one  head  of 
thoroughbreds,  and  is  also  buying  and  feeding  yearly  a  number  of 
grades  and  common  stock.  December  9, 1847,  he  married  Miss  Keturah 
Majors,  who  died  August  5.  1854.  He  again  married,  this  time,  Miss 
Eliza  A.  Ramsey,  August  13,  1856.  She  was  "born  February  3,  1828, 
in  Preble  county,  Ohio.  He  has  two  children  living:  Lucy  A.  and 
Gracie  M.  He  now  owns,  besides  his  stock,  400  acres  of  land,  a  large 
part  of  which  is  the  result  of  his  own  industry  and  close  attention  to 
business.  He  is  truly  one  of  our  self-made  men. 

Milton  Doolittle,  hardware  and  furniture  dealer,  Onarga,  was  the 
second  son  of  Elkanah  and  Triphenia  (Pangborn)  Doolittle,  and  was 
born  December  26,  1855,  in  Onarga  township.  He  received  his  edu- 
cation at  the  Episcopal  Academy  of  Cheshire,  Connecticut,  and  at 
Grand  Prairie  Seminary,  Onarga.  On  October  18,  1877,  he  was  united 
in  marriage  to  Miss  Harriet  F.  Marston,  the  accomplished  daughter  of 
Sanford  K.  Marston.  Their  child  (Mary  Triphenia)  was  born  July  27, 
1878.  Mr.  Doolittle  is  an  independent  voter. 

Edward  L.  Marquis,  lumber  dealer,  Onarga,  was  born  in  Mount 
Yernon,  Knox  county,  Ohio,  August  20,  1826.  His  father's  Christian 
name  was  Edward,  and  his  mother's  maiden  name  was  Elizabeth 
Newell.  He  finished  his  schooling  at  the  Mount  Yernon  Academy,  and 
on  attaining  his  majority  commenced  for  himself  by  traveling  for  a 
marble  establishment.  He  has  led  an  active  business  life;  and  his 
employments  have  been  various,  and  generally  profitable.  Railroad- 
ing, photographing,  real-estate  and  patent-right  transactions  have  been 
some  of  his  occupations.  He  has  traveled  extensively  in  the  United 
States,  especially  in  the  west,  and  has  made  his  home  at  different  times 
in  Ohio,  Michigan,  Indiana  and  Illinois.  He  has  been  twice  married, 
and  has  two  sons  and  two  daughters.  His  maternal  progenitors  were 


LIBRARY 
OF  THE 

OF  HIIN^' 


ONARGA   TOWNSHIP.  615 

Pilgrims.  On  his  father's  side  his  ancestry  is  traceable  to  a  titled  lady 
of  Welsh  parentage. 

John  B.  Clark,  fruit-grower,  Onarga,  was  born  in  Newport,  Rhode 
Island,  July  8, 1806,  and  is  the  oldest  son  of  George  and  Desire  (Blevin) 
Clark.  In  1817  his  father  settled  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  two  years 
later  John  went  to  Lawrenceburg,  Dearborn  county,  Indiana,  where  he 
worked  as  a  shop-boy  three  years.  At  the  end  of  this  time  he  apprenticed 
himself  for  four  years  to  learn  the  tobacco  manufacturer's  trade. 
Leaving  Lawrenceburg  he  went  to  Cincinnati  and  lived  there  three 
years;  he  then  moved  to  Manchester  and  engaged  in  merchandising, 
and  was  in  business  in  that  place  most  of  the  time  for  twenty-five  years. 
He  was  justice  of  the  peace  five  years,  and  postmaster  altogether  twenty 
years.  In  1840,  and  again  in  1850,  he  was  chosen  by  the  whigs  to 
represent  Dearborn  county  in  the  legislature.  In  the  summi'i1  of  1855 
his  family  removed  to  a  farm  in  Ash  Grove,  in  this  county,  and  some 
months  afterward  Mr.  Clark,  having  closed  up  his  business  in  Man- 
chester, brought  a  stock  of  goods  to  "  Pitch-in,"  the  first  that  were  ever 
sold  there.  This  was  before  that  place  was  dignified  with  the  eupho- 
nious name  which  it  bears.  He  continued  in  trade  eight  years.  He  was 
postmaster,  town  clerk  and  also  justice  of  the  peace  several  years.  In  1864 
he  left  Ash  Grove  and  settled  in  Onarga,  and  since  that  time  has  given 
his  attention  to  raising  fruit.  His  first  marriage  took  place  with  Sophia 
Albright,  April  24,  1827.  Four  sons  and  eight  daughters  were  the 
product  of  this  union.  These  grew  to  manhood  and  womanhood,  and 
all  but  three  are  still  living.  Two  of  the  sons  were  in  the  army  in  the 
late  war.  James  M.  was  a  member  of  Co.  F,  25th  111.  Vol?,  and  died 
at  Corinth,  Mississippi,  of  typhoid  pneumonia,  June  23,  1862.  Calvin 
R.  served  the  term  of  three  years  in  the  76th  111.  Vol.  He  was  engaged 
at  Jackson,  Mississippi,  May  13,  1863;  he  bore  a  part  in  the  sieges  of 
Vicksburg  and  Mobile,  terminating  his  active  service  in  the  last  battle 
of  the  war — the  brilliant  charge  on  Fort  Blakeley.  He  was  promoted 
for  gallant  conduct  in  the  last  engagement.  Mr.  Clark's  wife  having 
died,  December  11,  1866,  he  was  married  again,  October  6,  1870,  to 
Mrs.  Frances  M.  Torrey,  widow  of  Levi  F.  Torrey.  He  has  been  a 
member  of  the  M.  E.  church  fifty-seven  years,  and  has  held  official 
connection  therein  much  of  the  time.  He  was  an  ardent  whig,  and  is 
now  a  firm  supporter  of  the  republican  party. 

David  Bullington,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Onarga,  came  to  this 
county  in  1855,  from  Warren  county,  Indiana,  where  he  was  born, 
September  8,  1833.  January  31,  1858,  he  married  Miss  Margaret  A., 
daughter  of  Henry  Skeels.  She  was  born  in  this  county,  in  Onarga 
township,  April  9,  1840,  and  is  one  of  those  who  know  what  pioneer 


616  HISTORY    OF    IEOQUOIS    COUNTY. 

life  is,  being  one  of  the  early  pupils  taught  in  log  cabins.  Mr.  Bull- 
ington,  after  his  marriage,  engaged  in  fanning  in  this  county  till  1867, 
when  he  went  to  Green  county,  Missouri,  and  settled  near  Springfield, 
where  he  lived  about  ten  years,  engaged  in  farming,  but,  longing  for 
the  society  of  old  friends  and  surroundings,  he  returned  to  Onarga, 
where  he  now  lives,  engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising.  He  has 
eight  children :  Sarah  A.,  Ida  L.,  Mary  E.,  Emma  J.,  Margaret  A.. 
Elmyra,  Susanah  E.  and  Minnie  E.  He,  his  wife  and  the  three  oldest 
children  are  members  of  the  M.  E.  church,  and  politically  he  is  a 
republican.  His  parents,  Mr.  James  and  Sarah  M.  (Garrish)  Bulling- 
ton,  were  married  May  5,,  1829;  the  former  was  born  in  Virginia, 
February  26,  1808,  and  the  latter  in  New  Jersey,  December  22,  1808, 
and  came  to  Iroquois  county  in  1856.  The  old  gentleman  is  still  liv- 
ing and  has  been  a  member  of  the  M.  E.  church  for  the  last  fifty-four 
years.  During  his  youth  he  learned  the  trade  of  a  blacksmith,  which 
he  followed  many  years.  His  wife,  with  whom  he  lived  many  years, 
died,  June  13,  1875,  from  a  cancer  in  her  face.  He  is  now  spending 
his  declining  years  with  one  of  his  sons  on  his  old  home. 

James  Owen,  fruit-grower,  Onarga,  was  born  in  Birmingham,  Eng- 
land, November  13, 1815.  His  father,  George  Owen,  was  a  blacksmith, 
and  he  learned  the  trade  under  him.  In  1849  he  emigrated  to  America, 
and  stopping  first  in  Brooklyn,  New  York,  he  worked  there  nine  months 
at  his  trade.  He  then  removed  to  Mason  county,  Illinois,  and  engaged 
in  farming  five  years.  In  1855  he  settled  in  this  county  on  a  farm  of 
120  acres  east  of  Onarga.  At  the  same  time,  in  company  with  his 
brother  John,  he  put  up  a  blacksmith  shop  in  Onarga,  the  first  in  the 
place.  A  little  later  the  younger  brothers,  Abram  and  William,  came 
and  took  an  interest  in  the  business,  which  embraced,  in  addition,  the 
sale  of  hardware  and  the  manufacture  of  the  celebrated  Owen  stove. 
At  the  end  of  two  years  he  withdrew  from  the  firm,  since  which  time 
he  has  been  employed  either  in  farming  or  in  horticulture.  In  1867  he 
removed  to  Onarga,  where  he  now  resides.  He  was  married,  July  28, 
1839,  to  Ann  Elliman.  They  have  reared  four  sons  and  two  daughters. 
Two  of  the  former,  William  F.  and  James,  were  soldiers  in  the  late 
war.  The  first  of  these  was  in  the  9th  111.  Cav.,  and  died  February 
18,  1866,  from  injuries  received  by  being  crowded  with  his  horse  from 
a  high  bridge. 

George  H.  Owen,  grocer,  Onarga,  was  born  in  Birmingham,  England, 
April  26,  1-846.  His  parents,  James  and  Ann  (Elliman)  Owen,  emi- 
grated to  this  country  in  1849.  After  a  residence  in  Mason  county, 
Illinois,  they  moved  to  this  county  and  settled  on  a  farm  near  Onarga. 
Here  the  subject  of  this  sketch  remained  till  1866.  He  has  been  em- 


ONARGA   TOWNSHIP.  617 

ployed  in  farming,  brick-making,  butchering,  and  is  at  present,  and  has 
been  the  past  three  years,  keeping  a  grocery  store  in  Onarga,  in  com- 
pany with  his  brother  James.  Owen  Brothers  is  the  style  of  the  firm. 
April  23,  1874,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mary  A.  Peter,  who 
was  born  January  5,  1845,  in  Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana.  They  have 
one  child,  Flora  Annie,  born  October  2,  1876.  Mr.  Owen  is  an  Odd- 
Fellow  and  republican,  and  his  wife  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
church. 

Horatio  Talbert,  farmer,  Onarga,  was  born  in  Onarga  township, 
February  29,  1856,  on  the  same  farm  where  he  now  lives.  January 
7,  1879,  he  married  Miss  Anna,  daughter  of  William  B.  Lyman,  an 
old  settler  of  this  county,  and  she  was  born  in  Beaver  township,  in  this 
county,  September  17,  1857.  They  have  one  child,  Lyman  Leo.  The 
father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  Mr.  George  W.  Talbert,  was  born 
at  Fort  Littleton,  Bedford  county,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  married, 
February  25, 1852,  to  Miss  Catharine  Deyo,  of  Pickaway  county,  Ohio, 
and  came  to  this  county  in  1853.  She  died  June  18,  1860,  and  Mr. 
Talbert  died  in  the  service  of  his  country  in  March,  1862,  on  Black 
river.  He  left  to  his  two  children,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  and 
Albert,  his  farm,  which  contains  280  acres  in  Onarga,  all  earned  by 
his  own  hard  labor,  industry  and  good  management. 

Enoch  C.  Hall,  police  magistrate  and  insurance  and  collection  agent, 
Onarga,  was  born  September  19,  1815,  at  Middletown,  Connecticut. 
He  was  the  youngest  son  of  Jonathan  and  Catherine  (Savage)  Hall. 
His  father  was  a  farmer,  and  his  youth  was  passed  in  the  honorable 
pursuits  of  husbandry.  He  first  attended  the  common  schools,  and 
then  ended  his  studies  in  a  private  high  school.  From  sixteen  to 
eighteen  he  was  learning  the  silversmith's  trade,  but  his  employer 
failed  before  his  apprenticeship  expired  and  he  returned  to  the  farm, 
working  on  that  summers,  and  teaching  school  winters,  till  he  was 
twenty-five.  In  1836  he  was  appointed  school  examining  committee, 
and  held  that  responsible  position  twelve  years.  In  1840  he  was  ap- 
pointed justice  of  the  peace ;  at  the  same  time  he  set  up  in  the  grocery 
and  provision  trade.  In  1851  he  removed  his  business  to  Springfield, 
Massachusetts;  in  1856  he  came  west  and  settled  near  Onarga  on  an 
eighty-acre  farm  of  wild  land.  In  1863  he  began  merchandising  in 
the  village  in  company  with  G.  G.  Webb.  He  continued  in  trade 
thirteen  years,  changing,  in  the  meantime,  his  connections  and  the 
character  of  his  business  more  than  once.  The  past  three  years  he  has 
done  a  general  real-estate,  loaning,  insurance  and  collection  business, 
and  until  recently  in  company  with  Hon.  A.  S.  Palmer.  He  has  held 
numerous  township,  corporation,  school  and  other  offices;  has  been 


618  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

justice  of  the  peace  sixteen  years ;  in  1866  was  supervisor,  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  building  committee  who  superintended  the  erection  of  the 
court-house  at  Watseka ;  was  secretary  of  the  sanitary  society  for  the 
relief  of  soldiers  and  their  families  during  the  war,  and  has  been  an 
officer  of  the  Iroquois  Agricultural  Society  since  its  formation  fourteen 
years  ago.  He  was  married,  October  20, 1839,  to  Louisa  Plum.  Four 
sons  were  the  fruit  of  this  marriage:  Wallace,  Edward,  Dwight  and 
Robert.  All  these  were  in  the  military  service  in  the  late  rebellion. 
Wallace  died  in  the  blockading  squadron  off  Mobile;  Edward  was  in 
Co.  D,  113th  111.  Vols.,  and  died  in  front  of  Yicksbnrg;  Dwight 
was  in  the  same  company  three  years,  and  Robert  served  in  the  150th 
111.  the  last  year  of  the  war.  Mr.  Hall's  wife  died  October  5,  1859. 
His  second  matrimonial  alliance  was  consummated  with  Kate  Flagg, 
September  19,  1860.  They  have  two  sons  and  a  daughter. 

Orrin  S.  Haight,  farmer '  and  stock-raiser,  Onarga,  was  born  in 
Albany  county,  New  York,  January  31,  1829.  At  the  age  of  sixteen 
years  he  left  the  parental  roof,  and  began  for  himself  by  boating  on  the 
Hudson  river,  which  occupation  he  followed  two  years.  He  then  fol- 
lowed farming  three  years,  and  then  went  to  Gloversville,  Fulton 
county,  New  York,  and  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  gloves,  a  busi- 
ness for  which  that  place  was  noted.  December  31,  1850,  he  married 
Miss  Jane  Anderson,  who  was  born  in  Fulton  county,  New  York, 
May  11,  1835.  Soon  after  he  came  west  and  engaged  in  Perrysville, 
Indiana,  in  a  grain  warehouse  and  grist  mill  about  four  years.  He 
then  removed  to  Vermilion  county,  Illinois,  and  farmed  a  short  time, 
and  finally  came  to  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  where  he  rented  a  farm 
*and  engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising,  but  soon  bought  a  farm  in 
Sec.  4,  T.  25,  R.  14,  Onarga,  where  he  permanently  located  and  is 
following  the  business  he  began  in  this  county.  He  has  seven  chil- 
dren living:  Charles,  Isabel,  Elena,  Edna,  Martha  A.,  Ida  M.  and 
Orie.  He  is  using  all  his  means  for  the  education  of  his  family,  three 
of  whom  are  now  teaching,  having  been  prepared  for  that  business  at 
the  Grand  Prairie  Seminar}7  and  Commercial  College. 

If  there  is  one  man  more  than  another  possessed  of  a  fine  practical 
brain  and  a  clear  mechanical  head,  that  man  is  George  H.  Van  Neste, 
who  was  born  May  10,  1826,  in  the  historical  Mohawk  valley,  Mont- 
gomery county,  New  York,  on  a  farm.  He  is  now  just  in  the  prime 
of  life,  and  morally  a  most  exemplary  character.  Young  George 
worked  with  his  parents  until  his  twenty-first  year,  then  following  the 
natural  bent  of  his  mind,  a  love  of  tools  prompted  him  to  accept  a 
position  in  a  manufacturing  establishment  at  Amsterdam,  where  his 
principal  work  was  building  fanning  mills  until  September  1,  1850, 


ONARGA    TOWNSHIP.  619 

when  thinking  to  educate  that  faculty  which  was  destined  to  assist 
him  so  much  in  the  future  on  a  broader  scope,  commenced  work  as  a 
common  hand,  carpentering  and  joining;  but  by  dint  of  an  earnest 
application  and  an  indomitable  will  Mr.  Van  Neste  rose  to  the  posi- 
tion of  a  contractor  in  the  spring  of  1853,  which  position  was  retained 
until  in  the  fall  of  1854,  when  thinking  to  better  himself  came  west  to 
Ogle  county,  Illinois,  near  Oregon,  in  September  of  that  year;  and 
after  a  year  and  a  half's  labor  there  at  his  trade,  moved  to  Iroquois 
county,  building  on  Sec.  3,  T.  25,  R.  10  E.,  where  he  was  one  of  the 
first  settlers  on  the  prairie.  He  has  now  a  splendid  farm  of  two  hun- 
dred and  forty  acres,  three  miles  southeast  of  Del  Rey  and  seven  from 
Onarga.  A  large  saw-mill  was  then  in  operation  at  Del  Rey,  and  no 
sooner  did  they  learn  of  Van's  ability  than  they  called  for  help  in  re- 
pairing, who,  always  ready  and  agreeable,  soon  would  get  things  in 
working  order  again  ;  and  when  thoroughly  aroused  to  the  fact  that  a 
mechanical  genius  was  among  them,  Yan  was  given  complete  charge 
of  the  mill,  made  boss  and  manager  in  the  fall  of  1858,  and  continued 
in  that  capacity  for  two  years.  Mr.  Van  Neste  then  engaged  himself 
in  cultivating  his  farm  until  the  spring  of  1872  (moving  his  family  to 
Onarga  the  year  previous  owing  to  his  wife's  sickness).  When  G.  H. 
Van  Neste  &  Co.  erected  a  large  flouring  mill  in  the  eastern  part  of 
Onarga,  which,  to  all  appearance  was  destined  to  be  synonymous  with 
prosperity, —  lo !  in  August,  1873,  the  boiler  burst,  and  with  it 
blew  away  a  thousand  bright  hopes  and  many  hard  earned  dollars. 
He  next  purchased  the  old  stand  of  McElroy's  grocery,  in  October, 
1873,  and  until  August,  1878,  selling  to  F.  Felker,  prosecuted  a 
splendid  trade,  making  many  friends  and  a  host  of  acquaintances.  His 
place  of  business  was  and  still  is  known  as  "  Van's  corner."  He  is  now 
engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising.  He  was  married,  October  2, 
1851,  to  Miss  Emily  J.  Shottinkirk,  in  Perth,  Fulton  county,  New  York, 
and  prior  to  her  death,  which  occurred  June  8,  1871,  six  children  were 
born.  He  was  married  the  second  time,  April  6,  1873,  to  Mary  E., 
the  widow  of  Capt.  William  M.  Raymond,  a  brave  and  gallant 
soldier  of  Co.  D,  52d  Ind.  Vol.,  who  sacrified  his  life  for  his  country's 
liberty  at  the  battle  of  Nashville.  Mr.  Van  Neste  joined  the  M.  E. 
church  in  April,  1851,  was  elected  a  member  of  the  quarterly  con- 
ference, July  31,  1861,  and  recording  steward,  September,  1872.  His 
wife  is  also  a  member.  Mr.  Van  Neste  has  held  the  offices  of  assessor, 
commissioner,  school  trustee,  school  director,  and  justice  of  the  peace, 
and  is  a  stalwart  member  of  the  republican  party. 

Howard  Lyon,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Del   Rey,   is  a  native  of 
Windsor,  Vermont,   and  was   born   March    1,  1831.     At  the   age  of 


620  HISTORY    OF   IROQU01S   COUNTY. 

twenty-five  he  left  his  native  state,  where  he  had  been  raised  at  farm- 
ing and  attending  school.  April  22,  1856,  he  married  Miss  Betsey 
Brown,  a  native  of  Vermont,  and  the  same  year  came  to  Iroquois 
county,  Illinois,  and  engaged  in  farming;  but  not  liking  the  country 
on  account  of  his  health  failing,  he  returned  to  his  native  state. 
While  making  his  return  trip  the  saddest  event  of  his  life  took  place. 
After  crossing  the  river  from  Detroit  to  Windsor,  he  with  his  wife 
walked  from  the  boat  to  the  wharf,  where  he  left  her  a  few  minutes, 
with  a  request  to  remain  there  till  he  returned  from  the  boat,  where  he 
was  going  to  look  after  some  baggage.  On  his  return  to  the  dock  he 
was  unable  to  find  her,  and  immediately  began  an  anxious  search, 
which  was  prosecuted  with  almost  unendurable  anxiety  of  mind  till 
next  morning,  when  her  body  was  found  floating  in  the  river  a  short 
distance  below  the  place  of  landing.  It  is  supposed  that  she  became 
uneasy  while  waiting  his  return  and  started  in  search  of  him,  missed 
the  gangplank  and  fell  into  the  river.  In  1859  he  again  returned  to 
this  county  and  engaged  as  a  hired  hand  and  began  to  buy  a  few  cattle, 
and  in  that  way  soon  got  a  start  which  has  proved  to  him  very  success- 
ful, which  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  he  now  owns  370  acres  of  good 
land  where  he  now  lives,  actively  engaged  in  farming  and  stock-rais- 
ing. February  14,  1864,  he  married  Mrs.  Caroline  (Merrill)  Sanders, 
of  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  born  May  18,  1834.  She  died  May  12,  1879. 
On  March  3,  1880,  he  married  his  last  wife,  Mrs.  Eveline  Libhart,  a 
native  of  New  York,  born  near  Bainbridge.  She  came  to  this  county 
in  1853.  He  has  five  children  :  James  A.,  Edward  M.,  William  H., 
Perry  and  Robert.  His  present  wife  has  five  children,  two  boys  and 
three  girls. 

John  W.,  son  of  John  Grubbs,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Onarga,  is 
a  native  of  Montgomery,  Ohio,  and  was  born  on  October  18, 1827.  His 
parents'  means  being  very  limited,  living  as  they  were  in  the  back- 
woods of  a  new  countr}7,  he  at  a  very  early  age  began  to  work  out, 
beginning  at  six  cents  per  day.  His  wages  were  soon  after  raised  to 
eight  cents  per  day,  which  he  received  all  through  the  next  season. 
After  growing  up  to  near  manhood  he  received  by  the  month  from 
$7  to  $11.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  years  he  became  an  apprentice  as 
wagon  and  carriage-maker,  and  completed  his  trade  at  the  age  of 
twenty-one  years.  He  then  followed  journey  work,  till  on  August  15, 
1851,  he  married  Miss  Lorinda  Allen.  She  was  born  in  Butler  county, 
Ohio,  on  November  9,  1834.  At  that  time  he  borrowed  $100  with 
which  to  begin  housekeeping,  and  through  the  kindness  of  an  old 
friend  he  began  the  business  of  his  trade  in  a  full  furnished  shop,  mak- 
ing everything  from  a  wheelbarrow  to  a  wagon,  or  any  thing  needed  on 


ONARGA    TOWNSHIP.  621 

a  farm.  He  followed  the  business  eight  or  nine  years,  but  by  working 
constantly  and  till  late  hours  at  night  his  health  became  broken  down, 
and  he  sold  out  his  stock  in  trade,  bought  a  farm,  and  engaged  in 
farming;  but  having  previously  visited  Illinois,  felt  an  irresistible 
desire  to  own  a  home  on  the  prairie,  and  in  1857  removed  to  Peoria 
county,  Illinois,  where  he  lost  $1,000  in  renting  a  large  farm  that  wet 
season  (by  loss  of  crops  and  sickness),  and  the  fall  of  the  same  year 
came  to  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  bought  a  farm,  permanently  located, 
and  actively  engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising.  He  is  the  first 
man  who  introduced  the  hedge-fence  raising  in  this  county,  raising  an 
immense  lot  of  plants  for  wholesale  over  this  and  adjoining  counties. 
He  now  owns  414  acres  of  land,  three  miles  east  of  Onarga  village, 
well  ditched  with  tile,  and  on  which  are  very  fine  buildings.  He  has 
five  children :  Keziah,  Phineas  W.,  Lervy,  Harvey  J.  and  Melissa  J. 

Judge  Charles  H.  Wood,  attorney-at-law,  Chicago,  is  one  of  the 
many  old  settlers  of  Iroquois  who,  though  having  removed  from  the 
county,  are  yet  kindly  remembered  by  many  and  warm  friends.  It  will 
no  doubt  be  a  pleasant  surprise  to  many  of  his  friends,  not  only  of  Onarga 
and  Iroquois  county,  but  of  central  eastern  Illinois,  to  find  his  portrait 
gracing  the  pages  of  this  work.  Judge  Wood  was  born  in  Lyrne,  Con- 
necticut, October  7,  1832,  and  is  the  son  of  John  Wood,  also  a  native 
of  that  state,  born  August  17,  1786.  The  subject  of  this  brief  sketch 
was  educated  at  Brown  University,  Rhode  Island.  In  1857  he  graduated 
from  the  Albany  Law  School,  and  was  that  same  year  a  member  of  the 
Connecticut  legislature.  In  1857  he  came  west  and  commenced  the 
practice  of  law  in  Onarga.  While  a  resident  here  he  was  elected,  in 
1860,  prosecuting  attorney  of  the  twentieth  judicial  district,  which  em- 
braced the  counties  of  Iroquois,  Kankakee  and  Livingston,  holding  the 
office  until  1864.  In  1865  he  was  elected  by  his  district  to  the  general 
assembly  of  the  state.  In  March,  1867,  he  was  appointed  by  the  gov- 
ernor of  the  state  to  fill  an  unexpired  term  of  circuit  judge  of  the  dis- 
trict in  which  he  had  formerly  served  as  prosecuting  attorney,  and  so  well 
and  acceptably  did  he  discharge  his  duties  that,  upon  the  expiration  of 
this  partial  term,  he  was  elected  for  a  term  of  six  years.  In  all  of  the 
many  and  important  trusts  which  Judge  Wood  has  been  called  upon 
to  execute  he  has  had  the  satisfaction  of  the  unanimous  approval  of  his 
constituents  and  fellow-citizens.  In  1874  he  removed  to  Chicago,  where 
he  entered  into  partnership  in  the  practice  of  law  with  Judge  Loomis, 
of  that  city,  and  now  ranks  as  one  of  the  leading  lawyers  of  Chicago. 
Perhaps  there  are  few  busier  men  than  Judge  Wood.  His  thorough 
preparation  for  his  profession,  and  his  quick  appreciation  of  his  special 
work,  together  with  a  sound  judgment,  enables  him  to  arrive  at 


622  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

unerring  conclusions  with  a  rapidity  surprising  to  many  of  the  same 
profession. 

William  B.  Crider,  dealer  in  grain,  lumber  and  coal,  Del  Rey,  is  a 
son  of  Samuel  T.  Crider,  and  was  born  in  Montgomery  county,  Ohio, 
April  10,  1829.  He  lived  with  his  parents,  engaged  in  farming  and 
going  to  school  till  the  age  of  seventeen,  when  he  began  teaching 
music.  When  eighteen  years  of  age  he  began  to  learn  the  trade  of  a 
carpenter  under  Ferdinand  Woodard,  at  Williamsport,  Indiana,  having 
removed  with  his  parents  to  that  state  in  1840.  After  learning  the 
trade  he  followed  the  business  about  twelve  years.  October  22,  1856, 
he  married  Miss  Rachel,  daughter  of  Mr.  Zebulon  Foster,  who  was 
born  in  Warren  county,  Indiana,  May  20,  1837.  In  the  autumn  of 
1858  he  came  to  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  where  he  bought  and  im- 
proved three  farms,  and  finally  settled  permanently  on  Sec.  6,  T.  25, 
R.  14,  in  Onarga  township,  and  actively  engaged  in  farming  and  stock- 
raising,  and  that  business  he  successfully  followed  till  the  spring  of  1878, 
when  he  rented  his  farm,  removed  to  Del  Rey,  and  engaged  in  the 
grain,  lumber  and  coal  trade.  He  now  owns,  besides  his  residence  in 
town  with  four  acres  of  land,  a  farm  of  210  acres  of  land,  on  which  is 
built  the  finest  buildings  in  that  part  of  the  township,  and  all  earned 
by  his  own  hard  labor,  industry  and  close  application  to  "business,  coin- 
ing to  this  county  with  but  $25.  He  has  six  children,  all  living:  Zeb- 
ulon F.,  Mary  L,  Samuel  P.,  Charlie  P.,  Minnie  B.  and  Dora  E.  He 
is  a  gentleman  of  strictly  temperate  habits. 

John  B.  Lowe,  publisher  of  the  Onarga  "Review,"  Onarga,  was  the 
youngest  son  of  Samuel  J.  Lowe,  third  sheriff  of  Cook  county,  and  was 
born  in  Chicago,  October  10, 1843.  He  removed  to  St.  Charles,  Illinois, 
in  1853,  and  to  Onarga  in  1857.  He  became  an  apprentice  to  the 
printing  business  in  1858.  He  entered  the  army  in  1862  as  a  private 
in  Co.  M,  9th  111.  Cav.,  and  was  captured  by  Hood's  army  near 
Florence,  Alabama,  November  19,  1864.  He  was  mustered  out  at  the 
close  of  the  war  without  being  exchanged.  He  engaged  in  printing  in 
Onarga  in  1866,  and  from  1867  to  1869  was  in  partnership  with  Ed. 
Rumley,  and  from  1879  to  1861  with  F.  R.  Gilson.  He  removed  the 
"Review  "  office  to  Moline,  Illinois,  in  1870 ;  he  reestablished  the  paper 
in  1872,  and  is  still  publishing  it.  He  was  commissioned  captain  of 
Co.  E,  9th  battalion,  I.  N.  G.,  September  12,  1877. 

James  B.  Baldwin,  druggist,  Onarga,  was  the  son  of  Gordon  and 
Harriet  (Fitch)  Baldwin,  and  was  born  in  Monroe  county,  New  York, 
May  6, 1830.  He  attended  the  common  schools  and  finished  his  studies 
in  an  academy  in  his  native  town  of  Riga.  His  father  was  a  farmer, 
and  he  was  reared  to  that  occupation.  In  1854  he  went  to  Ulster 


LIBRARY 
OF  THE 

•INIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOI' 


•OSTARGA    TOWNSHIP.  625 

county,  New  York,  and  was  employed  by  his  uncle  in  shipping  stone. 
In  1857  he  migrated  to  Illinois,  and  settled  on  the  present  site  of  La 
Hogue,  in  this  county,  on  a  farm  of  160  acres.  He  was  one  of  the  first 
to  locate  in  that  section.  At  that  tifne  there  was  but  one  house  between 
his  residence  and  Onarga  —  Mr.  Bennett's.  In  1863  he  moved  to 
Onarga,  and  was  employed  two  years  by  the  railroad  company.  In 
1866  he  commenced  selling  drugs;  three  years  later  he  took  M.  D.  Fir- 
man into  partnership,  under  the  style  of  Baldwin  &  Firman.  In  1876 
the  latter  retired.  Mr.  Baldwin's  drug  store  is  one  of  the  most  com- 
plete and  extensive  in  the  county.  He  was  married,  May  5,  1855,  to 
Miss  Eliza  J.  Thompson.  They  have  one  son  and  one  daughter.  Mr. 
Baldwin  has  never  interested  himself  in  politics  beyond  a  quiet  and  an 
intelligent  discharge  of  the  duties  of  citizenship,  and  he  votes  inde- 
pendent of  party  control. 

H.  F.  Lockwood,  farmer,  Onarga,  son  of  Walter  and  Dolly  Lock- 
wood,  was  born  in  Canada,  August  14,  1824.  The  family  first  came  to 
this  county  in  1857,  having  previously  lived  in  the  states  of  New  York 
and  Ohio,  during  a  period  of  about  twenty  years.  Mr.  Lockwood 
married  his  first  wife  in  Ohio,  November  22,  1848.  Her  name  was 
Emily  Avery.  She  died  March  23,  1863.  They  had  seven  children, 
three  of  whom  are  living:  Eugene,  Willie  L.  and  Mary  E.  Mr.  Lock- 
wood  afterward  married  Miss  Mahala  Evans,  April  28,  1870.  She  is  a 
native  of  Iroquois  county.  They  had  three  children,  only  one  of  whom 
is  living.  Mr.  Lockwood  has  a  fine  farm  in  Sec.  30,  T.  26,  R.  11  E. 
Early  on  the  morning  of  May  6,  1868,  during  a  severe  thunder-storm, 
Mr.  Lock  wood's  oldest  son  was  instantly  killed  by  lightning,  a  few 
rods  south  of  the  house.  This  was  a  severe  affliction  to  the  bereaved 
parents.  Mr.  Lockwood's  aged  parents  still  reside  in  Onarga.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Lockwood  are  members  of  the  Presbyterian  churoh. 

The  founder  of  the  Babcock  family  in  the  United  States  was  James 
Badcock,  who  changed  his  name  when  he  emigrated  to  the  New  World. 
He  was  born  in  Essex,  England,  about  1580.  In  the  year  1620  he 
removed  with  his  family  to  Leyden,  Holland,  to  join  the  pilgrims  who 
were  about  to  sail  for  America.  He  embarked  in  the  ship  Anne  early 
in  1623,  and  arrived  at  Plymouth,  Massachusetts,  in  July.  He  lived 
a  number  of  years,  and  died  there.  At  the  time  of  his  arrival  in  this 
country  he  had  four  children  :  James,  John,  Job  and  Mary,  all  of 
whom  were  born  in  England  between  the  years  1612  and  1620.  He 
was  married  again  in  Plymouth  about  1650,  and  had  one  son,  named 
Joseph.  James,  Job  and  Mary  remained  at  Plymouth.  John  moved 
to  Rhode  Island  about  1648.  Members  of  this  family  have  been  prom- 
inent in  New  England  history.  Henry  Babcock  was  a  colonel  in  the 
38 


626  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

king's  service,  and  commanded  a  regiment  of  provincials  in  the  French 
war,  and  was  wounded  at  Ticonderoga.  During  the  revolutionary  war 
he  was  "  General  of  the  State  Troops  of  Rhode  Island,"  and  distin-. 
guished  himself  on  several  occasions.  Oliver  Babcock  was  a  captain. 
He  was  at  the  siege  of  Fort  Washington,  on  the  Hudson,  and  was  so 
indignant  at  the  surrender  that  he  broke  his  sword  across  a  cannon, 
declaring  that  it  should  never  be  yielded  to  the  British.  Horace  Bab- 
cock,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  second  son  of  Charles  and  Martha  (Gard- 
ner) Babcock,  was  born  in  Madison  county,  New  York,  September  13, 
1821,  at  a  place  called  Babcock's  Mills.  He  was  reared  a  farmer  and  brick- 
maker,  and  educated  in  the  common  schools.  September  16,  1845,  he 
was  united  in  marriage  by  the  Rev.  M.  Bixby  with  Miss  Sarah  Deshon. 
They  have  two  living  daughters :  Martha  and  Hattie  E. ;  the  former 
is  the  wife  of  Lee  C.  Brown,  of  Onarga.  Their  son  Charles  died  at 
this  place,  early  in  1857.  In  the  spring  of  this  year  Mr.  Babcock 
removed  from  New  York  with  his  family,  and  settled  in  Onarga.  He 
and  his  brother  purchased  Sec.  28,  T.  26,  R.  10  E,  now  known  as  the 
Knoche  Farm.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Iroquois  County 
Agricultural  Society,  and  was  among  the  earliest  importers  of  Norman 
horses  in  this  section.  From  1860  to  1870  he  was  engaged  in  buying, 
shipping  and  butchering  hogs  and  cattle.  He  owns  200  acres  of  land 
close  to  Onarga,  valued  at  $12,000. 

Thomas  Wand,  merchant,  Onarga,  was  born  in  Dollar,  Perthshire, 
Scotland,  on  May  17,  1832.  He  was  the  son  of  Thomas  and  Jane 
(Malcolm)  Wand.  His  parents  moved  to  Glasgow  when  he  was  four 
years  old,  and  he  received  his  education  in  a  seminary  of  that  city,  and 
also  learned  the  tailor's  trade.  In  1854  he  took  passage  from  Liver- 
pool for  New  Orleans,  and  coming  north  stopped  eighteen  months  in 
St.  Louis  and  worked  at  his  trade.  In  the  spring  of  1856  he  proceeded 
to  Chicago  where  he  remained  a  year.  He  passed  the  summer  of  1857 
in  Kankakee,  and  in  the  fall  settled  permanently  in  Onarga.  He  began 
by  working  at  his  trade  the  first  year,  after  which  he  opened  a  merchant 
tailoring  establishment,  but  his  business  increased  so  that  in  the  course 
of  a  year  or  two  it  had  gradually  embraced  general  merchandising. 
His  success  in  responding  to  the  demands  of  the  trading  public  for  the 
best  goods  at  the  lowest  price,  has  steadily  enlarged  his  circle  of  cus- 
tomers, and  made  his  store  inferior  to  no  other  in  this  part  of  the  coun- 
try. Mr.  Wand  was  married  to  Mary  Fickle,  September  27,  1867. 
They  have  three  children  :  Andrew,  Mary  and  Thomas.  Through  Mr. 
Wand's  exertions  Onarga  became  an  incorporated  village.  He  has 
held  the  office  of  trustee.  He  is  an  Odd-Fellow  and  a  member  of  the 
M.  E.  church. 


ONARGA   TOWNSHIP. 

Alrnon  S.  Palmer,  attorne}'  and  real-estate  agent,  Onarga,  was  born 
in  Columbus,  Chenango  county,  New  York,  February  22,  1824.  He 
was  the  son  of  Grant  B.  and  Annis  (Smith)  Palmer.  About  1856  he 
entered  the  law  office  of  Henry  Bennet,  member  of  congress,  and 
studied  nearly  three  years.  Three  or  four  years  before  this  he  began 
operating  in  lands  in  the  military  tract  of  Illinois.  In  1860  he  removed 
to  this  state,  and  settled  the  first  year  in  Onarga,  then  moved  into 
Douglas  township  and  went  to  farming.  During  his  seven  years'  resi- 
dence there  he  represented  the  town  on  the  board  of  supervisors  four 
or  five  terms.  In  1868  he  moved  back  into  the  village  of  Onarga  and 
resumed  the  practice  of  the  law.  He  was  supervisor  of  this  town  many 
years,  and  chairman  of  the  board  several  terms.  In  1866  he  was  a 
member  of  the  building  committee  who  superintended  the  construction 
of  the  present  court-house  and  jail  at  "Watseka.  In  1872  he  was  elected 
on  the  republican  ticket  to  the  state  senate  for  four  years.  He  was  on 
the  following  committees:  Judicial  department  and  apportionment, 
chairman ;  expenses  of  general  assembly,  appropriations,  county  and 
township  organization,  miscellany,  governor's  message  and  revision  of 
the  statutes,  until  the  appointment  of  the  special  committee.  He  was 
prominent  in  securing  the  passage  of  the  present  railroad  law ;  he  sup- 
ported the  temperance  legislation ;  voted  for  the  repeal  of  the  lake 
front  act,  and  against  the  resolution  to  revive  the  southern  penitentiary. 
He  was  married  to  Laura  L.  Briggs,  of  Madison  county,  New  York, 
August  11,  1844.  Two  daughters  were  the  issue  of  this  marriage. 
One  died  very  young,  and  the  other  (Annis  E.)  is  the  relict  of  Walter 
S.  Clark.  His  wife  died  March  11,  1877.  He  married  again  July  81, 
1878,  to  Miss  Emma  E.  Cushman.  His  grandfather  (Elijah  Palmer) 
was  a  revolutionary  soldier,  and  a  prisoner  in  the  hands  of  the  British 
six  or  eight  months.  His  father  was  a  member  of  the  New  York  gen- 
eral assembly  in  1859,  and  his  brother  (Smith  M.)  was  in  the  Illinois 
house  of  representatives  from  Morgan  county,  about  1868. 

It  is  a  tradition  in  the  Marston  family  that  their  ancestors  landed 
on  these  shores  from  the  Mayflower.  The  great-great-grandfather  of 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  kept  public-house  in  Falmouth  (now  Port- 
land), Maine,  in  the  time  of  the  revolution,  and  when  that  place  was 
bombarded,  his  was  the  only  house  left  standing.  Mr.  Marston's  father 
was  a  mechanic  of  some  note,  who  built  the  first  Portland  Exchange. 
Sanford  K.  was  born  in  Augusta,  Maine,  February  24, 1831.  His  father's 
name  was  Ebenezer,  and  his  mother's  maiden  name,  Sarah  S.  Hideout. 
He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Mystic,  Connecticut.  He 
worked  two  years  in  a  ship-smithy,  and  then  served  a  regular  appren- 
ticeship at  ship-building.  He  partially  built  several  vessels  at  New 


628  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

London  and  Bridgeport,  Connecticut.  After  this  he  took  charge  of 
his  father's  business  in  ~New  London  —  which  was  stone-cutting  and 
marble-working.  He  was  married,  January  16,  1851,  to  Sarah  M. 
Field.  They  have  two  living  daughters:  Mary  A.,  wife  of  Robt.  F. 
Cummings,  of  Clifton ;  and  Harriet  F.,  wife  of  Milton  Doolittle,  of 
Onarga.  In  the  spring  of  1856  he  was  the  chairman  of  a  committee  of 
three  who  came  west  to  find  a  location  for  a  colony  of  about  thirty-five 
Connecticut  families.  After  making  a  selection  he  went  back,  and 
returned  again  in  August  and  entered  about  8,000  acres  for  the  colo- 
nists. He  then  settled  there  and  engaged  in  farming.  He  traveled 
two  years  for  the  land  department  of  the  Illinois  Central  railroad,  col- 
lecting land  payments  in  produce.  In  1864  he  moved  to  Onarga  and 
opened  a  real-estate  office.  Afterward,  in  company  with  F.  P.  Beach, 
he  embarked  in  the  brick  manufacture,  and  furnished  the  brick  for  the 
public  school  edifice,  and  for  all  the  business  houses  in  the  village  that 
are  built  of  that  material.  In  1869  he  joined  William  P.  Pierson, — 
under  the  firm  name  of  Marston  &  Pierson, — in  the  lumber,  coal,  im- 
plement and  furniture  trade.  He  was  one  of  the  commissioners  to 
divide  Ford  county  into  precincts,  and  was  elected  supervisor  of  Bren- 
ton  township.  He  was  trustee  of  Onarga  six  years,  and  was  either 
president  or  secretary  of  the  board  during  the  time.  In  the  period  of 
his  service  saloons  were  abolished,  and  none  have  since  been  allowed 
in  the  place.  He  has  been  a  member  of  the  M.  E.  church  above  thirty 
years.  He  is  independent  in  politics. 

John  Campbell,  butcher,  Onarga,  was  born  September  12,  1840,  at 
Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania.  He"  was  the  second  son  of  James  and  Cath- 
erine (Campbell)  Campbell.  In  1841  his  parents  moved  to  Indianapolis, 
and  in  1843  to  La  Fayette,  Indiana.  In  1861  he  came  to  Illinois,  and 
enlisted  at  Onarga,  June  1,  in  Co.  F,  25th  111.  Inf.  He  fought  at 
Booneville,  Pea  Ridge,  Corinth,  Perryville,  Stone  River,  Chickamauga 
and  Mission  Ridge ;  marched  to  Knoxville ;  served  on  the  Atlanta 
campaign,  and  was  engaged  at  Rocky  Face  Ridge,  Big  Shanty,  Kene- 
saw  and  Peach  Tree  Creek.  He  was  wounded  in  the  right  hip  at  Stone 
River.  He  was  mustered  out  September  19,  1864.  He  returned  to 
Onarga  township  and  farmed  till  1869,  when  he  opened  a  grocery  in 
the  town  in  company  with  C.  H. .Baker  —  firm  name,  Campbell  & 
Baker.  After  several  changes,  in  1878  he  went  into  his  present  busi- 
ness of  butchering.  He  was  married  December  24, 1868,  to  Marilla  L. 
Baker.  They  have  one  daughter,  Mary,  born  August  28,  1869.  He 
has  once  been  constable  of  Onarga  township.  He  is  an  Odd-Fellow, 
and  from  1853  to  1858  was  a  member  of  the  M.  E.  church.  Politically 
.he  is  a  very  zealous  republican. 


ONARGA    TOWNSHIP.  629 

Samuel  E.  Weeden,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Onarga,  is  a  son  of 
John  Weeden,  and  was  born  June  28,  1832,  in  Jamestown,  Rhode 
Island,  on  the  same  farm  that  his  father,  grandfather  and  great-grand- 
father were  born,  and  in  the  same  house,  it  having  been  built  in  1687, 
and  is  now  in  good  repair.  His  early  youth  was  spent  engaged  in 
farming  and  attending  school.  At  the  age  of  twenty-two  he  was  elected 
to  the  legislature  of  his  native  state,  where  he  served  two  terms,  hav- 
ing been  twice  elected  to  that  position  by  his  constituents.  His  grand- 
father served  as  captain  in  the  regular  army  under  Gen.  Washington, 
during  the  revolutionary  war.  His  uncle  (John  H.  Weeden)  was  one 
of  the  most  prominent  lawyers  in  Rhode  Island,  and  a  member  of  the 
legislature  of  that  state  for  many  years,  being  a  graduate  of  Brown 
University,  of  Providence,  Rhode  Island.  In  1858  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  went  to  California,  and  remained  there  till  he  visited  Idaho  in 
1861.  From  there  he  went  to  Nevada,  and  there  took  part  in  the 
change  of  that  territory  to  a  state.  In  December,  1865,  he  returned 
to  his  old  home  in  Rhode  Island,  where  he  remained  a  few  months  and 
then  came  to  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  and  bought  a  farm  in  Onarga 
township,  and  engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising.  April  1,  1874, 
he  married  Miss  Lucy,  daughter  of  Mr.  John  Hughs,  of  Medina  county, 
Ohio,  and  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  that  part  of  the  state.  He  now 
owns  240  acres  of  valuable  land.  He  has  two  children  :  Amy  C.  and 
Mary  H.  He  is  one  of  the  live,  go-ahead,  thrifty  men  who  are  needed 
to  build  up  a  new  country,  and  whose  influence  is  always  felt. 

Horace  Barnes,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Onarga,  is  a  native  of  Rut- 
land, Vermont,  and  was  born  January  14,  1822,  and  there  lived  with 
his  parents,  engaged  in  farming,  attending  and  teaching  school  till  the 
age  of  twenty-four  years.  He  then  emigrated  to  Bloomingdale, 
Du  Page  county,  Illinois,  where  he  followed  farming  and  teaching 
school.  He  also  made  the  breeding  and  growing  of  Spanish  merino 
sheep  a  specialty,'  taking  many  premiums  on  that  stock  at  state  fairs. 
While  living  in  Du  Page  county  he  was  elected  county  superintendent 
of  schools,  and  also  represented  his  township  before  the  board  of  super- 
visors, and  was  for  many  years  township  school  treasurer.  In  1867  he 
came  to  this  county,  bought  a  farm  of  210  acres,  one  and  one-half 
miles  east  of  Onarga,  where  he  permanently  located  and  engaged  in 
farming  and  stock-raising.  Since  he  has  lived  here  he  has  been  princi- 
pal of  the  Onarga  Graded  School  two  years,  and  is  now  one  of  the 
trustees  of  Grand  Prairie  Seminary  and  Commercial  College;  also  a 
member  of  the  executive  committee,  and  is  now  acting  commissioner  of 
highways.  July  1, 1846,  he  married  Miss  Louisa  Seeley,  of  Middlebury, 
Vermont;  she  died  March  8,  1851.  January  22,  1852,  he  married 


630  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

his  second  wife,  Miss  T.  Lorette  Taylor,  who  is  also  a  native  of  Ver- 
mont, and  was  born  April  26,  1832.  He  has  three  children  living,  as 
follows :  William  S.,  by  his  first  wife,  who  is  now  married  and  en- 
gaged in  farming;  Linnie  L.,  wife  of  Elmer  H.  Wood,  of  Chicago, 
clerk  in  the  office  of  the  Union  Pacific  railroad  department  at  a  salary 
of  $1,200  per  year ;  and  Frank  H.,  passenger  ticket  agent  for  the  Chicago 
and  Pacific  railroad. 

Daniel  Martin,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Onarga,  was  born  in  the 
Highlands  of  Scotland,  October  15,  1840.  He  attended  school  in  the 
old  Scottish  Highlands,  where  he  gained  a  perfect  knowledge  of  the 
Gaelic  language,  which  was  (as  he  then  thought)  all  he  required.  His 
father,  being  in  this  country  during  the  revolutionary  war,  became 
pleased  with  the  country,  and  determined  in  the  future  to  make  it  his 
home,  and  in  1852  came  to  America  and  located  in  Guelph,  Ontario, 
Canada.  Soon  after  the  subject  of  this  sketch  went  to  Buffalo  and 
engaged  in  sailing  on  the  lakes,  which  he  followed  till  about  1860. 
He  then  came  to  Illinois  and  settled  in  La  Salle  county,  where  he 
bought  a  farm  and  engaged  in  farming.  February  12,  1863,  he  married 
Miss  Sarah  Aikins,  a  native  of  England.  In  October,  1868,  he  came 
to  Iroquois  county,  Illinois,  where  he  permanently  located  on  his  pres- 
ent home  farm,  on  Sec.  28,  T.  26,  R.  14,  in  Onarga  township,  and  en- 
gaged in  farming  and  stock-raising,  and  in  that  business  he  is  now 
engaged.  He  owns  240  acres  of  land  in  Onarga  township,  all  earned 
by  his  own  industry,  hard  labor  and  careful  management.  He  has 
eight  children :  Daniel,  John,  Jane,  Anna  M.,  Emma,  Clara,  Hattie 
and  Cora. 

Benjamin  F.  Duncan,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Onarga,  is  a  son  of 
Asa  Duncan,  and  was  born  in  Newell  township,  Vermilion  county, 
Illinois,  August  9,  1835,  and  there  lived  with  his  parents,  engaged  in 
farming  and  attending  school  till  about  twenty  years  of  age.  The  love 
of  adventure  then  led  him  west,  where  he  visited  Iowa,  Nebraska,  Colo- 
rado and  Wyoming.  He  engaged  in  mining  one  summer  at  Pike's 
Peak,  in  1859,  and  went  back  on  the  plains  and  engaged  with  Majors 
Russell  and  Waddell  as  assistant  wagon-master,  carrying  government 
supplies  to  western  forts  in  1860,  and  in  the  spring  of  1861,  when  the 
war  of  the  rebellion  broke  out,  he  returned  home  and  enlisted  in  Co. 
B,  25th  111.  Vol.  Inf.  At  the  battle  of  Chickamauga  he  received 
a  severe  wound  in  the  arm,  and  was  sent  to  hospital  at  Nashville,  Ten- 
nessee, and  was  finally  discharged  with  his  regiment.  During  his  ser- 
vice he  was  advanced  to  the  office  of  third  sergeant.  On  returning 
home  he  at  once  came  to  Iroquois  county  to  look  after  the  family  of 
his  brother,  who  was  still  in  the  service.  January  25,  1866,  he  married 


ONARGA    TOWNSHIP.  631 

Miss  Martha  E.  Drake,  who  was  born  April  26,  1848,  in  Yermilion 
county,  Indiana,  and  is  the  eldest  daughter  of  Jesse  Drake,  Esq.,  one 
of  this  county's  early  settlers.  Mr.  Duncan  now  has  three  children  : 
Edward  E.,  Jesse  Elmer  and  George  M.,  and  is  engaged  in  farming 
and  stock  raising  in  Onarga  township. 

F.  P.  Beach,  brick  and  tile  manufacturer,  Del  Rey,  came  to  McLean 
county,  Illinois,  from  Franklin  county,  Ohio,  where  he  was  born  Octo- 
ber 15, 1827.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  was  married.  His  wife,  Mrs. 
Nancy  Beach,  is  also  a  native  of  Franklin  county,  Ohio,  and  was  born 
November  6, 1828.  Mr.  Beach  entered  land  in  Yates  township,  McLean 
Bounty,  Illinois,  in  1852,  at  the  Danville  land  office;  broke  the  first 
prairie  and  built  the  first  house,  and  in  fact  made  the  best  and  first 
improvements  in  the  township,  and  still  owns  the  old  farm.  In  1865 
he  removed  to  Onarga,  mainly  for  the  purpose  of  educating  his  growing 
family.  Soon  after  coming  to  this  county  he  opened  up  the  first  brick- 
yard in  the  western  part  of  the  county,  and  engaged  in  the  manufacture 
of  brick.  He  has  furnished  about  all  the  brick  used  in  the  brick  build- 
ings of  Gilman,  Onarga  and  Buckley,  and  many  of  them  he  built  by 
contract.  In  1871  he  built  for  himself  the  fine  residence  now  owned 
by  H.  Babcock,  in  Onarga  village.  In  1877  he  removed  to  Del  Rey, 
•and  added  to  his  brick  business  a  tile  factory,  which  was  the  first  in  the 
western  part  of  the  county  that  was  in  successful  operation.  He  has 
also  opened  up  a  country  store,  where  he  trades  goods  for  all  kinds  of 
country  produce.  He  is  one  of  the  reliable,  enterprising,  go-ahead  men, 
whose  influence  is  felt  wherever  he  is  found.  He  has  a  family  of  six 
•children,  nearly  all  grown,  as  follows:  Martha  J.,  Libbie  B.,  Carrie  D., 
Levaun  L.  and  Clifford  Earl. 

Edwin  J.  Barber,  farmer,  Onarga,  son  of  Woodbridge  and  Sarah 
Barber,  was  born  in  Cornwall,  Vermont,  February  21,  1830.  When 
he  was  six  years  of  age  his  parents  moved  to  western  New  York.  His 
father  was  a  farmer.  His  parents  died  at  Yates,  Orleans  county. 
When  twenty-four  years  of  age  Mr.  Barber  married  his  first  wife  and 
came  to  Chicago.  He  afterward  returned  to  his  father's  home,  where 
he  remained  until  the  opening  of  the  war.  He  enlisted  in  1862  in  the 
17th  New  York  Battery.  He  served  in  the  army  of  the  Potomac  and 
army  of  the  James,  and  was  in  most  of  the  hard  battles  in  Virginia. 
He  has  served  under  Gens.  Butler,  Baldy  Smith,  Ord,  and  partici- 
pated in  all  the  battles  under  Gen.  Grant  while  in  command  in  Vir- 
ginia. Mr  Barber  was  married  to  Arabella  Stevenson,  in  Fairfax, 
Virginia,  June  27,  1877.  He  has  four  children  living.  Their  names 
-are:  Minerva  S.,  born  December  16,  1854;  Mary  F.,  born  October  7, 
1856;  Jennie  M,,  born  May  7,  1859;  Charlie  K.,  born  June  2,  1867. 


632  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOJS    COUNTY.. 

The  oldest  son  (James)  died  November  27,  1867.  At  the  close  of  the- 
war  Mr.  Barber  removed  to  Iroquois  county,  Onarga  township,  and 
located  on  Sec.  12,  T.  26,  R.  10  E.  He  has  served  as  deputy  sheriff,, 
and  is  a  Mason. 

George  B.  Winter,  merchant,  Onarga,  was  descended  from  French 
and  English  ancestry,  and  was  born  in  Belchertown,  Massachusetts,. 
May  26,  1828.  He  was  the  tenth  child  of  Alpheus  and  Prudence 
(Kenfield)  Winter,  who  reared  a  family  of  eighteen  children.  He 
received  his  education  at  New  Salem  Academy,  Massachusetts,  and 
was  bred  to  the  pursuits  of  the  farm.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  went 
to  the  carriage-maker's  trade.  In  1854  he  came  west  selling  vehicles. 
In  the  fall  he  located  at  Princeton,  Illinois,  and  after  living  there  two- 
years,  farming  and  speculating,  moved  to  Ford  county  and  settled  on  a 
farm.  During  his  residence  there  he  represented  the  "  pan-handle "" 
on  the  board  of  supervisors.  In  1866  he  moved  to  Onarga  and  opened 
a  boot  and  shoe,  harness  and  saddle  store.  His  house  is  now  one  of 
the  largest  and  best  of  the  kind  in  Iroquois  county.  He  was  united 
in  marriage  to  Miss  Kate  M.  Hawks,  August  10,  185.2.  They  have- 
one  son  and  one  daughter.  George  B.  Winter,  Jr.,  has  been  in  part- 
nership with  his  father  since  he  was  eighteen  years  of  age — style  of 
firm,  Winter  &  Son.  Their  daughter  is  married  to  George  W.  Stokes,, 
a  grocer  and  druggist  of  Belleflower,  Illinois.  In  1856  Mr.  and  Mrs.. 
Winter  joined  the  Congregational  church,  but  when  they  came  here 
they  brought  no  letter,  and  have  not  since  affiliated  with  any  denomi- 
nation ;  but  they  support  the  society  where  they  live.  The  latter  is  a 
life  member  of  the  bible  society,  and  the  former  is  independent  in 
politics. 

William  A.  Bos  well,  farmer,  Del  Rey,  is  one  of  the  enterprising 
farmers  of  this  county.  He  was  born  in  Mason  county,  West  Virginia^ 
July  29,  1830.  About  1835  the  family  removed  to  Yermilion  county,. 
Indiana,  and  engaged  in  farming.  When  about  fourteen  years  old,. 
William,  in  company  with  his  father,  drove  a  number  of  cattle  to  Chi- 
cago, which  they  tried  in  vain  to  sell  either  in  Chicago  or  Racine.. 
They  finally  killed  the  cattle,  and  in  the  shape  of  mess  beef  were  able 
to  make  a  trade  for  goods,  which  were  hauled  back  to  Vermilion  and 
finally  disposed  of — a  transaction  quite  in  contrast  to  the  operations 
of  the  present  time.  Mr.  Boswell  married,  October  14,  1852,  Miss 
Elizabeth  Micx,  who  was  born  in  Virginia,  December  24,  1835.  She 
is  a  daughter  of  McKendree  and  Maria  Micx,  but  early  in  life  came  to 
Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana.  Here  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Boswell  were  mar- 
ried and  lived  until  1867,  when  they  came  to  Iroquois  county,  and 
settled  on  the  N.W.  \  of  Sec.  1,  T.  25,  R.  10  E.  Mr.  Micx  and  wife- 


ONARGA    TOWNSHIP.  635 

had  previously  come  to  the  county,  and  located  on  the  same  land  where 
the  family  now  lives.  Of  seven  children,  three  are  living :  Eva,  born 
September  15,  1853;  Willie,  March  14,  1856;  George  F.,  born  April 
28,  1866.  Those  not  living  were  named  :  Charles  P.,  Perry  C.,  Annie 
P.  and  Tenria.  Mr.  Bos  well  has  a  very  fine  farm  of  460  acres,  upon 
which  stands  an  imposing  and  beautiful  residence. 

William  H.  Ramsey,  farmer  arid  stock-raiser,  Onarga,  is  a  son  of 
George  Ramsey,  and  was  born  in  Preble  county,  Ohio,  October  11,. 
1842.  His  father  being  a  farmer  he  was  reared  in  that  business,  and 
attended  school  at  the  old  home  in  Ohio.  In  1867  he  came  to  Iroquoia 
county,  Illinois,  bought  a  farm  on  Sec.  22,  T.  26.  R.  14,  in  Onarga 
township,  on  which  he  permanently  located  and  engaged  in  farming 
and  stock-raising.  Although  he  is  not  one  of  the  early  settlers  he  i& 
one  of  the  thrifty,  energetic,  go-ahead  men.  He  has  built  up  a  very 
beautiful  and  substantial  home  on  the  prairie,  having  now  one  of  the 
finest  residences  in  this  part  of  the  township.  December  31,  1868,  he 
married  Miss  Emma,  daughter  of  William  Harper,  who  was  born  in 
Clinton  county,  Indiana,  January  5,  1847.  He  has  two  children  r 
Martha  E.  and  Cosie.  He  is  now  turning  his  attention  to  hay  and 
stock,  as  he  thinks  that  a  more  intelligent  branch  of  husbandry  than 
raising  corn  for  an  already  depreciated  market.  His  farm  comprises  160 
acres  of  highly  improved  land,  on  which  he  is  raising  a  fine  lot  of 
stock. 

Hiram  Salisbury,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Onarga,  was  born  in  the 
province  of  Quebec,  Canada,  December  18,  1827.  When  he  was- 
about  four  years  old  his  parents  moved  to  York  state.  His  early  youth 
was  spent  engaged  in  farming  and  attending  school  till  about  the  age 
of  seventeen  years.  He  then  learned  the  blacksmith  trade  and  followed 
the  same  in  York  state  till  1856.  He  then  removed  to  Wisconsin,  and 
there  followed  the  business  of  his  trade  about  ten  years.  Afterward 
he  turned  his  attention  to  farming,  but  after  two  years  farming  in 
Wisconsin  he  concluded  he  would  prefer  the  climate  and  advantages 
of  fruit-raising  in  Illinois,  and  finally  suited  himself  in  Onarga  town- 
ship, Iroquois  county,  where  he  bought  his  present  home,  in  Sec.  31 
and  32,  T.  26,  R.  14,  where  he  now  lives,  following  the  business  of 
farming  and  stock-raising.  This  farm  of  120  acres  he  bought  in  1876, 
and  it  is  a  very  desirable  location,  adjoining  the  Spring  creek  timber. 
February  2,  1854,  he  was  married.  His  wife,  Mrs.  Lydia  R.  Salisbury,, 
is  a  native  of  Rensselaer  county,  New  York,  and  was  born  June  23, 
1828.  They  have  three  children  :  Florence  A.,  Philip  E.  and  Joseph 
R.  Politically  Mr.  Salisbury  is  a  republican,  and  a  member  of  the  M. 
E.  church,  and  is  strictly  a  temperance  man. 


636  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

James  "W.  Fryer,  shoemaker,  Onarga,  was  the  oldest  son  of  James 
W.  and  Sarah  (Allen)  Fryer,  and  M'as  born  in  Gosport,  Hampshire, 
England,  August  1,  1840.  He  was  educated  in  a  grammar  school  in 
his  native  town.  His  father  was  a  shoemaker,  and  he  partly  learned 
the  same  trade  at  home,  and  finished  it  under  a  German  in  London. 
At  the  age  of  twenty-four  he  began  clerking  in  the  post-office  in  Gos- 
port, where  he  remained  three  or  four  years.  In  1868  he  emigrated  to 
America,  and  located  in  Onarga,  where  he  set  up  at  once  at  his  trade. 
October  25,  1876,  he  was  joined  in  matrimony  with  Emma  R.  Skeels. 
They  have  one  child,  James  W.,  born  November  12,  1877.  Mr.  Fryer 
is  a  Royal  Arch  Mason  and  a  republican. 

David  Dean,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Onarga,  was  born  in  Sullivan 
c6unty,  New  York,  June  11, 1829.  He  is  one  of  a  family  of  fourteen  chil- 
dren,— all  but  one  now  living.  Having  to  go  two  and  a  half  miles  to 
a  school,  kept  on  the  old  subscription  principle,  his  opportunities  for 
education  were  limited.  He  was  brought  up  to  the  business  of  farm- 
ing, and  at  the  age  of  nineteen  he  began  for  himself  by  working  out  as 
a  farm  hand.  April  20, 1851,  he  married  Miss  Hannah  A.  Davis,  a  native 
of  New  York.  She  was  born  June  7, 1825.  He  then  engaged  in  farm- 
ing by  renting  land,  but  later  bought  a  farm  and  continued  in  that 
business  till  1869.  He  then  sold  his  farm  and  came  to  Iroquois  county 
and  bought  a  farm  in  Sec.  33,  T.  26,  R.  14,  in  Onarga  township,  on 
which  he  permanently  located  and  engaged  in  farming  and  stock- 
raising,  which  business  he  now  follows,  making  Norman  horses  a 
specialty.  His  farm  of  120  acres  is  well  improved  and.  has  been  all 
earned  by  his  own  hard  labor  and  industry.  He  has  three  children  : 
Charles  A.  and  Irvin  M.,  both  of  whom  are  artists  and  engaged  in  the 
photograph  business  at  Sycamore,  Illinois ;  and  Cora  May,  who  is 
istill  at  home. 

Walter  Brinkerhoff,  farmer,  Onarga,  was  the  oldest  son  of  Isaac 
and  Jemima  (Cromwell)  Brinkerhoff.  His  paternal  ancestors  were 
among  the  earliest  emigrants  from  Holland,  who  settled  in  New  Am- 
sterdam. Those  on  his  mother's  side  came  early  from  England,  and 
are  said  to  have  been  lineal  descendants  of  the  Protector.  Mr.  Brink- 
erhoffs  birth  occurred  May  23,  1826,  in  Dutchess  county,  New  York. 
He  was  reared  a  farmer,  and  sailor  on  the  Hudson.  He  supplemented 
a  common-school  education  with  a  year's  tuition  in  the  Theological 
Seminary  at  Newburgh.  Up  to  1851  he  had  been  engaged  in  farm- 
ing, river-sailing  and  civil  engineering  —  in  the  latter  capacity  on  the 
Hudson  River  railroad  —  but  in  this  year  he  emigrated  to  La  Salle 
county,  this  state,  where  he  gave  his  whole  attention  to  tilling  the  soil. 
In  1860  he  removed  to  Galesbnrg  and  engaged  in  butchering.  He 


ONARGA   TOWNSHIP.  637 

held  the  office  of  alderman  of  that  city  one  term.  In  1860  he  went  to 
Chicago  and  embarked  in  the  ham,  lard,  and  sausage  trade,  and  was 
the  first  who  successfully  ran  a  steam  meat-chopper.  In  1864  he 
bought  beef  cattle  for  Camp  Douglas,  and  the  next  year  took  charge 
•of  a  government  picket-boat  used  for  transmitting  orders  and  convey- 
ing troops,  with  headquarters  at  Cincinnati  and  Memphis.  Late  in 
the  same  year  he  returned  to  Chicago  and  engaged  in  the  live-stock 
commission  business  about  three  years.  In  1869  he  came  to  Onarga 
township,  where  he  bought  a  farm  of  400  acres.  On  January  20, 
1848,  he  was  married  to  Adeline  Wash  burn.  They  have  one  son, 
named  Leslie,  grown  to  manhood  and  married.  Mr.  JBrinkerhoff  and 
his  wife  are  members  of  the  Congregational  church. 

Ira  Q.  Sanborn,  Onarga,  belongs  to  a  family  whose  continued  and 
faithful  military  service  in  behalf  of  their  country  forms  a  highly  hon- 
orable part  of  their  history.  His  great  grandfather  Sanborn  was  a 
soldier  in  the  seven-years  war,  and  was  at  the  taking  of  Quebec.  His 
grandfather,  James  Sanborn,  served  during  the  revolution  ;  he  aided 
in  the  capture  of  Ticonderoga,  retreated  under  Washington  through 
New  Jersey,  fought  at  Trenton,  wintered  at  Valley  Forge,  and  was 
subsequently  engaged  in  the  battles  of  Monmouth,  Eutaw  Springs, 
Camden,  and  the  siege  of  Yorktown.  In  the  war  of  1812  his  father, 
Levi,  bore  a  part  in  the  engagement  upon  lake  Charnplain.  Mr.  San- 
born was  born  in  Wyoming  county,  New  York,  December  16,  1837. 
His  mother's  maiden  name  was  Hannah  Fullerton.  In  1845  his 
parents  removed  and  settled  in  La  Salle  county,  Illinois.  He  was 
brought  up  to  the  employments  of  the  farm,  and  educated  at  Farm 
Kidge  Seminary.  On  August  13,  1862,  he  was  enrolled  in  Co.  C,  7th 
111.  Cav.,  Col.  William  Pitt  Kellogg.  This  regiment  was  a  part  of  the 
Army  of  the  Tennessee,  and  during  its  whole  term  of  service  he  was 
on  duty,  participating  in  the  usually  arduous  expeditions  and  endless 
skirmishing  incident  to  this  branch.  At  Memphis  he  was  severely 
wounded  in  his  left  shoulder.  He  was  mustered  out  of  service  at  De- 
catnr,  Alabama,  July  27,  1865.  He  was  married,  November  28,  1865, 
to  Miss  Martha  Abbott,  of  Utica,  Illinois.  In  1869  he  settled  in  Iro- 
quois  county,  where  he  bought  a  farm  of  320  acres  in  Artesia  town- 
ship ;  in  1875  he  sold  it  and  moved  to  Onarga,  and  engaged  in  the 
grain  trade.  In  the  fall  of  1879  he  sold  his  warehouse  to  S.  K.  Mar- 
ston.  He  was  commissioned  first  lieutenant  of  Co.  E,  9th  battalion 
I.  N.  G.,  September  12,  1877. 

James   W.  West,   farmer   and    stock-raiser,   Onarga,   was  born   in 

/  O     " 

Brown  county,  Ohio,  on  April  7,  1827.  He  Mras  reared  a  farmer,  but 
at  the  age  of  nineteen  years  went  in  a  store  belonging  to  his  father  as 


638  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

clerk,  where  he  remained  till  1849,  when  he  entered  Franklin,  gradu- 
ating in  the  classical  course  in  1853.  He  then  engaged  in  teaching  at 
New  Athens,  Harrison  county,  Ohio,  but  at  the  end  of  one  year 
decided  to  take  a  theological  course  at  Lane  Seminary,  in  Cincinnati, 
and  there  graduated  in  1856.  He  then  returned  to  Brown  county, 
Ohio,  and  became  pastor  of  the  Free  Presbyterian  church  at  Strait 
Creek,  where  he  remained  ten  years.  He  then  removed  to  La  Salle 
county,  Illinois,  where  he  remained  five  years  as  pastor  of  the  Congre- 
gational church  at  Tonica.  He  then  came  to  Iroquois  county,  bought 
a  farm  of  200  acres  in  Sec.  35,  T.  26,  R.  14,  in  Onarga  township, 
permanently  located  and  engaged  in  stock-raising  and  farming  at  his 
new  prairie  home.  He  is  now  pastor  of  the  Second  Onarga  Congre- 
gational church  and  of  Crescent  Congregational  church.  October  23, 
1856,  he  married  Miss  Pheba  M.  L.  Williamson.  She  is  a  native  of 
Cumberland  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  was  born  August  6.  1832. 
They  have  three  children  living:  Lucy  M.,  Henry  M.  and  Anna  "W. 
His  straightforward  friendly  way  has  made  for  him  many  warm 
friends. 

Elias  W.  Swaiford,  farmer,  Onarga,  was  born  in  Preble  county, 
Ohio.  April  5,  1835,  and  is  a  son  of  Nathan  Swaiford.  He  was 
engaged  in  farming,  and  attended  school  at  home  till  about  the  age  of 
twenty-one.  He  then  went  to  Mercer  county,  Illinois,  and  after  a 
short  stay  went  to  Iowa,  where  he  remained  four  years  engaged  in  farm- 
ing. He  came  back  to  Illinois,  and  on  September  27,  1860,  married 
Miss  Malinda  A.  Riner.  She  was  born  in  Ohio  on  January  12,  1837. 
In  the  spring  of  1861  he  located  near  Yates  City,  Knox  county,  Illi- 
nois, and  there  engaged  in  farming,  which  he  followed  eight  years. 
He  then  sold  his  farm  and  removed  to  Peoria,  but  only  remained  there 
one  year,  when  he  went  to  Stark  county,  Illinois,  and  bought  a  farm 
on  which  he  lived  two  years.  He  then  came  to  Iroquois  county,  Illi- 
nois, bought  a  farm  in  Sec.  27,  T.  26,  R.  14,  in  Onarga  township,  and 
on  that  farm  permanently  located  and  engaged  in  farming  and  stock- 
raising.  His  farm  of  80  acres  is  well  improved,  and  reflects  credit  on 
its  owner.  He  has  two  children :  Eva  B.  and  Nathan  P.  Politically 
Mr.  Swafford  is  entirely  independent. 

Ira  F.  Palmer,  physician  and  surgeon,  son  of  Gordon  and  Betsy 
(Kelley)  Palmer,  Onarga,  was  born  in  St.  Lawrence  county,  New  York, 
May  23,  1845.  In  1852  his  father  emigrated  to  Illinois  and  settled 
at  Newark,  Kendall  county.  In  addition  to  a  common-school  educa- 
tion he  received  one  year's  tuition  at  the  Fowler  Institute,  Newark. 
He  entered  the  arm}-  January  30,  1864,  in  Co.  C,  147th  111.  Vol. ;  was  on 
detached  service  in  the  field  hospital  of  the  seventeenth  army  corps 


ONARGA    TOWNSHIP.  639 

about  one  year.  Afterward  he  was  mail  carrier  three  months.  He  was 
mustered  out  at  Savannah,  Georgia,  January  22,  and  disbanded  at 
Camp  Butler,  Springfield,  Illinois,  February  9,  1866.  Beginning  in 
1866,  he  attended  the  University  of  Chicago  two  years;  in  1869  he 
entered  the  Bennett  Medical  College  and  studied  one  year ;  in  1871 
he  went  to  the  Eclectic  Medical  College  of  Cincinnati,  and  graduated 
in  May,  1872.  He  located  in  Milwaukee  for  a  few  months,  and  then 
removed  to  Onarga,  where  he  has  gained  a  lucrative  practice.  He  was 
married,  November  27,  1872,  to  Emma  A.  Wood ;  they  have  one  son, 
Paul  J.,  born  December  27,  1875.  He  is  serving  his  third  term  as 
supervisor,  and  is  chairman  ot  the  county  board.  His  zeal  for  the 
principles  of  the  republican  party  is  unbounded. 

George  S.  Ramsey,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Onarga,  came  to  Iroquois 
county.  Illinois,  in  1874,  from  Preble  county,  Ohio,  where  he  was  born 
November  10,  1844.  Up  to  the  time  he  came  to  this  county  he  lived 
at  the  old  home  in  Ohio  with  his  mother  (his  father  having  died  when 
he  was  young).  His  business  was  looking  after  the  interests  of  the 
farm,  up  to  the  time  of  his  mother's  death,  which  sad  event  in  his  life 
took  place  just  previous  to  his  removal  to  this  county.  Having  bought 
land  before  coming,  he  began  at  once  to  improve  his  farm,  and  for  the 
short  time  he  has  been  on  his  new  farm  has  gone  far  ahead  of  many 
who  have  been  much  longer  in  the  county.  His  farm  contains  160  acres 
in  Sec.  22,  T.  26,  R.  14.  He  is  turning  his  attention  to  hay  and  grass, 
as  he  considers  it  better  for  both  his  farm  and  pocket  to  raise  stock  than 
grain.  January  25,  1877,  he 'married  Miss  Keziah,  daughter  of  John 
W.  Grubbs,  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  the  township  of  Onarga.  She 
was  born  in  Ohio,  May  10,  1851. 

Edmund  F.  Burson,  dentist,  Onarga,  was  born  in  New  Lisbon, 
Columbiana  county,  Ohio,  February  15,  1838.  In  1848  he  removed 
with  his  parents,  Nathan  C.  and  Margaret  (Lyon)  Burson,  to  Kankakee 
county,  Illinois.  In  1850  he  went  to  Will  county,  and  attended  the 
high  school  at  Joliet,  and  in  1855  he  began  studying  medicine  at 
Mount  Blanchard,  Hancock  county,  Ohio.  He  took  an  office  course 
and  practice  of  three  years,  and  in  1858  located  at  Minooka,  Grundy 
county,  Illinois.  In  1859  he  went  to  Colorado.  He  entered  the  army 
in  1862,  and  was  in  action  at  Perrysville,  Stone  River,  Chickamauga, 
Mission  Ridge,  Rocky  Face  Ridge,  Resaca,  Kenesaw  Mountain,  Peach 
Tree  Creek,  Jonesboro  and  Lovejoy  Station.  He  was  mustered  out  in 
June,  1865,  and  immediately  on  his  return  he  located  in  the  practice  of 
medicine  at  Frankfort,  Will  county,  Illinois.  In  1867  he  took  up 
dentistry  and  formed  a  partnership  with  Dr.  E.  H.  Stewart,  of  Joliet. 
In  1876  he  removed  to  Onarga,  and  has  since  practiced  his  profession 


640  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

in  that  place.     He  was  married,  July  11,  1872,  to  Mary  C.  Starr,  ot 
Cedar  county,  Iowa.     They  have  three  children. 


ASH   GROVE  TOWNSHIP. 

The  history  of  Ash  Grove  township,  and  more  especially  the- 
sketch  of  its  early  settlers  and  settlements,  is  of  interest  no  less  im- 
portant than  that  of  those  which  have  now,  through  the  progress  of 
events,  assumed  a  greater  importance.  Its  first  settlers,  and  parties 
connected  with  its  opening  and  in  bringing  about  that  grand  condi- 
tion of  affairs  which  has  raised  it  to  a  place  exceeded  in  influence, 
condition  and  success  by  none  other  in  the  county,  were  men  whose 
reputation  was  in  no  measure  confined  to  a  single  state,  and  were  of 
that  stamp  to  whose  touch  every  movement  turned  to  a  complete 
success.  To  Robert  R.  Roberts,  one  of  the  honored  bishops  of  the 
Methodist  church,  belongs  the  honor  of  purchasing  the  first  land  in 
Ash  Grove,  while  through  his  influence,  and  we  may  safely  say 
through  his  charity,  the  first  settlement  was  effected.  The  town 
originally  comprised  the  territory  within  its  present  boundaries,  all 
of  Fountain  Creek  and  the  east  two  tiers  of  sections  in  Pigeon  Grove. 
Its  eastern,  northern  and  western  boundaries  have  always  remained 
as  the  original  plat,  while  its  present  southern  boundary  was  fixed  at 
the  annual  session  of  the  board  of  supervisors,  September  15,  1868, 
at  which  time  Fountain  Creek  was  taken  off,  leaving  to  the  town  all 
of  the  congressional  town  25  north,  range  13,  and  the  two  eastern 
tiers  of  sections  in  town  25  north,  range  14,  giving  the  town,  on 
account  of  its  long  sections  in  the  northern  part,  an  area  of  about 
sixty  square  miles. 

The  soil  is  a  dark,  rich  loam,  and  as  deep  as  the  average  through- 
out southern  Iroquois.  Upon  the  whole,  it  is  excellent  for  farming 
and  grazing  purposes,  save  some  portions  which  are  a  little 
"swampy,"  which  those  who  are  unfortunate  enough  to  possess 
have  rendered  famous  during  the  past  few  wet  seasons  by  their  try- 
ing to  purchase  "web-footed  seed  corn,"  that  might  stand  straight 
as  the  "house  founded  upon  a  rock,"  dare  all  storms,  and  bring 
forth  an  abundance.  Yet  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year,  it  is  said, 
these  are  the  happiest  spots  in  the  town,  for  all  summer  long  the 
merry  grasshopper  waltzes  to  the  grand  chorus  of  the  cheerful  frogs. 
But  fortunately  nearly  all  can  be  well  drained,  which  is  being  done, 
both  in  the  form  of  open  and  tile  draining,  having  a  splendid  outlet 
in  Mud  creek,  which  runs  through  the  town,  cutting  the  west  line 


ASH    GROVE   TOWNSHIP.  641 

near  the  southern  part,  and  running  in  an  easterly  direction,  and 
passing  into  Milford  on  the  east,  about  the  center  of  section  25. 
This  stream  in  all  probability  received  its  name,  "Mud  creek,"  from 
its  miry  banks.  The  southern  portion  of  the  town  is  also  watered 
by  Pigeon,  Burson  and  Whisky  creeks ;  the  first  receiving  its  name 
from  the  grove  in  which  it  rises,  the  second  from  a  hospitable  old 
gentleman  by  the  name  of  Burson,  who  first  settled  upon  its  banks. 
The  third  was  named  by  a  man  who  probably  would  not  now  be 
taken  as  a  model  by  the  temperance  portion  of  the  town.  Aretus  P. 
Jinks  had  been  to  Milford  and  purchased  a  jug  of  whisky,  thinking 
to  have  a  fine  time  on  the  morrow,  Sunday.  He  reached  this  stream, 
which  was  then  without  a  bridge,  but  frozen  over.  Here  he  got 
off  his  horse,  thinking  to  lead  him  across,  fearing  lest  he  should  slip 
down  on  the  ice.  A  few  steps  only  had  been  taken  toward  the  op- 
posite shore  when,  as  Jinks  says,  "he  saw  as  many  stars  as  there 
are  in  the  milky  way  and  heard  a  noise."  As  soon  as  he  had  fin- 
ished calling  upon  higher  authority  and  feeling  his  bruises,  he  saw 
his  whisky  running  all  over  the  ice,  his  jug  in  pieces  at  his  side. 
This,  he  said,  was  too  extravagant,  so  intending  to  save  all  he  possi- 
bly could,  laid  upon  his  breast  and  drank  what  he  could  hold,  and 
getting  up,  christened  it  with  the  name  it  has  since  retained.  The 
northeastern  corner  of  the  town  is  watered  by  Rush  creek,  receiving 
its  name,  in  all  probability,  from  that  venerable  old  settler,  Samuel 
Rush,  who  first  settled  upon  its  banks,  just  across  the  line  in  Milford. 
Many  different  statements  are  made  as  to  how  the  town  received  its 
name ;  some  claiming  that  an  Indian  chief  occupied  the  timber 
(lining  Mud  creek,  varying  from  a  quarter  to  a  half  mile  in  width, 
and  extending  entirely  through  the  town)  in  an  early  day,  by  the 
name  of  Ash  Grove,  who  gave  the  place  his  own  name.  Others 
claim  it  was  on  account  of  the  abundance  of  ash  in  the  timber; 
but  this  is  certainly  a  mistake,  as  but  very  little  of  this  kind  of  tim- 
ber remains,  while  the  early  settlers  testify  almost  to  a  person  the 
scarcity  of  this  wood.  Mr.  Harvey,  a  most  trustworthy  gentleman, 
to  whom  the  writer  is  under  obligations  for  numerous  facts  concern- 
ing early  history,  is  authority  for  the  statement  that  in  the  early 
history  of  eastern  Illinois,  when  many  were  settling  farther  west  on 
the  banks  of  the  "Father  <>f  Waters,"  a  large  ash  tree  had  been 
blown  down  by  the  place  where  all  emigrants  always  stopped  over 
night  in  the  timber  on  the  bank  of  the  creek.  This  tree  lay  here  for 
many  years,  until  the  fires  which  had  been  built  against  it  had 
burned  it  in  two,  when  it  became  known  as  Ash  grove,  a  name  given 
it  by  persons  who  had  stopped  on  one  of  its  beautiful  spots,  in 


'642  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

writing  to  friends  who  were  going  west,  mentioning  Ash  grove  as  a 
point  by  which  to  come.     This  we  think  the  most  credible  story. 


EARLY    SETTLEMENTS. 


As  we  have  incidentally  mentioned  before,  Bishop  Roberts  is  en- 
titled to  whatever  of  honor  there  is  attached  in  being  the  first  purchaser 
of  Ash  Grove  land.  This  was  in  1833,  and  the  land  was  a  large  tract 
•on  both  sides  of  the  creek,  and  mostly  in  the  timber.  It  appears 
that  the  bishop,  who  owned  a  large  farm  of  900  acres  in  Lawrence 
county,  Indiana,  became  interested  in  the  condition  of  a  number  of 
his  relatives  in  whom  the  organ  of  acquisitiveness  seemed  to  be  sadly 
deficient.  This  fact  started  many  plans  in  his  practical  mind  as  to 
how  to  better  their  condition,  the  plan  finally  settled  upon  being  to 
start  a  colony  -of  the  bishop's  relatives  in  eastern  Illinois.  Ac- 
cordingly Mr.  Roberts  was  constantly  on  the  look-out  for  a  good 
country  in  which  to  give  them  all  a  good  home,  and  while  on  his 
way  from  Lawrence  county,  Indiana,  on  horse-hack,  to  the  Rock 
River  conference,  the  charitable  bishop,  traveling  along  the  old 
Lafayette  and  Ottawa  road,  settled  upon  this  spot  as  capable  of  being 
•developed  into  a  valuable  country.  Hence  the  purchase,  and  the 
arrival  of  his  brother  and  his  nephew,  by  marriage,  in  the  spring  of 
1834,  Lewis  Roberts  and  John  Nunamaker,  his  son-in-law.  These 
two  gentlemen  were  the  first  pioneers  of  the  township,  settling  on 
Sec.  28,  T.  25  1ST.,  R.  13,  where  immediately  after  their  arrival 
they  built  a  rough  log  cabin,  18x20,  being  the  first  dwelling  erected 
in  the  town,  and  on  the  land  given  to  Lewis  by  the  bishop.  This 
was  situated  just  southeast  of  where  Mr.  Keath  now  lives  on 
the  place  known  as  the  Wilson  farm,  and  northeast  between  eight 
and  ten  rods  of  Mr.  Keath' s  barn,  on  the  bank  of  the  creek  and 
in  the  edge  of  the  timber.  These  two  sturdy  pioneers  came  from 
Lawrence  county,  Indiana,  and  lived  in  the  house  mentioned. 
After  arranging  things  around  their  new  home,  Mr.  Nunamaker 
moved  his  family  into  Mr.  Roberts'  house,  while  he  boarded 
with  them  about  a  year  before  bringing  his  own  family  hither. 
They  arrived  in  Ash  Grove  April  3,  1835,  bringing  with  them  a 
young  man  by  the  name  of  John  Willoughby,  who,  when  a  little  boy, 
was  bound  out  to  Bishop  Roberts  by  the  overseer  of  the  poor  for 
Lawrence  county,  Indiana.  After  assisting  in  putting  in  the  crop 
that  season,  young  Willoughby  returned  to  Indiana,  and  came  again 
in  1838,  at  which  time  he  settled  permanently.  Mr.  Lewis  Roberts, 
who  may  be  said  to  be  the  first  actual  settler,  was  a  man  of  extraor- 
dinary ability,  which  Mr.  Harvey  thinks  was  not  inferior  to  that  of 


ASH    GEOVE   TOWNSHIP.  643 

his  distinguished  brother,  but  unlike  his  brother  was  nothing  of  an 
orator,  cared  little  for  a  sermon  or  anything  of  an  intellectual  char- 
acter, save  political  discussion,  of  which  he  was  passionately  fond, 
and  which  at  different'  times  made  him  a  representative  in  the  general 
assembly  of  Indiana  and  also  of  Illinois,  in  1838.  Upon  his  return 
from  the  legislature  Mr.  Roberts  was  full  of  Lincoln's  stories,  and 
lost  no  time  in  extolling  his  virtues  and  his  abilities.  Mr.  Roberts, 
being  a  man  who  was  also  a  great  story-teller  and  a  most  excellent 
conversationalist,  was  capable  of  appreciating  Mr.  Lincoln's  ability 
as  a  politician  and  genial  associate.  The  following  anecdote  he  was 
always  pleased  to  relate  whenever  he  had  an  audience :  After  a 
tedious  morning  session  of  the  legislature  spent  in  the  discussion  of 
some  political  measure  they  adjourned  for  dinner,  Lincoln  dining 
with  his  friend  Roberts.  No  sooner  had  they  seated  themselves  at 
the  table  than  the  discussion  was  resumed,  in  which  the  honorable 
member  from  Iroquois  so  far  forgot  himself  as  to  reach  and  help  him- 
self to  meat  three  or  four  times  in  succession.  Upon  noticing  this 
Mr.  Lincoln  reached  and  took  a  piece  from  Mr.  Roberts'  plate.  This 
attracted  his  attention  and  he  immediately  demanded  an  explana- 
tion, asking  if  he  intended  to  insult  him.  Lincoln  immediately  and 
very  courteously  begged  pardon,  saying,  "  Excuse  me ;  I  took  yours 
for  the  meat  plate."  Great  laughter  ensued  at  Mr.  Roberts'  expense, 
who  soon  saw  what  was  the  matter.  He  took  a  final  leave  of  Lincoln, 
whom  he  was  used  to  call  his  "large-hearted  friend,"  at  the  adjourn- 
ment of  the  session,  never  dreaming  that  he  would  ever  be  the 
martyred  president  of  this  mighty  nation.  Mr.  Roberts  never  lived 
to  see  the  fruition  of  his  noble  plans  in  regard  to  the  development  of 
a  town  of  which  he  was  the  father.  He  passed  peacefully  away 
February  2,  1848,  leaving  one  son,  Lewis,  who  is  a  Methodist  min- 
ister, now  located  at  Peru,  Indiana. 

The  first  wedding  in  the  township  was  at  Mr.  Roberts'  house, 
being  the  marriage  of  his  daughter  Sarah  to  Henry  Skeels,  who  was 
then  living  near  Spring  Creek,  and  near  the  farm  now  owned  by 
Mrs.  Pierce.  This  occurred  April  18,  1838.  The  ceremony  was 
performed  by  Ira  Lindsey,  who  it  is  said  was  much  more  "scared" 
than  either  the  bride  or  the  groom,  causing  a  good  deal  of  merri- 
ment among  those  who  were  present  at  the  pioneer  wedding,  much 
to  the  chagrin  of  the  officiating  gentleman.  They  were  married, 
owing  to  the  smallness  of  the  house,  under  a  few  trees  just  in  front 
of  the  entrance,  after  which  all  sat  down  to  a  most  remarkable  dinner, 
both  in  its  quality  and  historical  interest.  No  wedding  before  or 
since  in  Iroquois  county  called  together  all  the  citizens  of  so  large  a 
39 


644  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

body  of  contiguous  territory,  comprising  all  the  citizens  in  Ash 
Grove,  some  from  Milford  and  from  Spring  Creek,  about  fifty  in  all. 
The  following  families  were  represented  from  Ash  Grove  :  John 
Martin's,  James  Chess',  John  Nunamaker's,  Thomas  Hockins',  John 
Henry's  and  his  son  Alexander's,  Lewis  Brock's,  Allen  Brock's, 
Hiram  Sturdevant's  and  Wesley  Jenkin's  ;  Spring  Creek  was  repre- 
sented by  Ira  Lindsey's  family,  Mr.  Kirk's,  Mr.  Lehigh's,  and  Mr. 
James  Smith's,  the  deputy  county  surveyor;  and  Milford  by  John 
Strean  and  his  son  David. 

Mr.  John  Nunamaker,  who  had  lived  with  Mr.  Roberts,  moved 
in  the  fall  of  1835  to  a  farm  given  him  by  the  bishop,  on  Sec.  19, 
upon  which  he  had  built  a  house,  which  stood  near  where  the  farm- 
house of  Mr.  Harvey  now  stands.  In  this  house  Joseph  Nunamaker 
was  born,  he  being  the  first  white  person  born  in  the  town ;  he  is 
now  living  in  Iowa.  A  few  years  after  the  settlement  here  Mr. 
Nunamaker  and  his  boys,  of  whom  he  had  quite  a  number,  engaged 
themselves  in  the  manufactory  of  crocks,  jugs,  churns  and  dishes  of 
clay.  The  building  in  which  these  things  were  manufactured  and 
burned  was  about  one  rod  southeast  of  the  place  now  occupied  by 
Mr.  Harvey's  farm-house.  Their  first  kiln  was  burned  in  1838. 
This  was  carried  on  with  apparent  success  for  four  or  five  years, 
when  Mr.  Nunamaker,  thinking  sawing  and  grinding  was  a  more 
profitable  business,  commenced  operating  a  mill  situated  on  S.E.  J  of 
S.E.  J  of  Sec.  19.  The  house  of  Mrs.  Hamilton  now  stands  on  a  por- 
tion of  the  ground  occupied  by  the  mill.  It  was  run  by  a  six  horse 
power,  but  when  horses  were  scarce  oxen  were  forced  into  the  work, 
and  with  the  addition  of  a  good  deal  of  noise  with  about  as  good 
success.  The  farm,  after  many  years,  was  sold  to  Luther  Clark,  and 
from  him  it  passed  into  the  hands  of  Wesley  Harvey,  its  present 
owner,  who  says  it  is  almost  an  impossibility  to  dig  a  post  hole  near 
the  house  on  account  of  the  broken  pieces  of  crockery. 

This  settlement  was  followed  by  that  of  John  Hunnel,  who 
came,  in  the  fall  of  1834,  a  short  time  after  the  arrival  of  Mr. 
Roberts  and  Nunamaker.  He  improved  the  N.E.  £  of  N.E.  \  of 
Sec.  29,  T.  25,  R.  13,  the  place  now  owned  by  Peter  Hickman.  Mr. 
Hunnel  had  three  sons  :  William,  Jacob  and  David.  The  former 
improved  the  farm  now  occupied  by  William  Young.  The  house  is 
still  standing,  being  the  north  part  of  the  present  dwelling,  since 
weather-boarded  and  painted.  In  the  fall  of  1836  came  John  Henry, 
from  Lawrence  county,  Indiana,  a  man  possessed  of  a  fine  person 
and  a  clear  brain.  Instead  of  building  castles  in  the  air  he  looked 
at  the  stern  realities  of  life,  studied  the  present  instead  of  dreaming 


ASH    GROVE   TOWNSHIP.  645 

of  the  future  or  wandering  in  the  past,  and  consequently  was  a  sturdy. 
practical  man,  prepared  for  any  emergency.  I  If  settled  on  80  acres 
one  and  a  half  miles  northwest  of  what  is  now  the  village  of  Glen- 
wood,  purchasing  of  the  government  at  $1.25  per  acre.  In  the  tall 
of  1837  Mr.  Henry  erected  a  saw-mill  twenty  feet  square  upon  his 
place,  which  was  also  used  for  grinding  corn.  This  was  the  first  mill 
in  the  town,  and  was  situated  about  a  hundred  yards  southeast  of 
where  the  house  stood  ;  but  in  about  two  years  it  was  moved  about 
two  and  a  half  miles  northwest  of  Loda.  The  farm  is  now  occupied 
by  Samuel  Ladd,  but  owned  by  Mr.  Blessing,  of  Indiana.  The 
house  built  by  Mr.  Henry  was  moved  some  years  ago  on  Sec.  !•'>. 
T.  25,  R.  13,  by  James  Belt  and  Hamilton  Spain. 

James  Chess,  a  brother-in-law  of  the  bishop,  came  next,  settling 
south  of  Lewis  Roberts'  place,  across  the  creek,  on  forty  acres  given 
to  Mrs.  Chess  by  her  brother.  The  farm  is  now  owned  by  Charles 
Hickman,  who  is  still  using  the  cabin  built  by  Mr.  Chess  as  a  kitchen 
attached  to  his  house.  Mr.  Chess  had  one  son,  Robert,  who  fell  heir 
to  the  property,  and  lived  on  it  until  his  death,  in  1871. 

Lewis  Brock  and  his  son  Allen  joined  the  settlement  in  the 
summer  of  1837,  accompanied  by  Wesley  Harvey,  a  young  man  of 
nineteen  years.  Mr.  Allen  Brock  immediately  commenced  building, 
and  in  less  than  ten  days,  by  the  energy  and  activity  of  these  three 
early  heroes,  the  two  families  were  keeping  house  in  a  cabin  18x20 
on  Sec.  14,  T.  25,  R.  14.  Mr.  Lewis  Brock  settled  on  the  farm  now 
owned  by  Mr.  Isaac  Whitted,  building  his  house  north  of  the  place 
now  occupied  by  his  barn  in  the  spring  of  1838,  and  which  is  still 
standing,  in  a  tolerably  good  state  of  preservation. 

John  Cady  came  from  Lawrence  county,  Indiana,  with  a  yoke  of 
oxen  and  a  team  of  horses  hitched  to  the  same  wagon,  about  two 
weeks  after  the  arrival  of  the  Brocks,  in  1837,  and  settled  on  the 
S.  E.  i  of  Sec.  14,  T.  25,  R.  14,  without  either  purchasing  it  or  enter- 
ing it  according  to  law,  thinking  to  farm  forever  off  the  government. 
This  he  improved  witli  one  of  the  best  houses  in  the  neighborhood. 
a  good  orchard  and  considerable  breaking.  Here  he  lived  a  number 
of  years.  His  orchard  was  bearing  nicely  and  the  farm  yielding,  by 
the  sweat  of  an  earnest  brow,  an  abundance.  But  when  t->  the  Illi- 
nois Central  railroad  was  granted  every  alternate  su-tion.  it  included 
Mr.  Cady's.  Then  came  a  great  trial  in  his  eventful  life.  f..r.  without 
enough  money  to  purchase  the  place,  he  WM  fowed  to  sell  his  im- 
provements at  a  great  sacrifice  to  I.  W.  Tibbits.  who.  in  about  a  year, 
sold  to  Mr.  Trosper.  Mr.  Tady  then  move.l  JUM  Knrthettt,  on  the 
corner  of  section  13,  so  he  would  not  be  out  of  sight  of  what  he  once 


646  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

deemed  a  fine  little  home.  On  the  place  last  settled  he  built  a  house, 
which  stands  to-day  as  the  old  gentleman  left  it,  without  a  tree  near 
it,  and  nothing  but  a  few  rods  of  fence,  which  reminded  the  writer, 
as  he  passed  it,  of  a  disappointed  and  heart-broken  life.  Mr.  Oady 
was  a  man  of  innumerable  good  qualities,  but  of  rather  an  unpracti- 
cal turn  of  mind. 

John  Martin  and  Thomas  Hockins,  sons-in-law  of  Lewis  Roberts, 
came  together  in  the  fall  of  1837.  The  former  settled  on  the  farm 
now  owned  by  the  present  road  commissioner,  James  Davis,  on  sec- 
tion 28,  building  a  log  cabin  16x18,  in  which  he  lived  until  his  sale 
to  Mr.  Davis  in  1853.  The  old  house  is  still  held  and  looked  upon 
by  the  family  as  a  sacred  relic  of  early  struggles.  It  is  used  at  pres- 
ent as  a  tool-house.  Mr.  Hockins  settled  on  the  N.~W.  j  of  Sec.  19, 
building  a  dwelling  16x18.  at  which  place  meetings  were  held  many 
years  prior  to  the  building  of  the  old  log  school-house,  to  which  they 
were  afterward  moved.  The  house  is  still  in  existence,  having  been 
moved  to  the  place  now  owned  by  Amos  Bishop,  and  used  as  a  place 
in  which  to  keep  all  kinds  of  farming  implements. 

The  next  person  to  make  a  settlement  was  Nathaniel  Jenkins, 
coming  in  the  spring  of  1839  and  settling  on  what  is  now  known  as 
the  Watkins  farm.  Here,  in  1840,  he  erected  a  saw-mill  24x40, 
which,  after  running  about  five  years,  during  which  time  he  sawed 
timber  for  every  family  in  the  Grove,  he  sold  to  Aretus  P.  Jinks, 
who  operated  it  until  it  was  completely  worn  out.  The  mill  was 
situated  near  the  place  where  Mr.  Watkins'  house  now  stands.  Mr. 
Jenkins  then  moved  to  section  19,  where  he  built  the  second  frame 
house  erected  in  Ash  Grove,  the  first  being  built  by  S.  W.  Jenkins, 
the  pioneer  carpenter  of  Ash  Grove.  The  old  house  is  still  standing, 
and  owned  by  his  son.  Mr.  Jenkins  was  a  splendid  Christian,  an 
example  worthy  of  the  following  of  any  man.  He  was  thoroughly 
known  as  the  pioneer  local  preacher,  and  through  his  zealous  labors 
in  favor  of  the  denomination  of  his  choice,  in  doing  genuine  good 
and  assisting  largely  in  church  duties,  the  Methodists  owe  a  large 
portion  of  their  success. 

The  fall  of  1838  fixes  the  date  of  the  arrival  of  two  stalwart 
religious  characters,  Hiram  Sturdevant  and  Samuel  W.  Jenkins,  the 
former  settling  northeast  of  what  was  then  Round  Grove,  but  better 
known  now  as  Roses  Grove,  in  whose  family  the  first  death  occurred 
in  Ash  Grove,  being  one  of  his  little  girls.  She  was  buried  on  the 
bank  of  the  creek,  where,  since,  a  few  others  have  been  laid.  The  lat- 
ter settled  still  farther  northeast  of  the  Grove,  and  followed  farming 
with  splendid  success  for  a  number  of  years.  This  same  fall  came 


ASH    GROVE   TOWNSHIP.  647 

one  of  the  pioneer  carpenters,  in  the  person  of  John  Vaughn,  settling 
in  the  forks  of  Mud  and  Pigeon  creeks,  north  of  -where  Mr.  Jenkins 
had  his  saw-mill,  on  the  S.  -|  of  Sec.  29.  Then  came  Joseph  Hock- 
ins,  who  settled  on  the  place  now  owned  by  Royal  Smith,  of  Milford. 
The  house  is  still  standing,  but  not  in  its  original  position,  and  is 
used  as  an  out-house  for  various  purposes.  Amos  Jenkins,  Perkins 
Farnum  (who  made  the  first  brick  in  the  township),  Abel  Sturdevant 
and  Samuel  Sturdevant,  the  pioneer  blacksmith,  came  in  1840.  James 
Spain  came  in  1841. 

The  year  1842  is  remarkable  to  the  younger  inhabitants  on  account 
of  a  very  interesting  affair  occurring  in  which  the  then  boys  of  the 
town  took  an  active  part.  It  was  in  June  that  Mr.  Harvey,  with  an 
ox-team  and  thirteen  bushels  of  wheat,  Mr.  Willoughby  with  thirty 
bushels  of  corn,  and  Lewis  Brock,  Jr.,  with  a  few  hundred  pounds 
of  bacon  and  two  yoke  of  oxen,  started  for  Chicago  to  market. 
This  trip  occupied  about  ten  days.  Upon  their  arrival  in  the  then 
small  city  their  produce  was  disposed  of  at  the  following  prices : 
wheat  85c  per  bushel,  corn  30c,  bacon  $2. 50  per  hundred.  The  boys 
then,  after  a  settlement,  and  some  shopping,  started  to  leave  the  city 
on  their  way  home.  They  camped  for  the  night  near  where  the 
Illinois  Central  depot  now  is.  It  was  about  dusk  and  fully  dark 
when  the  boys  had  their  teams  unyoked.  The  day  had  been  a  very 
calm  one,  but  in  the  evening  the  wind  arose  and  drove  quite  a  good 
sized  dark  object  near  the  shore  of  the  lake,  and  together  with  the 
white  waves  which  came  dashing  in  had  a  hideous  appearance  in  the 
dim  starlight.  The  boys  knew  nothing  of  the  action  of  the  lake  and 
were  inclined  to  think  a  ghost  was  about  to  attend  to  their  case,  but 
Willoughby  suggested  the  boys  be  brave,  inarch  up  to  the  object  and 
capture  it.  This  was  agreed  upon  and  all  charged  together,  but  no 
sooner  were  they  near  the  water's  edge  than  the  wind  rolled  up  a 
large  wave  on  the  beach,  and  not  knowing  but  that  this  was  their 
destroyer,  from  the  rushing  noise  it  made,  their  courage  failed  them 
and  in  single  file,  double  quick,  Willoughby  ahead,  screaming  at  the 
top  of  his  shrill  voice  "  Boys,  it's  a  shark !  it's  a  shark  !  "  the  boys 
made  a  hasty  retreat  to  their  wagons,  while  poor  Brock's  heart  was 
fluttering  so  badly  he  could  scarcely  speak.  Being  unable  to  keep  up, 
he  was  left  in  the  rear,  and  of  course  thought  he  would  be  the  first 
one  taken  in  by  the  mad,  excited  shark.  This  was  repeated  several 
times,  but  to  no  avail,  for  each  time  they  neared  the  shore  they 
thought  the  unruly  monster  made  a  lunge  for  a  boy.  During  the 
latter  trials  a  pine  stick  was  lighted  and  used  as  a  torch,  but  it  was 
blown  so  by  the  wind  it  revealed  nothing.  Frightened,  discouraged 


648  HISTORY    OF    1ROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

and  whipped,  the  boys  all  retired  for  the  night  in  one  wagon,  fearing 
to  sleep  alone  as  they  had  done  heretofore.  Imagine  their  surprise 
the  next  morning  when  a  large  pork  barrel  was  lying  upon  the  sand 
near  the  wagons.  This  Mr.  Brock  put  in  his  wagon  and  hauled  home 
so  the  citizens  of  Ash  Grove  might  have  an  opportunity  of  viewing 
John's  lake  Michigan  shark. 

About  this  time  occurred  an  item  of  interest  in  the  town's  history 
in  the  form  of  a  little  fun.  It  was  customary  in  those  early  days  for 
quite  a  number  of  the  settlement  to  congregate  on  Sundays  at  some 
of  the  neighbors'  houses,  and  among  other  things  discuss  religious 
topics,  so  on  the  day  to  which  the  writer  wishes  to  call  attention  they 
met  at  John  Willoughby's,  and  among  them  chanced  to  be  Aretus  P. 
Jinks,  a  Universalist,  at  whom  every  one  in  turn  aimed  his  strongest 
point  in  opposition  to  his  theory  while  he  fought  the  crowd,  giving 
them  as  he  thought,  as  good  as  they  gave.  Every  one  was  excited 
about  the  discussion  and  each  side  thought  a  complete  victory  won. 
They  adjourned  in  the  evening,  the  best  of  feeling  pervading  the 
entire  company.  On  the  following  Thursday  Jinks,  the  Universalist, 
Gabriel  Keath  and  another  party,  both  of  whom  were  Methodists, 
and  participants  in  the  argument  the  Sunday  previous,  started  for 
Woodland.  They  had  got  out  on  the  prairie  some  distance  when  an 
awful  hail-storm  came  up,  the  hail  being  as  large  as  walnuts  and 
coming  in  such  terrible  force  as  to  make  the  horses  ungovernable, 
while  to  unhitch  was  impossible.  They  started  to  run,  being  pelted 
by  the  hail  at  every  jump,  when  to  save  their  wagons  from  being 
broken  to  pieces  the  horses  were  kept  running  in  a  circle.  The 
storm  continued  with  increasing  fury,  when  Jinks,  fearing  lest  they 
should  be  killed,  and  thinking  his  soul  unprepared,  shouted  with  all 
the  earnestness  he  possessed:  "  Pray  Gabe  !  pray!  pray!"  This 
was  too  good  a  joke  on  the  Universalist,  who  had  heretofore  sneered 
at  the  idea  of  prayer,  to  go  untold,  so  everywhere  he  went  the  story 
was  told,  much  to  his  discomfort  and  disgust,  while  the  laugh  went 
around  at  his  expense ;  but  it  cured  him,  for  he  never  mentioned 
universal  salvation  again. 

Alonzo  Taylor  came  in  1848,  and  was  known  as  a  thorough  relig- 
ious character  and  the  first  settlement  doctor  practicing  the  Thomp- 
sonian  system.  James  Coalman  came  next,  in  1849,  and  was  the 
first  minister  to  settle  permanently  in  the  town.  He  is  now  living 
near  Onarga,  practicing  that  same  Christian  forbearance  that  charac- 
terized his  workings  during  his  stay  in  Ash  Grove.  In  the  building 
of  Wesley  he  was  the  leading  character,  being  one  of  four  men  to 
haul  the  lumber  from  Boone  county,  Indiana,  a  distance  of  one  hun- 
dred miles.  Amos  and  Henry  Bishop  also  came  about  this  time. 


ASH    GROVE   TOWNSHIP. 


649 


Z.  F.  Jenkins  was  the  first  man  to  build  a  house  entirely  away 
from  the  timber,  being  north  of  the  grove,  on  Sec.  13,  T.  25,  R.  14, 
in  1853.  This  date  marks  the  advent  of  the  railroad,  when  it  was 
suddenly  discovered  that  the  vast  prairies  were  destined  for  other 
purposes  than  public  pastures,  and  they  began  to  be  occupied  rapidly. 
John  Montgomery,  Samuel  Clark  and  son  (John  A.),  David  Swank, 
David  Dixon,  John  Jones,  T.  J.  Mets  and  Wm.  and  David  Hunnel 
were  some  of  the  earliest  who  dared  to  brave  the  wolves,  rattlesnakes 
and  green-head  flies  that  swarmed  in  the  tall  grass  of  the  open  prai- 
rie. From  this  time  forth,  through  the  inducements  offered  by  the 
Illinois  Central  railroad,  so  many  new  settlers  appeared  that  it  is 
impossible,  in  our  limited  space,  to  chronicle  them. 

In  1861  came  Solomon  Dillon,  one  of  the  pillars  and  pioneers  of 
the  Friends'  church.  Samuel  Speer  was  the  second,  settling  on  what 
is  now  known  as  the  Mendenhall  property.  Then  came  many  others 
in  rapid  succession  until  the  Quakers  had  the  largest  congregation  in 
the  town. 

FIRST    ELECTIONS. 

The  earliest  settlers  were  compelled  to  go  to  the  farm  then  owned 
by  a  Mr.  Joseph  Ross,  about  two  miles  southwest  of  the  village  of 
Milford,  in  what  was  then  known  as  the  Burlington  precinct,  to  vote, 

the  election  being  held  in  that 
gentleman's  house.  This  con- 
tinued for  some  time,  when,  in 
1840,  a  precinct  was  opened  at 
John  Martin's  house  (the  build- 
ing now  used  as  a  tool-house 
by  Mr.  Davis).  At  this  election, 
being  the  first  general  one  ever 
held  in  the  town,  the  follow- 
ing persons  announced,  in  sono- 
rous tones,  Gen.  Harrison  to  be 
their  choice  for  president,  who 
received  every  vote :  Hon.  Lewis 
Roberts,  John  Nunamaker,  Wes- 
ley Harvey,  John  Willoughby, 
John  Martin,  Robert  Roberts, 
John  Hunnel,  Thomas  Hockins, 
John  Henry,  Alexander  Henry, 
Lewis  Brock,  Allen  Brock,  Na- 
thaniel Jenkins,  Samuel  Jenkins  and  Hiram  Sturdevant.  Of  this  solid 
band  of  whigs  but  two  remain,  Mr.  Harvey  and  Mr.  Willoughby. 


GEN.  HARRISON. 


650  HISTORY    OF   1BOQUOIS    COUNTY. 

The  first  election  under  the  township  organization  was  held 
Tuesday,  April  1,  1856,  at  the  school-house  near  the  place  then 
owned  by  James  Wilson ;  John  H.  Stidham,  a  justice  of  the  peace, 
acting  as  judge,  while  Daniel  South  and  Robert  R.  Chess  were  ap- 
pointed and  duly  sworn  as  clerks.  It  is  a  fact  worthy  of  note  that 
from  its  very  birth  Ash  Grove  has  in  political  principles  been  whig 
and  republican.  From  the  first  settlement  by  Hon.  Lewis  Roberts 
all  were  radical  whigs  of  the  most  pronounced  type,  and  for  many 
years  all  were  staunch  members  of  that  organization,  and  from  that 
day  to  this  have  never  failed  to  cast  a  large  majority  of  votes  for  the 
whig  and  then  the  republican  candidate  running  for  a  national  office. 
At  the  first  township  election  in  1856  John  Wilson  was  chosen  super- 
visor, Daniel  South,  clerk,  Joseph  Ross,  assessor,  Luther  T.  Clark, 
collector,  and  James  Davis,  Jacob  Hunnel  and  Monroe  Gilbert  high- 
way commissioners.  The  present  officers  are :  James  Crangle, 
supervisor ;  John  Swank,  clerk ;  August  Lucke,  assessor ;  Silas 
Brock,  collector,  and  E.  Stimpson,  James  Davis  and  Elbert  G. 
Hickman,  commissioners  of  highways.  Lewis  Roberts,  Sr.,  was  the 
first  justice  of  the  peace  in  the  town,  and  as  such  was  very  peculiar 
and  eccentric.  It  was  an  old  saying  of  his  that  as  long  as  he  was 
justice  of  the  peace  that  portion  of  Iroquois  county  should  never  be 
disgraced  with  a  lawsuit ;  so,  true  to  his  word,  as  soon  as  any  person 
would  come  to  him  entertaining  the  idea  of  commencing  suit,  the 
argument  would  begin,  not,  as  in  these  days,  after  the  testimony 
was  in,  but  immediately,  Roberts  trying  to  effect  a  compromise. 
Sometimes  two  whole  days  would  be  occupied  in  obtaining  a  settle- 
ment. But  it  is  said  he  never  failed  in  making  both  parties  satis- 
fied ;  for  at  the  expiration  of  his  term  there  had  not  been  a  single 
suit  in  the  town.  In  marrying  parties  he  always  collected  the  legal 
fee,  but  directly  handed  it  over  to  the  bride,  be  it  a  large  or  a  small 
amount,  as  a  wedding  present.  Mr.  Harvey's  first  wife  was  the  re- 
cipient of  the  fee,  as  was  Rachel  Brock,  when  she  married  Orvis 
Skeels,  it  being  the  second  wedding  in  the  township. 

EOADS. 

The  pioneer  highway  of  the  township  was  known  as  the  Lafayette 
and  Ottawa  road,  which  came  into  the  town  at  the  northeast  corner 
of  Sec.  24,  T.  25,  R.  13,  running  diagonally  across  it,  reaching 
section  26  at  its  northeast  corner.  Here  it  ran  along  the  edge  of  the 
timber,  through  sections  27,  28,  29,  just  north  of  Glenwood,  through 
19,  continuing  in  a  northwesterly  direction  through  Sees.  24,  13  and 
14,  T.  25,  R.  14  W.;  thence  into  Artesia.  To-day  Ash  Grove, 


ASH    GROVE   TOWNSHIP.  651 

through  the  enterprise  and  industry  of  her  citizens,  has  the  honor  of 
carrying  the  banner  as  being  the  best  graded  township  in  the  state 
of  Illinois  outside  of  a  corporation,  and  well  does  she  sustain  the 
glory.  The  graded  roads,  of  which  seventy-five  miles  are  com- 
pleted, are  sixteen  feet  wide,  with  an  average  height  of  eighteen 
inches  clear  across,  averaging  something  over  two  feet  high  in  the 
center,  and  rounding  toward  the  edges  of  either  side.  In  the  lower 
places  the  grades  are  sometimes  raised  by  the  use  of  machines  to 
the  height  of  four  feet,  making  a  road  which  soon  dries  after  our 
heavy  spring  rains,  and  always  passable  in  the  muddiest  seasons, 
while  heretofore  it  was  impossible  to  travel.  Besides  making  an  ex- 
cellent road  the  ditches  njade  on  both  sides  are  of  inestimable  value, 
both  in  draining  the  road  and  the  farms  by  their  side.  The  honor  of 
introducing  the  graders  into  this  town  belongs  in  a  large  measure, 
by  general  agreement,  to  Samuel  Washburne,  being  the  first  to  ad- 
vocate the  buying  of  these  machines.  Having  failed  to  convince  any 
one  of  the  commissioners  of  its  advantages,  he  bought  one  himself, 
and  during  the  fall  of  1875  graded  some  four  miles,  for  the  purpose 
of  educating  the  citizens,  and  especially  the  commissioners,  that  they 
were  not  a  luxury,  but  a  real  necessity.  This  was  not  accomplished 
to  the  extent  of  influencing  the  commissioners  to  purchase  a  grader 
until  the  expiration  of  Mr.  Washburne' s  term.  In  July,  1877, 
Edward  Stimpson,  Charles  Hickman  and  George  Sinderson,  as  com- 
missioners, purchased  their  first  grader  at  a  cost  of  $675,  and  in  that 
year  graded  twenty  miles  of  road,  at  an  average  cost  to  the  township 
of  $68  per  mile.  This  so  far  proved  its  worth  above  the  expectations 
of  the  most  sanguine  supporters  of  this  system  of  working  that  a 
second  was  purchased  in  June,  1878.  This  year  thirty  miles  were 
graded,  at  an  average  cost  to  the  town  of  $63  per  mile,  and  in  1879 
twenty-five  miles  were  finished,  at  an  average  cost  per  mile  to  Ash 
Grove  of  only  $57.50.  In  1877  and  1878  a  premium  was  offered  by 
the  state  board  of  agriculture  of  $100  each  year  to  the  township 
grading  the  largest  number  of  miles  at  the  lowest  average  cost  to 
the  town.  This,  after  a  careful  examination  of  all  the  reports  made 
throughout  the  state,  fell  to  Ash  Grove.  In  1879,  with  the  average 
cost  per  mile  still  lower,  and  thinking  the  premium  offered  belongs  to 
them,  it  has  again  entered  the  contest ;  but  as  yet  no  report  has  been 
received.  These  facts,  we  think,  fully  substantiate  our  assertion. 


652  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

EDUCATIONAL. 

The  pioneer  school-house  was  raised  March  4,  1841,  about  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  northwest  of  the  village  of  Glenwood,  on  a  portion 
of  the  lot  on  which  Amos  Bishop's  house  now  stands,  being  a  log 
building  about  18x26  feet,  and  was  built  by  each  one  in  the  commu- 
nity (of  which  this  was  thought  to  be  about  the  center)  contributing 
so  many  hewed  logs  and  clapboards,  and  so  many  days'  work.  This 
was  run  after  it  was  finished  upon  a  private  plan,  each  one  paying 
the  teacher,  Lewis  Roberts,  Jr.  (now  a  Methodist  minister,  located 
at  Peru,  Indiana,  and  a  son  of  Hon.  Lewis  Roberts,  and  teacher  of 
the  first  term),  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  scholars  coming  from 
the  family,  which  was  &1.  50.  The  following  children  were  registered 
as  attendants  at  the  three  months'  summer  session  in  1841 :  Anna 
Hunnel ;  Matilda,  Margaret  J.,  Joseph  and  Michael  Nunamaker; 
Lewis  Hockins,  and  Caroline  his  sister;  Mary  and  Marquis  Brock ; 
Mary,  Nancy,  Sarah,  Cynthia  and  John  T.  Cady.  The  second  term 
was  taught  by  Robert  Chess  in  the  fall.  The  same  scholars  attended 
as  above  with  the  addition  of  Stephen  and  Wesley  Sturdevant.  At 
this  house  Silas  Brock,  the  present  town  collector,  Joel  Belt,  Z.  F. 
Jenkins,  Charles  Brock,  and  M.  L.  Brock,  who  is  now  a  professor  in 
the  Jacksonville  Deaf  and  Dumb  Asylum,  attended  their  first  term 
and  commenced  their  education.  Here  the  first  singing-school  was 
also  held  by  John  Martin,  between  1848  and  1850,  in  which  nearly 
every  person  in  the  neighborhood  participated.  The  second  school- 
house  was  erected  on  the  KE.  J  of  S.E.  £  of  Sec.  28,  T.  25,  R.  13  W. 
in  the  spring  of  1853,  Miss  Dixon  being  the  first  teacher.  The 
third  in  the  township  and  the  first  in  T.  25,  R.  14  W.  was  taught  in 
Mr.  Harvey's  kitchen  by  Miss  Nancy  Tibbits.  A  building  was  soon 
finished,  however,  by  Z.  F.  Jenkins,  and  was  known  as  the  Belt 
School-house,  situated  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  north  of  the  center 
of  the  south  line  of  Sec.  14,  in  which  school  was  held.  It  has  since 
been  moved  on  Sec.  23,  E.  £,  where  it  is  used  by  the  United  Brethren 
minister  as  a  stable. 

Elihu  K.  Farmer  was,  as  far  as  we  can  ascertain,  the  first  practic- 
ing physician  that  visited  Ash  Grove.  This  was  in  1839.  In  1840 
Nathan  Wilson,  who  was  then  located  at  Milford,  practiced  to  some 
extent  through  the  settlement.  But  the  honor  of  being  the  first 
practicing  physician  to  locate  permanently  here  belongs  to  William 
F.  Horner,  M.D.,  a  very  excellent  gentleman,  who  is  now  practicing 
at  Buckley,  Illinois.  Dr.  Horner  came  in  the  fall  of  1856,  when  a 
single  man,  and  boarded  with  John  IT.  Stidham,  continuing  his  prac- 
tice here  nearly  fifteen  years. 


ASH    GROVE   TOWNSHIP.  653 

John  Nunamaker  was  the  first  postmaster  in  the  township,  receiv- 
ing his  commission  in  the  spring  of  1849.  The  office  was  in  his 
dwelling-house,  while  the  mail  was  carried  from  Milford  on  horse- 
back, by  I.  W.  Tibbits,  once  a  week,  for  $24  a  year.  John  B. 
Clark  was  the  second,  but  did  not  receive  his  commission  for  nearly 
three  years  after  the  leaving  of  Mr.  Nunamaker,  the  mail  being  car- 
ried out  from  Onarga  by  the  boys  of  the  settlement  in  turn. 

The  principal  "silent  city"  of  the  town  is  about  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  south  of  Peter  Hickman's  house,  on  the  shady  and  grassy  bank 
of  the  creek,  containing  about  three  acres.  Here,  in  1839,  was 
buried  Daniel  Ferris,  being  one  of  the  first  deaths  occurring  in  the 
town.  He  was  soon  followed  by  Sarah  Reed,  John  Shryer,  Thomas 
Hockins,  and  Hon.  Lewis  Roberts.  Like  nearly  all  early  settlers  in 
a  new  country,  a  good  many  buried  their  dead  on  or  near  their  own 
farms.  The  Chess  graveyard  marks  the  spot  where  the  relatives  of  that 
pioneer  family  lay,  receiving  its  name  from  James  Chess,  who  was 
first  to  be  laid  here  in  1837.  There  are  now  about  a  dozen.  It  is 
on  the  farm  formerly  owned  by  Mr.  Chess,  but  now  owned  by 
Charles  Hickman.  The  Friends'  cemetery  is  a  neat  little  resting- 
place  for  the  dead,  situated  as  it  is  on  a  beautiful  knoll  a  short  dis- 
tance northeast  of  their  church,  and  on  the  bank  of  the  creek.  The 
first  party  buried  here  was  a  Mrs.  Morris,  in  the  fall  of  1864. 
Joshua  Endle  soon  followed ;  then  came  Thomas  Hayworth,  Thomas 
Anderson,  Solomon  Dillon  and  others,  until  now  the  bodies  of  near 
a  hundred  honored  friends  lie  mouldering  here.  The  Lutherans  also 
have  a  suitable  bury  ing-ground  just  south  of  their  church,  in  which 
are  buried  a  number  of  the  members. 

According  to  an  act  of  the  legislature  of  March  7,  1869,  per- 
mitting certain  townships  lying  within  certain  limits  to  appropriate 
money  to  aid  in  the  construction  of  the  Chicago,  Danville,  &  Yin- 
cennes  railroad,  an  appropriation  was  voted  August  12,  1868, 
donating  $3,000  to  the  above  road.  The  bonds  were  issued  July  1, 
1871,  and  were  due  July  1,  1876,  and  payable  at  the  American 
National  Exchange  Bank,  in  New  York.  A  vote  was  carried  to 
renew  them  in  the  fall  of  1876,  and  new  bonds  were  issued.  By  an 
agreement,  when  Fountain  Creek  was  taken  off  Ash  Grove  received 
three-fifths  of  all  town  property,  assuming  three-fifths  of  all  indebted- 
ness, making  the  principal  of  her  bonds  $1,892.  In  the  fall  of  1877, 
there  was  extended  on  the  tax  books  a  sufficient  amount  to  pay  the 
bonds,  and  about  two-thirds  of  this  was  collected  when,  May  8, 
1878,  the  treasurer  was  enjoined  from  paying  over  any  money 
belonging  to  said  town  to  any  holders  of  the  bonds.  In  September, 


654  HISTORY    OF   IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

1879,  a  compromise  was  effected  by  paying  the  holders  of  the  bonds 
50  per  cent  of  the  indebtedness,  thus  relieving  the  town  of  railroad 
debt. 

CHURCHES. 

In  the  history  of  a  township  the  religious  sentiment  of  its  settlers 
is  one  of  the  best  criterions  of  its  true  worth,  for  without  a  whole- 
some Christian  feeling  pervading  all  interests,  we  are  but  a  few  paces 
ahead  of  barbarism.  In  this  direction  the  town  can  claim  a  place 
in  the  front  ranks  of  the  county's  history.  As  in  most  new  countries 
the  Methodists  were  the  first  and  for  many  years  the  only  denomi- 
nation holding  meetings  in  the  town.  In  its  infancy  Ash  Grove 
was  a  part  of  the  district  running  from  the  south  line  of  the  county 
to  the  Kankakee  river.  The  pioneer  minister  was  a  gentleman  by 
the  name  of  Springer,  who  preached  at  the  house  of  Hon.  Lewis 
Roberts,  in  the  summer  of  1834,  where  a  congregation  of  about 
twenty  persons  greeted  him  once  every  four  weeks.  He  was  fol- 
lowed by  Joseph  Rymond,  and  he  in  turn  by  John  Parsons.  During 
the  time  Mr.  Burr  was  on  this  charge,  the  meetings  were  removed 
to  the  house  of  Thomas  Hockins,  a  place  nearer  the  center  of  the 
neighborhood,  in  which  place  they  were  held  until  the  spring  of 
1841,  when  they  were  moved  to  the  school-house  just  completed  on 
section  19.  At  this  place  Nathaniel  Jenkins,  a  local  minister  of 
more  than  average  ability,  preached  the  first  sermon  to  a  congrega- 
tion of  about  twenty  persons.  The  school-house  was  used  until  the 
building  of  Wesley  and  Flowers  chapels,  in  the  spring  of  1855. 
These  are  credited  as  being  the  first  frame  churches  erected  in  the 
county.  The  cause  of  building  these  two  places  of  worship  was  not 
on  account  of  any  "split"  among  the  members,  but  on  account 
of  the  creek.  Those  on  the  south  side  claimed  they  could  not 
attend  church  all  the  time  on  account  of  the  distance  and  high 
water,  while  those  on  the  north  side,  through  priority  of  settlement, 
claimed  the  right  to  build  north  of  the  stream.  Accordingly 
in  the  spring  of  1855  each  faction  commenced  a  church.  That  on 
the  south  side,  under  the  name  of  Wesley  chapel,  was  first  to  be 
commenced,  but  the  one  on  the  north  side  the  first  to  be  completed  ; 
this  was  built  on  the  S.E.  £  of  KE.  £  of  Sec.  24,  T.  25,  R.  14,  on 
an  acre  of  land  donated  by  Alonzo  Taylor;  the  building  was  24x44, 
and  cost  near  $1,000,  and  named  Flowers  chapel,  in  honor  of  J.  W. 
Flowers,  who  preached  the  dedication  sermon  February  2,  1856,  at 
which  time  the  church  was  entirely  paid  for.  At  the  dedication 
nearly  all  the  citizens  of  Ash  Grove  were  present,  and  many  from 
Milford  and  Onarga.  The  first  quarterly  meeting  was  held  here 


ASH    GROVE   TOWNSHIP.  655 

before  it  was  finished,  July  22,  1855,  Elder  Walker  officiating.  The 
first  presiding  elder  visiting  Ash  Grove  was  Hooper  Crews,  a  most 
extraordinary  man,  well  fitted  to  inspire  hope  among  the  pio- 
neer Methodists.  Under  Rymond  there  were  but  eight  active 
members  of  the  M.  E.  church  in  the  town,  but  under  the  earnest 
toil  of  the  sturdy  Christian  men  who  guided  the  organization,  a  con- 
tinually increasing  interest  was  developed,  until  in  the  summer 
of  1868,  when  the  building  was  moved  to  Glenwood  (where  it  is 
still  used),  there  was  a  membership  of  sixty-five.  W.  II.  M.  Brown 
is  the  present  pastor.  In  this  township  Bishop  Roberts  preached 
three  times  while  on  visits  to  his  relatives.  The  first  of  these  elo- 
quent sermons,  which  drew  everybody  from  far  and  near,  was 
delivered  in  his  brother  Lewis'  house  on  the  Keath  farm,  in  April, 
1838.  His  second  was  preached  at  the  head  of  the  grove,  in  the 
house  of  Lewis  Brock,  being  the  next  Sunday,  at  which  time  he 
preached  from  the  text  in  the  ninth  chapter  of  Jeremiah,  a  part  of 
the  twenty-third  and  twenty-fourth  verses:  "  Let  not  the  wise  man 
glory  in  his  wisdom,  neither  let  the  mighty  man  glory  in  his  might ; 
let  not  the  rich  man  glory  in  his  riches,  but  let  him  that  glorieth 
glory  in  this,  that  he  understandeth  and  knoweth  me,  that  I  am  the 
Lord  which  exercise  lovingkindness,  judgment  and  righteousness  in 
the  earth."  His  last  was  in  1845,  being  delivered  in  the  grove  about 
one  hundred  yards  southeast  of  Thomas  Hockins'  house.  About 
two  hundred  persons  were  present,  while  eight  joined  the  church, 
and  as  many  were  baptized. 

The  Society  of  Friends  at  one  time  had  the  largest  membership  of 
any  denomination  in  the  town,  numbering  about  300  members  in 
1869;  but  owing  to  so  many  removals  there  remain  but  eight  or 
nine  families.  In  the  fall  of  1864  the  society  built  a  church  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  town,  24x24,  but  in  less  than  one  year  the 
membership  grew  so  rapidly  and  became  so  large  as  to  demand  a 
larger  building ;  hence,  in  the  fall  of  1865,  an  addition  was  built, 
making  the  structure  24x60,  costing  near  $1,100,  which  still  stands 
on  the  original  spot.  The  first  monthly  meeting  of  the  Friends  was 
held  in  the  church  before  it  was  completed,  October  21,  1865,  at 
which  meeting  Henry  W.  White  was  appointed  its  first  clerk,  and  at 
the  next  meeting  for  the  transaction  of  business,  Enoch  Lindley  was 
appointed  the  first  treasurer.  The  following  persons  were  then 
appointed  overseers,  whose  duty  it  was  to  look  after  the  business  of 
the  church  generally,  and  to  report  any  members  who  had  willfully 
violated  any  of  the  rules  of  the  organization:  John  Haworth,  Jehu 
Ballard,  William  Hormada  and  Joseph  Mote.  The  committee  on 


656  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

education  was  composed  of  W.  O.  Mendenhall,  Samuel  Spear,  Henry 
W.  White,  J.  T.  Cox,  Rebecca  Newlin,  Anna  J.  Dixon,  Mary  A. 
Mendenhall  and  Caroline  Hormada.  A  committee  was  also  appointed 
to  procure  and  distribute  tracts  upon  various  religious  subjects.  The 
society,  at  the  close  of  the  war,  appointed  a  committee  to  solicit 
subscriptions  from  the  members  of  the  church  to  assist  the  freedmen, 
and  through  its  liberality  and  sympathy  much  money  and  valuable 
necessities  were  sent  south  for  the  benefit  of  the  suffering  negro. 
Many  tracts,  containing  excellent  advice,  were  also  sent  at  various 
times.  Mary  Rogers  was  the  first  permanent  minister  of  the  Friends. 
Coming  in  November,  1867,  she  continued  her  work  with  unceasing 
energy  and  success  until  the  fall  of  1870. 

The  Missionary  Baptist  church,  situated  on  the  S.W.  J  of  Sec. 
35,  T.  25,  R.  14,  is  one  of  the  best  finished  churches  in  the  county, 
being  a  building  thirty  feet  wide  by  forty  feet  long,  with  sixteen- 
foot  posts,  and  arched  overhead,  making  it  about  twenty-three  feet 
high  in  the  center.  It  is  beautifully  finished,  both  inside  and  out. 
It  is  furnished  with  a  baptistery  under  the  pulpit.  The  auditorium 
will  comfortably  seat  250  persons.  The  steeple,  in  which  swings  a 
large,  clear-toned  bell,  is  built  on  a  firm  foundation  separate  from  the 
church,  forming  a  vestibule  of  the  church,  and  is  eighty  feet  high. 
Edmund  King  and  John  Depuy  were  the  first  Baptists  in  this  por- 
tion of  the  town — the  latter  coming  in  1870.  Until  the  building 
known  as  the  Heath  school-house  was  erected,  the  meetings  were 
held  at  Mr.  Depuy 's  house,  which  soon  became  so  largely  attended, 
owing  to  the  eloquent  sermons  of  C.  B.  Seals,  that  they  were  com- 
pelled to  move  to  Mr.  Depuy 's  barn,  in  which  they  continued  to  be 
held  until  the  finishing  of  the  school-house.  In  a  short  time,  by  the 
zealous  efforts  and  skillful  management  of  the  pioneer  Baptists,  the 
congregation  outgrew  the  dimensions  of  the  school-house.  In  the 
winter  and  spring  of  1877,  quite  an  interest  was  taken  in  regard  to 
building  a  church,  but  owing  to  the  lateness  of  the  season  when  they 
had  thoroughly  made  up  their  minds,  it  was  postponed  until  the  fol- 
lowing August.  In  the  latter  part  of  July  the  failure  of  the  crops 
prompted  many  members  to  object  to  building.  But  when  "Uncle 
John  "  stepped  forward  and  offered  to  build  a  church  such  as  was 
desired,  letting  the  society  bear  such  a  portion  of  the  debt  as  they 
saw  fit,  they  unanimously  consented  ;  consequently  the  building  was 
commenced  August  1,  1877,  and  was  finished  the  latter  part  of  Octo- 
ber, at  a  cost  of  near  $2,500.  Of  this  amount  $1,000  was  repaid  to 
Mr.  Depuy  by  citizens  generally  about  the  neighborhood  who  were 
in  sympathy  with  religious  work.  It  was  dedicated  by  J.  M.  Hobart, 


ASH    GROVE   TOWNSHIP.  657 

of  Chicago,    October  28,  1877,  at  which  time  there  was  an  active 
membership  of  46  persons. 

Evangelist  Lutheran  St.  Paul  church.  Prior  to  1870  there  was 
scarcely  a  German  family  in  the  township ;  but  ten  years  from 
this  date  it  may  be  safely  said  the  people  of  this  nationality  were  in 
the  majority.  Soon  after  the  arrival  of  a  few  of  those  men  who  seem 
to  be  born  with  the  spirit  and  ability  to  lead,  the  building  of  a  church 
was  made  the  central  idea,  and  as  soon  as  the  subscription  showed  a 
sufficient  guaranty  for  all  monies  that  might  be  expended,  a  place  of 
worship  was  commenced  on  eight  acres  of  land  in  the  N.E.  J  of  Sec. 
5,  T.  25,  R.  13,  donated  by  Mr.  Hartman  and  Mr.  Scheiee,  and 
to-day  a  building  well  finished,  30  feet  wide  by  46  feet  long, 
built  at  a  cost  of  $2,400,  stands  as  an  honor  to  the  energies  of  these 
people,  and  a  nucleus  around  which  a  large  majority  of  the  German 
population  gather  every  Sunday  to  be  taught,  that  noblest  of  all 
lessons,  the  Christian  religion,  by  their  excellent  and  conscientious 
pastor,  C.  F.  Hartman.  Prior  to  the  finishing  of  the  church  the 
meetings  were  held  in  Mr.  Lucke's  house,  which  is  now  used  by  that 
gentleman  as  a  granary.  Their  first  minister  was  Gotlieb  Traub, 
who  came  once  every  four  weeks  from  Crete,  Illinois,  from  the  spring 
of  1872  up  to  the  time  of  the  dedication  of  the  church  and  the  in-tall- 
ment  of  Mr.  Hartman,  and  delivered  a  splendid  sermon.  The  inter- 
vening Sundays  they  would  assemble,  and  after  Sabbath  school  would 
listen  to  a  sermon  read  by  August  Lucke.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
church  in  the  fall  of  1873,  there  were  but  nine  families  connected 
with  the  organization,  but  now  it  has  an  active  membership  of 
seventy-two  families.  The  first  stewards  of  the  church,  who  are 
elected  every  year,  were :  William  Schmer,  Philip  Rediker  and 
August  Pfingsten.  The  first  trustees,  who  are  elected  for  a  term  of 
five  years,  were :  August  Lucke,  Henry  Munstermann  and  Dedrick 
Langelette.  The  present  stewards  are :  August  Lucke,  Henry 
Reborg  and  Henry  Bultmann.  The  present  trustees  are :  August 
Pfingsten,  Henry  Munstermann  and  Philip  Rediker.  There  is 
also  a  German  school  connected  with  the  church.  C.  F. 
Hartman  was  the  first  teacher,  and  as  such  taught  nothing 
but  German  four  days  in  the  week,  using  the  remainder  of 
the  week  to  prepare  his  sermon  for  the  following  Sabbath. 
This  continued  until  the  fall  of  1878,  when  the  services  of 
Herman  Richert,  a  graduate  of  Edison  College,  Illinois,  an  institu- 
tion under  the  direction  of  the  Lutheran  denomination,  were  obtained, 
who  teaches  German  in  the  morning  and  English  in  the  afternoon. 
There  are  seventy  scholars  in  attendance.  They  have  just  completed 


658  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

a  frame  school-house,  two  stories  high,  twenty  feet  wide  by  twenty- 
eight  feet  long,  situated  east  of  the  church,  at  a  cost  of  near  $1,000. 
It  is  well  finished  and  furnished. 

VILLAGES. 

GLENWOOD,  alias  Pitchiri,  is  the  principal  village  of  the  township, 
and  the  political  headquarters  of  all  parties.  It  is  situated  about  the 
center  of  the  S.  E.  J  of  Sec.  19,  T.  25,  R.  13,  and  is  a  village  of 
about  150  inhabitants.  Various  stories  are  told  as  to  how  it  received 
the  name  of  Pitchin.  The  one  having  the  most  general  circulation 
is  that  a  suit  was  being  tried  wherein  Stockwell  was  plaintiif  and 
Bratton  defendant,  before  Stephen  Gipson,  a  justice  of  the  peace,  in 
1864,  the  former  suing  for  $5  due  him  as  wages.  After  the  trial  the 
jury  were  out  but  a  few  minutes,  when  they  brought  in  a  verdict  in 
favor  of  the  plaintiff  for  $7,  at  which  time  a  man  by  the  name  of 
Haun,  a  brother-in-law  of  Stockwell,  began  quarreling  with  Bratton 
and  talking  fight,  when  Bratton,  who  was  all  but  coward,  threw  off 
his  coat,  rolled  up  his  sleeves,  squared  himself  and  said,  ' '  Pitch  in, 
if  you  are  ready."  John  Peed  was  standing  near,  and  said  the  place 
had  been  wanting  a  name  long  enough,  and  henceforth  it  must  be 
called  "Pitchin,"  which  name  it  has  since  retained.  Mr.  Luther  T. 
Clark,  the  ex-sheriff,  whose  former  home  was  at  this  place,  says  that 
Stephen  Gipson,  an  early  blacksmith,  and  a  fellow  who,  like  many 
others,  talked  more  than  he  thought,  was  first  to  call  it  "Pitchin." 
Every  effort  was  put  forth  by  the  citizens  to  change  this  "horrid 
name,"  but  to  no  effect,  when,  at  the  suggestion  of  John  "W.  Riggs, 
the  present  circuit  clerk,  a  meeting  was  held  in  his  store  one  evening 
for  the  purpose  of  naming  the  "critter."  Mr. Riggs  was  unanimously 
voted  chairman,  and  after  calling  the  meeting  to  order,  stated  the 
object  and  requested  them  to  suggest  a  few  names  from  which  to 
select,  whereupon  the  following  names  were  proposed :  Sherman,  by 
Mr.  Carlton ;  Eagle  Tillage,  by  William  Smith ;  Grant,  by  one  of 
his  admirers,  and  Sheridan,  by  a  soldier.  But  when  J.  W.  Riggs 
proposed  the  name  of  Glenwood,  it  was  carried  amid  a  perfect  storm 
of  applause. 

The  first  building  was  the  house  erected  by  Mr.  Nunarnaker,  who 
occupied  it  with  his  family  for  many  years.  It  has  since  been  de- 
stroyed. But  soon  after  another  was  finished  on  the  original  spot  by 
Luther  T.  Clark,  which  is  now  owned  by  "Wesley  Harvey.  The  Meth- 
odist parsonage,  a  dwelling  20  X  24,  one  and  a  half  stories,  was  next, 
and  was  built  in  1851  or  1852.  It  is  still  standing,  and  occupied. 
Mr.  Nunamaker  about  this  time  commenced  keeping  a  few  goods  for 


ASH    GROVE   TOWNSHIP.  659 

sale,  and  continued  selling  until  almost  the  time  when  the  farm  was 
sold  to  Mr.  Clark.  '  Mr.  Clark  brought  some  goods  from  Dearborn 
county,  Indiana,  and  after  erecting  a  building  18x32,  east  of  the 
house,  on  the  Nunamaker  farm,  was  engaged  in  the  mercantile  busi- 
ness some  years.  About  this  time  Mr.  Alonzo  Taylor  also  kept  a  few 
goods  for  sale.  Mr.  Boggs  was  the  next  to  build,  his  being  a  box 
house  16x18.  About  this  time  he  also  built  near  his  house  the  first 
steam  saw  and  grist  mill  in  the  township,  near  the  present  site  of 
Mrs.  Hamilton's  house.  Dr.  Horner  moved  a  house  here  in  1856, 
which  was  situated  between  five  and  six  rods  west  of  Boggs'  mill. 
Stephen  Gipson  soon  followed,  building  a  house  and  blacksmith  shop 
about  eight  rods  south  of  the  mill.  Here  he  worked  a  few  years, 
when  he  sold  to  Joseph  Davis  in  1860.  William  T.  Duke  was  the 
pioneer  wagon  maker,  having  his  shop  in  a  portion  of  the  blacksmith 
shop.  William  B.  Crider  built  a  two-story  house,  now  occupied  by 
Mr.  Buckley,  south  of  Mr.  Harvey's  store  about  ten  rods.  In  1864 
Joel  R.  Smith  built  a  house  and  grocery  store  combined.  In  1866 
Mr.  Smith  sold  to  Mr.  Harvey,  who  moved  the  goods  into  the  store 
building  used  by  J.  B.  Clark  after  it  was  moved  on  the  school-house 
lot,  south  of  the  place  now  occupied  by  his  present  store.  In  1867 
Mr.  Harvey  sold  a  half  interest  to  Mr.  E.  S.  Hamilton,  who  continued 
a  partner  until  1870,  when  the  whole  passed  into  Mr.  Hamilton's 
hands.  But  at  his  death,  in  1876,  Mr.  Harvey  became  the  owner. 
The  building  now  used  was  built  in  1873,  24x50,  with  an  addition 
24x16,  being  the  largest  business  house  in  Glenwood.  In  the  spring 
of  1865  John  W.  Riggs  built  a  store  and  dwelling  combined,  two 
stories  high,  east  of  Mr.  Harvey's  store,  where  he  lived  and  sold 
goods  about  three  years.  He  sold  to  James  Hocket,  who  sold,  after 
two  years'  experience,  to  Charles  Newel.  He  soon  disposed  of  the 
stock  of  goods,  and  converted  the  building  into  a  hotel,  thus  gaining 
the  honor  of  being  the  first  landlord  of  the  "Grand  Pacific"  of  Glen- 
wood. 

The  Ash  Grove  Lodge,  No.  376,  A.F.  and  A.M.,  was  instituted 
in  1864,  holding  its  first  meetings  in  the  upper  story  of  the  house 
now  owned  by  David  Montgomery,  and  afterward  in  a  room  fitted 
up  in  the  second  story  of  Mr.  Hamilton's  house,  with  the  following 
officers  and  charter  members:  George  F.  Keath,  W.M.;  George 
W.  Redkey,  S.W.;  Clement  Thomas,  J.W.;  E.  S.  Hamilton,  treas- 
urer; Joel  R.  Smith,  secretary;  George  Nunamaker,  William  F. 
Horner  and  Wesley  Harvey.  At  the  height  of  its  prosperity  the 
lodge  numbered  25  members,  but  owing  to  so  many  moving  to  vari- 
40 


660  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

ous  parts  of  the  county  the  organization  became  small,  and  surren- 
dered its  charter  in  1876.  • 

WOODWORTH,  located  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Mr.  Lucke's 
farm,  in  Sec.  4,  T.  25,  R.  13  W.,  began  its  history  with  the  black- 
smith shop  of  Fred  Krueger  in  the  year  1874.  On  the  1st  of  May, 
1875,  Fred  Meyer  opened  a  store  with  a  stock  of  goods.  In  the 
summer  of  1875  came  Fred  Hartman,  a  wagonmaker,  who  was  fol- 
lowed, in  the  course  of  a  year,  by  Hardekolp,  the  shoemaker,  with 
his  family.  William  Becker  opened  a  harness-shop  in  the  fall  of 
1879.  The  town  was  named  after  Mr.  Woodwortb,  of  Milford,  to 
repay  him  for  his  services  in  assisting  them  to  secure  their  post- 
office,  which  is  held  in  Mr.  Meyer's  store,  with  himself  as  post- 
master. 

QUEEN  CITY*  is  situated  on  the  S.E.  \  of  Sec.  2,  T.  25,  R.  13,  and 
received  its  name  from  John  Schmer,  an  enterprising  business  man, 
who  for  the  past  six  years  has  been  engaged  in  a  prosperous  mer- 
cantile business,  building  the  first  store  in  the  place.  His  was  also 
the  first  dwelling  erected  in  the  village.  There  is  now  in  this  little 
place  a  blacksmith,  a  wagon  and  carriage  maker,  and  a  shoemaker,  each 
doing  a  fair  business.  A  Lutheran  church  is  in  course  of  erection. 

BIOGRAPHICAL. 

Clement  Thomas,  farmer,  Ash  Grove,  is  one  of  the  grandest 
characters  in  our  history.  The  lights  and  shadows  of  sixty  long 
years  have  come  and  gone,  but  left  a  venerable  old  pioneer  hale, 
buoyant  and  genial,  possessed  of  a  memory  retaining  the  character- 
istics of  men  and  course  of  events  with  a  tenacity  truly  astonishing 
and  wonderful  in  the  extreme,  who  has  seen  and  is  able  to  correctly 
narrate  more  of  the  early  history  of  the  first  settlements  than  any 
one  of  the  old  settlers  now  living  with  whom  he  was  connected  by 
the  ties  of  early  recollections.  He  was  born  June  22,  1820,  in 
Adams  county,  Ohio,  near  the  Marvel  furnace.  Living  here  about 
eight  years,  he  with  his  parents  came  to  Indiana,  settling  about  ten 
miles  south  of  Lafayette.  In  March,  1831,  the  family  came  to  Iro- 
quois  county,  settling  on  the  prairie  about  a  mile  east  of  the  present 
village  of  Milford,  preempting  a  quarter-section,  which  after  three 
years  was  sold  to  David  Cleaver.  They  then  moved  one  mile  south 
of  Milford,  purchasing  the  improvements  of  James  Osborn,  on  the 
K  \  of  S.  W.  i  Sec.  22,  T.  25,  R.  12,  which  to  this  day  is  known 
as  the  Thomas  farm.  When  Mr.  Thomas  had  arrived  at  the  age  of 
twenty-two  years  he  purchased  a  farm  of  80  acres  for  himself,  about 
a  mile  east  of  his  father's  place,  in  the  spring  of  1843.  This  he 


ASH    GROVE   TOWNSHIP.  661 

worked  until  he  purchased  the  water-mill  property  in  Milfor.l,  in  the 
spring  of  1852.  Here  he  was  engaged  in  sawing  and  grinding  six 
years,  at  the  expiration  of  which  time  he  moved  south  of  Milford, 
but  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year  again  returned,  running  a  blacksmith 
shop  during  the  winter.  He  again  moved  south  o'f  Milford,  and  in 
the  spring  of  1860  came  to  that  portion  of  Ash  Grove  township  now 
set  off  as  a  portion  of  Fountain  Creek,  and  from  here,  in  1874,  to  his 
present  home,  on  Sees.  20  and  29,  T.  25,  R.  13.  Mr.  Thomas  was 
first  married,  April  21,  1842,  to  Miss  Mary  Lewis,  near  Milford,  and 
is  now  living  with  his  fourth  wife,  to  whom  he  was  married  at  Cov- 
ington,  Indiana,  June  5,  1875.  Her  former  name  was  Nancy  Pay- 
ton.  He  is  the  father  of  twelve  children,  four  of  whom  are  living : 
Samuel,  Lavina,  Marcus  and  Emma.  He  is  a  Mason,  having  joined 
that  order  at  Middleport  in  1848,  since  which  time  he  has  been  a 
charter  member  of  both  the  Milford  and  Ash  Grove  lodges.  He  is 
a  republican,  formerly  a  whig,  as  was  also  his  father,  who  died  in 
April,  1870,  and  his  mother  in  the  fall  of  1832.  Mr.  Thomas  has,  we 
dare  say,  the  first  bond  ever  given  for  a  deed  in  the  county.  It  was 
made  by  James  Osborn  to  Asa  Thomas  for  land  in  Sec.  22,  T.  25, 
K.  12,  dated  March  12,  1834,  and  written  by  Hugh  Newel,  the  first 
clerk  at  Bunkum. 

Wesley  Harvey,  the  successful  merchant  of  Glenwood,  is  the  only 
one  of  the  old  pioneers  of  this  section  of  country  left.  All  save  him 
have  passed  the  line  of  human  woe.  He  is  an  honest,  earnest,  prac- 
tical Christian  gentleman.  He  came  to  Ash  Grove  in  the  summer  of 
1837,  and  has  had  a  large  and  varied  experience  in  frontier  life.  He 
was  born  near  Salem,  the  county  seat  of  Washington  county,  Indiana, 
on  a  farm,  January  1,  1821.  His  mother  dying  when  he  was  but 
three  years  of  age,  young  Wesley  went  to  live  with  his  uncle,  William 
Harvey,  where  he  stayed  until  his  father  married  again.  Returning 
home,  he  lived  with  his  parents  until  eight  years  old,  when  he  again 
went  to  live  with  an  uncle,  this  time  Lewis  Brock,  Sr.,  and  here  he 
lived  until  he  was  twelve,  when  through  adverse  circumstances  Mr. 
Harvey  was  thrown  out  upon  the  cold  world  to  care  for  himself.  He 
immediately  hired  for  $3.50  per  month  to  Isaac  Ferris,  in  Lawrence 
county,  Indiana,  early  in  the  spring  of  1833.  Here  he  stayed  but 
three  months ;  his  father,  learning  his  whereabouts  and  condition, 
came  and  took  him  to  his  home  in  Monroe  county,  Indiana,  where 
he  stayed  about  two  years,  in  the  summer  working  for  from  $4  to  $6 
per  month,  and  in  the  winter  attending  Jhe  public  school.  In  June, 
1835,  he  arrived  at  his  uncle's  in  Washington  county,  but  sickness 
prevented  him  from  working  until  in  the  fall,  when  he  started  for 


662  HISTORY    OF    1ROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

White  county,  Indiana,  to  live  with  his  brother-in-law,  Allen  Brock. 
This  was  made  his  home  until  the  summer  of  1837",  when  he,  a  boy 
of  but  sixteen  years,  accompanied  Mr.  Brock  to  Iroquois  county,  and 
made  the  home  of  this  genial  gentleman  his  until  he  was  married 
in  1841.  Mr.  Harvey  then  built  a  cabin  and  improved  a  farm  on 
government  land  in  Sec.  30,  T.  25,  R.  13,  now  owned  by  E.  Hick- 
man.  This  place  was  tilled  nearly  three  years,  when  he  purchased 
the  old  Lewis  Brock,  Sr.,  farm,  improving  a  couple  of  others,  and 
finally  purchasing  the  old  Nunamaker  farm  on  section  19  of  a  quarter- 
section,  which  he  still  owns.  Here  Mr.  Harvey  worked  until  his 
health  failed  him,  and  being  no  longer  able  to  perform  the  hard  work 
on  a  farm,  purchased  a  small  stock  of  goods  of  Joel  R.  Smith  of 
about  $800.  To  this  he  has  been  continually  adding,  till  he  has  a 
fine  stock  of  general  merchandise,  varying  from  $4,000  to  $5,000,  in 
which  business  he  has  since  remained  in  various  capacities.  His  was 
the  sixth  wedding  that  occurred  in  the  township,  March  26,  1841,  to 
Miss  Mary  Henry.  They  had  but  one  child :  George  Allen,  who 
died  when  but  two  years  old.  His  wife  also  died  August  27,  1859. 
Mr.  Harvey  was  married  the  second  time,  February  10,  1861,  to 
Mary  A.  Brock.  By  this  union  they  have  had  two  children :  G-eorge 
William,  who  died  in  his  third  year,  and  William  Henry,  now  in  his 
sixteenth  year.  Mr.  Harvey  is  a  Mason,  joining  that  order  in  1865  ; 
is  a  republican  in  politics,  formerly  a  whig,  and  joined  the  M.  E. 
church  in  1845,  and  has  held  the  offices  of  steward  and  class  leader 
for  many  years.  He  has  also  held  the  office  of  supervisor,  being  the 
township's  second  officer.  He  has  been  justice  of  the  peace,  assess- 
or, and  has  held  various  other  positions. 

B.  F.  Hillis,  farmer,  Ash  Grove,  is  a  young  man  of  more  than 
ordinary  ability,  and  one  whose  reputation  as  a  literary  character  is 
by  no  means  confined  to  his  township.  Every  reader  of  the  "  Wat- 
seka  Republican  "  has  perused  that  portion  written  weekly  by  this 
correspondent  and  essayist  with  satisfaction  and  delight,  and  this 
alone  has  won  for  him  a  most  enviable  reputation  throughout  the 
county.  He  was  born  on  a  farm  near  Lebanon,  Indiana,  July  6, 
1842.  Here  his  parents  died  while  he  was  quite  young,  at  which 
time  he  went  to  live  with  his  brother-in-law,  G.  F.  Keath,  and  came 
to  this  county  with  him  in  the  spring  of  1852,  settling  on  a  farm  in 
Fountain  Creek  township.  Mr.  Hillis  attended  school  in  Lebanon, 
Indiana,  in  1857,  and  at  Sugar  Grove  academy,  Indiana,  during  the 
academic  year  of  1858-59.  ^Starting  to  Greencastle,  Indiana,  in  the 
fall  of  1859,  he  pursued  an  excellent  course  of  instruction  until  the 
fall  of  1861.  While  here  that  patriotic  sentiment  which  at  this  time 


ASH    GROVE   TOWNSHIP.  663 

filled  so  many  hearts,  throbbed  in  his,  and  through  a  sense  of  duty  to 
his  country,  he  enlisted  to  protect  her  freedom  October  20,  1861,  at 
Ash  Grove,  in  Co.  C,  10th  111.  Cav.,  under  Col.  James  Barrett,  and 
was  mustered  out  February  5,  1864.  His  principal  engagements 
were  Brownsville,  Arkansas,  Marmaduke's  raid,  Bayou  Matarie, 
and  Little  Rock.  His  regiment  was  also  sent  to  reinforce  Gen. 
Banks,  at  Shreveport  (but  never  reached  that  point,  owing  to  so 
strong  an  opposition,  being  under  heavy  fire  for  many  days),  and 
Saline  river.  Since  his  return  from  the  army  he  has  been  engaged 
in  sinking  artesian  wells,  and  by  frugal  habits  and  dint  of  a  grim 
determination,  has  a  beautiful  little  home  of  40  acres  on  Sec.  18, 
T.  25,  R.  13.  He  joined  the  M.  E.  church  at  Wesley  chapel,  in  the 
winter  of  1868.  He  is  a  stalwart  republican. 

Ephraim  S.  Hamilton  (deceased)  was  in  all  probability  the  greatest 
trader,  the  most  energetic  and  successful  business  man  ever  in  Ash 
Grove  township.  He  was  born  on  the  Atlantic  ocean,  January  12, 
1827.  In  their  voyage  to  America  the  family  were  shipwrecked, 
and  after  many  days  of  worry,  fright  and  fear,  reached  New  York 
some  time  before  the  1st  of  February.  His  father's  name  was 
Edward  L.,  his  mother's  Rose  Ann,  and  they  were  both  born  in  Ire- 
land. Mr.  Hamilton's  father  was  engaged  a  few  years  at  farming  in 
Pennsylvania,  also  near  Springfield,  Ohio.  From  this  place  they 
moved  to  Lebanon,  Indiana,  where  both  lived  to  an  honored  old 
age,  and  died.  Mr.  Hamilton  learned  the  cooper  trade  when  but 
eighteen  years  of  age,  and  as  soon  as  he  was  master  of  all  matters 
connected  with  this  employment  erected  a  shop  in  Lebanon,  operat- 
ing it  about  five  years.  From  here  he  moved  to  Vermilion  county, 
Indiana,  near  what  is  now  Rossville,  in  Jordan  township,  purchasing 
160  acres.  This  he  improved  and  had  under  a  fine  state  of  cultivation, 
when,  thinking  advantages  superior  in  Illinois,  he  came  to  Iroquois 
county  in  the  fall  of  1855,  and  preempted  a  quarter-section  about 
seven  and  a  half  miles  northeast  of  the  village  of  Loda.  To  this  he 
continually  added,  until  a  half-section  belonged  to  him.  Mr.  Ham- 
ilton in  the  course  of  five  years  became  disgusted  with  prairie  life, 
and  June  26,  1860,  traded  his  farm  of  160  acres  for  Mr.  Boggs'  saw- 
mill in  Glenwood.  Here  he  labored  for  some  time  with  unrelenting 
energy,  until  he  engaged  in  the  business  to  which  he  was  naturally 
adapted,  general  trading,  buying  and  shipping  stock.  At  this  he 
was  eminently  successful,  arid  gradually  accumulated  a  handsome 
property,  among  which  was  a  fine  homestead  of  500  acres,  upon 
which  the  family  now  live,  in  Sec.  19.  In  1867  Mr.  II.  purchased 
a  half  interest  in  Mr.  Harvey's  store,  and  in  1870  the  whole  of  it 


664  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

passed  into  his  hands,  and  remained  so  until  his  death,  June  13, 
1876.  He  was  formerly  a  whig,  but  a  republican  from  the  birth  of 
the  party  until  his  death.  He  was  also  a  truly  Christian  gentleman 
and  a  Mason,  joining  that  order  at  Williamsport,  in  1852.  Mr. 
Hamilton  was  married  October  27,  1850,  to  Celia  B.  Miller,  at  Leb- 
anon, Indiana,  by  which  union  he  became  the  father  of  six  children, 
three  of  whom  are  still  living,  Mary  Anna,  Walter  L.,  Francis  E., 
Rosa  S.,  Isaac  M.  and  Edna. 

Robert  Clifton,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Woodland,  although  not 
a  very  early  settler,  is  a  fine  representative  of  the  northeast  corner 
of  Ash  Grove.  He  was  born  in  Warren  county,  Indiana,  near 
Attica,  February  26,  1838,  and  lived  with  his  parents  until  he  devel- 
oped fully  into  manhood,  obtaining  quite  a  liberal  education.  He 
moved  to  Iroquois  county  in  the  fall  of  1865,  settling  on  Sec.  1,  T. 
25,  R.  13,  where  he  now  has  a  large  farm,  273  acres  in  all,  finely 
improved,  and  preparations  far  advanced  toward  building  a  stately 
addition  to  his  house.  He  was  married  to  Miss  Nancy  C.  John, 
November  17, 1867,  who  is  the  daughter  of  the  venerable  Lemuel  John, 
an  old  pioneer  who  settled  in  Iroquois  county  south  of  Watseka, 
while  the  Indians  still  inhabited  the  timber  along  the  creek  in  what 
is  now  Belmont  township,  and  who  died  November  30,  1851,  his 
wife  living  until  May  11,  1867.  Mrs.  Clifton  is  a  member  of  the 
Methodist  church.  Mr.  Clifton  is  the  father  of  two  children :  Sarah 
F.  and  Mary  C.,  aged  respectively  ten  and  seven  years.  In  poli- 
tics he  is  a  democrat,  casting  his  first  vote  for  the  "Little  Giant" 
Stephen  A.  Douglas.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Watseka  Masonic 
fraternity,  having  joined  that  lodge  in  December,  1873,  and  has  held 
the  unthankful  office  of  school  director  for  four  years. 

Emmet  Clements,  farmer,  Onarga,  is  a  man  who  has  spent  a  large 
portion  of  the  best  years  of  his  life  in  the  service  of  his  country, 
and  to  say  it  was  not  spent  nobly  would  be  casting  a  reproach  upon 
her  fair  and  honored  name.  He  was  born  July  12,  1841,  in  Sullivan 
county,  New  York,  where  his  early  years  were  spent  upon  a  farm 
and  in  school.  At  the  age  of  eighteen,  with  his  parents,  he  moved 
to  Liberty  Village,  where  he  spent  his  time  preparing  for  a  higher 
course  of  study,  intending  to  enter  Lafayette  College  in  the  fall  of 
1861 ;  but  on  the  call  for  protectors  of  his  country,  a  sense  of  duty  and 
love  of  patriotism  prompted  him  to  sacrifice  his  love  for  a  college 
education,  home  and  friends  and  start  for  the  tented  field ;  enlisting 
at  Liberty,  Sullivan  county,  New  York,  October  1,  1861,  in  Co.  F, 
56th  N.  Y.  Vol.  He  was  mustered  out  October  11,  1864.  His 
principal  engagements  were  the  battles  of  Williamsburg,  Fair  Oaks, 


ASH    GROVE   TOWNSHIP.  665 

Wade's  Farm,  Savage's  Station,  Bottoms  Bridge  and  Malvern  Hill. 
Mr.  Clements,  being  a  civil  engineer  by  profession,  served  the  last 
year  of  the  war,  and  up  to  the  winter  of  1867,  in  that  capacity,  sur- 
veying the  lands  purchased  by  the  government  for  taxes.  He  also 
took  the  topography  of  the  country  around  Port  Koyal,  North  Caro- 
lina, and  assisted  in  laying  out  the  fort  at  this  place ;  and  while  here 
engaged  in  looking  through  a  telescope,  was  seriously  wounded, 
which  was  pronounced  at  the  time  by  an  eminent  surgeon  to  be  fatal, 
but  through  good  care  he  gradually  recovered.  In  the  winter  of 
1867,  while  on  his  way  to  some  western  territory  to  engage  in  a  sur- 
vey he  was  taken  sick  at  Sycamore,  Illinois,  where  he  had  stopped 
to  visit  friends,  and,  as  soon  as  he  was  able  to  move  about,  resigned 
his  position  to  accept  a  situation  as  cashier  in  the  bank  of  Pierce, 
Dean  &  Co.,  of  Sycamore,  which  was  then  doing  a  thriving  busi- 
ness, having  an  average  yearly  deposit  of  $150,000.  In  a  year's 
time  his  health  again  failed  him,  and  he  was  compelled  to  give  up 
all  work  of  a  sedentary  character.  Farming  was  chosen,  and  in 
February,  1868,  he  purchased  a  farm  on  Sec.  1,  T.  25,  R.  14,  where 
he  now  has  a  home  of  500  acres.  Mr.  Clements,  in  political  belief, 
is  an  independent  republican ;  was  appointed  school  treasurer  for 
T.  25,  R,  14,  November  1,  1874,  which  position  he  now  holds,  and 
was  elected  supervisor  in  the  spring  of  1876,  honorably  serving  his 
town  one  term.  He  is  a  man  who  has  seen  much  of 'the  world,  and 
is  wide  awake  to  all  matters  of  public  concern,  and  an  excellent 
citizen. 

Samuel  Washburne,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Milford,  is  an  un- 
compromising enemy  to  all  kinds  of  hypocrisy,  show  and  deceit, 
and  a  thorough  business ,  man.  He  was  born  August  9,  1838,  in 
Granby,  Oswego  county,  New  York,  on  a  farm,  where  he  lived  with 
his  parents  until  twenty-one  years  of  age.  The  summer  of  1860 
was  spent  in  Saginaw,  Michigan,  lumbering,  where  he  held  the  posi- 
tion of  sawyer  in  the  mill  of  John  Taylor.  In  the  fall  he  returned 
to  New  York,  and  was  engaged  as  superintendent  in  his  brother's 
mill  at  Battle  Island  until  the  fall  of  1861,  and  from  this  on  till  the 
fall  of  1862  was  engaged  in  threshing  and  various  other  occupations, 
when  he  was  employed  at  New  Haven,  New  York,  until  June,  1863, 
at  which  time  he  returned  to  Granby  and  assisted  in  building  and 
running  a  steam  saw-mill.  This  fall  he  was  again  threshing,  while 
the  following  winter  and  a  portion  of  the  summer  were  spent  in  the 
mill  (as  superintendent)  which  he  assisted  in  building.  July  12,  1864, 
he  arrived  at  Bristol,  Kendal  county,  Illinois,  prospecting,  his  family 
reaching  him  August  16  following.  His  stay  in  this  neat  little 


666  HISTORY    OF    IBOQUOIS    COUNTY. 

village  was  short,  for  in  November  of  the  same  year  he  settled  in 
Piano,  Illinois,  and  in  the  winter  was  engaged  in  lumbering  and 
milling.  Near  this  place  he  commenced  farming,  and  followed  that 
occupation  with  splendid  success  four  years.  March  4,  1869,  Mr. 
"Washburne  arrived  in  Iroquois  county,  settling  on  Sec.  14,  T.  25, 
R.  13,  where  he  still  lives,  owning  the  S.  £  of  the  section.  December 
30, 1860,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Jane  A.  Lee,  at  Hannibal,  New  York. 
They  have  four  children  living:  Flora  E.,  born  October  9,  1862; 
Jesse  L.,  January  14,  1865;  Netta  May,  February  3,  1867;  Char- 
lotte E.,  September  20,  1868.  He  has  also  living  with  him  his 
brother's  child,  George  T.,  who  was  left  an  orphan  at  four  years  of 
age.  He  has  been  school  director  ever  since  he  has  been  in  the 
county,  save  six  months ;  was  elected  commissioner  in  the  spring  of 
1874.  •  He  is  a  firm  republican,  casting  his  first  presidential  vote  for 
Lincoln  in  1860. 

James  Crangle,  farmer,  Wood  worth,  is  a  man  of  stern  will  and 
untiring  energy.  He  was  born  March  17,  1832,  in  Down  county, 
Ireland,  and  left  with  his  parents  for  America  when  but  nine  years 
of  age  and  settled  near  Morris,  in  Grundy  county,  Illinois,  where 
he  resided  until  he  came  to  Iroquois  county,  March  4,  1869.  On 
August  10,  1862,  Mr.  Crangle  enlisted  in  the  72d  111.  Yol.,  under 
Col.  Fred.  Staring,  being  the  first  regiment  fitted  out  by  the  board 
of  trade  in  Chicago.  His  first  engagement  was  Champion  Hill, 
and  on  the  19th  of  May  at  the  charge  of  Yicksburg,  also  on  the  22d. 
He  was  also  in  the  battle  of  Franklin  and  several  skirmishes.  He 
was  married,  November  29,  1855,  to  Miss  Bridgett  Farrell,  at  Brook- 
field,  La  Salle  county,  Illinois,  to  whom  eleven  children  have  been 
born,  five  boys  and  six  girls.  Mr.  Crangle  has  held  several  im- 
portant public  offices.  He  was  first  elected  a  justice  of  the  peace  in 
1860,  in  Grundy  county,  and  held  the  office  for  eight  years ;  and  after 
his  settling  in  Ash  Grove  township,  where  he  has  a  good  home  of 
a  quarter  of  a  section,  he  was  elected  supervisor  in  the  spring  of 
1878,  and  again  in  1879,  still  representing  his  town  honorably  on 
the  county  board.  To  Mr.  Crangle  is  due  the  honor  of  settling  the 
railroad  bonds  so  satisfactorily  to  a  majority  of  the  citizens  of  his 
town.  His  first  majority  was  102,  being  the  largest  ever  received 
by  any  candidate  for  that  office  in  his  town,  the  issue  being  the 
enjoining  of  the  payment  of  the  bonds.  He  is  a  democrat,  casting 
his  first  vote  for  James  Buchanan.  His  father  died  in  1850,  and  his 
mother,  in  Ireland,  in  1863,  having  gone  back  to  that  country  to  live 
the  remainder  of  her  days. 

Enoch  Lindley,  farmer,  Ash  Grove,  the  leading  representative  of 


ASH    GROVE   TOWNSHIP.  667 

the  Friends'  church  in  Ash  Grove,  is  a  most  exemplary  character, 
and  a  kind-hearted,  social  Christian  gentleman.  He  was  born  in 
Orange  county,  Indiana,  near  Paoli,  on  a  farm,  September  16,  1828, 
where  he  lived  with  his  parents  on  one  of  the  finest  farms  of  400 
acres  in  that  section  of  country,  until  the  spring  of  1857,  when,  with 
his  family,  he  moved  to  Hendricks  county,  Indiana,  eighteen  miles 
west  of  Indianapolis,  and  near  Belleville.  Here  Mr.  Lindley  engaged 
in  farming  and  with  splendid  success  until  the  spring  of  1865,  when 
he  came  to  Iroquois  county,  and  settled  on  80  acres  in  the  'X.  £  of 
Sees.  14  and  40  in  the  S.  £  of  Sec.  11,  T.  25,  R.  14,  and  has 
since  built  him  a  very  convenient  dwelling.  Near  Paoli  this  excel- 
lent gentleman  received  his  early  education  in  the  country  school, 
attending  about  three  months  each  year,  in  the  winter,  until  he  ar- 
rived at  the  age  of  twenty-one  years.  In  the  fall  of  1851  he 
commenced  at  the  high  school,  now  known  as  Earlham  College, 
at  which  place  he  pursued  a  splendid,  practical  course  of  study  for 
fourteen  months  in  succession.  From  this  time  forward  previous  to 
his  moving  to  Hendricks  county,  in  the  summer,  he  was  engaged  at 
farming,  and  averaged  a  four-months  school  each  winter  teaching. 
Mr.  Lindley  was  married,  September  19,  1855,  to  Miss  Malinda 
Bales.  By  this  union  they  have  been  blessed  with  four  children,  all 
living:  Charles  E.,  Flora  E.,  Ida  B.  and  Clara  May.  In  political 
faith  he  is  a  staunch  republican,  formerly  a  whig,  casting  his  first 
presidential  vote  for  General  Scott.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Society 
of  Friends,  as  is  also  his  hospitable  wife,  and  has  held  at  different 
times  various  important  offices  in  the  church. 

George  Sinderson,  farmer,  Onarga,  can  well  claim  the  honor  of 
having  one  of  the  neatest  homes  and  farms  in  the  township,  which 
has  all  been  made  through  the  economic  saving  of  a  once  poor  boy. 
He  was  born  January  12,  1830,  in  the  pleasant  little  village  of  Alk 
Borough,  England.  Living  here  with  his  parents  until  his  fourteenth 
year  he  began  work  for  himself,  at  the  paltry  sum  of  one  dollar  per 
month.  This  was  continued  with  constantly  increasing  wages  until  he 
had  arrived  at  the  age  of  twenty-four.  In  October,  1853,  thinking 
free  America  was  the  proper  home  for  poor  industrious  young  men, 
he  started  for  the  great  republic,  but  owing  to  a  wreck  about  1,200 
miles  out  from  shore,  they  returned  to  their  native  land  after  many 
severe  trials  and  weary  days.  Upon  his  arrival  Mr.  Sinderson  was 
employed  as  foreman  of  a  large  tenant  farm,  which  position  he  held 
until  his  successful  attempt  to  reach  America.  Landing  in  Phila- 
delphia June  20,  1856,  after  a  few  days'  sickness,  he  pushed  on  to 
Logan  county,  Illinois,  near  Lincoln,  at  which  place  he  was  engaged  in 


668  HISTORY    OF    IROQUOIS    COUNTY. 

farming  fourteen  years,  coming  to  Iroquois  county  February  8,  1870, 
where  he  had  purchased  the  N.W.  J  of  Sec.  12,  T.  25,  E.  14. 
Mr.  Sinderson's  education  in  school  was  such  as  could  be  obtained  a 
few  winters  prior  to  fourteen  years  of  age.  He  was  married  in 
Crossby,  England,  May  17,  1853,  to  Miss  Ann  Wright,  and  is  now 
the  father  of  eight  children.  Evelina  is  dead,  while  Charles  E., 
William  H.,  George  W.,  Jane  E.,  Thomas  N.,  Mary  A.  and  Kate 
are  all  living.  He  is  a  member  of  the  M.  E.  church,  and  for  many 
years  held  the  offices  of  steward  and  class-leader,  and  has  been 
school  director  and  road  commissioner.  Mr.  Sinderson  was  thoroughly 
imbued  with  the  principles  of  the  republican  party  before  coming  to 
this  country,  and  since  his  naturalization  has  been  an  earnest  sup- 
porter of  that  organization. 

If  there  is  one  man  more  than  another  in  Ash  Grove  township 
possessed  of  an  iron  will  and  a  terrible  energy,  capable  of  surmount- 
ing every  difficulty  that  arises  before  road  commissioners,  that  man 
is  Edward  Stimpson,  farmer.  He  was  born  January  30,  1836,  in 
Button,  upon  the  river  Trent,  in  Nottinghamshire  county,  England. 
His  father  was  a  day  laborer,  who,  thinking  his  advantages  would  be 
improved,  brought  his  family  to  America,  landing  in  New  York  Oc- 
tober 1,  1850.  From  here  they  went  to  Albany,  where  Mr.  Stimpson 
was  hired  to  a  weaver,  where  he  was  engaged  in  weaving  coach  lace 
at  one  dollar  per  week,  but  by  application  and  a  sturdy  energy  in  less 
than  a  year  his  wages  were  raised  to  one  dollar  per  day.  In  the  fall  of 
1851  he  went  to  Geneseo,  New  York,  where  he  was  engaged  in 
blacksmithing  and  various  other  occupations.  In  the  fall  of  1854  he 
came  to  Aurora,  Illinois,  where  he  was  engaged  as  a  farm  hand.  At 
this  place  his  father  was  seriously  injured  by  the  cars  and  was  dis- 
abled for  many  weeks.  The  task  of  supporting  a  large  family  now 
devolved  upon  young  Edward,  but  it  was  performed  faithfully  and 
willingly.  In  the  spring  of  1860  he  moved  to  Lockport,  Will  county, 
Illinois,  and  renting  a  farm  of  Ichabod  Codding,  the  great  anti- 
slavery  agitator,  followed  that  occupation  four  years.  He  next  farmed 
in  DeKalb  county,  and  afterward  moved  to  Piano,  Kendall  county, 
where  he  was  engaged  in  raising  small  fruits,  coming  to  Iroquois 
county  in  the  spring  of  1870,  renting  for  a  while,  and  now  owns  the 
N.W.  i  of  Sec.  11,  T.  25,  K.  13.  He  was  married,  December 
24,  1858,  to  Miss  Mary  Cox,  at  Aurora,  Illinois.  They  now  have 
nine  children:  Jesse  B.,  Anna  E.,  Thomas  R.,  Fannie  R. ,  Hallie 
L.,  Sallie  P.,  Susie  E.,  Celia  C.  and  Edna  E.  He  and  his  wife  are 
members  of  the  M.  E.  church.  He  is  a  republican,  casting  his  first 
presidential  vote  for  A.  Lincoln  in  1860.  He  was  elected  conimis- 


ASH    GROVE   TOWNSHIP.  669 

sioner  in  1877,  and  received  the  nomination  of  his  party  in  1880  for 
the  same  office. 

August  Lucke,  fanner  and  stock-raiser,  Woodworth,  is  a  man  pos- 
sessed of  a  high  moral  character,  a  finely  organized  brain,  and  a  man 
whose  influence  in  Ash  Grove  political  aifairs  is  felt  on  every  side. 
He  was  born  October  4,  1828,  in  Hesse,  Germany,  at  which  place  he 
lived  until  he  arrived  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years.  Coming  to 
America  with  his  parents  he  landed  in  Chicago,  July  6,  1847.  Mr. 
Lucke' s  father  was  acquainted  with  a  Hessian  who  fought  in  the 
American  revolution,  and  was  constantly  telling  of  the  advantages 
in  America.  He  was  also  acquainted  with  a  gentleman  of  consider- 
able means,  who  had  several  times  shipped  sheep  to  this  country, 
always  bringing  back  glowing  accounts  of  free  America,  which  Mr. 
Lucke  thinks  influenced  his  parents,  to  a  certain  extent,  to  emigrate. 
Upon  his  arrival  in  Chicago  young  August  hired  to  a  milkman  for 
$6  per  month.  Here  he  remained  one  year,  when,  thinking  a 
couple  of  years  as  clerk  would  be  of  lasting  benefit  to  him,  he  hired 
to  A.  T.  Stewart.  At  the  expiration  of  his  time  here  he  was  engaged 
for  one  year  at  carpentering  in  Cook  county,  that  being  his  trade  he 
learned  in  Germany,  and  after  farming  another  year  moved  to  Crete, 
Will  county,  Illinois,  where  he  busied  himself  at  farming  until  the 
spring  of  1872.  From  this  place  he  came  to  Iroquois  county,  where 
he  purchased  land  on  the  W.  %  of  Sec.  4,  T.  25,  K.  13,  a  fine  farm 
of  360  acres.  Mr.  Lucke  finished  school  at  the  age  of  fourteen, 
having  attended  every  year  from  the  time  he  was  six,  save  a  short 
time  in  harvest  of  each  year.  He  was  married,  July  23,  1853,  in 
Crete,  to  Miss  Sophia  Hue.  They  have  seven  children  living.  In 
Crete  Mr.  Lucke  held  the  offices  of  assessor  and  collector  each  one 
year.  In  Iroquois  he  was  elected  assessor  in  the  springs  of  1878  and 
1879,  and  was  elected  school  trustee  in  1875.  He  is  a  strong  mem- 
ber of  the  Lutheran  church  and  one  of  its  officers.  He  was  formerly 
an  independent,  but  is  now  a  republican,  casting  his  first  presidential 
vote  for  J.  C.  Fremont. 

Frederick  Breymeyer,  farmer,  Woodworth,  was  born  in  Germany, 
in  the  village  of  Merbeck,  May  18,  1847.  In  compliance  with  the 
laws  of  that  country  in  regard  to  education,  Mr.  Breymeyer  attended 
the  public  school  from  the  age  of  six  years  to  fourteen,  for  nine 
months  each  year.  The  remainder  of  the  time  a  private  tutor  was 
employed  to  instruct  young  Fred  until  he  came  to  America  with  his 
parents,  August  15,  1862.  Arriving  at  Crete,  Will  county,  Illinois,  at 
the  time  stated  above,  his  father  purchased  a  partially  improved  farm 
of  160  acres,  upon  which  he  worked  for  his  father  until  his  twenty- 


670  HISTORY   OF   IROQUOIS   COUNTY. 

fourth  year,  attending  the  evening  school  in  Crete  during  the  winter 
session  after  their  arrival.  His  parents  then  moving  to  Kansas  gave 
him,  for  his  work  at  home  and  good  behavior,  80  acres  of  the  farm, 
which,  after  working  one  year  longer,  Mr.  Breymeyer  traded  for  the 
place  upon  which  he  now  lives,  of  111  acres,  on  Sec.  6,  T.  25,  R.  13, 
soon  after  purchasing  40  more.  He  was  married  to  Miss  Sophia 
Lucke,  the  daughter  of  one  of  the  most  influential  men  in  Ash  Grove 
township,  February  9,  1873,  at  the  handsome  and  commodious  resi- 
dence of  her  father.  By  this  union  they  have  two  children :  Sophia 
and  August.  He  is  now  a  staunch  republican,  although  casting  his 
first  vote  for  Horatio  Seymour.  He  has  been  for  six  years  director 
of  his  district,  -and  one  of  the  stewards  of  the  Lutheran  Evangelist 
church,  of  which  he  is  a  member,  for  the  year  1876-7. 

John  F.  "W.  Meier,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  Woodworth,  is  one 
of  the  most  genial,  social  and  kind-hearted  men  in  Ash  Grove  town- 
ship. He  was  born  in  Will  county,  Illinois,  near  Crete,  on  a  farm, 
June  22,  1849.  He  lived  here  with  his  parents  until  he  was  twenty- 
five  years  of  age,  working  in  the  summer  and  attending  the  district 
school  in  the  winter  until  he  reached  nineteen.  From  this  place  he 
came  to  Ash  Grove  township  in  1874, where  he  purchased  the  S.£  of 
Sec.  3,  T.  25,  R.  13,  upon  which  he  soon  built  a  house  surpassed  by 
none  in  the  town,  and  has  just  completed  a  commodious  barn  48  feet 
wide,  60  long  and  20  high.  July  9,  1874,  he  married  Miss  Sophia 
Scheiwe,  in  Will  county,  near  where  he  was  raised.  By  this  union 
they  have  three  charming  little  ones  living :  John  H. ,  William  and 
Caroline.  Mr.  Meier's  mother  died  in  1869,  while  his  father  is  still 
living  on  his  farm  near  Crete,  Illinois.  Mr.  Meier  is  an  independent 
republican,  casting  his  first  presidential  vote  for  Gen.  Grant  in  1872. 
He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church,  having  joined  that  or- 
ganization in  the  fall  of  1874,  and  was  elected  treasurer  of  the  board 
of  stewards  January  1,  1876,  holding  that  office  four  years. 

John  Schwer,  merchant,  Woodland,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  is 
a  natural  merchant,  having  started  in  life  as  a  clerk  when  but  four- 
teen years  of  age,  and  continuing  in  that  line  for  twelve  years,  he  has 
reached  that  high  degree  of  perfection  which  comes  only  through 
application  and  a  sturdy  perseverance.  He  was  born  August  20, 
1853,  in  the  pleasant  little  village  of  Crete,  Will  county,  Illinois,  and 
left  home  and  parents  to  engage  in  his  chosen  pursuit  in  the  year 
1867.  His  first  experience  was  with  G.  Brauns,  in  Crete,  in  a  store 
containing  a  stock  of  goods  of  every  description.  He  then  went  to 
Chicago,  engaging  himself  in  the  grocery  store  of  Mr.  Hurxtall,  on 
South  Halsted  street.  From  here  he  went  to  the  grocery  store  of 


ASH    GROVE   TOWNSHIP.  671 

William  Balterrnann,  on  the  same  street,  in  which  place  he  was  em- 
ployed a  year  and  a  half.  Mr.  Schwer,  thinking  his  business  educa- 
tion incomplete  without  a  knowledge  of  the  dry-goods  business,  next 
engaged  himself  to  the  well  known  dry-goods  house  of  Charlie 
Hourstel,  on  the  same  street,  in  which  place  he  was  employed  for 
five  successive  years.  A  short  time  was  then  spent  in  the  dry-goods 
store  of  M.  Burlitzheimer,  on  the  same  street.  His  next  experience 
was  with  his  old  employer,  Mr.  Hourstel,  in  whose  store  he  stayed 
about  a  year  longer,  and  after  three  years'  further  experience  with 
"Wollf  Brothers,  on  Sojith  Halsted  street,  he  left  the  city,  intending 
to  commence  business  for  himself,  which  he  soon  'did  at  Queen  City, 
Illinois,  situated  on  section  2,  Ash  Grove  township,  May  25,  1876. 
He  was  married,  September  15,  1878,  to  Miss  Auguste  Jaeger,  at 
Mequon  River,  Wisconsin.  Mr.  Schwer  has  one  child,  a  boy,  born 
December  28, 1879,  Walter  R.  W.  L.  He  is  independent  in  politics. 


